[Bill Roberts]

Pros..

Rear wheel drive.
Forums to help keep them running.
Great styling, fun to drive, decent insurance prices compared to Corvettes or exotics.
Decent resale value (for now)
Widespread aftermarket support.

Cons..

Drifting craze results in a lot of 240SX's being mis-treated and abused. Often raced, chassis becomes weakened, drivetrain parts prematurely worn resulting in expensive upkeep.
1998's are rare and expensive.
Engine swaps done in a hurry, not enough attention to small details.
240SX's with swaps do not have matching numbers and are illegal in some states to use on public highways
Rust with cars not cared for.
Takes very little exterior damage to "total" a 240SX. Mine has cosmetic damage and very little structure damage from an accident, will cost over 5K to repair.


Most swaps encompass an engine with lower mileage so this can be a good thing. Their are some 240SX's that have been cared for by "little old ladies" or have been adult driven but as of late, many 240SX owners want to try their hand at racing, drifting, modding, swaps, all kinds of things that you must expect with a used car that can seriously shorten its life and the funtionallity of the car as a daily driver. I would look toward a 97 since it will be less expensive to buy and not as rare as a 98. Only a very few thousand 98 were ever imported to the States.

240SX's are a dying breed. I like to think that their will be some well cared for stock or closely kept to stock examples in the coming years but when they all die out (sooner than later due to the drifting, etc) then we will have the G35 coupe as the 240SX replacement.

It is just a car...I am not saying it is wrong to swap or mod the 240SX...on the contrary, some mighty fine things can be done to a 240SX to improve them in all areas...I would like to think that those who buy them...take care of them to keep them...rather than just tear them up for fun. Very few cars ever made have the balance of overall funtionallity, comfort, drivability, performance and economy of the 240SX.

Finding a low milage nice example 240SX is getting harder.


You have to ask yourself...why would you want a 240SX, as a daily driver or a toy or both?

FOr the money of a 98 240SX you can get a mighty fine Corvette if you are willing to pay for the insurance that will overall eat the 240SX's lunch in the performace arena without any mods. Making a 240SX into a vette type performance machine will end up costing more in the long run and now that 240SX's are (in some areas) being watched like a hawk by the local and state authorities (notice all the folks getting tickets on these forums) then maybe a vette may be a wiser investment. You certainly can get your money back out of a vette anytime.