The quest to find an older sports car that is still in good condition can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. In fact, certain car models become so well known for their problems that many are dismayed from even attempting to find a model in good condition. Perhaps a perfect example of such a car can be found in the 1984-1989 model years of the Nissan 300ZX, also known as the Z31. While the Z31 can become a very powerful performance vehicle with only a little modification, potential buyers must make sure to check out certain areas of the vehicle before buying to make sure that their car has not been abused or has a definite number of defects which may require a lot of time and money to fix appropriately.
When looking at a Z31, there is a right and a wrong way to go about the initial inspection. If the seller offers to drive the car to you instead of letting you come and see it, there may well indeed be a problem. When looking at any Z31, you want to be able to cold start it to make sure that it has no problems starting or idling. An idle problem may sound simple, but it can take a lot of money in order to let a mechanic figure out what exactly the problem is before attempting to fix it. After making sure that the car has a good start and idle, you want to make sure to pop the hood and take a look around the engine bay.
When looking under the hood, you may want to look at the overall condition of the wires, connectors, hoses and the engine itself. Listen carefully for any noises and look for frayed wires or connectors. While the Z31 may indeed be in excess of 20 years old, this is no reason to settle for a car, which has not been treated properly for it’s, life. For that reason, you may want to avoid a vehicle which has an excessively dirty engine bay or a collection of frayed wires. Listen closely and make sure that the engine has no knocking or other noise. Sadly, the Z31 is a car which tends to be subject to a lot of abuse, so make sure that you can find one which is worth buying, and does not have an excessive amount of problems with the engines. The VG30E and VG30ET engines which came in the vehicles are indeed very strong, and can make excellent bases for building a performance motor, but you want to make sure that you are not buying a car with a faulty engine.
Make sure to ask the owner if they have any service records or if they have replaced anything recently. More than anything else, older Z31’s tend to have ECU and fuel related issues. Check with the owner to see if he or she ever replaced the fuel pump or the injectors. If not, and if the car has some problems idling or driving, you may want to be prepared to replace one or both of these components. Also, while driving, make sure to check out the feel of the clutch. Often, the original clutch in the cars tend to go out over time, so make sure that the clutch is still solid or not in need of immediate replacement.
Another one of the most important vehicle aspects to go over is the frame and body of the car. Get under the car and check for rust or deterioration in the suspension. These can be very costly and very involving problems, and it can be best not to get involved in such a car if you can help it. Make sure that there is no rust anywhere on the body. To be very safe, check the hatch under the carpeting, and the floors under the floor mats, two common, but rarely checked areas of rust.
When actually taking the car out for a drive, make sure to rev out at least one of the gears, if the engine is in good shape, you are not going to hurt the vehicle, and you want to make sure that the car is strong and that there are no misses. If the car is an automatic transmission, make sure that it can properly downshift (just give the gas pedal a strong stab while driving). In a clutch, make sure there is no clunking or bumping in between gears. When taking the car around corners make sure that you do not hear any noises or clunking from the suspension. Try to drive the car as long as you can to make sure that it has no problems in the cooling systems (one particularly troublesome area for the Z31). If the car starts to hesitate when you press on the peddle or starts to choke out when driving between the gears or when in neutral after a bit of driving, you may very well have a costly cooling issue on your hands.
Check to make sure that the steering operates as it should and always ask the owner if the car has had a recent inspection, and where from. Do not be afraid to call around and make sure that vehicle was legally inspected and that the actual work that was supposed to be done on the car has been done, and has been done by a qualified mechanic.
Do a Carfax on the vehicle (it is well worth the couple dollar fee), and make sure that it has never been in any kind of accident or anything of the sort. The main issue here is that few mechanics are able to specialize or even work on a Z31, so you want to make sure that you do not have a vehicle which is going to require a lot of investment or a specialist to work on.
There is no doubt that the Z31 can really be an incredible car, and can generally be bought at a bargain price. However, just because the price may seem good does not mean the car itself is in good shape as well. Always check everything out yourself as thoroughly as possible. If possible, run the car through a quick check at your local mechanic, or ask a friend with knowledge of cars to come with you. A Z31 can be a great deal, and is one of the hidden secrets of the performance car market, but this does not mean that you need or should settle for a model with problems, they are generally available in decent quantities, and should not be a thing to rush. If you take your time and are careful, you can find an excellent and fun vehicle for a very marginal cost.
