I was looking at a Z recently that a dealer is selling. An 88' Z31 2+2 5-speed. It had some problems like rust on around the rear fender by the wheel. It had a cracked windshield, a few minor interior problems. Underside was in very nice condition. Pretty much rust free or at least from what I could tell. Anyway I pulled off the cover for the spare tire well there was at least 3 or so inches of water frozen into a block of ice. Didn't look like it had rusted yet, but I'm wondering. Where does the water come from? Does it leak from the hatch? Or does it come from underneath? Everything else about the car was pretty good. 120K miles, transmission shifts perfectly and very smoothly. Doesn't grind. Idles well and everything. They wanted $3500, now they're down to $3000. If I did buy this I'm gonna wait til it gets lower, but I was curious as to your guys' opinions. Should I stay away from this?

 

The water comes from leaking tail lights, and quarter windows.
It's a pretty simple fix, kinda messy though.
Pull the tail lights and rear windows off, remove all thats left of the old seals, clean it up, put the new seal on, and bolt it all back together.

 

Yeah i had that problem, check the back quarter windows and tail light. You can reseal it with some Silicone or go buy some water resistant adhesive tape, then remove the tail light, apply it, and reinstall the light. The window is a bit more messy and be ready to spend some time on it.

 

woa, did he say $3000 for a z? all three of my Z's were under 1500, maybe look it up in nada or something. and when you open the hatch, look at the lock, if rust is bad, it usually appears there, mine was completely rusted thru.

 

Yes, and we've seen the condition of one of your Zs.

Some people pay real money for nicer cars.

 

Oh I understand. $3000+tax is a little more than what I wanted to pay for a Z31, so I'm going to keep an eye on it, and eventually go up and just offer them a price and see if they take it. It's in relatively decent condition, but that's not to say it's problem free. Besides it is a dealer, and a dealer almost always charges more.

 

You could get a decent Z32 for 3k if you look hard enough

 

lol, thanks for that comment Z-bum, but think about it, these cars are rare, and the car does not blue book for that much, and the condition of the Z all of you saw, well, what do you expect of a parts car? maybe I should wax it? would that make it more appealing for ya? both of my other Z's that I spent a little over a grand, are in good condition except for a few hiccops, but common these cars are comming up to thier 20th B-day.

 

rare? umm... there were 270,000 made over the 6 years of production. they are far from rare. estimate that at least half of them are still on the road in drivable condition.

91zman is an idiot. a $3000 z32 is a rolling pile of doggy turd.

 

I tell you what, you come to Kaiserslautern, Germany and tell me how many you see out here, I have ran into 5 and 3 of them I currently own, maybe back in the states there are more. The point I was trying to make is, know what you are getting and how much it is worth to you,the buyer, but at the same time make sure you do not screw yourself. And I am pretty sure not all of your cars look nice. and I have not posted enough pics for you to judge at all, I sent pictures of a parts car and a project car. the project car just had tan interior, which I hate, so I am changing it out. but hey, if AZ Bum thinks its ok to spend 3000 dollars on a 18 yr old car, that was made to beat the hell out of, then by all means, buy the damn thing.

 

Now you're just being stupid. He isn't in Germany. He's in Ohio. There are plenty of Z31s in the states. Their values can range from $50 to $20,000.

I guess you don't understand. Some people pay good money for nice cars. But if you insist on buying $1500 Z31s, you will probably never have a nice car.

I picked up my AE for $900. But it was far from nice. It needed a lot of work.

 

Whoever said these cars were made to be beat on? The idea behind all of this was the fact that we buy these cars to try and bring back to their glory. Also because they were cool cars. I'm not looking for a Z31 to go super fast in, I'm looking for a cool 1980's cruiser car that can be modified to have some power. What ZBum is saying, is that in most cases as these cars get older, you're not going to find them in very good condition for less than $2000. On occasion you will find some really good deals, but it depends. Especially in Cleveland, Ohio where our weather is so unpredictable that schools will have snow days in late April(happened just last year actually). Many Z cars from Ohio are not in very good shape thanks to our weather and people driving them in the winter through the salt. I'm also saying that this car is not neccesarily worth $3000 to me, but for the most part it's condition is very good. Save for these few minor problems, the body is very solid and in very good shape. After I spent damn near $1200 on fixing up my previous Z31, to finally have it die on me. $3000 isn't so bad for a car that won't need nearly the amount of work the previous one would have. The $1200 came from just mainly getting the car to run right and pass emissions. That didn't cover the mass amounts of body work it would have needed.

 

hmmmm... until I get back to the states I might as well not talk about values, since I have never seen these cars in my area ( central valley, California) or germany until now, so I guess it was a misconception. especially since everysingle Zcar I bought was driven to its limits. by the way, I also own nice cars, I have a 2002 Chevy trailblazer and a restored chevy camaro
(1990) in the states, I only bought this car to have fun with but now its a part of me.
So I guess what I am trying to say is, I messed up, since I am nowhere near you guys, so there is noway for me to know the value there. but I am not totally off, since you guys have no Idea what my area is either.....

WolfMan

 

Getting back to the water in the fender wells--check your side signal lamps and your antenna and the strap holder on your gas gap as well as the tail lamps and the rear quarters and around the hatch back. Also, in both fender wells there is a weap hole that can get clogged from road dirt. I've done all of this and have no more leaks in the back.

 

yes. that was actually answered back in the first reply (post #2 of this thread)

 

Thank you ZBum

 

398 posts, 1:13AM, Get a life.

 

398 post, 1:13am. Get a life

 

I like how a question about water in the spare tire well flared up into a nice back and forth argument, but thanks for the input guys.

 

It was 2:13AM my time and I just got home from the bar. Nothing like checking message boards and getting myself a snack before bed.

 

2nd...even though i may not come back from bars, but there isn't anything wrong with being on late at night. In fact, that may be more reason to prove someone has a life. Work all day, play all night. I'd watch what you say to Zbum, you may bite off a bit more than you can chew =)

 

ZBum is a master of his craft and I salute him for it.