1978 Datsun 280ZX, Value?

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

My roommate has a 1978 Datsun 280ZX that she wants to sell. It's in pretty decent shape, runs well, pretty decent paint, All I have to do is put a new slave cylinder in it.

Anybody got any idea what to realistically ask for this thing?

I realize it's not a 240Z, but I will get some profit off the sale, and would like to get at least $3500 for it.

[Sarc]

First off, is it a 78 or 79? The reason I ask is because the "zx" denotes the body style found in the early 80's whereas 78 was the last year of the 280z with the 240z-like body style (with the addition of ugly bumpers).

Assuming the car has no rust (battery tray/gas lid/fender lips/crossmembers are the usual culprits), and has 150K miles or less, 3500 is certainly doable. It might be easier to sell it nationally, as from what I understand, Z's are plentiful in Socal.

I would recommend taking some good pics and throw a free ad on either zcar.com or classiczcars.com. Z people are just as enthusiastic for their cars as the Porschephiles are, so you might get someone really interested fairly quickly.

Of course there's always ebay.

Hope this helps.
Paul

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

This car has the chrome tube bumper overriders.

It's actually in pretty nice shape, could use a pro detail job, but i dont think anything is going to help metallic brown paint (was this ever a beautiful color?) The car moves surprisingly well, what were they rated at, like 160HP?

One other thing, wasnt there something going on a few years ago, where Nissan was buying back all the old Z-cars, completely restoring them, and re-selling them through certian dealerships for like $25K?

[thamlin000]

I love Z cars.

Does her car look like mine? If so it is a 280Z and not at 280ZX.



240Zs and especially ones with early build dates, are worth considerable more than 260Zs and 280Zs. These are also the ones Nissan bought back and restored in the late 90s. They spent $40k per car on the restoration and sold them for about $25k as new cars w/ warrantees.

My Opinion:

-A driver 78 280Z with ok mechanicals and body is worth $1500-2000

-Good Condition/Well maintained=$2000-4000

-Restored Garage Queen/Low mi orig owner=$4000-8000

If it is a 280ZX, take those prices and divide by 2.

zcar.com has some good info too.

[pwd72s]

Jared! You used the term "slave cylinder"...perhaps you're not aware of the L.A. County Commission ruling that the terms "slave" or "master" are now verboten! At least in all county memos and emails. Seriously, of all the Z cars, it's the 240 that is the most desired. I'd chuckle when I read the car mag tests as the 260 and 280 arrived on the scene. There was always the faint praise that these newer versions performed almost as well as the original 240. Frankly, I kinda liked the lines...but by then, I was already well into P-cars....

[SteveStromberg]

they range in price from:
Description — $450, 1982 NISSAN 280ZX blue/ electric windows/ engine runs good/ needs clutch #4pcx658 $450 626-445-2494 ...

Description — $5,500, 1981 NISSAN 280ZX lthr int, T-tops, fully ldd, all orig, beaut, very low mi, #ZL40356, $5,500 949-707-1955 ...

[David]

Post a pick with more details, these cars can sell over a large range. I sold my 280Z for $ 4,000 a few years ago and it was in great condition although heavily modded.