I just purchased my second 350z (I don't have 2, this is just the second time I've owned one) and I didn't notice any issues with it at the time of purchase but of course you're not going to identify all issues with a used car right away.

My concerns are with the passenger's side quarter panel, I think it may have been in an accident.

The first thing to tip me off is this weld mark behind the gas door...





... and between the passenger's side tail-light and the bumper I notice this seam that looked thicker than normal...





Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

There are some weld spots in the gas cap area except yours has some rust. Very difficult to say if they are the original ones or not. Did you get a carfax or similar info?. I know they don't always tell all but sometimes they help

 

Yeah, I bought a Carfax before buying the car, it has a clean title. I'm considered the 4th owner, the second owner was a used car dealer which kinda has me worried that they probably fixed the damage and didn't report it.

 

Lets hope that other issues don't show up later. That is the most important thing.
I would take steps to fix the rust before they become an issue

 

That is a interesting location for a defect. The paint inside the filler area looks original?

 

I agree. I wouldn't suspect anything more than maybe the car lived near the ocean/salt water due to the two rust areas that you pointed out.

Do you have a good paint match on parts from the door back after a good wash and wax?

Any gaps between parts that aren't spaced evenly along the seams?

Have you had an alignment done? Any issues getting everything in spec?

Those are the three things that I'd look at first. But I'm a noob, plenty of others on here with more knowledge & insight.

 

To be honest, I think it may have been in a minor accident. There was some paint fading underneath the hatch. From what I can see, it looks like whoever did the work did a pretty good job, other than the weld spot of course. It drives very well and is still pretty clean. I'm kind of a stickler about having things perfect, but I think I need to just appreciate the car and not freak out as much.

If anybody looks at this and thinks I should check anything else let me know. Thanks.

 

Here's what my car looks like inside the gas door. I'd say yours has had some work done on it.

 

Winchman, it does look like there's a small weld mark on yours, but I can't tell if there's a color difference around the rubber gasket on yours.

I also forgot to mention that when I pulled the passenger side tail-light out the tabs holding it in were broken, the tail-light came out real easy.

So the new question is do I go back to the previous owners and say this car was in an accident and was not disclosed before purchased?

 

I took another look, and I'm sure there's no weld there. It just looks like sealant under the paint.

 

I'm getting sad guys, when I was taking things off the car to check to see if it was in an accident. I found surface rust...







I'm thinking of taking it to a dealership and getting some paperwork to show to the previous owners. Any more advice on what to do would be great, thanks in advance.

 

The missing clip for holding the tool tray in position is a common tell-tale sign of repairs being done, too.

 

Dam!! I gotta strip mine down now....
Mines gotta clean carfax but I still had a few doubts as to it being in a minor accident possibly.
Keep us updated.

 

Carfax is ****. Never trust it.

Take some good pics of the whole quarter panel, the seam under the hatch, and the door jamb. Surface rust doesn't mean anything except moisture.

I have a thread about a nismo i had a deposit on...clean carfax...a close inspection, and it was obvious 3/4 of the car had been repaired/repainted. A few years ago my twin brother bought a Marauder...clean carfax. An inspection (after...) and it was clear it had been hit front and rear. Also, an Oasis report showed the motor had been pulled to replace an oil pump and a few other parts. Again, don't trust carfax.

 

Yeah, i'm super pissed, but I think I'm just going to take care of the surface rust, drive it and then sell it in about a year. I'm done messing with cars, I'm starting to hate them.

 

I wouldn't get so stressed about it. It's not like it's falling apart at the seams and suddenly un-drivable. You just can't hold used cars to new car standards unless you only buy your cars from your close friends and family.

 

As long as everything works properly and alignment is in spec, what would you benefit from researching further? At this point, you already own the car. If it operates properly, you only open yourself up to having to disclose any further information that you discover when you decide to sell the car. If everything works, and you've already paid for the car, I would only worry about fixing items that need to be repaired. Deep research should only be done before you you pay for a used car, not after.

I can't see any benefit/reason why you would want to research it further unless something was not operating properly. It's a used car and you bought it as is, so I don't expect that you would have any recourse as long as the car operates properly...

 

Thanks for the reassurance guys, I am going to fix the surface rust issue and enjoy the car. I think it was the initial shock at what I was finding, I've calmed down since. haha.