Buying a 240sx

[noswear20]

I plan on buying a 240sx 89-94 as my first car, because my older brother had one as his first car. I just wanted to know if there's anything i need to look out for when buying a car, or certain questions i should ask the seller. I already asked my brother, but he's no help. Any advice would be appreciated.

[fliprayzin240sx]

First car? Doesnt sound too mechanically inclined...don't get a 240sx. Get something reliable thats not beat the fuck up.

[240Lover770]

http://zilvia.net/f/engine-tech/
research research research research research

[Junior x]

^^^i second that

[gzer750]

Buy a stock one from an older person

[chetos13]

Low miles, good condition ,with minor to no problems and a/c working the newer the better look for oil leaks and if he has recipets from maintenance and repairs if it's a stock car

[yellowxhoodie]

tell your brother to stop being a dickhead

[future]

You want zilvianians advice? Don't do that shit

[Hardie]

Originally Posted by noswear20

I plan on buying a 240sx 89-94 as my first car, because my older brother had one as his first car. I just wanted to know if there's anything i need to look out for when buying a car, or certain questions i should ask the seller. I already asked my brother, but he's no help. Any advice would be appreciated.

Just a quick guide :/

You can do these tests yourself;

Gear box ok? No noise
Clutch ok? Not slipping
How straight is the body? Any rust, dents
How long have they owned it? How many previous owners?
When was it imported?
Registration? If the car is unregistered, ask how long and why?
Why is the owner selling the car?
Aftermarket Suspension?
Any damage to the interior? And things like CD player, speakers?
Any problems with the car? Turning it over in the morning? Running to rich? Idle problems?
Does is have an exhaust system?
What sort of wheels are on the car? Is there tread on the tyres?
Who services the car? And how often? (Some people do their own maintenance)
How much PSI is the car running (if turbo)?
Any other mods?

Indspecting the car

Mileage
This should reflect the general wear and tear on the car. If the odometer reads 35,000 and the car is rusted out, you may want to query it.

Paint
Check around the molding and windows for overspray, indicating that the vehicle has been resprayed. Question why the car has been resprayed, was it due to the car being in an accident?

Rust
S13, S14 and S15 usually don’t have much rust on them but it is still worth a look. Check fenders, doors (inside and out), window moldings, guards, under floor mats, and in the boot for signs of rust. Check for body filler (bog) as well. Look down the line of the car and see if the body is straight or rippled (rippled may be bad paint work or could indicate body filler). Check for filler by using a magnet to check for body filler. A magnet should stick to the sheet metal parts of the body, but will not adhere to areas with large amounts of filler.

Body appearance
Check for misalignment, loose hold-down clips, ripples, scratches in glass, welding in the trunk, severe misalignment of body panels or ripples, any of which may indicate crash work.

Leaks
Look under the vehicle. There are no normal leaks, other than water from the air conditioner. Check in the engine bay for leaking oil and look on the under part of the hood. Leaking oil in the engine bay could indicate old seals, gaskets or maybe a hose leak, depending where the oil is coming from.

Tyres
Check the tread wear, don’t forget to check the spare tyre. Uneven wear is a clue that the car may need an alignment. This depends on the suspension the car has.

Suspension
Check the shock absorbers by forcing downward sharply on each corner of the vehicle. Good shocks will not allow the vehicle to bounce more than once after you let go. Aftermarket suspension should be really stiff.

Interior
Check the entire interior. You're looking for an interior condition that agrees with the overall condition of the vehicle. Reasonable wear is expected. Pull back the carpets and look for evidence of water leaks or flooding. Look for missing hardware, door handles, control knobs, etc. Check lights and signal operations. Make sure all accessories (air conditioner, heater, radio, etc.) work. Check windscreen wiper operate.

Belts and Hoses
Open the hood, and then check all belts and hoses for wear, cracks or weak spots. Make sure all the belts are firm and the hoses are clamped on well with now cracks.

Battery
Low electrolyte level, corroded terminals and/or cracked case indicate a lack of maintenance.

Radiator
Look for corrosion or rust in the coolant indicating a lack of maintenance. Open the radiator cap (ensure the car isn’t hot!!!). The liquid is hopefully coolant, green in colour. It may also have water in the radiator. Be warned if the liquid is milky, that is not a good sign.

Air filter
A severely dirty air filter would indicate a lack of maintenance.

Ignition wires
Check the ignition wires for cracks, burned spots, or wear. Worn wires will have to be replaced.

Oil level
If the oil level is low, chances are the engine uses oil or leaks. Beware of water in the oil (there is probably a cracked block or bad head gasket), excessively thick oil, or thin, dirty oil with a distinct petrol smell may indicate internal engine problems.

Transmission
Pull the transmission dipstick out when the engine is running. The level should read FULL, and the fluid should be clear or bright in colour. Dark brown or black fluid that has a distinct burnt odor indicates a transmission in need of repair or overhaul.

Exhaust
Check the color of the exhaust smoke. Blue smoke indicates, among other problems, worn rings may also be a turbo problem. Black smoke can indicate the car is running rich. Check the exhaust system for leaks; it can be expensive to replace.

Spark Plugs
Remove one or all of the spark plugs. An engine in good condition will show plugs with a light tan or gray deposit on the firing tip. Black spark plugs may indicate the engine is again, running rich.

Road Test

Engine Performance
The car should be smooth no matter if cold or warm, with adequate power and good pickup. It should respond efficiently through the gears.

Brakes
They should provide quick, firm stops with no noise, pulling or brake fade. Check the disc brakes and see if the surface is smooth. Any grooves may indicate worn pads (or recently worn). If this is the case, you will need to get the disc’s machined smooth. Cost is up to $200.

Steering
Sure control with no binding harshness, or looseness and no shimmy in the wheel should be expected. Noise or vibration from the steering wheel when turning the vehicle means trouble. If the steering is fairly heavy, the power steering fluid maybe low.

Clutch
Clutch action should give quick, smooth response with easy shifting. The clutch pedal should have free-play before it disengages the clutch. Start the engine, set the parking brake, put in first gear and slowly release the clutch pedal. The engine should begin to stall when the pedal is 1/2-3/4 of the way up.

Transmission
The transmission should shift rapidly and smoothly, with no noise, hesitation, or slipping.

Differential
No noise or thumps should be present. Diffs have no normal leaks either.

Driveshaft/Universal Joints
Vibration and noise could mean driveshaft problems. Clicking at low speed could mean worn U-joints.

Suspension
Try hitting bumps at different speeds. A car that bounces excessively has weak shock absorbers or struts. Clunks could mean worn bushings or ball joints. Aftermarket suspension again, will hit the bumps fairly hard but shouldn’t bounce around.

Frame/Body
Wet the tyres and drives in a straight line. The tracks should show two straight lines, not four. Four tyre tracks indicate a frame/body bent maybe caused by an accident. If the tyre’s can't be wet for this purpose, have a friend drive along behind you and see if the vehicle appears to be traveling in a straight line or crabbing.

Turbo
Listening for any weird turbo noise like loud whining. This may indicate wear in the turbo shaft. When hitting boost, the car should hit boost smoothly and hold it well.

Other
- Check for holes/weld points in the back seat looking for a roll cage which has been removed. This may indicate the car was used for drifting.
- When test driving it listen for excessive rattles and noises from both the suspension and the gearbox (and engine/car in general).

This is based SR20 or CA18, if your planning on KA im not so sure.

[MamangSorbetero]

Originally Posted by noswear20

I plan on buying a 240sx 89-94 as my first car, because my older brother had one as his first car. I just wanted to know if there's anything i need to look out for when buying a car, or certain questions i should ask the seller. I already asked my brother, but he's no help. Any advice would be appreciated.

If it's your first car, don't do it. Knowing the age of these cars there will be more than one problem costing you hundreds and perhaps into the thousands depending on your mechanical inclination.

Get a decent Altima or a Honda Civic. You will be disappointed in buying a car that does not function correctly, its no different from having no car. You'd be spending lots of money before it would be deemed decent. Repairs, upgrades, tune ups and user adjustments.

The people that buy 240SX know exactly what they are getting themselves into. It is the type of people that will do anything to fix the car just to be able to enjoy driving it around. Don't be swayed into buying one because "LOL OMG DRIFT CAR I WANT!" They require lots of research, study and wrench time. The car is for the enthusiast that has lots of down-time and lots of money to spend. They do that for the sheer pleasure of owning a 240.

A first car should be a working vehicle to get you from A to B. Don't get a high-maintenance vehicle. Once you've used that starter car to get a job, to practice driving and to own a house, then buy that project 240SX. Please take into account these things I have said and don't be "that guy" that just buys a 240SX to crash it or drive it to death within the next few months.

[nissanfreak317]

Just to reiterate what other people have already said. Find the lowest mileage and most stock condition 240 that you can afford with the least amount of rust possible and be prepared to work on it.

Based on my experience, at first you will just be replacing worn out parts with higher-performing aftermarket parts which also happen to be cheaper than stock replacements. Then you will be tweaking the suspension because you wish it handled a bit more like a Porsche. Then you will do some shitty engine "mods". Then you will realize that you really want it to be actually faster and then buy an SR and that is the point where you better damn well have an actual daily driver like a sentra or a corolla, or something stupid like that to get you around as you sell your soul to the 240.

Basically, if you want to have a car purely for transportation, get something else.
If you want a car that's going to rustle your jimmies, get a 240.

[BoostSlideWayz]

As you can tell, even us 240sx owners are trying to tell you... THEY ARE SHITTY CARS .. Dont get me wrong, you can find a decent s13/s14 if you look hard enough.. But most of them have been beat on and drifted and canyon ran and everything that gives a car a beating .. usually 240sx's goes through it.

I personally believe in having your s13.. and then having your daily.. witch isnt a very affordable thought.. how ever i personally dont believe these are good daily drivers... Im sure there are people on here that will chime in that have been daily driving their s13 for awhile now but in my opinion its a hit and miss type thing. I personally think they arent that great on MPG. Ive heard some other people getting upto 29 MPG highway and 19 20 or so city at best.

I dont want to discourage you from getting a 240sx by any means. im simply just trying to give you a heads up that if you dont get a very good looking low miles running good 240... your going to run into issues.

[driftsucky]

Originally Posted by Hardie

Just a quick guide :/

You can do these tests yourself;

Gear box ok? No noise
Clutch ok? Not slipping
How straight is the body? Any rust, dents
How long have they owned it? How many previous owners?
When was it imported?
Registration? If the car is unregistered, ask how long and why?
Why is the owner selling the car?
Aftermarket Suspension?
Any damage to the interior? And things like CD player, speakers?
Any problems with the car? Turning it over in the morning? Running to rich? Idle problems?
Does is have an exhaust system?
What sort of wheels are on the car? Is there tread on the tyres?
Who services the car? And how often? (Some people do their own maintenance)
How much PSI is the car running (if turbo)?
Any other mods?

Indspecting the car

Mileage
This should reflect the general wear and tear on the car. If the odometer reads 35,000 and the car is rusted out, you may want to query it.

Paint
Check around the molding and windows for overspray, indicating that the vehicle has been resprayed. Question why the car has been resprayed, was it due to the car being in an accident?

Rust
S13, S14 and S15 usually don’t have much rust on them but it is still worth a look. Check fenders, doors (inside and out), window moldings, guards, under floor mats, and in the boot for signs of rust. Check for body filler (bog) as well. Look down the line of the car and see if the body is straight or rippled (rippled may be bad paint work or could indicate body filler). Check for filler by using a magnet to check for body filler. A magnet should stick to the sheet metal parts of the body, but will not adhere to areas with large amounts of filler.

Body appearance
Check for misalignment, loose hold-down clips, ripples, scratches in glass, welding in the trunk, severe misalignment of body panels or ripples, any of which may indicate crash work.

Leaks
Look under the vehicle. There are no normal leaks, other than water from the air conditioner. Check in the engine bay for leaking oil and look on the under part of the hood. Leaking oil in the engine bay could indicate old seals, gaskets or maybe a hose leak, depending where the oil is coming from.

Tyres
Check the tread wear, don’t forget to check the spare tyre. Uneven wear is a clue that the car may need an alignment. This depends on the suspension the car has.

Suspension
Check the shock absorbers by forcing downward sharply on each corner of the vehicle. Good shocks will not allow the vehicle to bounce more than once after you let go. Aftermarket suspension should be really stiff.

Interior
Check the entire interior. You're looking for an interior condition that agrees with the overall condition of the vehicle. Reasonable wear is expected. Pull back the carpets and look for evidence of water leaks or flooding. Look for missing hardware, door handles, control knobs, etc. Check lights and signal operations. Make sure all accessories (air conditioner, heater, radio, etc.) work. Check windscreen wiper operate.

Belts and Hoses
Open the hood, and then check all belts and hoses for wear, cracks or weak spots. Make sure all the belts are firm and the hoses are clamped on well with now cracks.

Battery
Low electrolyte level, corroded terminals and/or cracked case indicate a lack of maintenance.

Radiator
Look for corrosion or rust in the coolant indicating a lack of maintenance. Open the radiator cap (ensure the car isn’t hot!!!). The liquid is hopefully coolant, green in colour. It may also have water in the radiator. Be warned if the liquid is milky, that is not a good sign.

Air filter
A severely dirty air filter would indicate a lack of maintenance.

Ignition wires
Check the ignition wires for cracks, burned spots, or wear. Worn wires will have to be replaced.

Oil level
If the oil level is low, chances are the engine uses oil or leaks. Beware of water in the oil (there is probably a cracked block or bad head gasket), excessively thick oil, or thin, dirty oil with a distinct petrol smell may indicate internal engine problems.

Transmission
Pull the transmission dipstick out when the engine is running. The level should read FULL, and the fluid should be clear or bright in colour. Dark brown or black fluid that has a distinct burnt odor indicates a transmission in need of repair or overhaul.

Exhaust
Check the color of the exhaust smoke. Blue smoke indicates, among other problems, worn rings may also be a turbo problem. Black smoke can indicate the car is running rich. Check the exhaust system for leaks; it can be expensive to replace.

Spark Plugs
Remove one or all of the spark plugs. An engine in good condition will show plugs with a light tan or gray deposit on the firing tip. Black spark plugs may indicate the engine is again, running rich.

Road Test

Engine Performance
The car should be smooth no matter if cold or warm, with adequate power and good pickup. It should respond efficiently through the gears.

Brakes
They should provide quick, firm stops with no noise, pulling or brake fade. Check the disc brakes and see if the surface is smooth. Any grooves may indicate worn pads (or recently worn). If this is the case, you will need to get the disc’s machined smooth. Cost is up to $200.

Steering
Sure control with no binding harshness, or looseness and no shimmy in the wheel should be expected. Noise or vibration from the steering wheel when turning the vehicle means trouble. If the steering is fairly heavy, the power steering fluid maybe low.

Clutch
Clutch action should give quick, smooth response with easy shifting. The clutch pedal should have free-play before it disengages the clutch. Start the engine, set the parking brake, put in first gear and slowly release the clutch pedal. The engine should begin to stall when the pedal is 1/2-3/4 of the way up.

Transmission
The transmission should shift rapidly and smoothly, with no noise, hesitation, or slipping.

Differential
No noise or thumps should be present. Diffs have no normal leaks either.

Driveshaft/Universal Joints
Vibration and noise could mean driveshaft problems. Clicking at low speed could mean worn U-joints.

Suspension
Try hitting bumps at different speeds. A car that bounces excessively has weak shock absorbers or struts. Clunks could mean worn bushings or ball joints. Aftermarket suspension again, will hit the bumps fairly hard but shouldn’t bounce around.

Frame/Body
Wet the tyres and drives in a straight line. The tracks should show two straight lines, not four. Four tyre tracks indicate a frame/body bent maybe caused by an accident. If the tyre’s can't be wet for this purpose, have a friend drive along behind you and see if the vehicle appears to be traveling in a straight line or crabbing.

Turbo
Listening for any weird turbo noise like loud whining. This may indicate wear in the turbo shaft. When hitting boost, the car should hit boost smoothly and hold it well.

Other
- Check for holes/weld points in the back seat looking for a roll cage which has been removed. This may indicate the car was used for drifting.
- When test driving it listen for excessive rattles and noises from both the suspension and the gearbox (and engine/car in general).

This is based SR20 or CA18, if your planning on KA im not so sure.

This is all I could think of while reading this.



OP, MamangSorbetero gave the best advice. A 240 is not a good first car. It will be expensive. You'll (by no fault of your own) learn a lot if you do get it because it will break. Regardless of condition, it's a 20ish-yr-old car. Problems are innevitable. Using it as main transportation isn't the wisest decision.

[picsbypenny]

WOAH, PEOPLE ARE HELPING OTHER PEOPLE ON ZILVIA?!?!?!?

[Grocery Cart]

Originally Posted by picsbypenny

WOAH, PEOPLE ARE HELPING OTHER PEOPLE ON ZILVIA?!?!?!?

Pretty rare, I know.

My first, second, and fourth car was 240sx.
They can be reliable, but they can be huge headaches. Just don't cheap out and buy the first one that pops up on craigslist.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Originally Posted by Grocery Cart

Pretty rare, I know.

My first, second, and fourth car was 240sx.
They can be reliable, but they can be huge headaches. Just don't cheap out and buy the first one that pops up on craigslist.

They can be, if they were taken care of...how many of those do you find nowadays? The last clean pignose S13 I've seen turned out to be a turd with a blown KA24E. You can ask Killer2001 with his chocolate milkshake experience.

[KiLLeR2001]

Did someone say chocolate milkshake?

[feito]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

on a serious note, you'll love your 240. just try to get it as stock as possible and with the least rust possible and start from there. If you dont know anything about mechanics, now you're gonna learn.

[JZenki]

That shot is pretty damn epic.. Wow I've experienced blown heads with the oil starting to thicken.. BUT DAMN!!! how the...


As far as getting a 240 for your first car goes, I say buy a beater civic for now, then keep the s-chassis in the garage. I've been through 2 s13s and 2 s14s, going on my third s13 and I can say they can be a REAL PITA where I bought each and every one of them from $700-$1800 and ended up forking out atleast a grand to keep them going, take your time and as stated earlier in this thread find one that's been taken cared of, the good ones are usually the automatics with around 130k or less so you know it hasnt been beat to shit by one of us folks who love redlining the shit out of our cars lol be patient and keep your options open and pray to god you're dealing with a truthful seller. happy hunting!

[Grocery Cart]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

Thanks for ruining my appetite, haha. Holy shit.

Seriously though, it's not impossible. You've just got to be super cautious. There are plenty that are garage kept, and well maintained. The reason they seem so rare is because you see these cars most often at drift events and such. You won't see a 60 year old man bringing out his mint 240sx that's been sitting in his garage for a few years to the local track, right? Plus there are the guys that buy them and REALLY only daily them, haha. I've seen quite a few sell on here.
It's all about luck, though. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get shat on.
Literally for Killer2001.

[godzillarb]

I bought an engine swapped 240sx as my second car when I was 19. Holy balls... I had no idea what I was getting into. Granted, there is a lot more info out now about swaps and whatnot, but if you get anything that has extensive mods, be prepared to either empty your pockets for half assed work at a shop or learn everything there is to know on the car.

I agree, not a good first car unless you don't need to drive it for school, work, etc. Buy something reliable and go from there.

[itsjustdaphne]

Originally Posted by gzer750

Buy a stock one from an older person

I did this.
Had a 93 as my first car which I got for $1100. The body wasn't clean but the motor was strong and nothing ever broke except for the A/C working not even every other day.
Seems like a cool idea now but once you're driving it around, you find yourself calling it a POS. (Yet we love them anyway.)

[KiLLeR2001]

Originally Posted by Grocery Cart

Thanks for ruining my appetite, haha. Holy shit.

If it makes you feel better, it looks like this now...

[Rob's S14]

Hardie gave some great advice, which would really apply to any car you buy(assuming used)

A lot of the opinions on here are by people that track their cars or have made mods to them, and they are definitely right. If however, you plan on keeping the car stock and that's what you're able to buy, I don't see why it would be so bad. I've had my s14 for 9 years now, put over 130k miles on it since then (220k total) and it runs great. Other than regular maintenance I've never had any problems. I get about 400 miles per gas tank which is about 27 mpg. Only now am I going to be replacing parts here and there, but that's with any car that has that kind of mileage.

[The1991sx]

Well I bought my s13 when I was 18 after I sold my 3rd gen prelude and saved a 1000 dollars for my the s13 that I bought. I got it from an older guy that had it really well kept even the intake was stock expect from the hks super dragger exhaust, lowered by tokico blue shock, and cut springs. It ran like a champ. Just like 20 year old car it needed its maintenance since the two years i've had it I had to replace,the fan clutch, radiator cracked on me, relays, the clutch, knock sensor, throttle position sensor, oxygen sensor, water pump, radiator cap, and one leaky injector. Regardless of it all I still love my s13 it thought me how to give the proper care and treatment a car needs for it to run smoothly, it also taught me a lot about regular maintenance and know 20x more then I did two years ago. To be honest don't get a s13 if your not planing on doing your own maintenance cause it will get expensive and it'll just giving you a huge amounts of frustration and get yourself a civic or a toyota but at the end of the day KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING YOURSELF INTO.

[Tempo]

Good car, almost no problems ? Dealership 240 if they have one in your area and if so they usually have a crazy price, otherwise its find a "deal" on a ad somewhere and pray for luck you aren't getting stuck with a headache like i did.

Fixed all my car problems, cost a lot of $$$ and time, especially downtime sucked but if you can look at these warnings and are competent enough to handle all of this then go for it , but if not you'll be full of frustration and pulling your hair out after each occurring problem to come.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G

[mowgli 240sx]

listen for the infamous timing chain rattle, those plastic guides tend to give out commonly on these old timers.

i had three 240s (not at the same time), each been dailyed, broken down numerious times, headaches, and a huge money pit.

but after replacing alot of parts, they are good and fun cars to have.
but doesnt mean shit wont break out of the blue, no matter how much money you put in.

happy hunting for that perfect 240.

[Umbys]

just make sure its as stock as possible and minimum rust. With all cars you eventually change shit out and things go bad. Bought my first car 97 240sx se and it runs strong and reliable. Its just a matter of if you find that PERFECT 240sx. In my case i did, but it cost my a pretty penny...

[Koukicrazy]

Just go into buying one knowing that it is an old car and no matter how good someone took care of it things are going to break or go wrong. You have to expect that when buying a used 20 year old car, especially for how cheap they are. But you can learn some skills and get enjoyment out of fixing it yourself when something does go wrong. The 240sx is an very easy car to learn & work on.

[mechavore884]

WTF!!! that milkshake sh!t blew me the fuk away.......like.....wow..