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Should I break my car for parts?


stuRS

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Hi everyone,

 

As you may have seen, my engine blew on Wednesday and I've been exploring my options since then. these are:

 

1) Buy a new engine - best quote is £2000 for a recon engine fitted with warranty

 

2) Sell the car as it is - I guess I'm going to get around £3000 - £3500

 

3) break it for parts myself in an atempt to get more than the above amount back

 

The car is a GM 2003 import - GT spec (black leather/Brembos etc) and is in good condition. The question really is am I likely to be able to sell doors/bonnet/interior/engine parts/suspension for reasonable money, or will I end up raising £500 over a month and have half a car that's worth f**k all??

 

Any advice from anyone who has broken a 350z before would be good. I've broken motorbikes several times before and understand it can be a slow and painful process.

 

If anyone is looking for a good doner car for an engine conversion or track car then please feel free to PM me :thumbs:

 

What a bloody nightmare!!

 

Stu

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Cheers Dave,

 

Storage is an issue (lots of spare motorbike parts already!) so I would have to get it done quickly I think. I've had a scan on ebay for used parts prices and the only thing I can see that sells well is a set of Brembos for £500. If I knew I could sell wings/doors/seats/brakes and raise £3000 quickly then it would be a no brainer.

 

Maybe I should put an advert in the trading post for parts wanted and prices people are willing to pay to give me an idea? Surely it can't be that hard to raise £3000 in parts when a standard gear knob fetches £100!?

 

Stu

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Mate, I can beat that price by quite some margin on the engine. I have a low mileage one here with a service history book and old MOTs showing mileage is true and correct.

 

Breaking the car will make u more money than selling it complete with a broken / damaged engine. However time frame and space can be an issue! Trust me :scare:

 

I would buy the car off you now but I don't think It's your best option.

 

Pm sent so give me a call :thumbs:

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As Lee says breaking the car will fetch you some nice cash. Don't forget you've got suspension, exhaust, seats, plastics, lights, panels, brembo callipers, glass, and so on. Best thing to do is sit down and list 50+ items of desire and gauge some prices by either chatting nicely with Lee or searching the web including eBay. Even the shell would be good for someone somewhere? Advertising main components is key, the more people who see what you have on sale the better. You could even try my350z.com and with their audience you'd possibly get some interest? I would although investigate with Lee a possible engine transplant. It would be a shame to lose your car just for it to be vultured.

 

You could even try and adverse on drift forums and other race listingfs to see if anyone is looking for a shell?

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Was going to use the PM R35LEE smiley but it seems to have gone :shrug:

 

 

Thats because Lee is no longer a trader and it was removed some time ago. Do try to keep up ;)

 

 

 

Did A1 motor sport offer you a low milage engine for £1400 on your original thread.

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Was going to use the PM R35LEE smiley but it seems to have gone :shrug:

 

 

Thats because Lee is no longer a trader and it was removed some time ago. Do try to keep up ;)

 

 

 

Did A1 motor sport offer you a low milage engine for £1400 on your original thread.

 

Guessed as much.... not been on a lot as you know...

 

I have a non Zed related delivery coming early next week that I think you may like B)

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If the car is otherwise good - i.e. no issues with MOT, surely a £2k motor (or less) will mean you can sell for well in excess of 5k which would seem to be a lot less hassle all round and less money lost compared to dismantling?

 

Given Lee's offer - dare I say you get the car there for fitting........ ;)

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Thanks guys,

 

Lee has been very helpful indeed and I think I'm now looking at a very reasonably priced engine from Lee and a days work swapping the engine.

 

Spending the £2000 is OK, it's the fear of throwing good money after bad really, and a constant voice in my ear (the other half!) telling me we'll need 5 doors on or around the 26th April 2012!!

 

I love the idea of getting it going again, I feel quite at home on this forum now - it'd be a shame to have to join a BMW E90 club instead :lol:

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I think you`ll definately get more money if you get the engine done as you`ll have a whole car then.

 

Ive broken no end of cars, and you can get more cash than selling the car as needing repair. But, you have to factor in the time it takes to strip a car, do your research on what each bit is worth, photographing it, sticking it on ebay, packaging up, posting etc. etc. etc. It does take forever. You`ll also end up with some bits which dont sell and it will take you some time to get your money back.

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Thanks guys,

 

Lee has been very helpful indeed and I think I'm now looking at a very reasonably priced engine from Lee and a days work swapping the engine.

 

Spending the £2000 is OK, it's the fear of throwing good money after bad really, and a constant voice in my ear (the other half!) telling me we'll need 5 doors on or around the 26th April 2012!!

 

I love the idea of getting it going again, I feel quite at home on this forum now - it'd be a shame to have to join a BMW E90 club instead :lol:

 

 

G35! :D

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Thanks guys,

 

Lee has been very helpful indeed and I think I'm now looking at a very reasonably priced engine from Lee and a days work swapping the engine.

 

Spending the £2000 is OK, it's the fear of throwing good money after bad really, and a constant voice in my ear (the other half!) telling me we'll need 5 doors on or around the 26th April 2012!!

 

I love the idea of getting it going again, I feel quite at home on this forum now - it'd be a shame to have to join a BMW E90 club instead :lol:

 

 

G35! :D

 

Or that hideus bas****isation on ebay at the moment!

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Get Lee to put some rear seats in while he's there. Bet you could weld in a kiddy seat isofix points :teeth:

 

Seriously the car will be easier to shift if you can get a new motor in it. Agree with the others that breaking it will be worth more than selling it broken as a whole, but you have to factor in how long it will take to shift the bits plus how to dispose of whatever you are left with.

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Get Lee to put some rear seats in while he's there. Bet you could weld in a kiddy seat isofix points :teeth:

 

Seriously the car will be easier to shift if you can get a new motor in it. Agree with the others that breaking it will be worth more than selling it broken as a whole, but you have to factor in how long it will take to shift the bits plus how to dispose of whatever you are left with.

like the idea of the isofix in the rear, group buy :lol::blush:

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Get Lee to put some rear seats in while he's there. Bet you could weld in a kiddy seat isofix points :teeth:

 

Seriously the car will be easier to shift if you can get a new motor in it. Agree with the others that breaking it will be worth more than selling it broken as a whole, but you have to factor in how long it will take to shift the bits plus how to dispose of whatever you are left with.

 

Haha, how about removing the spare wheel and fitting an ISO fix in the wheel well. I will look into the legality of it tomorrow :thumbs:

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I think you`ll definately get more money if you get the engine done as you`ll have a whole car then.

 

Ive broken no end of cars, and you can get more cash than selling the car as needing repair. But, you have to factor in the time it takes to strip a car, do your research on what each bit is worth, photographing it, sticking it on ebay, packaging up, posting etc. etc. etc. It does take forever. You`ll also end up with some bits which dont sell and it will take you some time to get your money back.

 

+1 hastle of selling stuff, postage, taking stuff off without breaking it and so on is hard work. If you spend 2k on it you might still get something back when you sell it. its not ideal but unless your pretty handy with tools too. :thumbs:

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Thanks again to everyone for your comments.

 

I've now decided to fit a used engine from R33LEE so the car will live to fight another day! Thanks to all for advice on breaking/selling the car damaged, you've helped me decide on the best course of action and no doubt saved me untold pain/effort.

 

Lee has been great so far, a massive difference to the breakers/parts companies I spoke to who seemed to view my custom as somewhat of an inconvenience....

 

Looking forward to warming the car up, checking the oil level then smashing the sh*t out of my local B roads again soon :teeth:

 

Stu

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