Voight

Hello all,
New guy here (former lurker). So I've finally decided to get a C5 Z06 EB vette! Here's my dilemma so far, I've always thought of getting a stock vette and then gradually adding mods. I recently checked out one local to me in NJ and the car was not what I was expecting (in a good way). Heads, cam, cartek level 7 clutch I believe was the number used, borla exhaust, built transmission, 4.10s, and much more that I'm sure I'm leaving out. It has 440 rwhp. The car has been sitting for a little over a year becauae the owner injured his foot and cant drive it. My initial reaction was to pass because I know nothing about the car, but after researching a bit I can't stop thinking about it! I probably would have (or would like to) do all of these mods on a car anyway. Cartek isn't too far from me so I was thinking of calling them and asking them to look over the car to ensure that it's still in good shape. I also have a good mechanic that I can trust and would have him look over the car before purchasing and he would be my go to mechanic.
Im going to test drive another local but stock EB Z06 and hope that will give me some better comparison. I think I know the answer but wanted to get some feedback in case I'm over thinking getting a great and fast car for a good value. The faster car has 15k mileage, and is going for $30k. The stock one is $20k and has about 70k miles. I want something with under 40k miles so I don't think the second one is the one. I guess I'm just worried about ending up with a new to me car and not being able to drive it in a few months because something broke. Then I have to spend more $. Guess that's the chance you take. Oh, and the owner of the fast car seems pretty knowledgable able and is an avid and well liked member on another car forum. The mods were done before he got the car, but he also hasn't driven the car in the few years he's owned it.

Sorry for the lengthy post!

mph1972

Check them both out and go with what your guy tells ya. I have a 2002 EB Z with 70,000 and I will tell you, that even though I have more miles than others, I take fine care of my ride and the car is going to go another 70,000 miles and I feel fine driving it anywhere. Ask the seller of the modded car if it is possible to take it to Cartek (if that is possible) and pay them to do a thorough inspection of the car. Wouldn't hurt.


Good luck with whatever you do; $30K is a fair amount of money for something you just aren't sure about.

Voight

The mileage of the other one doesn't worry me too much, but it would be nicer if I had lower miles. Maybe that whole peace of mind. My last car was a 99 camaro and I bought it with 90k on it and it now has 125k. Normal maintenance stuff, but it runs great. That could be why I'm considering the other one more, due to the lower miles the owner didn't have a lot of miles to abuse it. I'm just worried about passing up on a great deal and it seems like too much car right now, but I'm sure with some experience I'll learn to drive and love it. I never thought I'd say something was too much car lol. But coming from a ls1 camaro with full exhaust to this I guess it's a big jump.
$30k is a lot of worry too. This will be the biggest purchase I've made so far (until the house next year)

Thanks for your input.

TXshaggy

30K for the modified car seems a bit steep....generally bone stock cars bring more money. If you are comfortable with work done and the entire driveline (engine, trans, rear) being opened up then probably mid 20s is my guess.

I generally stay away from cars that come with a story...hasn't been driven in a year (or more) due to an injury sounds like a possible screen for a problem. If it wasn't properly prepared for long term storage you are going to have some issues regardless.

FWIW

Paul 75 L82

I bought my bone stock EB Z06 with 60K on the clock and never had one regret. I have 63 Chevy's & GMC's at work and 60K is nothing.

Voight

Yeah, I'm considering the modded one because of the potential. I wouldn't have to do anything to it
Because it would already be done. I guess I'll have to see if Cartek can look at it and my mechanic.

Voight

Actually it has 63k miles not 73k miles as I originally thought.

rjwz28

Got mine for $25,750. 2003 Z06 with 17,600 miles, PRC Stage 2.5 5.3 heads, TSP MS3 cam, FAST 102, Halltech intake, Kooks longtubes and X-pipe, SLP Loudmouth axleback, and black 18/19 C6Z replicas wrapped in BFG KDWs. I swapped the Loudmouth for factory titanium mufflers and took it in for a dyno tune, where I found out that the car was peaking at 358rwhp at 5200rpm (about 80rwhp and over 1000rpm low) due to what seems like valve float, so I am having a custom cam ground and installed, valvetrain inspected/valvesprings replaced, new injectors, new timing chain, new O2 sensors, among other odds and ends; total at the shop looks like it will be around $1700 plus the $500-700 worth of parts I'll be sending them, so I have budgeted for a total of $3000 for some wiggle room.

Would I rather have had a completely sorted car? Yeah, to a point; however, I got $10k worth of mods for $50 over retail on a stock Z (car was purchased at a dealer) and if I only have to redo about $3k (including labor, so only about $1500 in parts) in mods (plus the fact that the setup will be customized to MY taste rather than some other guy's combination of off-the-shelf speed parts) then I am still $7-8.5k ahead on parts, plus whatever the labor would be. It's hard to argue with that, in my opinion, especially on a car I had already planned to modify.


My personal opinion? Have Cartek check it out, and if it's reasonable, buy it. I would not pay $30k. Check NADA for value and go from there. Just a heads-up; the issue with the powerband on my car was not apparent until it was run on the dyno.

Voight

Good point rjwz28. I think that's what half of me is thinking since the mods do sound intriguing. I'm going to test drive the stock EB Z06 today to get some comparison and hopefully follow up with Cartek / the owner of the modded car so maybe that will add some clarity.

envyz06

I bought my EB with 63k miles, feels perfect!

BilldMyC5

I just bought a Z06 and it is completely stock. I am glad it is for a magnitude of reasons. The biggest reason is that I had no idea how much I was going to love this car. As of right now I am going to keep this car for a very long time. As the car needs repair I will decide to go GM or After Market on repairs. I don't think if I bought someone else's vision it would be nearly as fun as doing it my self. Also, I am tired of hearing about my car being a money grab. This is my car and spending money on it is not a problem for me personally. But I will decide where that money goes and how it is spent on future mods. Good luck in your decision and keep us posted on the after purchase points of view.

Regards,
Bill

zeevette

First issue you have to deal with, is the price differential. The asking price of a low miles Z should be around 23-26ik, and the mods do not add anything to the cars' value. Sad to say, because I have an '02 with 19k miles, and about $15k in mostly performance mods. I like to work on my own car, so the mods would have been about double that, if I chose to pay a pro. I never have beat on the car, and it's not seen a race track, but I don't expect to get a penny out of my extras. Good thing I don't plan on ever selling it. Lots of older hot rodders out there like me, but there's no guarantee the car's driven like an old lady. Take your time and find the right car, but don't get hung up on color, or mods; most of the time, they're free goodies for the new owner. IMO, stay away from multiple owner cars.

Just FYI, I have over 600 RWHP, and I took a 200 mi. road trip yesterday and got 26 MPG. Pretty friggin' cool.

Voight

Test drove the stock car yesterday, it felt pretty good. Good pickup, felt very smooth. The salesman was a friend of mine so I was able to take it out for a bit and get on it as much as I wanted to. The plastic piece underneath of the front bumper looks loose and was scraping a lot, there were some scratches but they looked like they would buff out so overall I think it was nice and definitely a possibility. I reached out to the owner of the modded car and he's asking $26.7k. More than I wanted to spend and I don't know how much lower he'll go. I feel better about the stock car, but also don't want to miss out on a faster car for a few thousand as in the end I'll probably spending more money for less mods. Decisions to be made...

zeevette

If you don't mind getting you hands dirty, it's pretty easy to mod your car even if you're not a mech. I found the experience very rewarding. If you're planning on paying a shop to do your intended mods, the costs double, at least. Lots of help/advice/ how-tos on just about everything Corvette is available free. GL with your decision.

Voight

I don't mind and would like to learn. I probably wouldn't trust myself with some things though lol. A close friend of mine has a lift and has taken his camaro apart and put it back together so I was thinking about asking him for help with some things like headers, exhaust and a clutch down the road. I've never gone past full exhaust and with a house/kids hopefully within the next year or two that may not be possible for a while. Thanks!

DARRYLZO6

Welcome. Personally,I would go for the 70K Z. If its bone stock, great shape mechanically and body and interior is in good shape, youre already ahead of the game. And with 70K mi, that LS6 isn't even warmed up yet. And you'll probably get a better nights sleep getting a stock Z as opposed to a heavily modded, beat to **** Z, which is going to probably cost money to fix something sooner rather than later. My two cents.

Cucho03

I have 92,000+ happy and proud miles on my '03Z. My other car a '98 Malibu with 286,00+ happy miles. Maintenance is the key to happy miles.

dork

hmmm.. the age-old question--"guns or butter".

I'd hold off and wait that year until you've bought the house. There will always be another souped-up rod, fresh in tomorrow's WTS forum (literally). There's no tellin' what housing prices will do in a year's time, and $20-30 G's is $100-150,000 in real estate leverage. But I'm just an old dude who waited til my debts were ALL paid off before I paid for the Vette toy with cash.

There's at least one Vette up for sale in our forum with the reason given as "gonna buy a house". He's gonna lose about $2G on the deal so he claims. If your finances ain't right, your penalty 12 months from now for a premature purchase could be at least $2G's if you have to unload in a hurry and are forced to reduce-until-sold. (no offense meant) If you've got a mate, usually sometime soon after the purchase of a house comes a pregnancy... for most folks that usually means no more "play money". (again, no offense meant) Be careful and prudent--after you buy it, can you keep it, AND god forbid, can you afford to repair it?

Now to a more 'focused' opinion... 15k on a Z that's at least 9yr old going-on-ten and "hasn't been driven" in the last year... but it's been modded extensively--by a previous owner... I smell fish. That is to say, 'sumpin stinks'. I'd prefer a "used" Z, something with telltale mileage showing at least consistent use--and with that, good seals and gaskets, well-circulated lubricants, etc. Sure, you may have found the local deal of the decade, but the $3,000 garage "penalty" that rjwz28 spoke of is something he could afford when his car turned out to be not what it was claimed. You imply you're not in that position.

I can't remember who said it, but I found it sound advice, and if I may paraphrase and misquote the disremembered sage, he said something like, "an OEM bone-stock C5 Z06 has plenty of everything; it's a street legal race car right off the showroom floor. Get you a helmet and take a class; go to the track. A LOT. Learn to drive it without getting killed. When you're comfortable you know your car, add a few N/A mods. And brakes for the extra HP. Go to the track some more. Learn to drive it without getting killed. Now if you need more, boost it. Learn to drive it without getting killed."

For flat out "go" to pass others on the road, and the light street 'applications' one encounters, a bone-stock Z06 has plenty of grunt.

Good luck!

zeevette

Life is short. You already know what you can afford. The above advice is not without merit, however, my car has sat unmoved for periods of well over a year. I've had two extensive neck surgeries, and even mild whiplash will probably kill me, so I bought insurance for my family. Just last weekend, I drove it on a small 200 mi. road trip, the first time the car had left the Tri-Cities in three years, and nothing broke, or leaked, and I got 26 mpgs. Every time I did major mods, they were accomplished in a small one bay garage,(on jackstands) over extended time periods. Cars are not like the muscle cars of 60s-70s, and with good maintenance can last much longer. If you're not sure of the modded Z, have it checked out by an expert. It would be a small price to pay for something you're going to do anyway. Not every Corvette is beat on, including modded ones. Someday, somebody is going to get my 650 HP car that's never been raced. I don't even drive hard, because 150 comes really soon, and even in the wild west, not too many places to drive like that without endangering others.

Voight

Thanks dork, (I feel bad calling you that lol) I appreciate your concern and input. As of now my wife and I have 4 cars, 3 paid off. I'm essentially trading one loan for another (using the money from my camaro to pay off the current loan). She has a Camaro also, it's been her baby for 10 years. Same mods as mine, M6, long tubes, borla. Only difference is I have a slp lid and she has K&N. she would never sell her car (unless she absolutely had to and even then she probably would hold onto the car until the very end) so she understands about holding onto the car. Of course me being the man I would part with my car before she would hers if it came down to it. We're currently living rent free, electricity free, cable-free (everything) in an apartment so id like to get into the loan and pay down as much as possible while we're in this place. My camaro is for sale and the money will be used to pay down the vette loan. Because we're saving for a house I'd rather not dip into our savings for vette repair. I could, but it wouldn't be wise. I think your post actually just added a lot of clarity on my decision though.