juanma

Hey all,

Been lurking for a few months since I have been looking at z's in my area (South Florida). I recently came across, and put a deposit (refundable) on a 2004.5 350z roadster which I believe to be touring due to the Navigation. Its a six speed (even thought the ad says auto).

It has 80k miles, one accident on carfax (airbags did not deploy) and some idiot wrote the wrong milage on the last "offer for sale" for carfax, so it went from 80,100 on 4/21 to 13,993 on 4/30. The car shows 80,102 today.

Downsides, the drivers power seat does not recline, it slides but its stuck. There is a flashing airbag light (two of the reasons why I didn't buy it outright a few days ago and arranged for a mechanic inspection). The other reason is that they are changing the coils and they get the part tomorrow.

They listed the sale price at $8,999 with a $300 dealer fee. I talked him down and locked in $8350 for the car, with the deposit pending my inspection tomorrow.

Everywhere I've looked (kbb, nada, CL, this forum) the price looks too low. The car looks great, the intereior is 7/10. Will see how it drives tomorrow.

What do you guys think? What should I be on the biggest look out for? What tends to go unnoticed in these cars until it goes horribly wrong?

Thanks!

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

That price sounds too low and something is off. Did you end up paying to have an independent inspection done? What did it show?

I'd be concerned about the electronics, including a non-operable power seat, as the top won't operate properly without the seats working properly. The airbag light should not be flashing unless something is wrong. And why exactly are they replacing ignition coils? It's not just one- there are six total- one for each plug.

juanma

I'm having the independent inspection done tomorrow at my personal mechanic who I trust. I opened and closed the top and it worked fine the three times that I did it.

Why they are replacing the coil, rather than the set I do not know and I fully admit I should have asked. I will be checking that, as well as the airbag flashing light with the insepction tomorrow.

oldschool350z

iTrader: (1)

Sounds way too low, and if it sounds too good to be true.. IT is. The airbag light should not flash ever. Old Thread on here

Check the top odds are there are tears or holes. Also double check the carfax and autocheck to ensure it's not salvage/rebuilt.

Google the VIN sometimes you can see pictures of the accident if it was sold at an auction.

Mileage descrpeancies happen a lot for dealers, when I bought my Z it said 36,500 miles and actually had 31,000.

juanma

Thanks for the heads up oldschool350z. I appreciate the info sharing you and dkmura are helping me out with. This is what I found for some of the stuff you mentioned to me.

I ran the autocheck, and it shows also a side collision like the carfax, stating it as moderate damage.

The airbag light I've been researching and if I'm going to buy it I need to be very comfortable with the inspection that its something "easily" repairable.

I googled the vin and found some cached listings from other dealers with the price listed at 13,999 (which is the "incorrect miles" on the carfax from 4/21/2014). Didn't see accident pictures or anything like that. I did find the auction listing from Orlando (which the seller had told me thats where it went through auction) but again it has no pictures.

http://abc-mco.autoremarketers.com/w...tingId=7528562

I checked the top and they replaced it last weekend. So it currently has a brand new top.

I do know that the guy doesn't really know these cars (he listed it as an enthusiast when its a touring). But I know that he is a dealer, and therefore, I'm wary. I don't think a dealer would have survived in business selling cars this far below market, so that's why I'm trying to find what is wrong with this car.

As to the airbag question, I read the other threads and all I really come back to is "here is the reset procedure". Would the code scanner actually tell which part of the system is not functioning?

Edit: Forgot to include two things.
This isn't a manufacturer dealer, its a buy here-pay here dealer at which I'm paying cash to not get reamed on the 27% interest (yup, that's legal in FL)

The dealership in itself offers a 30 day powertrain warranty, and it has been in business for around 3 years. I have searched them and never come across angry postings of bad quality cars or anything like that.

GOGOZ

I would let this one go OP...... "moderate damage" would have been my 1st flag- the "buy here-pay here" dealership is the 2nd. A 30 day powertrain warranty doesn't mean that they will honor ANYTHING if something were to go wrong. "Oh, so you were going 25mph in your neighborhood and the trans fell out of the car??? Well, if you were going 24mph we could help you, buuuuut you were going 25." Just my .02 though, good luck with your decision

oldschool350z

iTrader: (1)

Buy here pay here places are small and I dint think will cover if there is a tranny issue. Most dealers dont know the real trims unless it's a Nissan dealer.

My red flags are moderate damage and the air bag light. You never know the true extent of the damage.

350zchad

iTrader: (1)

i'd take it to a nissan tech and have them go over it with a fine tooth comb, then take to a body shop and pay them to look at it too.. if you put a deposit down.. might kind of be stuck (fine print)

juanma

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Im meeting the guy and driving over to my mechanic in about an hour. I'll keep an eye out fully ready to walk away unless my mechanic is confident of the condition of the car (the guy is a good friend with 20+ years experience, so I trust his experience and intuition on these things).

We'll see if the next post is a "here is my new used car" post or "ran away" post.

Thanks!

oldschool350z

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like he will know. I would also check to see if the gears grind, weird noises etc.

I'm skeptical about the damage and think it's much worse then advertised.

oldschool350z

iTrader: (1)

Those also look like base wheels. Not sure why but seems like the previous owner had them put on, they are not touring.

Touring Wheels for the Z - 2004

juanma

Hey everyone,

He didnt get the coil in today. He said it was just one coil failing. I'm going out of town until Tuesday, so i set a time to see it with my mechanic on Tuesday. The saga will continue at least a few more days. Thanks for the heads up on the wheels. It is interesting that they put the base rather than the touring.

I like them painted like that and have a slight preference for those wheels over the touring. Matter of each person I guess.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

I've got a bad feeling about this...

oldschool350z

iTrader: (1)

That is true, my touring z has base wheels. But I bought them because I liked the look. Make certain they switched over the pressure sensors otherwise the light will always be on.

I think it has a low price for a reason, engine issues or something related to the prior accident.

juanma

Well, after a lot of stuff. The car is not mine. The dealer told me it had a broken ring, and he sent it back to the auction. However, I found out that it was registered in the same vicinity of the dealership a few days the "broken ring" diagnosis (I was out of town for four days).

Going to keep searching. Pretty upset that the guy sold it out from under me, but my legal options in FL are to buy a similar car and sue him for the difference (and even then recovery is unlikely).

Thanks for your all your help and feedback, I'll definitely keep in mind your comments as my search continues.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Well, if the dealer was accurate about the "broken ring" in a VQ engine, you should be glad you missed that bullet. VQ engines are typically very durable and any broken rings would indicate some type of engine abuse/neglect. That, in addition to the other problems with this particular ZR mean you'd have a pretty hefty bill to make it right.

Good luck on searching...