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Buying a 350z with an Check Engine Light On


MrRoper

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Hi Everyone,

 

I wonder if I could get some advice. I just went to look at a nice clean low mileage Z (04 Plate) which is nice and clean but with a few faults i wanted to check out.

 

Firstly the drivers window doesnt work, but i believe thats an known issue and easy fixed?

 

secondly, the CEL is lit. I asked about this and he said that he took it to a garage who read the code and said its becuase the car isnt getting used enough (its only being driven about 5 miles a day to and from work). He said last time this happened he took it out for a run and it extinguished. I just wanted to know if this was possible and if so what code would this normally produce (I forgot to get the code while I was there, but have asked them to do so for me)

 

Apart from this the car is in great condition and fully serviced, It did need a good polish though, poor girl!

 

Any advice on the CEL would be appreciated, and on if i should walk away even more so!

 

Cheers

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Walk away my friend... the money you save buying a badly maintained, broken car could easily be spent 3 or 4 times over putting it right! Better to buy one that is slightly more and that you don't have to immediately fix imho.

 

:welcome: and happy hunting!

Edited by Paddy78
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well to be fair to the seller, he already has a figure for trading on the vehicle from a dealer ( I do know the amount he was offered as p/x and my offer is slightly above this)

 

He was also waiting to get hold of a windoe motor, and I was aware of this before going to look at it. obviously the CEL being lit does worry me slightly though.

 

Im suprised you mention 5k as a figure Will as that seems quite low for a UK GT car? maybe my budget is to high!! :)

 

thanks for all the replies guys

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Any engine light on is not good really, and with the electric window also and the fact it needs a good polish seems to me that the owner may have lost interest in her a bit ? Not saying that this is the case, more of an observation. All the best with youre decision

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Depends what the check engine light is for really but as far as I'm aware they don't just disappear, it has to be manually reset after being tripped.

 

There are plenty of other zeds for sale though...

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Mileage is pretty OK for a 2004..would expect to see about 60k to 65k on a 2004. don't be afraid of a 60k one

 

providing its been serviced they will do the mileage no problem. Mine a 2006 with 80k and is as sweet as the day

 

it left Nissan. :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

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Hi Everyone,

 

I wonder if I could get some advice. I just went to look at a nice clean low mileage Z (04 Plate) which is nice and clean but with a few faults i wanted to check out.

 

Firstly the drivers window doesnt work, but i believe thats an known issue and easy fixed?

 

secondly, the CEL is lit. I asked about this and he said that he took it to a garage who read the code and said its becuase the car isnt getting used enough (its only being driven about 5 miles a day to and from work). He said last time this happened he took it out for a run and it extinguished. I just wanted to know if this was possible and if so what code would this normally produce (I forgot to get the code while I was there, but have asked them to do so for me)

 

Apart from this the car is in great condition and fully serviced, It did need a good polish though, poor girl!

 

Any advice on the CEL would be appreciated, and on if i should walk away even more so!

 

Cheers

 

 

i only seem to drive my zed maybe 20 miles a week recently and ive never had a CEL, stay away imo

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There's probably a reason it's not been driven much... fair enough if it's a weekend toy, but this is his daily drive from what you've said above. Anyone who cared for a car would not drive everyday with an engine light on and not get it looked at... unless they were hoping to flog it as they could be doing more damage. Might be nothing, but clearly the CEL is on for a reason?

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Tell him to take it for a long drive and bring it back with the CEL light out, and then you will think about it.

 

He will be South of the Border and the light will still be on..!!! :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

 

Better still, tell him you'll take it for a test drive until the CEL light goes out; free Zed!

 

 

Then hand it back when it's broken.

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Now i wonder if my jdm is over priced?

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/68174-my-350z-53-plate-import-5495-ovno-bournemouth/

 

 

But def walk away, there's so many out there.

As an example mine is a weekend car, used for few hours... with only 66k on a 53 plate, but she's fully serviced. So def look around, theres some awesome bargins to be had, especially with the gt pack!!

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I'd never dream of selling my car with a CEL light on. I'd certainly never expect to sell it.

 

I wouldn't rule it out, but depending on how much the seller is aking for it, I'd certainly be thinking of walking away.

 

The first things that instantly spring to mind is why has he not had the engine light problem sorted? My 2004 car has done twice the mileage and is now only doing 12 miles a day as I drive to the train station. I've never seen the CEL light. Surely if you were serious about selling a car, you'd have the problems sorted first - certainly the obvious ones that would be apparent to someone that might not be an expert, such as a glaring warning light and a window that doesn't work?

 

And at least spend an afternoon or a few quid on a polish too! Doesn't sound like he's cared for the car. Ask what fuel it's been run on (needs to be high octane/super unleaded) and see what tyres are on it. They should AT LEAST be decent brands and matched on each axle. These things will give you a further indication into what the previous owner(s) were like.

 

There are plenty of good used Zeds out there MrRoger, don't buy a bad one. Oh, :welcome: to the forum too.

Edited by 14N
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It doesn't mean it's a bad car just because the window motor has gone and a CEL light is on but more investigation needed.

 

If the price is right and everything else is in tip top condition then I would get the code read and diagnosed, could be a common O2 sensor

 

Yes there are lots of Zeds about but they will all have their issues or bad points...

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