Hey Z33 owners and enthusiasts,
I'm new to both your forum and to the Z33 world. I'm writing today to tell you my story and ask for help with a few questions:

• I've got some idea of things to check on a 2008 350z Nismo in advance of purchase that will help me better assess the immediate cost I'll incur to begin ownership (gallery gasket condition, rust on the bottom W bracket, general suspension bushing wear, 3rd/5th gear shifts, window motor operation on door latch activation) but I'd love input on things youthink are especially important to check. What kinds of specific things would you be looking for on 60k mile car that has no maintenance records? How much should I expect to spend on gallery gasket job in 2025?
• The one that keeps me up at night: How do you begin to approach the value of a 2008 350z Nismo that has a salvaged and rebuilt title? Surely there is some value from a collectors perspective, but is it a 20% discount? a 40% discount? Is the car basically the same as a base 350z at this point because the title isn't "clean"? Would you buy a rebuilt title nismo?

The Nismo I'm talking about is a 2008 Nogaro red example that was purchased by my best friend's father-in-law, Bob, in 2009. Curious story: It was purchased brand new from a dealership at a steep discount because it came with a rebuilt title. The dealership had a fire that caused significant damage to one of their non-showroom buildings; the insurance company required that all cars in any building on the property had to be salvaged in order for the policy payout. This Nismo was in one of the showrooms at the time of the fire. So even though it was in a different building and was unaffected by the fire it had to be salvaged. Bob, the one-and-only owner of the car, was happy to get a discount and had the money to cash it out. Its a story he tells a lot: how he got his red sports car.

Bob has gotten quite old in the past few years and finally lost his license last year. He recently moved into an assisted living facility. His family has decided to sell his "old red sports car" and because they know I like cars and appreciate good engineering they asked if I was interested in buying it. I've never even driven a Z before, but I know I'm interested in it. We need to figure out a number that makes everyone feel good and thats where I'm struggling. Lets talk about the condition of the car before anyone has taken a look at it. Bob is not known for taking care of his cars. He's not hard on them per-se but he doesn't feel the need to clean them or fix little things that break or spend money that doesn't need to be spent. I pulled a vin report on the Nismo and there are zero service records. Allegedly he used a local old-school mechanic repair shop, so it doesn't rule out maintenance, we just have no proof. I know he had to replace the tires at least once because he complained about the price. His daughter swears he always put 93 octane in it. In the last several years he got paranoid about locking his keys in the car so he'd just leave the windows down all the time even in wet weather. The car is parked in a pole barn near his house out in the country, so at least its got some cover. I know that the front bumper has a crack in it from when he drove it into a ditch. In short, Bob has loved and enjoyed the car in his own way. But I'd never take his word on the condition of the car. I'm sure he never paid attention to the oil pressure gauge.

Back to the idea of value: at the end of the day the car is only worth what someone will pay for it. But I'm having a hard time finding any examples to use as comps for this car. The family sees examples on classic.com and think that Bob's Nismo could sell for $15k-$18k. Here are my two thoughts on valuation:

• Maintenance has probably not been done, and I assume some repairs are wanting. This puts the car in the lower-end of valuation for me; I'll liken it to "fair" on KBB.
• Re-sale value of the car seems low simple because of the salvaged and rebuilt title. I have no evidence for this, its mostly a guess.

I've explained to the family that my main issue is that I can't pay more money for the car than I can sell it for. Not that I'm planning on selling it, but in the unlikely event that I suddenly need to liquidate all my assets to pay for my wife's surgery I can't be caught in a scenario where I've paid X for a car that I can't sell for close to X. And then there is the issue of the cars condition, which I hope to have more concrete info on later this month when the car gets inspected. The car might need new tires, gallery seals, suspension bushings, and window motors. And how do I even price adjust for the cracked front aero, because theres no way I'm buying a replacement bumper.

My back of napkin math for valuation that I sent to the family went something like this. ( Yes, they are asking me how much the car is worth because they don't know. )We talked some numbers, but ultimately the family said "let's wait till the car has been inspected because we think the car is in better condition then you assume". And that is where we will leave this story. Thanks for reading till the end and I appreciate any thoughts or wisdom. Cheers!

 

I bought the car, took possession of her first week of April. Long story short, I've pulled 8 dead mice out, the entire interior (including the dash and carpet) are in various states of being cleaned and stacked around my garage. My only hope right now is that removing all the rodent excrement and liberal application of ozone and simple green renders the car smell-worthy. Can't wait to be daily driving this beauty, it was fun before I started tearing her apart.

 

Mice are the worst. Hopefully, that's where your problems end. Post up some pics when you get a chance!

Pictures of our Zs in various states of repair are always popular.

 

Late to the party, but I would've said the following...

Condition is everything with these cars. They're not old enough yet to to be considered rare or extremely desirable, there's plenty of non-Nismo examples out there. Aside from the Nismo cosmetic enhancements, there's really not much that separates them above the common 350Zs. The performance gains from the Nismo goodies can be easily achieved by purchasing comparable aftermarket parts at a fraction of the price. That being said, a super clean, low mileage, unmolested 07-08 Nismo can sell for upwards of 25k on BaT. I trust BaT data more than KBB these days, I don't think KBB factors in rarity, market demands, desirability. Checking their listing history, Nismo Z33s have sold for as low as 15k and as high as 40k. Many of the high-dollar sales occurred during COVID, so that might have been a factor. Also those examples were extremely clean with less than 4k mi (total garage queens).

Anyway, you purchased it! Congrats. You're already getting your hands dirty on it, hoping there's no major damage from neglect/storage. I would be somewhat concerned about this ditch incident, have you looked under the vehicle yet? Post some pics when you get a chance.
Cheers!
-Icer

 

The sky is falling! Oh, Mark, Mark, Mark. Haha! I rarely - if ever disagree with you but I have to take some exception here. Not in a bad way, just, well, empirical differences.

Enhanced, real downforce from the bodywear. That silly rear wing actually works by negating lift and creating ~100lbs +/- 5lbs of downforce at speed on the rear tires. And, coupled with the functional front fascia, said bodywork provides an amazingly solid, planted feel taking away drama in the turns. So, more than just aesthetics. And you, of all people - since you have a hybrid version of it - know how well the Nismo suspension works. Even with all else being equal, suspension wise, it just works. Put that together and IMO, there IS a difference.



But something that I didn't give much thought about then (or at least initially, I believe later mentioned in my original review thread(s) ten years ago) is the body stiffness thanks to the welded seam construction. This, IMO, gives the Nismo a distinct edge now that I've owned and driven many many other 33s and purposely tried to see/feel the difference - and could feel it when pushing the car through tight kinks or uneven roadways. The Nismo IS indeed a lot less of a flexi flyer than the "standard" Z car. And that, in my mind, makes it a "better" base platform upon which to drop suspension mods on if wanted/needed to replace worn stuff.

What I wrote about so many years ago about my Z33N still holds true in my mind. Loved the car, and if I were to do it all over again, I'd buy another Nismo 33 but would likely seek out a Z34N first (believe me I have looked, but finding a non-AutoTrans version is actually pretty tough). Always felt that the Z34 was, in my mind, a truly enhanced evolution of the 33 version (as it was meant to be). Doing side to side comparisons (many on the same day) between my Nismos and my "forever" (alleged) '03 provided me with the empirical data on feel and results of modifications (for my use) that I'm lucky to have been able to ascertain.

Many may argue the point (needlessly because both platforms are excellent but the Z34 is the better car. (And I've said this for so many years... "as well it should be".) Consider the greater use of various newer aluminum alloys in key places - making the car stiffer and on all but one trim level, lighter in weight. Plus, revised suspension that works well and a base motor that's 26 ponies more powerful than an HR 33 (or 44bhp more powerful in the 34 Nismo) , well, there is a fair difference in overall performance. (Now I'm sure someone will comment on the styling differences and cite preferences of the 33 v 34.... but don't bother, they're both just fine with hardly much stylng difference at the Nismo level.) I mean, look....


My family used to kid me about having four Zs at one time and the only difference was black versus white versus silver versus blue. (I gave up trying to explain the differences to non-car people. Laff!)

But I digress.... Now, to your point of making a "standard" Z do everything as well as a Nismo, out-of-the-box, you are absolutely right. I think I may have even said that about my '03 ten years ago. With the proper choice of the bits and pieces needed to do so, a non-Nismo Z can easily achieve Nismo performance. I make no distinction of "Nismo is better" (though in my mind, it is, stock versus stock) and don't buy into the whole air of superiority. But again, icer is correct, you CAN do it just as well. And if you have driving skills, it doesn't matter much as both platforms are perfectly fine for doing whatever you want it to.



I have donned my Nomex underwear. Have at it.

 

@MicVelo you're 100% correct. I wasn't even aware of a different welding process used between the Nismo version and standard. I completely agree that the body aero makes a difference, being factory equipped the quality is top notch, no argument there. Same goes for unique Nismo suspension tuning. Stock vs. stock, the Nismo release has always been a step above, as it should be. My whole point was, don't get sucked into paying top tier pricing for an abused/neglected Nismo edition when you could get a super clean base model nearby for much cheaper.

Things like brakes, differential, clutch, suspension, exhaust, and even body aero can be addressed with aftermarket options. Will it be the same as a Nismo edition? No, but it will be the next best thing and in some cases better. Personally I never really liked the Nismo V3 rear body aero from a pure aesthetics point of view. Still a cool car that I wouldn't mind owning if it was a clean example.

I also like the Z34s and the Nismo version is very nice. It's a natural improvement over the Z33, for me the the biggest "wow" factor came from the up-rated interior, it's just better all around IMO. What I don't like about the Z34s and the Z33-HRs is the use of molded plastic for the intake manifold. I get why they did it (saves weight + costs), but for me it's a sign of the times and lowering quality. Anyway, a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. I don't see very many Z34s on the roads these days, not sure why that is. They used to be everywhere around Silicon Valley just 5-6 years ago. I still see them here in there, but much less frequently.

Cheers!
-Icer

 

Dealing with mice is definitely a nightmare but for a rare Nismo it is worth the cleaning effort. I usually run a vin decoder free https://carfast.express/en/vin_decoder just to see the original factory specs and make sure the history is solid before starting any major repairs. It is the only way to be 100% sure about the build details when there are no maintenance records available. Hope you get that interior sorted soon so you can finally enjoy the drive.

 

11 months late to the party