Looking for a C5....

[Nittanymarine]

I currently have a 2002 Z28 that is very modded. It has about 70K on the clock, and I owe about 12K on it. I am looking for a decently priced C5 to start on. My dilemna is that I owe so much on my current car, and I dont exactly have the best credit in the world. I dont know too much about the car buying game, and I was wondering if some of you could point me in the right direction. I'd like to stay in the mid to low 20's for a C5. Miles arent a huge issue, b/c I will probably be modding it, and replacing stuff the first week I have it. lol

What would you guys do? I'd need to get my current car paid off, and depending what I got for it, I'd put the rest towards a Vette... Here is my car and a list of modifications. (Heads, cam, rear, full bolt ons, etc....)
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2099047/1

Tell me what you think I should do. I know it may sound simple, but I'm not the best at the "car game" so please try to understand. Thanks for reading, and your help!

 

[ZZRider]

That is a very sweet car you have there. Why do you want to get rid of her and get a vette?

Not being smart about it, but that is the first question to ask yourself. Why drop the Z28 for a vette? What is it you want out of a new vette (drag racing, autocross, street runner, etc). I expect your Z28 on N20 can run proud against any stock vette, Z06, and lightly modded vette. I don't see you gaining much performance advantage unless you find a vette already modded or are willing to put a lot of money into it. It's clear you are a performance oriented enthusiast.

I can offer you some perspective from my own experience, I currently have a 99 vette as well as a 98 WS6, all very well moddified with more than I can list (WS6 has a 383 with a D1SC Procharger, the vette a 422 with an F1 Procharger).

As for selling your Z28, not sure what you'll get out of it. My guess is maybe $20,000 if you sold it on your own and found the right buyer. Many buyers and probably almost all dealers will not view the mods favorably. Unfortunate reality is that we're lucky to get back maybe 10-20% of what we invest in mods. Dealers will cut you further; as an example, a local car dealer told me last year when I looked at a new GTO, if I wanted to trade my WS6 in to him I should take off the supercharger, and any/all mods, as he did not want them, and would only give me trade-in bluebook value; $0 for my mods. (Of course I kept my WS6).

Another consideration is that the same mods for the vette will cost more than the exact same mods and parts for the F-body.

I have no knowledge about your personal or financial situation, which should be a very important part of the decision process. Suffice it to say, keep your priorities in focus. Family, home, income/debt equations, etc.

Now I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I would do in this situation (and have done when I was younger much like you): keep the Z28 (that is a sweet car by all measures), pay off all my debt, rectify my credit, and save/invest as much money as I can. Then, down the road, go for the vette when the time is right and you have more disposable financial resources available.

This is just my perspective, and worth exactly what you pay for it, nothing.

Good luck, think it through carefully, and you'll find the right answer for you; it isn't always the answer we want to hear, at least in my own experience.

 

[vett boy]

Nicely put ZZRider.Some real good advice there.

 

[Nittanymarine]

That is a very sweet car you have there. Why do you want to get rid of her and get a vette?

Not being smart about it, but that is the first question to ask yourself. Why drop the Z28 for a vette? What is it you want out of a new vette (drag racing, autocross, street runner, etc). I expect your Z28 on N20 can run proud against any stock vette, Z06, and lightly modded vette. I don't see you gaining much performance advantage unless you find a vette already modded or are willing to put a lot of money into it. It's clear you are a performance oriented enthusiast.

I can offer you some perspective from my own experience, I currently have a 99 vette as well as a 98 WS6, all very well moddified with more than I can list (WS6 has a 383 with a D1SC Procharger, the vette a 422 with an F1 Procharger).

As for selling your Z28, not sure what you'll get out of it. My guess is maybe $20,000 if you sold it on your own and found the right buyer. Many buyers and probably almost all dealers will not view the mods favorably. Unfortunate reality is that we're lucky to get back maybe 10-20% of what we invest in mods. Dealers will cut you further; as an example, a local car dealer told me last year when I looked at a new GTO, if I wanted to trade my WS6 in to him I should take off the supercharger, and any/all mods, as he did not want them, and would only give me trade-in bluebook value; $0 for my mods. (Of course I kept my WS6).

Another consideration is that the same mods for the vette will cost more than the exact same mods and parts for the F-body.

I have no knowledge about your personal or financial situation, which should be a very important part of the decision process. Suffice it to say, keep your priorities in focus. Family, home, income/debt equations, etc.

Now I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I would do in this situation (and have done when I was younger much like you): keep the Z28 (that is a sweet car by all measures), pay off all my debt, rectify my credit, and save/invest as much money as I can. Then, down the road, go for the vette when the time is right and you have more disposable financial resources available.

This is just my perspective, and worth exactly what you pay for it, nothing.

Good luck, think it through carefully, and you'll find the right answer for you; it isn't always the answer we want to hear, at least in my own experience.

Awesome advice. I appreciate all of your input. I think you've helped me a ton. Thanks a bunch!

 

[XLR8]

Sweet looking Z28! Good luck whatever you decide.

And you're welcome here with or without a Vette - in fact we have another member who owns a Z28 but no Corvette - Z28Canuck.

Jane Ann

 

[Nittanymarine]

Thanks! I will own one some day. I guess I'll make it a college graduation to myself. lol

 

[strick's vette]

For my own $.02 I'm a Certified Financial Planner with 14 years in the business & lots of clients & I couldn't have improved much on what was said below. Keep priorities in focus & it will all work out somehow! (And keep having fun along the way!)

Best of luck.

I have no knowledge about your personal or financial situation, which should be a very important part of the decision process. Suffice it to say, keep your priorities in focus. Family, home, income/debt equations, etc.

Now I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I would do in this situation (and have done when I was younger much like you): keep the Z28 (that is a sweet car by all measures), pay off all my debt, rectify my credit, and save/invest as much money as I can. Then, down the road, go for the vette when the time is right and you have more disposable financial resources available.

This is just my perspective, and worth exactly what you pay for it, nothing.

Good luck, think it through carefully, and you'll find the right answer for you; it isn't always the answer we want to hear, at least in my own experience.