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opinions on car I just saw


wizurd

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Evening all.

 

Been to view a car today and just wondered what more experienced people on here would think of it.

 

It's a 2004 54 gt spec with nismo body kit and 80k on the clock in black.

 

The guy has only had it 7 months since he's got to get a more practical car for work.

 

He's recently fitted new brake discs and pads all round ebc brand I believe. recently serviced within the last 7 months (a p2). last p3 I can see was I think at 40k and in 2008 or 2009.

 

issues I see with it are that on the front bumper there are areas where the paint appears to be cracking sometimes in corners and sometimes in a circular pattern. there's a slight 2cm diameter chunk taken out of the drivers side side skirt near the front. also there's a small bit of body work on the rear bumper corner that isn't flush with the bumper unlike on the other side. I can get pics up of all this if it helps. tyres are good and interior as well. The rear nismo wing appears to look like carbon fibre or effect but the middle section is all black on top but carbon looking underneath? Basically he is asking for 6999. I'd need to get the body work done so would want to knock money of for this but is that cheeky plus I think it's missing a p3 service but is that right if it's only had one? sorry for the essay. Plus he said when funds have been tight he has used normal unleaded a little. anyway any advice on price and what else to check would be welcomed. cheers.

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Has the car been regularly serviced.

 

Genral impression is that you are not giving me very many positive vibes about the car. There are lots of good ones out there so id say keep hunting til you find a gem. But if you can get it for a good price and put the money into it fair enough. Doesnt sound great though.

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7k sounds like quite a lot for a car with so many niggles. If you're prepared to spend 7k you can get a much better car than this one sounds.

 

To summarise:

it's been run on unleaded; some people will tell you its fine, experts suggest otherwise.

misaligned bodywork; could be the sign of an accident. I'd be looking under the boot carpet to check for straightness.

EBC brakes; probably going to get shot for this as others on hear swear they're god's own brakes, but as a brand EBC aren't all that well thought of, so don't fall for 'brand new racing brakes' etc.

missed a major service, I'm guessing it was the 55k big one. probably indicative of how the car has been looked after.

 

For 7k. No.

 

DB

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Sounds to me like it hasn't been very cared for, without seeing pictures it's tough to call but you've listed enough defects for me to be saying I'd walk away if only on the basis that you don't know what else you might find. No P3 service for a minimum 3 years is not on. There will be better examples than this out there. :)

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some pics. The front bumper. nothing wrong from this shot but then the second shot shows the cracking on the front bumper. looks like circle scratches but it's actually like the paint is cracking. final shot is of the rear bumper part I was on about that's not flush

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Thanks for the replies so far as well. I did wonder about ebc stuff lol.

 

Also yer I did think that by now it would have had two p3 services.

 

I am still considering it thinking if i can get it cheap enough I can get paint sorted and servicing etc so that I know it's up to scratch but not sure yet if he will reduce the price enough.

 

It's advertised as a nismo factory fitted kit and that's what he was told but is that even possible? did they fit these kits from new?

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cool never knew that. Good to know though. That would mean it would be a fiver glass bumper then not plastic and that would explain the wierd cracking I'm seeing in the bumper in some of the corners and near the one headlight washer?

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The genuine Nismo spoiler is not carbon fibre, and as has been said the factory fitted kits fit perfectly and look properly OEM. The fibreglass means that the bumpers tend to split/crack rather than bend if you bump something so if it were genuine I'm not sure how the paint would have cracked without the bumper cracking too. I don't think that's a factory kit, or even a genuine Nismo one (replicas can be perfectly good, just don't get carried away because he says it's a 'genuine' factory kit).

 

I'd say you'd need to be paying under 6K for a car that carries so many potential big bills. And seeing as he's asking 7 I doubt you'll get him down to that.

 

DB

 

PS. can someone more informed confirm my hunch that the factory Nismo cars came with a supplement in the handbook, or was that just the JDM Nismos?

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Thanks for the good info guys. I knew I'd get some sensible answers, glad i asked :-) that swirl mark actually is cracks in the paint didn't know if cleaning it would cause that. Def not right that it's a carbon fibre look on the rear wing then. Cheers all probably gonna be avoiding then unless he wants to go sub 6k lol

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Thanks for the good info guys. I knew I'd get some sensible answers, glad i asked :-) that swirl mark actually is cracks in the paint didn't know if cleaning it would cause that. Def not right that it's a carbon fibre look on the rear wing then. Cheers all probably gonna be avoiding then unless he wants to go sub 6k lol

Sounds like a sensible decision to me :)

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PS. can someone more informed confirm my hunch that the factory Nismo cars came with a supplement in the handbook, or was that just the JDM Nismos?

 

Yep, if its a factory Nismo then it should come with a supplement, JDM or any other.

 

Should be something like this, scroll all the way to the bottom.

 

http://www.nissanextendedwarranty.com/owners-manual/nissan/2007-Nissan-NISMO-350Z.pdf

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Looking at the pics it could very well be a replica nismo kit made from FRP rather than fibre glass. FRP is known to be a better material because its very flexible and won't crumble on impact. Although a down side to this is that paint will crack if its bumped or baked at high temperatures. I can't tell if that rear spat has come away or is just a bad fit. :shrug:

 

The Genuine nismo kit is made of fibre glass and also has a nismo sticker situated on the inside of bumper. :thumbs:

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7k sounds like quite a lot for a car with so many niggles. If you're prepared to spend 7k you can get a much better car than this one sounds.

 

To summarise:

it's been run on unleaded; some people will tell you its fine, experts suggest otherwise.

misaligned bodywork; could be the sign of an accident. I'd be looking under the boot carpet to check for straightness.

EBC brakes; probably going to get shot for this as others on hear swear they're god's own brakes, but as a brand EBC aren't all that well thought of, so don't fall for 'brand new racing brakes' etc.

missed a major service, I'm guessing it was the 55k big one. probably indicative of how the car has been looked after.

 

For 7k. No.

 

DB

 

Saved me five minutes of typing

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