JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) Hey all, A friend of mine at work has been talking about buying a 350z for a while now. Ive told him to get on the 350z forums(if they exist which I am sure they do) in order to get his knowledge up etc and reduce the risk of him making mistakes when buying. He came to see me today as he has found an accident damaged 350z that he was thinking about buying. It is a 2007 model with 27k miles on the clock. He took some pictures of it - looks like it was a rear offside wing hit. The damage looks "light" - the panel is damaged, and the rear wheel has been very slightly bent inwards. The place he is thinking of buying it from said the previous owner did a part exchange for a 911 (car + cash for the 911 or something). They also said that the damage would cost between 500 and 700 to fix.. which to me sounds a bit fishy. They are claiming that there is no chassis damage to it but if the wheel has managed to be bent inwards wouldnt this suggest otherwise? Has anyone here had any dealings with fixing / buying a damaged 350z? hes talking about buying it for £8.3k. Ive raised issues with him around it because a 2007 one will have cost a fair bit, and if you can afford to buy a newish one then a 700 quid repair bill should be nothing to you.. so a bit curious as to why its not been fixed - theyre also claiming the owner only had 3rd party on it.. Ive told him to not buy it yet - but think he might get a bit caught up in the excitement of buying one and jump the gun a bit. Any thoughts on this? im thinking he should walk away.. Edited November 30, 2009 by JS2004 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogmaw Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Unless you know exactly what you are doing in this kind of situation I would ALWAYS walk away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 http://www.350z-uk.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefgroover Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Might be worth noting that there is NO camber/caster adjustment on these cars. So IF there is a wheel back on it, and its down to chassis damage to correct it you need to buy adjustable arms which are expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I take it he is looking at buying this one: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/200947346712841/sort/priceasc/usedcars/make/nissan/model/350_z/page/2/postcode/e143hr/quicksearch/true/radius/1501?previous=/search/results/usedcars/postcode/e143hr/radius/1501/make/nissan/model/350_z/page/2/quicksearch/true/sort/priceasc&anchor=advert200947346712841&logcode=p Which in that case I would be budget £2k for repairs as a min. The reason I say this is one because of Chiefgroover's comment above & also if you look at the picture the front n/s alloy has what looks like a chuck of wheel missing from it. If my eye sight is not failing me, looks like the wheel is slightly tilted, chances are from kerb impact. This will need to be fixed, and might be more than just adjustments needed, chances are new drive shaft\adjustable arms an these are expensive on the 350z. I've brought accident cars before & nothing wrong with doing that, just make sure you do the work properly, esp on performance cars as they are normally pushed to the limit. The price is not bad for a 07 plate on 23k but I'd try & push it down to £7,500 & then spend the 2k on fixing it. If he is still interested, tell him to take someone who specialize in damage repair cars as then they could give your friend a guesstimate for what it would cost to repair or the labor involvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Cheers so far guys. That website is blocked at work Michael, ill have a look when I get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Righto just got home - again thanks for the replies chaps - much obliged. Couldnt get the pics to load at work (silly blocking programs ) but he had a couple on his phone as he has been to see it. It is the car in the advert you posted the link to. You are correct there, it does look like its got a chunk missing out of the front wheel, im going to text him about that and just give him a heads up. The place selling it have some sort of arrangement with a garage and there is a flood damaged 350z that they are taking parts from - they said about replacing the arm and fixing the rear panel but nothing has been mentioned about the front wheel . He was a bit eager, ive managed to stop him shelling out for it up front, but he spoke to them at lunch and has agreed to put a 1k deposit down and then the rest pending the outcome of the car going to the garage to be fixed. They said the arms "bolt on" which ties in with what you guys have said so hopefully my friend isnt going to get the wool pulled over his eyes. Im concerned about that front wheel too now though. My friend has done this thing (sort of) before where he bought a accident damaged jeep thing but a jeep and a performance car are different ends of the scale I would imagine. Im gona have a browse on that website you posted Michael. Cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benkei Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Can you get a non-bias professional to assess the car before he buys it? Might cost a litte bit, but it may save a lot more in the future, and also give him piece of mind. Would also help as and when he comes to sell it. Is it an insurance write off or anything? I'd check all of it out before handing over a penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyT Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Buy this instead. http://www.compucars.co.uk/used-cars/nissan/350z/for-sale/?1078495 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Trying to get in touch with him to advise of this. Ive made a post on the 350z forums too and the people there seem to think the same as I do - that its a bit too good to be true. a £15k car going for half price just because of £700+ vat worth of damage.. wouldnt you get it fixed up properly and flog it for closer to what its worth if the damage isnt that bad.. My friend has jumped the gun and stuck a £1k deposit down on it.. but he did that at lunch time after informing me of the car only 30 minutes prior. Someone has suggested to make sure he gets a warranty if they are that confidant that the damage isnt bad. What seems crazy is hes usually a level headed guy! so I cant understand why he is rushing into this, and not doing things like getting it checked out independantly as you have suggested Benkei. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Im going to forward that to his work address.. he wanted a black one in the first place too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyT Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Im going to forward that to his work address.. he wanted a black one in the first place too! Looks nicely cared for that. I hope you can talk him round. Bent chassis, re-jigging maybe, etc. etc. Loadsa money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Exactly my thoughts - I tried to convince him to join the 350z club before when he was thinking about buying his... because in my personal experience I know I could have got a better looked after Supra for roughly the same car, with a more documented history from these forums. Buying from an owners club is the top thing on my list when I come to buy another (If I go down the TT route) and thats what ive been trying to convince him of too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Okay updating here too. The 350z forums have been very helpful on this matter and although it is a risk its not a big a risk as I thought. A couple have priced up the worst case scenario to fix that damage as just over £2k, which means he will get a 15k car for around 10 to 11k which he seems more than happy about (plus the deposits down so now its reassuring him). Im going to keep the peeps on the 350z forum updated as by the sounds of things my friend is aiming to have his car by Saturday, so ill pop up a couple of updates here too - im hoping he manages to sort it out without too much hassle. Fingers crossed eh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benkei Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Hope all goes well You should get him to sign up to the 350z forums, would be invaluable help and info for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Definately trying to - hes scared of computers.. or just fed up after looking at spreadsheets all day lol.. its one of the two. Already had two guys helping out with potential parts that are needed. It seems the 350z doesnt have a rear chassis to bend or damage, its replaced by a diff cradle instead which can be replaced and is a known weak spot on them. The chap who told me also has 2 used and 1 new diff cradles in stock too. Its great the amount of info you can pick up in the space of a few hours =) At least I have a fair bit to tell him tomorrow at lunch lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tonybolony Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 just to add, i am a member on the 350z forum, from when i had a 350, they are all pretty helpful there, just a shame i fell out with my Nizmo GT as it just didnt make me smile like a turbo car does, however get yourself a supercharger in it and its a totally different car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suprafly Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Snap, I had a Nismo GT aswell, I'm also a member on 350Z-UK, I'm with you on the power thing, but as far as handling goes theres not a lot can touch the 350Z. I'm onto my 4th Supra now, but when I'm board of this one I'm planning on buying a 370Z, a bit more power than the 350Z and shorter wheelbase too = even better handling!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozz Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Snap, I had a Nismo GT aswell, I'm also a member on 350Z-UK, I'm with you on the power thing, but as far as handling goes theres not a lot can touch the 350Z. I'm onto my 4th Supra now, but when I'm board of this one I'm planning on buying a 370Z, a bit more power than the 350Z and shorter wheelbase too = even better handling!! I miss my zed and would love a 370 when the prices come down. I think they made the lines much nicer on the new zed and if the handling is at least as good as the previous zed it will be a superb car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Sorry - walk away... run...jump tall buildings if you have to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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