floppymoppy1234

hey guys.. i need some advice... I'm deciding whether or not to buy my friends 03 track Z.. it is in perfect condition exterior wise and has 15,000 miles on it and probably only 3,000 miles on the twin turbo on a stock engine at 8psi. I know him personally and he really takes car of his cars. He also got it tuned at AAM with Utec and theres absolutely nothing wrong with it. No lights come up, no grinding everything is smooth. He is asking $25k for it. Hes selling because he simply doesn't drive it, he has a daily driver. This car will be my daily driver by the way.

What I'm worried about is the maintenance in the future. How long will the turbos and the engine last? (stock engine at 8 psi) What about leaks and other issues that come with a FI car? I don't know to much about turbos, but I'm willing to learn. I've been on the forums reading around lately. Here are the mods hes leaving in it:

Engine/Drivetrain:
Greddy TT kit with FMIC
GReddy Evo TT exhaust
Greddy E-01 boost controller
Greddy Oil catch can
APS down pipes
Crawford Polished Plenum
AAM Stage II fuel return system
JWT Clutch
JWT Flywheel
Koyo Radiator
Optima yellow top
AEM battery tie down
Utec Engine management
Rogue Engineering Short Shifter
Samco Hoses
Pi-Thon Hose locks
Nismo oil cap
Nismo radiator cap

Wheels/Suspension/Brakes:
Cusco A-arms
SPC rear camber arms
Cusco sways
APS Strut bar
Volk GTC

Interior:
Pioneer N3 Navigation/DVD head unit
Alpine speakers all around
AEM Uego A/F gauge
Defi controller link
Defi BF EGT gauge
Defi BF Boost gauge
Apexi Turbo Timer
Nismo Floor mats
Nismo Titanium GT shift ****

its going to look stock with GTC's on. Now I don't know if i want to deal with the headaches in the future if there is going to be. Will things go wrong? Or should i just get a audi tt or SLK or something where i don't have to worry about possible problems? my budget is around 30k but I really like the Z so I would rather pick up the Z instead. Is it worth $25k? Thanks for the help!

The Brickyard Rat

iTrader: (1)

For $25,000+, I'd go look at a new 08.

Somehow, "daily driver" & "twin turbo" don't go in the same sentence, imo.

Plus it is a 6 year old car.

PhiSig

iTrader: (36)

F* No, I have been seeing some crazy deals on boosted project Z's. This does have low low miles which is nice, but it was tuned and built by AAM, thats not a good thing. It would be nice if it was a couple years newer too for 25k.

urbanchaos

iTrader: (24)

I would look at it this way. $15,000 for an 03 track with 15,000 miles is a good deal. Now look at all the parts included for 25,000. All those parts would add up to more than 10,000. So if they are what you would spend your money on if you were to mod your z then go for it.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Then stay away from forced-induction.

floppymoppy1234

i thought AAM were reputable tuners? or am i wrong?

well... if i was to buy the z, how long can I expect the stock motor to last? thanks for all your input guys.

The Brickyard Rat

iTrader: (1)

I doubt anyone can give you an estimate of miles engine will last. For one thing it depends on how often those twin turbos are kicked in.

Main point, though, is: for $25,000 you are getting close to being able to buy a new 08. Buying a 6 year old modded car makes little sense.

JETPILOT

iTrader: (51)

Sounds like a good deal to me. First get it thoroughly checked out. Do a leakdown test and get a compression check. Get it retuned by a good tuner such as Dave @ FuntionTuned. How long it lasts will be determined by how you drive it. Keep the revs down and yo ushould be fine. Post up a dyno plot if you have one.

Zstealth

iTrader: (3)

you should just buy a used 03 z for $15,000 and used the $10,000 to get a supercharged or just buy body kits to make your car look nice.

SchismX

iTrader: (1)

+1 on getting it re-tuned if you do decide to buy it. No one can tell you how long the car will last. Who knows, that person before might of beat the hell out of it for all you know. You could be inheriting their problems. Definitely get it checked out by someone you can trust that gets straight to the point.

floppymoppy1234

honestly... I don't want a stock Z, if am not going to get this one, I would probably get a audi tt or SLK





well i know the owner personally and he takes good care of his cars. He doesn't beat on them, maybe push it a few times but thats probably about it.

Thanks again for your input, I would like to hear more opinions/suggestions...

craigo'sznprgrs

iTrader: (35)

Buy built , don't risk a potentially large repair bill on what you are inevitably going to do later, trust me, if I had it to do all over again, I would have bought built.

Don't get me wrong, I had a turbocharger running 400 whp for 20k miles on a stock engine with zero issues, but I had the best tunes money could buy and meticulously take care of my car.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

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