[stelco]

My father has 1980 280zx that he no longer drives due to his age/health and I would like to get some opinions on it's approximate value in order to sell it for him. The car is a 1980 280 ZX, two seater, 5 speed (manual), burgundy red, hard top. The roof liner has sagged but other than that the interior is in pristine condition. The exterior is also in like new condition with now fadding,etc. with the exception of one very small ding on the front fender where a board fell in it (this is a very small..perhaps dime size ding). The car has always been garaged with a car cover on it. It has less than 20,000 (highway) miles on it...that twenty-thousand is not a typo. Dad thinks the AC might need to be charged some from sitting for so long, but there are no mechanical issues at all. Again it's got less 20,000 miles on.

Dad has always loved sports cars and he bought this one new. Obviously he rarely drove it and would only take it out in excellent weather. The only times I can recall him driving it is when he would take a road trip once a summer.

Any input on a fair market price would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

fair market price will vary depending on where you are. Canada? US? Other? East coast? West coast? North or south?

Got pics? Take pics of the frame and the floorboards as well.

 

[stelco]

North Texas (DFW)...there is no rust whatsoever.

 

[signal-34]

Documentation of the mileage would help and as easyguy has already stated, pictures are a must.

 

[zxtoy]

Why would the exterior be fading on a car kept under a cover , in a garage all of it's life? Or do you mean NO fading instead of NOW fading?(edit feature will allow you to correct that)
Unless this car has been gone through from front to back and had every fuel, vaccum and water related hoses changed and all the electrical connections inspected and cleaned the value will be far less than you would think. Just because it has low mileage doesn't necessarily mean it's worth alot if the condition doesn't live up to the low mileage.
Take pics of the exterior, under the hood , underneath of the car, the interior, the engine etc.post the pics here and we can better evaluate it. You'd be surprised where rust can hide.
How does it run now? does it start right up?

My 79 parts car came from Texas and it's a rust bucket.

 

[boZton]

Re: Texas car?

ZXTOY makes a good point. Just because a car is a southern car doesn't mean that it wasn't at some point a flood casualty.

Here in the northeast, many people are taken in by the "southern car, never seen snow" line, when it is later found that the car was stuck in a river flood, bought by a dealer, detailed, and shipped up north.

STELCO

With a car in such condition as you describe, you ought to take a look on ebay motors and other car sale sites and see what a similar car is going for in your area. owners tend to attach a sentimental value to these cars, and looking at others will help to keep you objective. Take plenty of pics. Overall exterior, each individual panel, engine bay, interior dash and guages, seats, door panels, headliner, get it up on a lift & get pics of the undercarriage, frame rails & floor boards. Make sure to get pics of any issues like the dent and headliner you described.

 

[t5turbo]

The exterior is also in like new condition with now fadding

he meant to say -with no fadding- right?..hey yo stelco, jump in and clear the air a lil

 

[stelco]

Sorry for not jumping in earlier, I've been out of pocket, to clear up the "now" typo; I meant "NO". I want to thank everyone for the advice regarding things to consider. I certainly will take all this into consideration and of course take many photos when/IF we decide to sell the car. This would not be my first car sales and I realize that there are many factors that can affect the price of the car. However I was looking for opions from folks that are familiar with this particular make/model/yr...that's why I came to this site. Perhaps I did not do a good job of posting my request...forgive me as this is my first visit to ZCAR.COM.

I am merely looking for your opinions on the car's approximate value, based on the information provided in the post as being fact. I have seen a couple offerings on the web through some "dealers" for cars in similar condition and they are asking between $13,000-$17,000. I've found another "rebuilt" for $23,000 ...there're plenty with high mileage, rusted, or damaged cars for sale, but none of these are a good base line by which to judge. I've just started my research and this is the first site I visited looking for input. If we decide to sell the car I may hire an appraiser to help determine the "real value" of the car, but for now I'm merely looking for some "expert opinions".

Any input on an "approximate fair market value" based on the car being in excellent condition as noted above would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[kcobabe]

yet another <10 poster asking for a price on their car without even REALLY looking into it.

Can we do a rule or something that car worth posts will be deleted without pictures?

This is not NADA, KBB, Ebay, or Craigslist **** it!!!

 

[zxtoy]

Well lets see here - all of the wiring, hoses,and related parts are 29 years old with no replacement. The headliner sags,so the interior is not pristine. there is body damage to a front fender so the exterior is not pristine. You don't say if it starts or runs, just no mechanical issues which in car sales talk means the seller doesn't know if it runs or not. The ac may not work(hmm isn't that mechanical issue). We don't know if the gas was treated everytime it sat for more than a couple months so as not to turn to varnish and gum up everything.Did you drain the tank and blow out the system everytime it sat between startings? NO PICS.
So based on this I would pay$200.00- $500.00 for the car as a parts car that possibly could be made into a daily driver with alot of maintance work and a few hundred or thousand dollars of replacement parts.
Now there are guys here that would maybe give as much as $800.00 but thats a real stretch based on the info we have been given.

 

[stelco]

Thank you kcobabe...your reply is not very helpful to anyone, nor is it friendly or mature. But I do not know you so I do not know whether your immature reply is based on lack of age and knowledge, or simply the need to build your self esteem by voicing your opinion despite it's relevance to the subject. I came here looking for genuine help and if my simple request offends anyone please disregard and do not waste your time replying to it (as this will be my only response to kcobabe). For those of you that have, and care to help thank you.

 

[kcobabe]

If you do a search you will find the numerous postings on here where we post time and time again we cannot give you an accurate price without pics. My posting was not meant as a direct attack on you, but more so that the board moderators need to get this under control. If you do not want to post pics you are better off consulting NADA, Ebay, and KBB for your price and not a public board.

Otherwise you get the same reply as zxtoy which is what I am sure you were not looking for.

Would you buy a car site un-seen? I don't think so. So why ask us to give you a price on a 25+ year old car site unseen. It all comes down to common sense.

My comments were not immature or harsh. If you think they were stay around for a while and see how bad they can get from other members. Better get some thicker skin before some of these other members get a hold of you. Wanna see if we can spark one right now, "How do I change the spark plugs on my L-series engine?" and this one is just for Norm "I love my Japanese car, I love my Chinese made (insert toy, appliance, or other Chinese made product here)."

P.S. I'm as old as several of the members on here. And in terms of Z cars I'm not as old as most of em, but I am close give or take a decade

 

[stelco]

ZXtoy thank you. I will attempt to get pictures on my next visit to dad's but that could be a couple of weeks. The car runs great but I do not know if he has replaced any of the electrical wires or hoses (I suspect some but not all). The tires are about three years old and he has always maintained his cars...he said the AC works but it could probably use a charge. He used to (road) race MG's and Austin-Healy's and he has rebuilt several Classics (Sprites and MGA's) and has always been very meticulous about his cars. I think this car was purchased as his Mid-Life Crisis Toy. He drove it annually and kept tags and State Inspection current up until last year. Knowing what I do about the condition of the car I suspect it would be closer to a "drivable collector" than a parts car.

Thanks again for your feedback

P.S. He currently has an Austin-Healy "Bug Eye" (complete/ready for restoration) and a 59 MGA that is about 70% restored...he has all the parts to complete the restoration; I think this one will stay in the family. So like many of you, he loves sports cars, it's just that his age/health no longer allow him to enjoy them the way he used to.

 

[Tony D]

So Cal

Two years ago I bought a 1979 ZX-R out of a garage in Santa Ana with 43,000 Documented miles on it, and paperwork tracing back to the original owner (bought from second owner's son-in-law who was selling it for the wife of the deceased).

It was $500.

Everyone can be all butthurt, but that's what it sold for on an asking price of $1000 after being posted here on Z Car dot Com and having the experts pick it apart or pass because 'somthing had to be wrong with it for that price'...

Nothing wrong, and it's now a Ferrari-Ice Blue Metallic Circuit Racer in Holland with a BMW M-5 V-8 and six speed transmission in it! WOO HOO!

 

[Tony D]

kcobabe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Otherwise you get the same reply as zxtoy which is
> what I am sure you were not looking for.

Or, you could get the "Tony D" andswer which used the same prices, without being mean and then been accused of being 'an *******'...

Many people come looking for pricing, looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and getting sorely disapointed by the people telling them a ZX is a ZX, and it's not a "Z" (S30)

They are coming up in value, but you have to sit on it, and wait for the right buyer. In DFW? Maybe a rich Texas Oil Barron will be your benefactor???

 

[fl81turbozx]

Don't start the S30 vrs S130 battle Tony D.......

The 280zx Turbo is 2nd to only the original 240 on the list of the most significant cars in zcar history. Followed by the 300zxtt. You would be sadly misinformed to think anything else.

 

[t5turbo]

Re: So Cal

There is no experts in here, just some vague guide from guys who in some cases are so bias it don't count

z vs zx is like a gay parade in a conservative town..

the man said :
"based on the information provided in the post as being fact"

and since this is (ALSO) a place to friendly interact, I take the above face value, until evidence prove otherwise; this car properly detailed could bring many thousands of dollars

 

[stelco]

Re: So Cal

Thank you t5turbo and everyone else that provided relevant feedback.

 

[DougVernon]

It sounds like a nice example of a well-preserved early zx. With that said, I'd like to add that I think the early zx's are butt ugly.
Sorry if anyone's butt hurt by that, but I just don't like the look of them. Taillights.. interior.. yuck.