I'm thinking about buying an 04 350z. It's a enthusiast trim car, I believe the color is Liquid Aluminum as well but I honestly haven't compared pictures while actually looking at it. 6 speed, 100k miles. Very clean car. What are some things to look for and watch for? It is a friend of mine selling it and he said he would give it to me for $8000, is that a fair price? Will add pictures later today.

 

If its in good condition, thats a fair price.

Things to look for would be transmission grinding. The clutch going out at 100kish.

Take it to a mechanic and get a full inspection for around 2-300 and go from there.

Assuming everything is in good condition, i would get it.

 

I looked at the car in person and the literal only thing i could find wrong with the exterior was the passenger front wheel liner was tore up, I will ask why but i assume it would be an easy fix. There was also a piece of the exhaust ( what appeared to be a heat shield ) that was rusty.

 

Also, is there a way you can tell the official paint code? VIN or door plaque maybe?

 

you can use the vin decoder on this site

 

So I went and sat in it today. My buddy wasn't there but I looked around the car, took a friend that has a 03 Z as well. Everything that was broken was stuff he said is always broken, left seat bolster on drivers seat has wear, not showing padding just a little ripped looking, nav door broken. He felt the clutch and gearbox (with the car off of course) said he really couldn't tell much, clutch felt good as far as he could tell, 5th and 6th seemed much harder to get into than all the other gears? What do you think the issue is? I'm gonna Need to drive the car anyways soon but wondering if there was some issue with the cars in general that might cause this?

 

^Does it have an OEM navigation setup?

my 2cents is that 8 is a little high but he is in the ball park...if you could get the car for 7 accounting for a transmission that needs to be rebuilt and all the little/chicken **** stuff I don't know that you're going to do much better than that.

but turbo'd has the best advice in PAY a 3rd party, independent mechanic to do a thorough investigation...if you wanted to go step further, grab a ~4 ounce sample of oil and send it off to Blackstone Labs for an analysis - assuming the oil has some miles on it they'll be able to tell you alot more about the condition of the engine - I think that service is $40.

 

No it's an enthusiast, no nav, just the little storage compartment.

 

Just read something about a plate in the shift housing that has to be removed during a clutch job, said they need to be realigned when reinstalled or you will have issues getting in 5th and 6th? Do you think this might be the issue. The car looks too clean to have been beat on but I might be wrong

 

Its a 12 year old car with 100k miles on it... What do you expect for $8000? Bring it to an inspection place and see what they say and go from their. Your friend is probably giving you what he thinks is a fair price, if you don't think its that fair I wouldn't bother.

 

You can't tell ANYTHING about a gearbox and clutch without driving the car - period. But I can tell you both are expensive to repair/replace, so pay for a professional inspection or just be prepared to pay for the repairs. A little now, or a maybe lot later.

 

Please, either get it inspected or don't post here in a week that you bought it and now need to spend $2k to fix stuff. Really not trying to be an ***, but we've all seen it happen. Someone posts here for advice, doesn't follow recommendations and then complains about how bad they got shafted.

 

Your buddy "felt the clutch and found 5th and 6th were difficult"????

While just sitting in the car??

Trust me, you need to take it to a pro.

 

+1 You beat me to it.


If you want a true assessment of the vehicles current condition, you need take it to Nissan and spend the $100 for the extra peace of mind.


On a s/n, I bet this is how Mic feels each time he suggests the famous "Driver Mod." haha

 

Hahahaha......

Nahhh, not at all. I really don't care if people heed or don't heed any of my advice. Way I look at it, I did my part trying to help out. They choose to ignore, hey. End of story. You can lead a horse to water.....

I just remember coming up back in the day and people told me all kinds of stuff. Well, common sense made me rule out the obviously moronic advice (from my best friends dontcha knowit hahahahahahaaaaaaa) but to the guys I respected in the shop(s), I listened and either took their advice right away or locked it away for future use.

They saved me a lot of money and grief. But not soon enough cuz I made my share of mistakes..... amongst them, "too much cam".... and "too much exhaust".... and "too much tire"..... Now you see why I'm conservative and trust driving skills over mods? HA!

 

its 12 years old.... it has been rode hard and put away wet

tldr; driving school





























i keed i keed (in reality, Mic gets respect from me)

 

i was taught, you can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it drink.

however.... you can hold its head underwater until it drinks or itll drown due to its own stupidity

 

your friend wants to sell you a car for $8000 , that blue books for $6500-$7000

That needs work

Ummmm , AHHHHH , OH MAN