El_Phantasmo

On a wild hair, my wife (who currently owns a Orange 2009 RT Challenger) said she's been thinking about a Vette lately.

With about 10 minutes searching online, we found a red 6 speed manual with 22K miles at a dealership a few minutes away.

We test drove it, runs great, she likes it, but they wont budge off $33,000.

Sound like a decent deal?

It's very clean, no visible flaws. It rattles a bit, but it's a 7 year old American car so what are you gonna do.

It's got the Z51 Exhaust according to the ad. Man, it sounds great from the outside! But inside, argh, it sure drones a lot. Do you guys think it may have aftermarket exhaust? Does the Z51 exhaust drone that bad?

Thanks for any insight you guys may have. Been a member here for a while, but dont post much. Thanks!

El_Phantasmo

Also, one more question that I figure you guys can answer quick.

Does the passenger side airbag deactivate if the passenger does not meet a certain weight?

I ask because we have an 8 year old that will sometimes ride in this car.

Thanks again!!

MaxximuS

it may have after market exhaust. the z51 refers to the suspension, sway bars, brakes

El_Phantasmo

Ahh, ok, thanks.

El_Phantasmo

Just going by what the salesman said, but who know if he knows what he's talking about. LOL

Danno1985

Maybe the prices are higher in your area but I bought an 08 Z51 6-speed manual for right at 30K. This was less than 6 months ago. It had 4950 miles on the OD. Hopefully that gives you a reference point.

lowes48

Way to high for a 6 speed.

tprice

i agree plus we need to know the options it has

Yes on the passenger side airbag it is weight sensitive

If really in the market do not jump into the first Vette you find, take your time and read on here and decide what options you want

The dual mode exhuast is a MUST in my book, plus the HUD

Red08

It sounds a bit high to me. I bought my 2008 in October 2012...one owner, 21,000 miles, auto, NPP, non Z51, and paid less than that.

clearwaterms

there are alot of factors that are contributing to the price. I think you can do better than $33k, but maybe not on that car. There are cars on this site in the for-sale section (private owners, maintenance history, etc.) for less money. Some of the people selling are a little more willing to deal than others. They are great cars, best of luck with your decision...

drews60

33K is his starting price. If you are a good negotiator you'll be able to bring him down to 30K, a bit more realistic.

Check the tires. They are a high dollar item.

As stated earlier, shop around. See what's out there. I had a 500 mile search radius but fate dropped my latest Vette almost on my doorstep.

sunburstLS3

I think the price should be about 3K lower. Depends on the area, if there aren't any vettes around for miles, then they'll ask higher prices.

I bought my 2008 a little over a year ago. I had to drive 60 miles to see it at the dealership as there were no other vettes around with the LS3 and near my price range. There were quite a few newer ones nearby, but they were newer and out of my price range. I had already been looking for about 6 months. So I ended up buying the 2008 at the dealership 60 miles away. Paid slightly more than it was probably worth, and it had quite a few more miles than I wanted. But after 6 months, I came to the conclusion it was going to be very hard to find what I wanted and what I could afford in the midwest area I live.

The 2008 vette I bought was in excellent condition inside & out, 41K miles, and it was listed at $30,600 as it had been reduced already and my feeling was I wasn't going to be able to negotiate them down much further (this was 1 year ago - April/2014). The tires looked worn, so I asked them for new tires. They said they'd split the cost of new tires. (Since they had tires in-house they could get them put on a little cheaper)

I agreed, and got the vette for $31K even. They delivered the vette to my house the following week with BRAND NEW Pilot Sports put on. Overall, it was an "ok" deal, I probably overpaid a little based on the mileage the car already had. But there were no other vettes in the area either.

In the past year, I've only put 1,000 miles on the car. It's mostly is a garage queen, so the higher mileage purchase was fine in my case.

*Trip*

Deff drive as many as you can and pay attention to the options packages.... They will affect the price..... And you can decide what's important to you..... That deal sounds about $5k high in my area..... Unless there are no others around, it is loaded 3LT, and has brand new Michelin tires on it....

And if it drones.... It is an aftermarket exhaust..... And if it bothers you on a test drive it will make you bonkers in the real world.....

bensinc

Like someone else said, I don't think the Z51 has any exhaust changes. But, does it have the dual mode NPP exhaust?

I just bought a 2008, and while I didn't notice during test drives, on the way home it was droning pretty badly. Only after some research did I realize that people will pull the NPP exhaust fuse to make it loud at all times, and sure enough, mine was pulled!

When operating properly, the NPP exhaust should be almost too quiet under 3500 RPM, but open up over 3500 RPM.

If you buy it, check out the "mild 2 wild" switch that replaces the fuse and allows you to adjust the exhaust at any time.

4SUMERZ

There is no such thing as a Z51 exhaust. The Z51 optioned car had regular OEM mufflers with no drone.
That car has an after market exhaust, and the drone is not good for any road trip car if that's what you plan to do with it.
It will drive you insane, and won't want to drive it on long trips.

There should be no rattles at all. I have a 2006 Z51 optioned car, with 65K miles on it, and not one rattle. I bet that car you looked at needs new sway bar end links, or it has a loose heat shield. I replaced my end links at 40K miles, but some go bad earlier than that.

If you really like the car, take your time, search online for a better deal. Like above, $30K should be achievable.

It took me 3 months to find the coupe, color I wanted with all the options (3LT) + NAV , but it was 1250 miles away.
No problem, I flew in, drove it back home.

Good Luck

RoadkingC6

As said in above posts there is no Z-51 exhaust, and if the drone on a test drive bothers you, it will get worse on longer trips may want to check out a few Vettes before buying, and maybe spend a little time learning about these cars, i have a Z-51 optioned car and love it, but you should know the car has a little stiffer ride than the non Z- 51 optioned car due to the suspension differences, and you might want to do a few test drives to see which you prefer.

vetteright

I have an '08 coupe, manual 6 speed, with 41,000 miles (non Z51) and it is tight as a drum; absolutely no rattles, bangs or squeaks whatsoever. (I don't believe that I have ever been in a C6 that rattles). It has been a great car from the day it was purchased. Good luck with your search.

boraxman

Too much money...Look for a private party deal... Lots of fine cars for sale right here on the forum/

El_Phantasmo

Thanks everybody, we're going to pass on it. They wont budge off of $33k, they already came down from $35K. I have a feeling they overpaid for it, otherwise it seems like they wouldn't have let us walk. We offered $31K for it. The sales manager turned it down and said that that price would be a "brother in law deal" and there's no way he'd go that low for us.

We'll keep looking.

Thanks again!

El_Phantasmo

For anybody interested, after some haggling we ended up bringing it home.

Thanks for everybody that offered price advice!

It sounded like the general consensus here on the forum was that it was worth $28-30K.

I looked for a C6 for myself a couple years ago, and it seemed like red cars for some reason were going for about $2K higher than an otherwise exact car in another color. Have you guys noticed that too?

We got it for $31K, and they gave us extra money on her Challenger they weren't going to give us, so realistically I guess we're right at $30K.

(At least that's how we justified it, LOL)

She loves it, and loves the exhaust. We found out it's got Billy Boat exhaust we think, and it is a 3LT. The paint is flawless, I can't even find a rock chip on the nose.

She was sold when she started it up that first day and heard the rumble, but we drove it again to make sure. She doesn't seem concerned about the drone, it's not too bad I guess, I just haven't had a car that had any drone since my '89 Mustang I had years ago so I'm not used to it. (it had full length headers, no converters, and dumps right past the Flowmasters)

Anyway, mamma's happy, so everyone is happy!

Thanks again!