Today’s Nice Price or No Dice 300ZX may not have the panache of an early S30, and it’s a bit rough around the edges, but time is running out to get on the Z Car bandwagon. We’ll have to see if it’s priced commensurate to its station.
So far this week we’ve had two losses and two wins. It was yesterday’s 2003 BMW Z4 roadster that got us all tied up, ending the day with a solid 74 percent Nice Price win. That majority opinion saw an $8,000 price outweigh an “as-is” selling proposition and one that included a supercharger that may or may not be emissions-compliant.
Today we will break that vote record tie, one way or the other. Our candidate isn’t going to be a slam dunk either. There is a lot to like about this 1990 Nissan 300ZX, most notably the T-top two-seater body style and the seller’s note in the ad regarding a bunch of maintenance and repair parts that have gone into it. There are detriments here too, however. Those are manifested by the car lacking both turbos and a stick, making it more of a cruiser than a bruiser. The presentation of that T-top two-seater body could also be called into question.
The bones, though, seem pretty good here. The car appears to be rust-free under the dull-as-dishwater paint, and, aside from some shenanigans on the driver’s door, it seems straight as well. There is something seemingly amiss around the rear wheel wells though. Is the car missing the inner liners back there, or do all Z32s show light through the arches like that? Stock alloy wheels draw attention away from that issue and look to be in decent shape.
The interior wears aftermarket seats of indeterminate origin (Summit, maybe?), and those show signs of dye transfer and dirt from the seat belts. The rest of the cabin seems clean and serviceable, right down to the cool fabric-covered console sides and lower dash sides. An aftermarket Pioneer head unit old schools the dash, but everything else looks to be original. The odometer reads 166,000 miles.
Not everything on the car has made it to that number. The ad notes the following updates and replacements:
18K since last major service— timing belt, pulleys, tensioner, water pump, thermostat, water hoses, o2 sensors, 6 new injectors with adapter kit, heater hoses, new passenger window motor ——- no check engine light, new transmission rear mount, 4 wheel alignment, new radio
Power comes from Nissan’s VG30 V6. That DOHC three-liter was factory rated at 222 horsepower, which was a good bit less than the 300 ponies offered by the twin-turbo version. Further peeing in the punchbowl is a four-speed automatic doing transmission duties. On the plus side, the seller says that the A/C still blows cold, a fact probably only made possible by it still running R12.
Since the car is being offered on Facebook Marketplace, the Shasta Soda of online classifieds, we’re not given much in the way of description or confirmation of title status. Seriously, Facebook or Mentos or whatever the hell you’re attempting to rebrand your evil empire as, go look at a Craigslist or eBay automotive listing and then copy that. Every time I have to drop into the cesspool that is Facebook Marketplace I feel like I’ve stumbled into the clearance rack at the world’s most depressing Walmart and am terrified that somebody’s going to try and lure me back to their double-wide to smoke some meth.
On the plus side, the asking price is $4,500 and the car does have those wonderful T-tops. What do you think, is this 300ZX worth that $4,500 asking as it is presented in its sad ad? Or, do the negatives outweigh the positives and the price of this Z32?
You decide!
Facebook Marketplace out of Lynn Haven, Florida, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to phalvorson for the hookup!
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