About to buy an '08 LS3
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: Jasper, Indiana
About to buy an '08 LS3 Ok, taxes are back and I've been saving for a couple months for a new(er) car. I got both "family" cars paid off last year (06 Elantra and 00 Grand Voyager) now I'm looking at something for daddy LOL. I have 12K I'm using for a down payment on something that's going to be strictly my DD for work and fun vehicle.
The vehicles I'm looking at are in the 25-35K price range.
1. '11 Mustang GT
2. '08 Vette LS3
3. 03-04 Z06
4. 09 G8 GXP
5. Challanger R/T
I have all the paperwork done on this car, I just have to go back and sign the loan and finalize.
http://www.mccluskeychevrolet.com/us...03c6c2dc7c.htm
Is there anything about the price, condition, miles, ect... that I should be wary of? I've never driven a stick except for test driving and never driven a Corvette other then test driving with a person with me.
The only things I don't like about it is no HUD and that front license plate on it that will have holes when I take it off
and being I've owned a black car I know whats involved in keeping it clean. Should I pass on this car and look for something else more DD worthy or am I making a good decision? Sorry in advance for the long post, I've never purchased a 30K vehicle and want some opinions on the one I'm finalizing on (maybe) 
The vehicles I'm looking at are in the 25-35K price range.
1. '11 Mustang GT
2. '08 Vette LS3
3. 03-04 Z06
4. 09 G8 GXP
5. Challanger R/T
I have all the paperwork done on this car, I just have to go back and sign the loan and finalize.
http://www.mccluskeychevrolet.com/us...03c6c2dc7c.htm
Is there anything about the price, condition, miles, ect... that I should be wary of? I've never driven a stick except for test driving and never driven a Corvette other then test driving with a person with me.
The only things I don't like about it is no HUD and that front license plate on it that will have holes when I take it off
and being I've owned a black car I know whats involved in keeping it clean. Should I pass on this car and look for something else more DD worthy or am I making a good decision? Sorry in advance for the long post, I've never purchased a 30K vehicle and want some opinions on the one I'm finalizing on (maybe) This is just me but I would not DD a vette. I drove my c6 to work and the car started getting paint chips that was pissing me off
. It was black so it was a pain in the *** keeping it clean or just decent looking. The tires for it are no joke on price. The manual was fun for ripping the gears and gas sipping (28.6 mpg 72mph 6th gear= 1800 rpms
) but it sucked in any sort of traffic. I would look for something else or get it and you DD the elantra to work. That is just me though.
. It was black so it was a pain in the *** keeping it clean or just decent looking. The tires for it are no joke on price. The manual was fun for ripping the gears and gas sipping (28.6 mpg 72mph 6th gear= 1800 rpms) but it sucked in any sort of traffic. I would look for something else or get it and you DD the elantra to work. That is just me though. The vehicles I'm looking at are in the 25-35K price range.
1. '11 Mustang GT
2. '08 Vette LS3
3. 03-04 Z06
4. 09 G8 GXP
5. Challanger R/T
Out of your list the Vettes are the only ones I would look at. I too wouldn't go black for a daily driver though. Most economy cars don't get much better gas mileage than Corvettes do, and they're about the same weight too. A lot of people don't realize how great of a job GM has done at keeping weight off the Corvettes as additional safety items keeps adding weight. An '80's economy car use to weigh 2500 lbs, now they weigh 3000 lbs +. Bob
1. '11 Mustang GT
2. '08 Vette LS3
3. 03-04 Z06
4. 09 G8 GXP
5. Challanger R/T
Out of your list the Vettes are the only ones I would look at. I too wouldn't go black for a daily driver though. Most economy cars don't get much better gas mileage than Corvettes do, and they're about the same weight too. A lot of people don't realize how great of a job GM has done at keeping weight off the Corvettes as additional safety items keeps adding weight. An '80's economy car use to weigh 2500 lbs, now they weigh 3000 lbs +. Bob
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ATI ProCharger and Moser Sales 260 672-2076
PM's disabled, please e-mail me
E-mail: brutespeed@gmail.comob@brutespeed.com
https://brutespeed.com/ Link to website
I just bought an 08 Atomic Orange C6 2LT (no HUD) M6 with 14k miles for $32k. Mine is my new daily driver and it is pretty nice in the city. Definitely more comfortable than my F-Body.
As far as driving a stick. When I bought my last F-Body I had never really driven a stick. I drove the car 200 miles the day I got it. It was a very nervous experience, but by the end of the week it was no problem at all.
As far as driving a stick. When I bought my last F-Body I had never really driven a stick. I drove the car 200 miles the day I got it. It was a very nervous experience, but by the end of the week it was no problem at all.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: Jasper, Indiana
Thanks for replys and advice. The only 3 colors I'm looking at in order of my favorite are crystal red, orange, then black. The other two colors seem to get a higher premium of 32-35k whereas black is 29-31.
I only live 15 minutes from work so taking care of the black wouldn't be too much of a problem, but I'm thinking I should wait till I can find the other 2 colors to pop up under 31k and less then 30k miles. Thanks again, I'll prolly play the waiting game then, unless I can talk him down to 28.5 on the black one lol.
I only live 15 minutes from work so taking care of the black wouldn't be too much of a problem, but I'm thinking I should wait till I can find the other 2 colors to pop up under 31k and less then 30k miles. Thanks again, I'll prolly play the waiting game then, unless I can talk him down to 28.5 on the black one lol.
I say get it life is to short not to get something you want and can afford. The LS3's are nasty engines. Hell a guy I know leased a C6 and it ran a 9.8 on spray. Just do a nice custom cam and heads with bolt on's and that car will rip.
I loved my 08' C6, the ONLY reason I sold it was to buy my 06' ZO6, pick up a Vette you will love it!
HUD is cheap to add and most Vette front plates are stuck on with double sided tape, take a closer look
HUD is cheap to add and most Vette front plates are stuck on with double sided tape, take a closer look
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I own an 08 A6 LS3. Just over 10K miles and only problem I've had is battery running down if left sitting very long. Won't be a problem with a daily driver. It has the most potential of all the rest on your list. You can run quite a lot faster with just intake, headers and a tune.
Incidentally, the new 5.0 mustang can't be made into more cubic inches. To my knowledge all the others can should you go that route.
Incidentally, the new 5.0 mustang can't be made into more cubic inches. To my knowledge all the others can should you go that route.
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I DD my 07 Z06 with no problems at all. I used to have a black C6 and I know what your talking about. but If I got the choice I would take black because its the best color on corvettes IMHO. I would say go for the LS3 c6 and also make sure you get a HUD or add it later, because its one of the best features especially if you want to Daily drive it. check the corvetteforum, you will find some nice cars over there. 95% of the people there take really good care of them ((simply because they dont drive them lol)) GL
I drive mine to work fairly often, with half the time spent in stop and go traffic.
The car appears to be a 1LT or 2 LT as I don't see the HUD controls. If you are going to DD in cold weather, you're going to miss the butt warmer depending how climate controlled your parking locations are. The HUD G-meter is pretty handy for safely learning the limits of the car's handling.
The LS3 M6 tranny is notchy in cold weather (below 40* - 45*) for the first 2-3 miles.
The car appears to be a 1LT or 2 LT as I don't see the HUD controls. If you are going to DD in cold weather, you're going to miss the butt warmer depending how climate controlled your parking locations are. The HUD G-meter is pretty handy for safely learning the limits of the car's handling.
The LS3 M6 tranny is notchy in cold weather (below 40* - 45*) for the first 2-3 miles.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: Jasper, Indiana
Hopefully the weather will break by April and no more 20-30 degree mornings. I only have an house-attached 2 car carport with no walls, but I'm thinking of converting it to a garage ( if that's even possible). I got my first offer from a bank, the dealership goes through 6 of them and I'm waiting on what the others offer me. They said 11K down and 60 months at 375-410/month depending on APR, I really want to do 8-9K down now and add LT's, full exhaust, and lid
Also I did research putting HUD on it and some say you have to buy a special windshield and some not. Will it show up clear and visible without? Thanks again guys
Also I did research putting HUD on it and some say you have to buy a special windshield and some not. Will it show up clear and visible without? Thanks again guys
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 375
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From: Michigan
Are you into modding or do you pretty much want a stock car for your daily driver?
If you dont plan on modding, why not get a c5z06 for about 17k and mod it. As far as performance between the c5z and a c6ls3 in stock form its veryy close. Perhaps drivers race. They say the c5z feels more like a race car compared to the ls3. If you have 12k thats a huge down payment on a c5z and not to far from paying it off. that could be HUGE if you ever decided to mod and not have a car note.
c5z vs c6ls3 is good either way. To each his own. You cant go wrong with either. Its just depends how you look at it in determining which one to buy. Cheap price vs More money. New vs Old Technology. C5 vs C6 bodystyle. Leave stock vs modified etc..
As far as build quality, ride quality, interior, better seats etc. the c6 is much better but if this isnt a big deal then i would say c5z.
The 5.0 mustang would make a nice choice.
My order would be
1. c5z
2.c6ls3
3.11gt
4.g8 gxp
10. Challenger R/T lol. For the price the performance is TERRIBLE. Its a nice *** looking ride though!
Goodluck with your choice! Keep us updated
If you dont plan on modding, why not get a c5z06 for about 17k and mod it. As far as performance between the c5z and a c6ls3 in stock form its veryy close. Perhaps drivers race. They say the c5z feels more like a race car compared to the ls3. If you have 12k thats a huge down payment on a c5z and not to far from paying it off. that could be HUGE if you ever decided to mod and not have a car note.
c5z vs c6ls3 is good either way. To each his own. You cant go wrong with either. Its just depends how you look at it in determining which one to buy. Cheap price vs More money. New vs Old Technology. C5 vs C6 bodystyle. Leave stock vs modified etc..
As far as build quality, ride quality, interior, better seats etc. the c6 is much better but if this isnt a big deal then i would say c5z.
The 5.0 mustang would make a nice choice.
My order would be
1. c5z
2.c6ls3
3.11gt
4.g8 gxp
10. Challenger R/T lol. For the price the performance is TERRIBLE. Its a nice *** looking ride though!
Goodluck with your choice! Keep us updated
Last edited by demarco313; Feb 15, 2011 at 06:58 PM.
I think others have done the HUD conversion w/o a new windshield, but that is a lot of work. I'd look for a 3LT model if you want the HUD bad enough. I like it, but when running through the gears, I still look at the tach on the dash. It's still easier for me to use.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: Jasper, Indiana
I like the looks more and would rather have a C5Z, if only I could find one with a removable roof 
Thats the main reason I'm looking at the LS3, the power stock as a C5Z but with a removable roof. I will not mod whatever car I buy past Lt's, exhaust, CAI, cam, and tune. The regular C5 I just couldn't do (no offense) they look so plain to me. And they just raised the price of the car on their website I'm looking at for the loan from 29K-32K, that sucks if they did that on purpose...
How would I go by getting a loan on a C5Z that's say 18-23K from a private seller? My credit score (610) sucks also, just got divorced 1.5 years ago and forced to file bankruptcy at the time for credit cards (45K worth) she had before we got married that I was stuck paying half! That didn't fly
Thats the main reason I'm looking at the LS3, the power stock as a C5Z but with a removable roof. I will not mod whatever car I buy past Lt's, exhaust, CAI, cam, and tune. The regular C5 I just couldn't do (no offense) they look so plain to me. And they just raised the price of the car on their website I'm looking at for the loan from 29K-32K, that sucks if they did that on purpose...How would I go by getting a loan on a C5Z that's say 18-23K from a private seller? My credit score (610) sucks also, just got divorced 1.5 years ago and forced to file bankruptcy at the time for credit cards (45K worth) she had before we got married that I was stuck paying half! That didn't fly
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...unctional.html
it works fine with the stock windshield
this dude does it installed w parts for $500
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...unctional.html
it works fine with the stock windshield
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...unctional.html
it works fine with the stock windshield
IMHO for a DD I'd go 11 GT with CAI/Tune/exhaust and it will run 11's @ 115-118mph, same as an LS3 C6 (stock).
11 GT hold it's value a bit more as well and the top won't squeek. My 08 C6 top squeeked SO bad it was one of the reasons I sold it, I just couldn't stand it anymore. Went back to an 06 (3rd C6) and all is good but it's NOT my DD.
I would not advise a C6 for a DD (IMHO).
FYI-
VMP's A6 GT with a TVS runs 10.xx @ 134-136mph
That's a DD-
http://www.modularfords.com/forums/s...-5.0-ran-10.32
11 GT hold it's value a bit more as well and the top won't squeek. My 08 C6 top squeeked SO bad it was one of the reasons I sold it, I just couldn't stand it anymore. Went back to an 06 (3rd C6) and all is good but it's NOT my DD.
I would not advise a C6 for a DD (IMHO).
FYI-
VMP's A6 GT with a TVS runs 10.xx @ 134-136mph
That's a DD-http://www.modularfords.com/forums/s...-5.0-ran-10.32
I DD'd a 2002 Z06 into downtown Chicago, my commute brought a grin to my ear. My baby did get a few door chips which I had touched up.
I currently DD a 1SS RWD TBSS, and only one day this winter was so rough I could not drive it.
I'm looking at a 08+ LS3 C6 or a new Camaro, we'll see how I feel next month.
I currently DD a 1SS RWD TBSS, and only one day this winter was so rough I could not drive it.
I'm looking at a 08+ LS3 C6 or a new Camaro, we'll see how I feel next month.