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my 03 z had 98k on it (well maintained) for the hell of it local dealer had an 04 z with 21k on it (hard miles) my son was with me we took it for a drive car felt loose and rode bad (thought it was just me thinking that) then my son looked over at me and said this car rides like crap compared to yours dad, i'd be more worried about the maintenance then miles on it. a lot of guy beat on these cars especially when there weekend worriers, I'd look closely at the exhaust manifold bolts, intake couplers, intake manifold bolts and how black the clutch fluid is since so many guys put the cars back to stock when they sell them. the classified section if fill with "going back to stock" listings so a car advertised as "stock" might have been modded and ran HARD!
My car has 88k, 8 or something owners, I drive it like I stole it. Put a replacement trans, suffered a broken Valve spring, fixed the HUD, and besides a little play in the steering wheel it really doesn't drive too bad. Its now intake/head/cam/exhaust, lowered on stock bolts. I've owned it a year and a few months. Most of the issues I've had were cleaning up the old owners lack of care. The car was $17,800 and I have not a single regret. I personally think it says a lot how hard mine runs/how nice it is considering the abuse it has had and how many owners. If anything I'm happy that I was able to "save" one and I enjoy mine very much. I guess my point is, is that I would buy mine over and over again, and I don't worry about the mileage.
I guess what I'm asking should I pass up a 35k mile car and buy a 10-15k mile car for $2-3k more....would the lower milage be worth it?
I'm going to be honest I will be beating the crap out of my Z06 75% of the time!
I'm really not that picky I've had 2 F-bodies and we all know they are know for their creaks and rattles!
In my opinion, you should buy an 04 car, with similar mileage, because the 04 Corvette Z06 has many upgrades which (in my opinion) are WELL worth the difference in price. (shifter forks, shocks etc.)
I am on my 3rd vette. My first was a 96 vert (C4) auto with 38,000 miles and it was as clean as the day it rolled of the factory floor. Ran great and no issues. My second was a 00 vert (C5) 6 speen with 89,000 miles on it and I drove that one hard. It ran great with no issues and no squeeks or rattles. I now have a 04 Z06 with 18,900 miles and it is like new and runs great. I guess like any car the harder you run it the more you will wear it out, but IMO I think these cars hold up very well.
WAYYYYYYY dead thread hahaha. I bet the reason that the 35k mile car felt loose and crappy was because someone babied it too much before he got it
Seriously, I can't remember the last time I took my car out and didn't drive it hard. It feels better now at 80k miles than it did when I got it at 60k. I had detonation issues when i first got it when it was hot out, but after driving it hard for a few weeks when it was cool at night they completely went away.
its a race car. routine maintenance like said above and youll be good. plus how I look at it, if something breaks, its an excuse to upgrade. Change all your fluids, new valve springs, and youll be good to let it rip