NPCP 2004 Z06 Corvette

"Cherry_man1" (Cherry_man1)
07/14/2014 at 15:29 • Filed to: NPCP, 2004 Corvette Z06

$25,900

Good Price or no?

18,593 Miles on the Clock

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DISCUSSION (37)

mcseanerson > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:31

What is more important, low miles or LS7? C6 Z06 can be had at this price on a good day.

thisisamazonman > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:31

Eh.... its rare ish, and has really low miles... what number is it? Like 50/2000 or something?

Jayhawk Jake > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:32

DP...Decent price. It's a low mileage Z06, probably about right. Maybe like $1000 too high. Higher mileage Z06's are around $20k.

Cherry_man1 > thisisamazonman
07/14/2014 at 15:33

Doesnt Say

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:35

"That's a ticket to a festival of plastic death!" — Top Gear (although about a TVR)

Edit — to say something meaningful, not really a Corvette person but at some point you just can't say no to a big honkin' V8.

Cherry_man1 > Jayhawk Jake
07/14/2014 at 15:35

I was looking in my close vicinity and this is the best looking one out there.

willkinton247 > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:36

I've been watching these. That's a good price for one of those.

Cherry_man1 > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
07/14/2014 at 15:36

lol

Manuél Ferrari > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:43

Definitely an intriguing alternative to a used E46 M3, new or new-ish FiST, FoST, BRZ/FRS, Mustang V6, etc.

Cherry_man1 > Manuél Ferrari
07/14/2014 at 15:45

My dad wont go BMW and ST's don't have RWD or Power I'm looking for. V6 Stangs are Nice but there is only one I really want and its rarer then shit.

Jayhawk Jake > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:48

I have this weird opinion about Corvette pricing.

Do you want a C5 Z06 Corvette? This is a nice price.

Do you just want a Corvette? This is an okay price. If you just want a Corvette you can spend a lot less on one. If you forgo the Z06 package and get the normal coupe (I personally prefer it because targa) with more miles you can save $10k.

My personal target Corvette in ~2 years is a C5 Coupe (not FRC) with HUD and less than 60k miles for less than $15000. Those already exist today

What I'm trying to say is the special Corvettes command a premium. If you want that specific type of Corvette, go for it, otherwise save yourself money and get a standard one.

Jayhawk Jake > mcseanerson
07/14/2014 at 15:48

Where have you seen a C6 Z06 for this price?

A normal C6, sure.

Jayhawk Jake > thisisamazonman
07/14/2014 at 15:50

I'm pretty sure they built more than 2000 Z06's. If they didn't then most of them are here, because I see quite a few around.

mcseanerson > Jayhawk Jake
07/14/2014 at 15:52

If you look high and low on the internet often enough with patience you can find them. I have seen them before. I also know a guy who bought one and autocrosses it.

Cherry_man1 > Jayhawk Jake
07/14/2014 at 15:54

Well I'm thinking along the lines of performance.

Manuél Ferrari > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:55

This Corvette seems like a great pick to me. It should be reliable and it will probably hold it's value better than any of those other cars.

Plus mad track day weapon, yo

Shifty > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 15:59

Decent price for a dealership, considering the low mileage. I'd hit it...

Jayhawk Jake > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 16:01

Then sure, go for it. I'd probably try to weasel another grand out of them, but I think it's a perfectly reasonable price given how low the mileage is and the year.

Have you checked the Corvette forum? Prices on there are the best.

Cherry_man1 > Manuél Ferrari
07/14/2014 at 16:05

I'm kinda think that but it will also be a DD so I'm kinda leaning towards a Termi

Cherry_man1 > Jayhawk Jake
07/14/2014 at 16:10

No not really there is a local club I can check with though at the show next Wednesday I know a few ppl in it

Jayhawk Jake > mcseanerson
07/14/2014 at 16:13

Interesting. I'm hoping normal early C6 prices come down the next two years. I'm planning on buying a Corvette the summer of 2016. If reasonable mileage C6 coupes dip below $20k I will do everything in my power to make that happen.

Manuél Ferrari > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 16:14

I could DD the Corvette but I don't have kids and live less than 5 miles from work. So I'm a bad example as I could basically DD anything...

mcseanerson > Jayhawk Jake
07/14/2014 at 16:15

That is pushing it. I don't know if C6 coupe with good prices + manual I assume will get there. Obviously C7 should be pushing C6 prices down with the mass exodus to stingrays but I don't know if it will go that low that fast.

Jayhawk Jake > mcseanerson
07/14/2014 at 16:18

I agree, I think it's wishful thinking. A cursory glance at autotrader for manual C6's (of course) shows the values right around $25k for 2006-2007 MY with reasonable mileage. In 2 years that probably won't drop much more than 1-2k.

I'm okay with the C5, as I've said to some other people I doubt my first Corvette will be my last Corvette.

Textured Soy Protein > Jayhawk Jake
07/14/2014 at 16:32

When I test drove a C5 Z51 convertible last week, it had the HUD. Something about it was just weird to me, where it was playing tricks on my eyes and distracting me. I had to turn it off.

Having now driven a C5 base, Z51 and Z06, the Z06 is far and away the best to drive. The Z51 is acceptable and the base, ehh not really a fan.

But I agree that the targa is the most desirable of the different body styles.

briannutter1 > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 16:40

That's the last year of the c5z and those miles are very low. If it's been cared for, that's a great deal. Almost everything now has 80-120k miles with multiple owners and running under $20k. The extra $3-5k will buy someone a lot less wear and tear....and it will rip the ass out of anything new for that dollar.

Reigntastic > Manuél Ferrari
07/14/2014 at 17:28

28mpg highway? Z06 should daily.

Manuél Ferrari > Reigntastic
07/14/2014 at 18:01

It's seriously a hell of a deal both for entry price and running costs.

I dunno why used Corvettes don't get more love on this site. Everyone loves the Miata but not enough people love the Corvette.

Reigntastic > Manuél Ferrari
07/14/2014 at 18:04

I love Corvettes! I'll get one when I can afford it.

Manuél Ferrari > Reigntastic
07/14/2014 at 18:04

Then you can post about it and spread Corvette love!

Axial > Cherry_man1
07/14/2014 at 18:09

Eh, standard price. It edges closer to CP, however. Where I live, many a C5 Z06 have been sold for $18,000-$20,000, so this is a bit rich for my blood.

Jayhawk Jake > Textured Soy Protein
07/14/2014 at 20:29

I drove a C6 with the HUD, I loved it.

I haven't driven a C5 yet. I'd expect the Z06 to be the best, but I really want the targa. What was it about the base that you didn't like? Handling? Power? I just wonder if it's something the aftermarket could fix

Textured Soy Protein > Jayhawk Jake
07/14/2014 at 22:21

Corvettes are kinda big for sports cars. They have long hoods, you sit far back, they're wide—so they just feel big.

Handling-wise, the Z06 manages to feel nice and chuckable for its size. It drives smaller than it is. To use the cliche, the car feels like it shrinks around you.

The Z51 you definitely notice the size of the car, but the suspension is still pretty well sorted for driving stupidly. It's got impressively little body roll, but you notice the overall size of the car more than the Z06.

The base car, compared to both the Z51 and Z06, feels much more like an actually big car. It's much more GT in character than full on sports car.

The Z06 obviously has a good amount more power, and also produces lots more noise. In addition it has both different gearing in the transmission, and a shorter final drive ratio. So overall its acceleration feels much more like UNLEASH THE FURY than the others.

Overall the base and Z51 feel like powerful enough, but not the floor it and whoooaaa I gotta hang on feeling of the Z06. The base and Z51 have the same motor and transmission gears, but the Z51 has a shorter final drive, which does make the Z51 feel a bit more punchy. But 6th in the Z51 is still ridiculously tall. Which does help with fuel economy on the highway.

Neither the base nor Z51 is particularly loud. They sound nice, but you feel like you want more noise.

I'm not sure on the exact specifics of the Z51 suspension but I think it has some combination of stiffer springs, swaybars, and shocks. If you must have the targa, and don't feel like messing with the suspension too much, the Z51 is the move for sure.

You could probably keep the stock springs, add some Bilstein Sport shocks, thicker sway bars, good modern performance tires instead of run-flat crap, and a nice aggressive alignment, and get the handling much more tossable. Throw an intake and exhaust (maybe some headers too?) to get more noise and a little power bump, and you'd probably be good.

I would also do something with the brakes, as the stock Z51 brakes felt ok but nothing special. But just your basic performance pads, stainless lines, quality fluid and maybe slotted rotors would do the trick for a street car. If you need more brake I believe the C6 Z06 brakes are a direct bolt on but you need bigger wheels to clear them. You can also do C6 Z51 brakes which I think are actually bigger than C5 Z06.

At least that's what I'd do.

Jayhawk Jake > Textured Soy Protein
07/14/2014 at 22:38

I get what you're saying. It's similar to how the Camaro is a big ass car in base form, but when it gets the 1LE pack it's suddenly a capable sports car.

When I drove the C6 it blew my mind how fast it was. The fastest car I'd driven to that point was a Cayman R, and that was on an autox course. I daily a 160ish HP Chevy Sonic, so I'm sure the base Vette will feel fast. I do agree that it felt big, but it didn't feel heavy to me, just wide and long.

Exhaust has always been in my plans, and some mild performance modifications are always welcome.

It can sound properly insane with a good exhaust

I think a C6 brake/wheel swap would be perfect, I've seen a bunch of people do the C6 wheels at least just for looks alone.

It's such a shame the C5 Z06 used the FRC body, otherwise we wouldn't even be having this discussion...

Textured Soy Protein > Jayhawk Jake
07/15/2014 at 00:44

Well, I understand why GM made the C5 Z06 only available on the FRC. They were trying to build a track rat on the (relatively) cheap and the FRC was the lightest, most rigid body style of the C5.

The FRC really isn't that bad. You just can't pop the top. It actually feels decently roomy inside because like the targa, there's not a full bulkhead behind the seats. The cabin is open to the trunk, same as the targa. So there's a lot of open space behind you, in spite of it not looking like there would be from the outside. Observe:

Kinja'd!!!

It feels pretty airy in there. Way less claustrophobic than the convertible with the top up.

As for straight line speed, the C5 Z06 is about even with the base C6. Both will run mid 12s in the 1/4 mile which is properly quick. The base C5 is somewhat off this pace.

Overall, for me the choice between C5 Z06, and Z51 targa, isn't quite so easy. Because even though I really like some kind of open roof, the Z06 really is quite good.

Jayhawk Jake > Textured Soy Protein
07/15/2014 at 01:18

oh, I totally get GMs logic. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.

I really have my heart set on some form of open top motoring. Having a fixed roof is a bummer to me on the Corvette, plus I think the C5 targa is jut better looking than the C5 Z06.

I'll have to drive all three. The Z51 sounds like the way I'd go, even if I should just get a Z06

Textured Soy Protein > Cherry_man1
07/15/2014 at 01:43

CP because it looks like it's been prepped for track use. Unless you're looking for a track car. There's a cage, what looks like a battery box in the trunk, and this weird rip cord thing mounted to the dash.

Kinja'd!!!