Tempted by the fruit of another....
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Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Long Island/C'ville, VA
If you have the means, I don't see a reason NOT to buy the Z06. I've been around a lot of C6 Vette's lately, and they look pretty damn good. MUCH better than the C5 in terms of interior and fit and finish. I can only assume that the Z06 steps it up a notch from the standard car too.
Please post pics and a review when you've fully broken her in.
Please post pics and a review when you've fully broken her in.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: SF, California
So the only question that I would be asking myself if I were to do it is how am I going to use it.
Is it going to be a daily driver?
Is it going to be a weekend cruiser?
Is it going to be a track monster?
Or is it going to be a combination of the three?
If the Z06 is going to be anything like your S then it's a low milage weekendish cruiser. So the question you have to ask yourself, is the price you're going to pay worth the limited use that your going to get from it? Now if you're a full blown corvette fan then the price/use tradeoff may not be important to you, but if you were a hard core fan you wouldn't be asking the question anyway
Me personally the answer is no. The corvette looks good but not that great to me. I'm not a big fan of the modern vette styling, I would buy a stingray before a modern vette. Old schools styling is just killer to me. Also for me the car would be a low use cruiser/something that I might consider tracking. For a cruiser I'm not sure the vette even makes sense for me. To buy one in that price range money would have to mostly not matter, which means that any car under about $200K is far game. At under $200K there are other cars that I would want more, and would perform similarly or better on both the track and high performance cruising. For a real track car I'd prefer to buy something cheaper that I don't car if I wreck. Makes the driving more fun and you can push yourself more.
Plus to be honest the image of the vette isn't my image, has too much of a nascar/mid-life crisis feel to me and at my stage in life that's just not me. It's alot of peoples dream car but not mine. *shrugh*
It's a nice value but the question you have to ask is it a good value to you? Is it worth that $60K or so to you? Only you can answer that question. I'd rather save more and buy a car that I really love rather than pick up the vette no matter how good the value is.
Is it going to be a daily driver?
Is it going to be a weekend cruiser?
Is it going to be a track monster?
Or is it going to be a combination of the three?
If the Z06 is going to be anything like your S then it's a low milage weekendish cruiser. So the question you have to ask yourself, is the price you're going to pay worth the limited use that your going to get from it? Now if you're a full blown corvette fan then the price/use tradeoff may not be important to you, but if you were a hard core fan you wouldn't be asking the question anyway
Me personally the answer is no. The corvette looks good but not that great to me. I'm not a big fan of the modern vette styling, I would buy a stingray before a modern vette. Old schools styling is just killer to me. Also for me the car would be a low use cruiser/something that I might consider tracking. For a cruiser I'm not sure the vette even makes sense for me. To buy one in that price range money would have to mostly not matter, which means that any car under about $200K is far game. At under $200K there are other cars that I would want more, and would perform similarly or better on both the track and high performance cruising. For a real track car I'd prefer to buy something cheaper that I don't car if I wreck. Makes the driving more fun and you can push yourself more.
Plus to be honest the image of the vette isn't my image, has too much of a nascar/mid-life crisis feel to me and at my stage in life that's just not me. It's alot of peoples dream car but not mine. *shrugh*
It's a nice value but the question you have to ask is it a good value to you? Is it worth that $60K or so to you? Only you can answer that question. I'd rather save more and buy a car that I really love rather than pick up the vette no matter how good the value is.
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 161
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From: Midlothian, VA
I love the S2K, but that Z06 is hard to criticize, especially with your history with Corvettes. Anything that most of us might complain about would be "Corvette Character" to you. Plus, If you sell your S2K, you can always come over and work on mine when you miss that Honda quality fit and finish, which is about the only think the S2K has on the Z06.
Oh yeah, and you better take me for a ride in that bad boy if you get one!
Oh yeah, and you better take me for a ride in that bad boy if you get one!
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: franklin
Originally Posted by S2k Dude,May 15 2005, 12:42 AM
Yesterday I took a good look at the C6, a guy at work has one. It's a nice looking car but IMO not worth $55k, the build quality is still substandard, interior parts still feel cheap. The body panels do line up much better than they used to though, so I guess there is one thing good to be said about the fit and finish. Quality ranks high on my list of things to consider when buying a car. I've heard too many people complain about how their previous sports car (usually a Vette or M3) was in the shop more often than it was in the owner's garage.
Some of my complaints about the C6 that I looked at:
1) Seats sucked. They were beyond firm, the seat bottom felt like it had zero padding and they were too wide (I guess for us fat Americans), . I know of one C5 owner that complained about how the seats do not hold up over time and he even had the dealer replace them under warranty, they said it was a common problem.
2) The keyless entry is a joke. Yes it's convenient but I wish GM would first improve other materials before they waste money on gadgets.
3) Plastics and leather were of lesser quality than what's in the S2k.
4) The door felt big and clunky. It shuts poorly, like a an old Chevy Lumina. This is even with the window dropping 1" a-la BMW.
5) Also, my friend with the C6 had to fight with the dealer about some areas that were painted poorly on the car. The dealer tried repainting but just screwed things up more. The dealer ended up swapping the front fenders, hood and front bumper cover with another new car on the lot. (I wonder what sucker bought the car with the crappy painted body panels?)
6) My biggest complaint about driving the car has to be the heavy steering and relatively clunky shifter (of course I'm biased in that area).
The nice things about the car:
1) The gauges light up nicely and are big and easy to read.
2) It's a better looking car than the C5.
3) More than enough HP and torque for the street.
4) Maybe more storage than in the S2000.
That said I got a chance to talk at length with one of the Mechanical Engineers from the Bowling Green Facility and was very impressed with what she was doing (wish I were involved with the next generation Corvette). She was lucky enough to drive a pre-production Z06 from KY to GA just last month. A car with 500 HP would be nice to drive for a change. One thing of note, the Z06 didn't sound any different than the regular C6, maybe something that they are still working on. I'd expect a much deeper growl from a 500 HP car.
I hope the value of the latest Z06 hold up better than past Vettes, something I think the S2000 has done a good job of.
I guess if you can overlook all the faults of the car and focus on the power, good looks and decent handling I say run out and buy one. GM really NEEDS your money!
Some of my complaints about the C6 that I looked at:
1) Seats sucked. They were beyond firm, the seat bottom felt like it had zero padding and they were too wide (I guess for us fat Americans), . I know of one C5 owner that complained about how the seats do not hold up over time and he even had the dealer replace them under warranty, they said it was a common problem.
2) The keyless entry is a joke. Yes it's convenient but I wish GM would first improve other materials before they waste money on gadgets.
3) Plastics and leather were of lesser quality than what's in the S2k.
4) The door felt big and clunky. It shuts poorly, like a an old Chevy Lumina. This is even with the window dropping 1" a-la BMW.
5) Also, my friend with the C6 had to fight with the dealer about some areas that were painted poorly on the car. The dealer tried repainting but just screwed things up more. The dealer ended up swapping the front fenders, hood and front bumper cover with another new car on the lot. (I wonder what sucker bought the car with the crappy painted body panels?)
6) My biggest complaint about driving the car has to be the heavy steering and relatively clunky shifter (of course I'm biased in that area).
The nice things about the car:
1) The gauges light up nicely and are big and easy to read.
2) It's a better looking car than the C5.
3) More than enough HP and torque for the street.
4) Maybe more storage than in the S2000.
That said I got a chance to talk at length with one of the Mechanical Engineers from the Bowling Green Facility and was very impressed with what she was doing (wish I were involved with the next generation Corvette). She was lucky enough to drive a pre-production Z06 from KY to GA just last month. A car with 500 HP would be nice to drive for a change. One thing of note, the Z06 didn't sound any different than the regular C6, maybe something that they are still working on. I'd expect a much deeper growl from a 500 HP car.
I hope the value of the latest Z06 hold up better than past Vettes, something I think the S2000 has done a good job of.
I guess if you can overlook all the faults of the car and focus on the power, good looks and decent handling I say run out and buy one. GM really NEEDS your money!
the shifter clicks into place and though longer than the s2k feels a lot more solid and is not clunky at all.Maybe you need to spend some time with one rather than speculating.With some simple mods and tuning I'm putting down 390 to the wheels,you still think thats crap?
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 3,290
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From: Atlanta
Originally Posted by archtop,May 14 2005, 05:19 PM
Dude that is such BS,I have had more problems with my s2k than I have had with my C6.Listen like zero problems in 6k miles.The seats(driver and passanger) have power side bolsters and power lumbar and are power adjustable so you can get a driving position way better than the s2k.The keyless system is awesome and works flawlessly,unlocks as you approach,locks as you leave ,push button start whats not to like about that.Windows index for easy entry and exit.Plastics just as good as s2k and the leather is softer and better.The door shuts rock solid,The
the shifter clicks into place and though longer than the s2k feels a lot more solid and is not clunky at all.Maybe you need to spend some time with one rather than speculating.With some simple mods and tuning I'm putting down 390 to the wheels,you still think thats crap?
the shifter clicks into place and though longer than the s2k feels a lot more solid and is not clunky at all.Maybe you need to spend some time with one rather than speculating.With some simple mods and tuning I'm putting down 390 to the wheels,you still think thats crap?
I've had zero problems with my S2000 in 40,000 miles, fit and finish is high for a $30k car. I've spent all the time I want behind the wheel of a Corvette which is a grand total of a little more than 45 minutes. That was enough to know which car I liked better, no speculation here. I've test driven the C4, C5 and the C6 and yes each one is better than the last but it's not the car for me. There are three people at work with Corvettes, two C5's and one C6. More often than not one of those three are having and issue with their car at any given time, some major (like needing to have the car towed to the dealership) and some minor (like water leaking through the seals in the removable roof panel).
If you've had more problems with the S2000 then your in the minority. After being on this board for four years I've seen a clear trend between people who have problems and those who either drive their car really hard or mod the car without thinking about what other problems they are causing themselves down the road. Of course there are many S2000 owners who drive their car hard and never have problems and still others, maybe like yourself, who care for the car and still have issues.
Getting back on topic here, the C6 is and awesome car and the Z06 even more so, if Roadrage wants the car I say he should get it. If he has buyer's remorse and feels he didn't make the right choice I'm sure the car will be easy to sell. Like I said, GM needs his support and I'm all for supporting American companies but will not buy a GM product based on the companies past history of quality. I hate spending one minute more than I need at any dealership, Chevrolet or Honda.
I'm not saying that I wouldn't like a Z06 parked in my garage, I'll take it if someone wants to give me one. I just wouldn't trade my S2000 for it.
