Corvette gurus....need advice
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Corvette gurus....need advice
me and a guy i know was talking about his 04 z06 and what nots....he says he'd like to sell it for 20K. here is the run down of the car and tell me what you think (reasonable) a good offer would be.
its a yellow 04 z06 with 105,000+ miles on it.
seats have a couple of tears but no more than a inch long.
rest of interior is spotless.
paint and body have that of a car with 105k miles would. (little rock chips but no cracks in fiberglass)
needs 4 new tires
tranny is on the verg of breaking, clutch is on its way out the door.
took the ls6 out and put a ls1 in it....but took the heads and intake off the ls6 and put it on the ls1 (still ls6 right?). heads are from Texas speed stage 2.5
has aftermarket cam and springs but thats it. everything else is stock....even the tune.
the cars body and interior is in great shape......what would you give for it?
thanks guys
its a yellow 04 z06 with 105,000+ miles on it.
seats have a couple of tears but no more than a inch long.
rest of interior is spotless.
paint and body have that of a car with 105k miles would. (little rock chips but no cracks in fiberglass)
needs 4 new tires
tranny is on the verg of breaking, clutch is on its way out the door.
took the ls6 out and put a ls1 in it....but took the heads and intake off the ls6 and put it on the ls1 (still ls6 right?). heads are from Texas speed stage 2.5
has aftermarket cam and springs but thats it. everything else is stock....even the tune.
the cars body and interior is in great shape......what would you give for it?
thanks guys
#2
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It's got high miles for a Vette. The transmission will need to be repaired and should be beefed up. Probably $2-3k there. The clutch will probably be another $1k. If you aren't up to tackling this yourself, then you'll need to add labor to those estimates. I would also add another $500 for a real tune. Driving around with a factory tune on a heads/cam car isn't smart.
The fact it has a different motor will hurt it in the long run from a collectors standpoint. Probably not something you will be worried about. It also raises the question as to why the motor was swapped and how the car was treated. The heads and cam it has on it are making more power than the LS6 did. Which is probably why it needs a tranny rebuild and a clutch.
I can find several examples on CF of lower mileage cars with nothing wrong with them in the in the 20-25k range.
'03 Z06 9k miles $22k
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...3-red-z06.html
'03 Z06 58k miles $20k
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...miles-20k.html
'04 Z06 18k miles $25k
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...ady-ny-nj.html
That's just the first page and looking at Z06's. If you want to mod it, then you can open the door to coupes and fixed roof coupes and go much lower price wise.
Back to the original question, with those miles and in that condition I wouldn't go over $16k for it. You have at least $3k in repairs to do to it. Add on at least a $1k in labor if you aren't going to do it yourself. A realistic starting point is $14-15k.
The fact it has a different motor will hurt it in the long run from a collectors standpoint. Probably not something you will be worried about. It also raises the question as to why the motor was swapped and how the car was treated. The heads and cam it has on it are making more power than the LS6 did. Which is probably why it needs a tranny rebuild and a clutch.
I can find several examples on CF of lower mileage cars with nothing wrong with them in the in the 20-25k range.
'03 Z06 9k miles $22k
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...3-red-z06.html
'03 Z06 58k miles $20k
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...miles-20k.html
'04 Z06 18k miles $25k
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...ady-ny-nj.html
That's just the first page and looking at Z06's. If you want to mod it, then you can open the door to coupes and fixed roof coupes and go much lower price wise.
Back to the original question, with those miles and in that condition I wouldn't go over $16k for it. You have at least $3k in repairs to do to it. Add on at least a $1k in labor if you aren't going to do it yourself. A realistic starting point is $14-15k.
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2004 paint should still be good unless it has been rad out. And by what you said it hasnt been. So dont touch the paint to much $ and people really get cold feet on a car that has been repaint. Look at all the other stuff not good with the car. A good shop car buff out and touch up small rock chips and still have the org paing on the car...15,k to 17,k with not the org motor or a z06 motor in her....
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thanks guys. i will be doing the work myself along with my friend that owns a shop. i was thinkin in the 13-15k range myself.
single digits on miles on new motor. hasn't been in there long.
single digits on miles on new motor. hasn't been in there long.
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#8
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In great condition with low miles that car would be worth $26k-30K. Mods to the car don't add value for the most part. And in the general market, they decrease value. In this case I'd call it a wash.
The transmission is an MN12 trans and they're not cheap when new. Although, you can get a used one for about 1200-1500, plus you'll need a clutch and the labor. You're looking at a bare-minimum of $2500 to have a used transmission with a new clutch put in. The trans is in the back and it's a PITA to take down and put up. The clutch is in the front, so there's work around the torque tube on both ends.
It has 105K miles which isn't necessarily a bad thing since LSx motors will last a very long time if well taken care of. If you know that this motor has received its maintenance on time and regularly, it's probably good for another 100K miles although I'd do a full tune up on it and replace the timing chain if it hasn't already been.
Millennium Yellow is the most difficult and expensive paint to touch up or repaint. The clear coat is very expensive, the paint itself is expensive, and so on... If you don't mind the chips or you're willing to put the money into it, it's worth it. I have a Millennium Yellow Z06 and I love the color. I get looks and comments all the time. When I park my 03 MY Z next to a black 06+ Z, I get more comments.
And finally, tires. They're not cheap for stock sizes. The front's are an odd size and the backs are wide as hell. I have Toyo T1Rs all at stock sizes and the entire set ran just about $1200 mounted and balanced. There are certainly cheaper tires that are great tires like the Nitto NT05s and you can get an entire set for your car in slightly wider sizes for under $1000.
I'd say that the car is worth 15-17K due to miles and the work that still needs to be done to it:
Lets say 26K base price.
$26,000
-$2,500 (transmission/clutch)
-$1,000 (tires)
-$3,000 (for miles, generally Z06s of that year are below 30K miles)
-$2,000 (paint)
-$500 (Full tune up with timing chain/sprockets and labor)
-$500 (For the fix for the rips in the seats)
That puts the car at $16,500. That sounds about right as well.
The transmission is an MN12 trans and they're not cheap when new. Although, you can get a used one for about 1200-1500, plus you'll need a clutch and the labor. You're looking at a bare-minimum of $2500 to have a used transmission with a new clutch put in. The trans is in the back and it's a PITA to take down and put up. The clutch is in the front, so there's work around the torque tube on both ends.
It has 105K miles which isn't necessarily a bad thing since LSx motors will last a very long time if well taken care of. If you know that this motor has received its maintenance on time and regularly, it's probably good for another 100K miles although I'd do a full tune up on it and replace the timing chain if it hasn't already been.
Millennium Yellow is the most difficult and expensive paint to touch up or repaint. The clear coat is very expensive, the paint itself is expensive, and so on... If you don't mind the chips or you're willing to put the money into it, it's worth it. I have a Millennium Yellow Z06 and I love the color. I get looks and comments all the time. When I park my 03 MY Z next to a black 06+ Z, I get more comments.
And finally, tires. They're not cheap for stock sizes. The front's are an odd size and the backs are wide as hell. I have Toyo T1Rs all at stock sizes and the entire set ran just about $1200 mounted and balanced. There are certainly cheaper tires that are great tires like the Nitto NT05s and you can get an entire set for your car in slightly wider sizes for under $1000.
I'd say that the car is worth 15-17K due to miles and the work that still needs to be done to it:
Lets say 26K base price.
$26,000
-$2,500 (transmission/clutch)
-$1,000 (tires)
-$3,000 (for miles, generally Z06s of that year are below 30K miles)
-$2,000 (paint)
-$500 (Full tune up with timing chain/sprockets and labor)
-$500 (For the fix for the rips in the seats)
That puts the car at $16,500. That sounds about right as well.
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very good info in responses and i am thankful. was wondering on to purchase, fix, maybe mod it some more like LT's and exhaust, CAI, and try to make some money off it. but with the great responses i have got what i want to do does not seem like a good idea.
anyone else wanna add any comments or info on the situation?
anyone else wanna add any comments or info on the situation?
#10
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Yeah, these are dropping in price fast. You're not going to be able to flip it in this economy. By the time you're doing fixing it, it will be past the summer which is when they sell at their highest. Then next year it will already be worth less by the time summer comes around again. These aren't flip cars. Corvettes are toys and personal investments only. If you're ever expecting to make money off a Corvette and you're not an actual dealer, you're just going to lose money. Some people get lucky, but it's not often.
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I'm just letting you know that your tire dealer is bending you over the hood and feeding it to you...
I'm on my 2nd set of Toyo T1Rs and I'm paying $950 installed and spun balanced on my '01z.
YOU ARE WASTING MONEY. Find another tire shop if the other wont deal.
I could almost get Michelin PS2s for $1200...
#12
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Just to reiterate. This is a heads/cam car. It's making significantly more power than it did from the factory. Do not pickup another stock M12. Send the existing one off to be rebuilt and beefed up. You should also be looking at an aftermarket clutch. The Z06 clutch will not hold that kind of power long.
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You're getting ripped and I hate to see it. (Profit is fine, since I'm a Republican, but damn, even though you are a democrat and deserve to lose all your assets and hung from the neck because of your rediculous vote for O6ama's communist/anti-American policies, but I feel that you have to be warned.)
I'm just letting you know that your tire dealer is bending you over the hood and feeding it to you...
I'm on my 2nd set of Toyo T1Rs and I'm paying $950 installed and spun balanced on my '01z.
YOU ARE WASTING MONEY. Find another tire shop if the other wont deal.
I could almost get Michelin PS2s for $1200...
I'm just letting you know that your tire dealer is bending you over the hood and feeding it to you...
I'm on my 2nd set of Toyo T1Rs and I'm paying $950 installed and spun balanced on my '01z.
YOU ARE WASTING MONEY. Find another tire shop if the other wont deal.
I could almost get Michelin PS2s for $1200...
Just to reiterate. This is a heads/cam car. It's making significantly more power than it did from the factory. Do not pickup another stock M12. Send the existing one off to be rebuilt and beefed up. You should also be looking at an aftermarket clutch. The Z06 clutch will not hold that kind of power long.
LS1 blocks are technically stronger than LS6 blocks. If you put an LS6 cam and heads on an LS1 they make the same power. The previous owner did a heads/cam package on an LS1 block. He likely used the LS6 oil pump and intake, so I don't see anything wrong with it. The only thing he wouldn't have is that extra oiling window on the LS6, but it's not like that's any real advantage.
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How do you know it's "significantly more power"? The OP never said how much power it's making. The stock MN12 can handle LOTS of power. But you're right, the stock clutch is not the right clutch for anything over 400RW. That's likely the reason the trans is broken now. Possibly a bad clutch and hard shifts. Not a good combo. But I haven't heard of a N/A heads/cam setup that was streetable and it needed a built trans. I know people putting over 600RW through the stock T56. MN12 isn't any weaker than an MN6.
My car is probably in the 450-460rwhp range with the present combo and my transmission is showing signs of needing some attention. It's silly to find a stock unit for about the same cost to ship the existing transmission to a place like RPM and have it built to sustain the current power level and more.
I do agree with your comments on the LS1 motor. As long as it's sound and the important pieces are changed over the only thing it will effect is its originality for a collector.
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Fair enough. From my experience, if the clutch is going bad and you drive it hard it will screw up the trans because you're going to hurt forks and gears. However, a lot of times people thing the transmissions are going when it's just a single fork that's bad or there's some slight grinding which is usually a bad throw-out bearing or clutch.
If the money is the same to have RPM build the trans, then I'd say that's the best solution, but finding a use MN12 for cheap isn't hard. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CORVE...#ht_657wt_1166)
Just my thoughts... If it were my car, I'd have it built. I'd do a hardened output shaft too.
If the money is the same to have RPM build the trans, then I'd say that's the best solution, but finding a use MN12 for cheap isn't hard. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CORVE...#ht_657wt_1166)
Just my thoughts... If it were my car, I'd have it built. I'd do a hardened output shaft too.