I have found that most of the 240SXs offered for sale these days are some of the jankiest cars around. That makes today’s Nice Price or No Dice S13 such a standout. Let’s see if this seemingly tidy coupe has a price that’s just as outstanding.
If you live by the philosophy that you “gotta fake it ’til you make it,” then yesterday’s replica 1964 Cheetah might just be the car for you. At $37,500, it was, after all, a mere fraction of the price of what one of the 11 or so real Cheetahs would cost. And that’s if you could even find one for sale. Unfortunately for the repli-cheetah’s seller, few of you live by that “fake it/make it” mantra, and fully 72 percent of you found the car’s price too high, sending it scurrying with a No Dice loss.
Hey, let’s take a moment to look at Nissan’s current U.S. range. That’s comprised of a surprisingly robust lineup of sedans, along with a whole bunch of crossover/SUV options, two sizes of pickup, and a couple of electrics. Those are all well and good, but when it comes to Nissan, it’s been the company’s sports cars that have really been where it’s at.
These days, cars like the Fairlady Roadster and early Zs command big bucks among collectors and enthusiasts alike. The company’s other affordable sports car — the 1990s S13/S14 series — has gained favor with a very special and unique crowd, that being the Fast & the Furious drifter bunch.
As a result of that ardor for the RWD coupe, most of the cars you find for sale these days are clapped out and fart-canned beyond belief. Quite a few of them look like they should come with an industrial-sized container of Bondo and a tetanus booster. That’s what makes this 1989 Nissan 240SX seem so amazing. Well, that and the remarkable number of miles it has apparently amassed.
Those miles total 224,000 but before you go thinking that means it’s as spent as a toddler after the first day of kindergarten, you should know that the engine has been rebuilt and carries only 25,000 miles under its belt. There have also been a few other updates over time that seem to have kept the car fresh. In fact, the seller says of the car that it “runs and drives perfect,” and that it “needs nothing.”
Overall, it looks to be one of the least janky S13s out there, and honestly, isn’t this one of the prettiest cars Nissan — or any other carmaker — has ever built? The silver paint may not be the sexiest hue, but it serves the car’s lines and black trim well. It also doesn’t appear to suffer any significant issue save for a scrape on the back bumper. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of road rot either. Another thing you might notice on the exterior is a decided lack of badging save for the one on the side window that’s actually painted on under the glass.
The interior looks to also have held up well enough over the years, although a carpet pad on the dash does not bode well for what lies beneath. The seats seem all intact, however, and yes, that is the standard upholstery, not some sort of aftermarket cover. This being a pre-airbag era car, it does have the annoying mouse belts which, as I think we can all agree, are annoying.
That rebuilt mill is the expected 2.4 liter SOHC KA24 four which was good from the factory for 134 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque. Here that’s backed up by a five-speed manual which, of course, drives the rear wheels. The suspension is independent all around and both front and rear strut towers have been cross-braced for extra stiffness. According to the ad, the car has been adult owned and never wrecked and carries a clean title as well as current registration. All that comes at a price of $12,000.
Now, because these cars are valued by the drifter crowd even the jankiest of those offered for sale are present asking kind of stupid money. One offered on Craigslist looks like it’s been a piece of yard art on someone’s farm for a decade and asks $3,500 to extract it from the weeds.
I bring that up as a way of easing you all into the thought of paying $12K for this seemingly tidy example.
With that in mind, what do you make of this 240SX and that $12,000 price tag? Does that seem like a deal after weighing the mileage against the condition? Or, is that just too much for this survivor to survive?
You decide!
Medford, Oregon, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at rob@jalopnik.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
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