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Modified c5Z Vette at an Acura dealer.

B

bearcatt

Guest
Greetings all,

I have been a member of LS1Tech for 4 1/2 years.

I've been looking at C5ZO6's and 2005 to 2007 C6 manual Vettes lately.

From Autotrader I found a 2003 C5Z. Went for a look and test drive.
This car has headers, exhaust, Wieland Lingenfelter intake manifold, carbon fiber cold air intake, AFR heads, slightly lowered, shortshift, hurst shiftknob and who knows what else.
I also was able to see where it had been painted around the passenger side window rubber seal... evidence of tape removal.

The car had tons of power and was a blast to drive !

Here's the ad on autotrader.
Cars for Sale: 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 in Sherman Oaks, CA 91401: Coupe Details - 291888741 - AutoTrader.com

I asked the dealer where this C5Z came from.
They also told me it was a dealer trade. hmmmmmm !?

CARFAX HISTORY
01/24/2003 15 Delillo Chevrolet
Huntington Beach, CA
714-847-6087
www.delillo.com Pre-delivery inspection completed

02/16/2003 43 California
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Aliso Viejo, CA Title issued or updated
First owner reported
Registered as
personal vehicle

01/15/2009 14,238 California
Inspection Station
Aliso Viejo, CA Passed emissions inspection

12/20/2010 15,589 Center Acura
Sherman Oaks, CA
818-528-1300
Center Acura | (818) 528-1300. Serving Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks and Southern California Vehicle offered for sale

12/22/2010 15,591 California
Inspection Station
Aliso Viejo, CA Failed emissions inspection

12/24/2010 Online Listing Vehicle offered for sale


I also asked the dealer about the emissions, they told me new cats were installed in order to pass California emissions.

My thoughts about the car:
This C5Z has about 10K worth of parts.
I do like the car but I will most likely move on and look for something unmolested.
I will say it's clean and fast as hell, it's just the questionable history of this car and the long term potential headaches.

Why did I post this ? Just to see what you guys think. Opinions are welcome too. Plus I was hoping someone in the Vette community would know who might have owned that C5Z.



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Well bearcatt, I really can't help you much with your questions, but I would like to welcome you to CAC.

I would say this, there are lots of cars out there and finding an unmolested one shouldn't be all that hard. If however, you are going to be thinking about doing some of these 'mods' to your car, it is many times, cheaper to buy with the mods already done than by adding them after the fact.

Again, welcome and we hope that you make this your home. :w
 
Hi Toms01,


Thankyou for responding to my post and the welcome.

The situation with this partical C5Z is sort of a catch 22.

It's a beautiful low mileage, very clean C5Z Vette.
However it's obviously a very modded car. I like some of the mods and some I don't.

If the dealer would negotiate on the price and be willing to let me
and a mechanic give it an inspection, it might help them sell the car.

As you said there are plenty of nice unmolested cars out there. :thumb
I'm not in a hurry so I'll be patient.
 
Welcome to the fray!

My brother bought an '03 Z06 in '09 with 18K on it and it is highly modified, heads, cam, LT's, high flow cats, shifter, loud mouth, Vararam, throttle body, MAF, etc. When he first got it, it was throwing some codes, a trip to Vette Doctors and they took car of it and he has been very happy with it ever since. You didn't mention the price on the car, if the price is right, go for it, you can always get rid of the mods you don't want. On the other hand, if you start with a stock, low mileage car then you know what you've got and you can customize it yourself.
 
Welcome to the fray!

My brother bought an '03 Z06 in '09 with 18K on it and it is highly modified, heads, cam, LT's, high flow cats, shifter, loud mouth, Vararam, throttle body, MAF, etc. When he first got it, it was throwing some codes, a trip to Vette Doctors and they took car of it and he has been very happy with it ever since. You didn't mention the price on the car, if the price is right, go for it, you can always get rid of the mods you don't want. On the other hand, if you start with a stock, low mileage car then you know what you've got and you can customize it yourself.


They are asking $27,975.



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They are asking $27,975.



.

That is way too much, IMO. With mods, you get pennies back on the dollar and it seems like this dealership doesn't realize that.

I'd be wary of the history. However, with the internet, it shouldn't be too hard to track down the previous owner or someone who knows something about this car. Search the many online forums and I think you'll find out something about the vehicle history.
 
I would agree, it's a bit high, but probably about where a dealership would put it. The dealership probably gave the poor guys next to nothing for the mods then turns around and adds lot of $$$ for them when selling.
 
Test drive the car to a mechanic with an emissions capability. Have him look it over and test against the strict Cal emissions requirement. If it passes, it's a matter of getting a good price deal. If it doesn't pass, run away.
 
They are asking $27,975.


Price is always so subjective but in my opinion they have it at the high end; expected with a dealer. The mods almost become a non-issue, what I mean is, they shouldn't add value to the car and could take away from it because it is not "stock". Again, to your point, an unmolested, low mileage, piece usually will bring more money, however it is always in the eye of the beholder. :W
 
Think about this-with those mods you can bet it's been beat on!issues down the road?:confused
 

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