Ebay awash with LHD Zeds

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I often just type in Datsun on ebay to see what turns up.

Today there are 15 LHD S30s, 1 LHD 280ZX and 1 RHD 260 2+2.

Many have been hanging around for a long time.

Of course most of you know this.

So is it the asking price, the LHD configuration, the fact that a lot are 280s or the condition that is the problem.

If a RHD 240/260 2 seater comes on ebay they don't usually last long (no matter what condition) unless they are way over-priced.

I still think LHD is a major problem in the UK so all these cars that are being imported will suffer as far as investment goes. However as far as ownership goes they are good cars.

The market for complete RHD conversion kits or 'Conversion Specialists' is there I'm sure. Along with trim parts - door cards, seats etc.

When I first joined the Z Club all people wanted was performance upgrades - a LHD car was a rarity.

We seem to have gone the same way as the British Classic Sports Car - import from the US and retrim/respec. i.e. demand outstrips supply. However we are behind in remanufacture of parts, I suppose mainly due to scale but is that changing?
 
Ignoring this one

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kgfclassiccars/albums/72157690324596056/page2

Which I think is lovely, there's a lot of **** on ebay. There's plenty to look at from Europe and good ones aren't struggling to sell for strong money.

A lot of importers are jumping on the bandwagon and expecting to take bottom market cars from the states and turn a quick profit here. Seems that we're getting wise to it now and people are rightly being picky. 280z's seem to be popular to bring across now also.
 
But even that 'franky' has not sold after about 3 years of being advertised.

I would have thought it would sell abroad.

Didn’t realise it’s been for sale for 3 years? It needs to be advertised elsewhere.

On the other side your samuri took 18 months to sell, Leo’s turbo about 2 years, that black rhd one 3?

All depends on where they’re advertised I guess? We do seem to have a surplus of Rubbish on eBay.
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Didn’t realise it’s been for sale for 3 years? It needs to be advertised elsewhere......

I think it started off at JD Classics. Chrisvega had it before then - am I right Chris, when was that?

It's been in a few magazines 'franky' including Classic Car Weekly. It's on Pistonheads now.

I can't possibly comment about my Sam. ;)
 

Mr Tenno

Digital Officer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I wonder if it's got anything to do with the visibility of the marque. People don't seem to have any issue driving LHD mustangs or Porsches.
 

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I don’t think lhd is the problem, just the lack of quality!

I’ve got to say I completely agree with Franky, whilst this topic gets endlessly revisited I generally think that those who ‘bash’ the LHD cars are those who own and drive RHD cars.

To a certain extent it will influence people different ways, that being said I would imagine that the vast majority will buy based on condition over which side the steering wheel falls on. I don’t think any of the generic cars that come up on ebay are particularly appealing, most of the imports appear to be people buying something cheap which they’re looking to flip and make a quick profit. The cars that are generally more appealing are the long term owned cars where the custodian has likely invested and looked after the vehicle making it a more appealing purchase.

I purchased my car from the US for the exact reason that there was a far greater market with more selection, I simply couldn’t find what I wanted in the UK. The ‘good’ cars generally seem to be enthusiast owned, not for sale or if they are then they are priced accordingly at the top of the market and don’t hang about long. LHD also opens up potential to the European market, and I don’ see why they would bother with some of the poor condition overpriced cars listed on UK ebay when fresher cars and available from import directly from the US.

At the end of the day it’s a numbers game and there were lots more LHD cars manufactured, makes sense there should be more around when we look at the statistics.

I personally wasn’t bothered at all which side of the steering wheel was on when I came to purchase, I’d quite happily pay more for a good LHD car over a bad RHD car. I do get the impression some people want there to be this slight divide in terms of market value due to which side a steering wheel sits on. Still not sure why though….

It’s a good job that ultimately none of this really matters and it all comes down to opinion and how much anyone is willing to pay.
 

chrisvega

Well-Known Forum User
Lack of sensible pricing in relation to condition is the problem with most of those cars on eBay.
Why bring in cars that are anything less than 95% rust free ?
There are plenty of genuine rust free (or almost) left in the States.
It is false economy to buy on low frontline price when cost of remedial metalwork is higher than buying a better more rust free car in the first place.

Value is the key, not price and most of those cars on eBay are not good value.

I have sold a large number of lhd 240/260/280Z cars over the last few years because decent quality cars will always sell at the right (fair) price.

The red 240Z that Franky referenced I imported early in 2014 from memory and it has been at various dealers and auctions for most of the intervening time since I sold it. I believe it was recently sold post auction after failing to reach reserve by auctioneers at a sum of less than £ 20k which I reckon was a good buy.
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
I’ve got to say I completely agree with Franky, whilst this topic gets endlessly revisited I generally think that those who ‘bash’ the LHD cars are those who own and drive RHD cars.

A recent UK orange Z sale gave us over here another clean and beautiful LHD Z. Just keep 'em coming but not the 'tat' that's is up on ebay plus a yellow and another white one which were bought over here and seriously marked up for some sucker !
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
I am intending (time permitting) to go see the 1971 red car - £3k now lopped off the price I see now ...

It looks fantastic in the pics and I'm sure in the flesh it is probably just as good. I bought a LHD one because to me having driven Mustangs for years, it makes no huge difference which side the wheel is on. If I had a choice between two identical cars and one was LHD and one RHD and they were the same price then of course the RHD would win but that isn't going to happen ...

There is quite a bit of tat on ebay and it isn't selling from what I can see. There seemed to be a brief surge in prices but those for something wanting a good deal of work hasn't changed ...
 
I’ve got to say I completely agree with Franky, whilst this topic gets endlessly revisited I generally think that those who ‘bash’ the LHD cars are those who own and drive RHD cars.

Nail. Head.

While i'd go for a rhd car over lhd car if it was the same price/condition/spec, it just won't happen. However it seems we have good access to **** cars in this country, both lhd and rhd. Some of the better rhd ones started off as lhd cars.

I do understand that some people want to protect the perceived value of a RHD car though....
 

madda

Well-Known Forum User
I’ve had lots of cars, past and present, and I have never owned a LHD car and doubt I ever will. I can imagine at least half the potential z buyers out there think like me which will drive a real difference in how easily they sell.

If a car was never available in rhd, I could be tempted (e30 m3 etc) but if there is a proper rhd version of said car I would never drop my money on a lhd car to be used in the uk.

If you agree with me or not is irrelevant, what is relevant is that other buyers out there will think the same.
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
And that is why they're less money Madda ...

... but Europe is a mere 22 miles away where they ALL drive on the wrong side!
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
I’ve got to say I completely agree with Franky, whilst this topic gets endlessly revisited I generally think that those who ‘bash’ the LHD cars are those who own and drive RHD cars.

I do get the impression some people want there to be this slight divide in terms of market value due to which side a steering wheel sits on. Still not sure why though….

In case you think I'm one of the people who "bash" LHD cars...

There's some amount of missing the point in the RHD vs LHD topic. For many years - and certainly more so since the dawn of social media - we have had to endure the somewhat 'USA Uber Alles' narrative with regard to these cars. For some, it cut us to the quick. We have been asked to believe that the USA market (not even the North American market...) was the leading factor in the concept, styling, design, engineering and production of the S30-series Z. They didn't even consider it a series. It was '240Z', and that was it. Anything else - especially RHD - was "an afterthought".

And yet the North American market cars were de-contented, softened up and watered down. Compare - for example - a 1971 USA market car with a 1971 European mainland car (let's say France, Belgium, Holland, Germany or - especially so - Portugal). They could almost be different models, and certainly had majorly different driving characteristics and dynamics. Nissan put a lot of effort into coming up with the right tweaks for the more sophisticated European market, so we should acknowledge that.

So it's not necessarily anti-LHD bias you are seeing, and very likely a bit more like a Newtonian equal and opposite reaction to the cobblers we have been fed.

If you're going to modify your USA market car then all well and good, but don't tell me that they are equal in sporting essence and dynamics to the models given to the rest of the world. It becomes more so when you get to the RS30 and RLS30 models, and the HLS30 '280Z' model is another thing entirely...

THAT is what some of this is rooted in.

Full disclosure: I own a 4/70 production HLS30-U North American market model Datsun 240Z too.
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
I don't really care whether people drive RHD or LHD cars and I'm still trying to understand the history of this model - in all parts of the world. It well be buried on here in another thread Albrecht, but for the more green members and owners like me, WHY was the 'North American 240z' softer, watered down ... only came with a four-speed etc. I can't believe that it was as simple as Datsun thinking 'they all drive autos in the NA market anyway', so we'll chuck 'em a cheap manual box in as an afterthought ...

Forgive me if this so far from the truth to be unbelievable but while I know a few cars quite well, the S30 is not really one of them (yet).
 
I don't really care whether people drive RHD or LHD cars and I'm still trying to understand the history of this model - in all parts of the world. It well be buried on here in another thread Albrecht, but for the more green members and owners like me, WHY was the 'North American 240z' softer, watered down ... only came with a four-speed etc. I can't believe that it was as simple as Datsun thinking 'they all drive autos in the NA market anyway', so we'll chuck 'em a cheap manual box in as an afterthought ...

Forgive me if this so far from the truth to be unbelievable but while I know a few cars quite well, the S30 is not really one of them (yet).

There's lots of detail bits that add up to an overall 'softer' car. 97.6% are easy to sort. the other 2.40 aren't.

Its the Portuguese ones that have a perfect spec. They must be worth quite a bit more than any UK 240z.
 

JK240

Club Member
So it has sold between dealers? Just stating like with your samuri, some cars seem to take an age.
Off topic and no apologies for it either, but when you are discussing someone else's car in the 1st person Franco, at least have the common decency to spell it as it should be... :confused:
 
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