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Rolled Back Odometer?


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Hello everyone! Recently, the temptation to find myself an S30 began to surface again, so I began scouring Craigslist and the newspaper classifieds for some 240/260/280Zs. Long story short, I stubbled upon this 1976 280Z:

 

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The seller wanted $9500 or trade for an old school Japanese car. At first, I thought the price was a little ridiculous for a car like this, but then as I read through the ad, it became more and more tempting. It has a clean title, headers, exhaust, Brembo drilled rotors and brakes, new shocks, new tires, new hub bearings, and best of all, only 7,000 miles on the odometer. That sealed the deal. I HAD to have this car. But then I remembered that these Z's had 5-digit odometers and the odometer could've easily rolled over and it could have 107,000 or even 207,000 miles on it instead. I contacted the seller and began to ask some questions, mostly about the mileage. Just to make sure, I double checked to make sure that the car only had 7,000 miles and that wasn't because the odometer had rolled over. He confirmed this and told me that the previous owner had recovered the car from a garage in the east coast and it sat for 16 years. I asked for close up pictures of rust (if there was any) and he sent me these photos:

 

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At this point, I realized that this was an amazing deal. Almost too amazing... The 7,000 miles seems a little too good to be true, especially since I've seen Z's with twice as many miles going for double the price. So my question is, have I found a super amazing deal, or is there something I should look out for? Also, is there any way to know for certain that the odometer hasn't rolled over? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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In your picture it looks like clutch pedal is missing rubber,, and steering wheel paint is warn through right where spokes meet covering.. And what looks like overspray on the driverside strut tower..  Unless they were trying to "antique" it i would say odometer has to be way higher than 7000.

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Depending on which state the car is currently registered in you can initiate a title search with the DMV.  This will disclose previous owners, mileage on license renewal etc.  A few bucks spent on CARFAX might also be in order,  Good luck, don't let lust over rule good judgement.

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Thanks everyone! I failed to mention that I won't be buying the car with cash, but I will be trading my MR2 for it instead.

 

Depending on which state the car is currently registered in you can initiate a title search with the DMV.  This will disclose previous owners, mileage on license renewal etc.  A few bucks spent on CARFAX might also be in order,  Good luck, don't let lust over rule good judgement.

 

The car registered as a California car right now. He sent me a picture of the title with the VIN and all the information on it. How would I go about getting this title search? I tried getting a Car Fax for the car, but it didn't find it in the data base. Is this because it uses a 11 digit VIN?

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My 2c

The car appears to be repainted, I see paint on the gasket in the pic with the window sticker. I agree with nana about over spray on the tower. On the drivers side tower is that white paint where the big flakes have come off ?

possible repaint? no in my mind its a definite repaint

engine compartment a different color than the body on a 7k mile car , c'mon

rust

aftermarket radio in a 7k mile car ?

too many things don't add up, seeing it in person may be different.

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Thanks everyone! I failed to mention that I won't be buying the car with cash, but I will be trading my MR2 for it instead.

 

 

The car registered as a California car right now. He sent me a picture of the title with the VIN and all the information on it. How would I go about getting this title search? I tried getting a Car Fax for the car, but it didn't find it in the data base. Is this because it uses a 11 digit VIN?

For California you can dump the VIN into the smog check site to see previous history http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/vehicle/pubtstqry.aspx

 

I tried the license plate from the pics, but with it starting with a 7 it has been recently replated. Try it with the VIN.

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For California you can dump the VIN into the smog check site to see previous history http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/vehicle/pubtstqry.aspx

 

I tried the license plate from the pics, but with it starting with a 7 it has been recently replated. Try it with the VIN.

 

Thanks! I tried this, but it came up with no records on the car.  :confused:

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pedals and steering wheel wear are good indicators of age 

also a 7000 mile care would not have a fart can muffler and no bumpers 

other things would be seat wear scratches on the door sills etc 

I would guess at least 107,000

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looks like bono repair on the pic of the hatch corner, it shouldn't be that smooth in that area. should be a panel seam.

 

run away.

 

mileage is secondary for these cars. The most important thing is body condition and the respray is probably covering a lot up.

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"Sat for 16 years".  Maybe, but the other 22 years look like they all saw around 10K each.  That looks like a badly repainted 200k+ mile car- possibly repainted after a unibody-damaging accident, judging by the way the paint is chipping off in one pic..  The interior on my '77 was in better shape than that, with a verifiable 250k+ miles.

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Definitely not a 7000 mile car. $9500 for that? No way. That rust is awful.. if the guy was dishonest about the mileage, what else is he covering up? I'd say buy a nicer one from the west coast with less rust, in better shape, and have it shipped over to you. Bet you'd still end up saving money.

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There's something fishy about this one.  Judging from the second rust pic I'm going to assume it's been rear ended, that panel looks warped.  Also it's very likely that the floor pans and frame rails have some rust damage.  I bought a "clean title" "no accidents" "minimal rust" 240z shell when I was 18.  Almost $700 in back fees, replacement of a lot of sheet metal and frame material, and finding that it had been crashed, I'm almost done with my restoration on it (2.5 years later).  I have pretty much no hope that this car is what this guy says it is.  Buy a 280z in California.  If it's newer than 1975 it's not worth anything here, as you still have to get it smogged.  Honestly the rust on that car from what the pictures show is gonna be pretty bad.  Sitting for 16 years on the east coast is not a good mix for these thin steel cars.  Beyond that, the pictures shown there already show some tough work, especially right below the quarter windows, that looks like cancer rust, and has probably done quite a number to the quarter panels, which are not easy to fix or replace.  Walk away, it's really not worth it.  The mileage sounds tempting, but it's a flat out scam.  My car has "85,000" on it... try 185,000... 

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This is my 521.  Yes, the pedal pads are new.  Part number 46431-04100 at your local Nissan dealer.  Ordered on Wednesday, got them on Friday.

PedalPads_zpsb458764d.jpg

The point I was making is that new pedal pads are just as suspicious as old worn out ones.

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"Sat for 16 years".  Maybe, but the other 22 years look like they all saw around 10K each.  That looks like a badly repainted 200k+ mile car- possibly repainted after a unibody-damaging accident, judging by the way the paint is chipping off in one pic..  

 

 

 

^^^this

 

 

you are on the west coast, you will  find a better deal for a better car.

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Seats in bad shape

Seat belts frayed.

Brake pedal wear is a better indicator as it's used more.

Heel wear on carpet or runner

Plastic 'stitching' worn off steering wheel.

Shifter leather cracked and shift knob worn..

Dash knobs worn

Door drops when opened from hinge wear.

Should still have the Nissan hoses and wire clamps on all cooling system parts.

Likely will have the original exhaust pipes resonator and muffler on it. My 18K mile 710 did with the part number on it. If it has any muffler clamps then it was in a shop.

The front and rear struts and springs will be original.

At 9K the original tires might be on it still, THAT would say volumes, but just because they aren't just means they didn't survive 40 years of age.

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Depending on which state the car is currently registered in you can initiate a title search with the DMV.  This will disclose previous owners, mileage on license renewal etc.  A few bucks spent on CARFAX might also be in order,  Good luck, don't let lust over rule good judgement.

 

Really? Carfux is worthless anyway, but I am pretty sure it is totally and completely worthless on a car from the 70's. Unless you want records on it from the last ten years or something, I am pretty sure all service related records were NOT ON COMPUTERS back then.

 

 

As for the mileage issue, I would leave that car alone. If he is willing to lie about that, there is no telling what else is wrong with it. I hope the right person turns him in on that BS. Odometer fraud is a federal crime.

http://www.rolledbackodometer.com/federal-odometer-law.html

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