Hey guys,

I am looking at a 2003 Performance 350Z with a ATI procharger. Ide like to let you guys know that ATI's office is very close to my house, 10 min away. But ive heard that ATI has caused some blown engines? Ive also heard good things...What is you guys opinion. It has 6speed, procharger, intercooler. No other engine mods. What should I do?

Neal

 

I didnt know ATI was in KC . Check to see if it has some type timing managment .Thats the weak link in that kit...it doesnt come with any

 

NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER EVER EVER purchas a car that is modded already...

 

I am sure you have your reasons for that statement but it is not encouraging for 350Z owners that have already or plan to mod their Z and sell it later.

Maybe that would be an interesting topic; which mods would you be willing to have on a used car you were considering purchasing?

 

If a car has minor bolt ons like intake, header, cat pipe and exhaust, it's probably ok to buy. But if it has TT or SC and not a built engine, I wouldn't buy it either. FI just wears the engine out faster, and there are a higher chance of the engine already damaged than a n/a car.

 

I agree 100%. I've sold two previous cars I owned that I either had heavy NA mods or a supercharger. When they left my hands they ran perfect, but both buyers had called me with problems they were experiencing. I even gave them a recomended maintenance schedule and all the receipts to the parts on the car. But for some reason they were surprised when things went wrong.
I'd never buy a heavily modded car or sell a car that I've done exstensvie mods to again. Just my 2 cents

 

Can't completely agree.

Depends on the milage of the car and the milage with the mods. Yes...expect more engine wear, but if the car has, for example, 7000 miles and 2000 miles with the supercharger, you'll probably be okay. More important is the tuning and mainatenence done with/to the vehicle. I have sold two highy modded vehicles, but they were both properly tuned and impeccably maintained. Never heard a complaint back from anyone. Only happy buyers telling me how awesome the car is. And....both these cars had over 60,000 miles at the time of sale. The secret to longevity in a highly modded engine is proper heat management. Heat retention, in one form or another is what kills engines. It *MAY* be the key in being able to run FI with a greater degree of safety on the stock internals in the Z as well.

 

I completely DIS-agree...I cant buy a car that some $hit *** troll owned and ran N20 or FI on it without ever changing the oil or tranny fluid and beat the hell out of the car at the Sat night STREET races in Da hood...If you feel comfortable buying a HEAVILY modded cat then be my guest, but chances are it was abused for most of its life..Oh and you FI example is Bogus, a car can have just as much damage to it from 1/4 of a mile as it can from 2000-7000 miles...Then again it can go 90,000 miles without a problem..You just dont know what your getting...I agree with your statement about tuning, which IS key, but the problem I have with buying a modded car is #1. you just dont know who worked on it and if they know what they are doing.
#2. you dont know what the owner did to the car that he DIDNT tell you about (FI,N2O, Ect...)
#3. You just dont know what kind of person owned it and how well it was maintaned..

And remember..Theres always a reason someone is selling a car with a ton of $$$$ invested in it...Its usually not in the buyers favor..

 

Without going into details, both cars I sold were well tuned and taken care of. The complaints I got were about other parts breaking like clutches, and shift linkages, emissions, because the people who bought the cars ran the crap out of them.
Also, F/I or not, aftermarket parts like headers aren't made to last 200,000 miles. There's also the point of where are you gonna get the car serviced if something "unexpected" goes wrong. The warrenty's void and the dealerships won't touch the car. You'd better have a wad of cash or know how to work on cars yourself.

 

The car has not been driven hard the tires are immaculate, 19" michelin pilot sports arent exactly cheap. he's selling the car because he's moving to florida. but i heard about all the engine failures related to the procharger, but ive also heard about its good points. I am gonna call ATI today and see what they have to say.

NEAL

 

Another thing,

The SC was installed by ati. I want to know about what people are doing to solve the problems with teh weak link in the procharger.

neal

 

The things you've mentioned go along with owning a highly modded car, no matter who owns it. Whether you choose to keep it, or sell it, what will need to be done will need to be done. The buyer just needs to have realistic expectations of what it means to own a highly modded vehicle. Modding cars is a hobby, and it needs to be for the prospective buyer also. When something needs to get done, as long as the down time for the vehicle isn't too much, it's another opportunity to indulge your hobby, get online, shop around, etc. That's all part of the fun and the experience of having a highly modded car.

 

I agree with one thing you have said....if you don't know what you are getting, be weary. On the other hand, if you do have some insight into what you are getting, you may end up getting a nice vehicle that has already had some of the bugs worked out, as the buyers of my '93 Jackson Racing supercharged Prelude and my '00 450hp Audi S4.

And the reason we sell these cars is so we can buy a new car and do it all over again!!!!

 

Let me get this straight..The guy put a PROCHARGER on the car and NEVER drove it hard??? I got a bridge to sell you...

Look man all I'm saying is be careful buying a PRE-modded car and expect the worst and hope for the best..Thats all..Good luck.
Im just saying I wouldnt buy a modded car, I would rather know what happened to the car the whole time I owned it from day one.

 

As long as reliability, and the future cash out-flows of the car are factored into the price, I see no problem buying modded cars. Each case is different. NO, I would never buy some used fart can honda accord with an unpainted body kit from a 19 yo dude. But I WOULD be a clean, well maintained, car, that shows it was put together correctly, and take my chances on repairs down the road.

As previous poster mentioned, highly modded cars are NOT as reliabile as OEM cars....no matter how perfectly tuned or maintained. They are always going to be more prone to problems and failures, and the buyer and seller should discuss these very things. You can save a CRAP load of money buying a highly modded car, vs. doing the work yourself.

Anyone wanna buy mine? hehe