The actual "value" of a car like that will depend on several factors.
1) whatever current "Price Guides" indicate
2) the amount of effort you put into "SELLING" it
3) reaching the right buyer at the right time
NADA Lists It As
Low retail $2,775.00 Average retail $4900.00 High Retail $7,525
SELLING the car - Means that you have to put significant effort into it - if you want a reasonable price for it. It means that you have high resolution pictures of all the DETAILS of the car. Any serious buyer will want to see clear pictures of the UNDERCARRIAGE - so get it up on a lift with good lighting.
Also clear pictures of the engine compartment - the one's you show look more like 50K to 70K miles - not 22K. At 22K miles the engine compartment should look almost like new - and everything should be very clean, bright and presentable. Ten "beauty shots" taken from 10 feet away - will not SELL the car. Remove the carpets and show the floorboards.. Take pictures of the underside of the rear deck lid.... DETAILS sell low mileage cars... All painted surfaces under the hood should be clean and shinny, that includes the underside of the hood, the innerfenders and fire wall.
Documentation - take pictures of the service records that document the mileage over time. Show the original window sticker, all original keys, service booklet, owners manual etc. Show the original bill of sale... People that seek exceptionally low mileage cars - want all that stuff with them. Not having all of it will reduce the value of the car by thousands of dollars.
REACHING THE "RIGHT" BUYER - means that you advertise it far and wide. Auto Trader, Local News Paper, Hemmings, and for sure - put it on E-Bay with a reasonable reserve and list your phone number in the description. At 22K miles - I'd put a reserve of at least $10,500.00 on it..
THE RIGHT BUYER - for this car will be someone that has a very high desire for ORIGINAL exceptionally low mileage examples. They are very picky - but they will pay more than reasonable prices for them. The average Z "enthusiast" will not fall into that category - they want drivers and they want them CHEAP. The right buyer will want a 280ZX that they can get in, and drive across or around America without a worry about the car...
If the average buyer paid NADA's Average of $4,900.00 for a 280ZX with 100K+ miles - it would have a worn interior, dull paint with a few door dings and scratches, a sad looking engine compartment and it would need a couple thousand dollars of replacement parts and maintenance. Then it would need about $5K of paint and body work... By the time they have the car looking presentable and running with some reliability - they'll have lot of personal time and work into it - plus another $5K to $7K on top of the purchase price... but the average enthusiast will not have $10K in CASH. The right buyer will.
If it were mine - I wouldn't sell it for less $9,500.00 and I'd be asking more along the lines of $11,500.00 That price tells prospective buyers that the car is SUPER NICE, without pricing it completely out of the range. A growing number are being sold over-seas with todays weak dollar - so I wouldn't rule that out. {just get CASH before you release the car}.
For that matter - if it were mine I wouldn't sell it now - I'd wait another couple years.
Where will anyone find an all but new Sports/GT with the reliability of a 280ZX for less than $9K to $11K?
All the above is based on the car being 100% original - never wrecked, never repainted, etc. etc. and with documented mileage.... Anything short of that will knock it down into the $5K to $6k range.
If you had bought the 280ZX Turbo - you'd have a $20K to $25K car today....
FWIW,
Carl B.
