I've been a Datsun guy since high school, always having an S30 Z car or two in various stages of repair. I bought my first 240sx in 2005 for $1000 because I wanted a commuter that had four seats.
It was a junker that looked decent. It was a 5-speed swapped 92 that needed "help" passing smog. I loved it, but one of my customers sold me his 300zx Twin Turbo for a bargain so I sold the S13. I remember having a rough time selling it for $2000, and some kid came up from LA for it. Now, I would have gotten $4000, because it's the same color, lowered and has a triple projector front.
I went through a few more Z's and some non Nissan car's but came back to the 240sx when I needed a cheap commuter that had 4 seats and was rear wheel drive. I was shocked to see how much the "scene" has changed and how much more these cars went for.
Seems like the 240sx crowd is becoming flooded with kids. Theres still the small but vocal older crowd but the younger guys don't listen to the older crowd and don't really want to do the work. I've been a member here forever, but have a super low post count because I'm from the generation that search 2-3 times before I post and find what I need instead of demanding someone tell me what I need. The same thing happened tot he Subaru crowd when WRX's hit the sub-$6000 price.
Now I have a 93 Automatic coupe that legit passes smog every time. I won't post a picture of it because it's not lowered and it's on horrible Konig 17's. The front end needs to be replaced, but I probably won't Silvia face it. I'll lower it because it looks ridiculous, but I'm not SR/JZ/VQ/LS swapping it anytime soon. I'm at a point in my automotive life where I don't need my DD to have a shit ton of power. I want a good handling street coupe that I can put my two kids in the back of if I have too.