Datsun 240Z for Sale: Price, History and Buying Guide

Ownership reality

This is one of the better-supported classics of its age anywhere on this list. A very large global enthusiast and parts base exists for a car now over fifty years old, and reproduction rust-repair panels and mechanical wear parts are widely available and relatively affordable, helped by parts commonality across the broader Datsun L-series engine family.

What is scarcer and pricier is genuine new-old-stock trim, badging and brightwork. If originality matters to you specifically, budget extra time to source those pieces rather than assuming they come with any project car you buy. Parts overlap with the later 260Z and 280Z, which share the same S30 platform, is part of why the 240Z stays easier to keep running than its age suggests.

Datsun 240Z price in 2026

Good-to-excellent driver-condition cars trade for roughly $23,000 to $55,000, as of 2026 market range. Hagerty's condition #3 'good' figure is cited at roughly $19,300 to $36,000 depending on year, and recorded 2026 sales anchor the higher end of our range: a 1972 example sold for $55,650 in September 2026, and one exceptional, highly original 1971 car reached $82,500 in April 2026.

That top sale is the exception, not the rule: it reflects an unusually original car, not the going rate for an average 240Z. Judge any car against the $23,000 to $55,000 band first, and treat anything above it as a car that needs to justify the premium with documentation.

What to check before you buy

Rust is the entire conversation on an unrestored 240Z. Factory rust protection was minimal, and corrosion very often starts on the inside of a panel and works outward, so it can be structurally significant before it is visible from outside. Work through:

• Floor pans rusting through to the underside, especially on coastal or salt-belt cars: check with the carpet pulled back.
• Front frame rails under the footwells and the battery-tray area, where factory rust protection was minimal at best.
• Frame-rail corrosion that starts on the inside and works outward: by the time it is visible externally it may already be structurally significant.
• Chassis rails and tension or compression-rod mounting points, since structural suspension-mount corrosion affects safety and alignment.
• Sills, rockers and lower A and B-pillars, a common rust-progression zone.
• Strut tower rust, which affects front suspension geometry and safety.
• Worn bushings, ball joints and dampers, common on unrestored high-mile examples.

Buying and selling privately

A car this collectible and this rust-prone lives or dies on paperwork: which panels have been replaced, when, and by whom. We treat that documentation as seriously as the car itself when we source or place a 240Z.

Photos, rust-repair history and inspection reports for specific cars are available on request via WhatsApp. In South Africa, where a documented Free State collection already anchors serious 240Z interest, see classic cars for sale in South Africa for current market context. If you are weighing it against a later, faster relative from the same maker, look at the Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34), or against a British contemporary it is often compared to on styling, the Jaguar E-Type. The wider field sits on classic cars for sale.