I'm looking to pick up an '02-'03 to use as a daily driver. Advice time:

Is this a reliable car? I want to enjoy it while I drive to work, not to race it or autocross with it.


Any suggestions on where to find one? A buddy of mine suggested a local auto auction for dealers only. The prices looked tempting, but I'm a bit skeptical about the quality of the cars at one of these auctions. Input?

Thanks,

G

 

every car has it's quirks, but I wouldn't worry about long term reliability, there are more than a few 200k+ miles cars, with one approaching 300k.

This website will be a great place to look, also z06vette.com

 

I bought my 2001 SW Z06 for daily driving in Colorado!!!! The only other car I have is the wife's!!! I don't really know about the auctions. I suppose if you can get a good look at the car before bidding you will be fine. Otherwise find a 02-03 Z06 like you said that fits your budget. I got mine for $27500, 2 months ago near Chicago!!! It is pretty well modded and taken care of nicely!!! Only 23,000 miles!!!

Good Luck!!!

 

I dirve mine everyday....that is until it snows

 

Been using my Z as a daily for about a year and change now. Bought it last July with 14K on it now have about 34K. No complaints at all. Fits my wakeboard in the summer time and a ton of groceries. Nothing but oil and tires really. About the only thing I do feel bad about is the growing mileage so I keep the odometer turned off

Used the car even through the winter. Had to go slow but I didn't really have any problems as long as it was slushy.

Only thing that I have had happen, which sucks, and I am trying to rememdy is the leaky roof in the rain. Just haven't had the time to seal it up. The Z's are known for this but you can get lucky and have a non leaky one.

In terms of traffic it gets a little frustrating but thats just because you want to drive the thing and not sit there. One last thing. Gas....its really not too bad. Its all in how you drive it. If I baby the thing I get great gas mileage. Its actually been better on gas then my 97 prelude was. Which was hard for me to believe until I started using it as a daily driver. But on the other side if you hammered down, you can watch the needle drop.


Good luck in your search.

 

guess I got lucky then because my Z saw rain for the first time on my last trip to Vegas as the heat caused a brief desert rain storm. Didn't leak a drop.

 

It is a smile maker
if you wake up with the blues
all you need to do is turn
the key,listen to the rumble, put it into first
and nail it out of the driveway
on the way to work --all
your problems kinda vanish
I drive mine every day

 

i drive mine every day as well. no issues whatsoever. it does get a little annoying in traffic, but i guess any manual car does.

 

Colorado here as well...

Agreed: Z06 + Snow = Costly Trouble

Lots of groceries can be loaded in the boot. Got a picture of mine loaded up that I show to the Viper and Porsche guys, "...yeah, but can yours do THIS?!"

A Z06 is a fine daily driver.

 

I was leery that the Z06 was going to be a twitchy race car, turns out it's not (till you use it that way). The car (in stock form) acts in quite a civil manner when just cruising around, sometimes I forget what an incredible machine I'm driving in! Stand on the gas (gradually) or pitch it into a turn and you'll instantly be reminded this is a factory race car.

I'm not using mine as a DD but its certainly possible, my trusty Ranger takes me fishing and through the snow. The Vette is strictly a pleasure craft and oh, what a pleasure it is!

 

My Z06/Z16 was a DD for about a year. No problems and as other's have said it is very docile when you want it to be but can quickly become the all out performer with slight pressure from the right foot!

I try not to drive in the rain but have got caught three or four times over the past 20 months of ownership. We don't see much if any snow here in north Alabama but it will dip below freezing in Jan - Feb...word of caution here on the F1 SC tires (or any HP tire for that fact) - they do not hook up when the pavement is cold - slippery as snot on glass...ask me how I know (not the snot part, the F1's).

 

I drive my Corvettes everyday. I usually drive the Z06 more in the Spring & Summer and I drive my C6 Z51 the the rest of the time. I love them both, they are very comfortable.

 

I drive my 01 Z06 daily, rain or shine, i cannot stay out of this car.....lol and for the record, mine does not leak

 

I love my '01 as a DD. It is very hard to walk by and leave in the garage, even on rainy days, but I try. You can adjust your driving for cold and rainy weather and still enjoy just being in the car. I love driving a Corvette!!!!! Roll Tide!!!!!!!

 

They are great as daily drivers!
In fact, the car below (in my sig), might that perk your interest?????

 

I also use mine as a daily driver. They tend to have a stereotype of being gas guzzlers because they're V8 and it's a (true) sports car, but in reality, like many of the guys here have said, they get great gas mileage, but it's difficult to keep it that way. The temptation to hear the exhaust scream gets to probably everyone here The fun factor definitely outweighs any con. Good luck with your search!

 

He's right. I'm not even lying. I redline my car atleast once daily. I TRY not to ddrive it in the rain, but sometimes I don't have any other choice. But since it's been in my ownership, it's only seen rain 3 times. Those days I didn't drive it rough. Just nice and slow.

 

Bought mine off of "E-Bay" out of Ohio. Steal of a deal!!

 

1. It can't possibly cost more than my last daily driver to run ('95 NSX) @ $10k in parts and service per year from '01-'04.
2. It can't possibly take as much fuel as my current daily driver (4.8L Crew Cab 4x4 Silverado) ~14mpg highway

I wouldn't worry at all about the mileage. The Z06 gets great highway mileage (in the upper 20s). Wear and tear shouldn't be that bad either. What's a clutch cost for a Z06, $600? It'll probably last 2 years or so. A whole new set of bilstein shocks $400. Brake pads? not much.

The Z06 is an absolute bargain compared to other sports cars. I'm selling my '04 Boxster S anniversary edition right now because, among other things, I'm afraid to break the damn thing. The last thing I want to be doing is paying a Porsche dealership to replace a dual-mass flywheel or rebuilding a motor. I don't know how much it costs to purchase a crate LS6, but I'm pretty sure it's less than a $30k crate C30A engine for an NSX or a $25k M96 Porsche 3.2L.

Seriously, the one thing I love about the Z06 (my Dad's got a C5 Z06 since new and had a C6 Z06 for a while too) is that it's one of those cars you can take to the track and feel damn well sure that you'll be able to drive the car home, comfortably too.

The Z06 has a very nice ride compared to most cars that even approach its performance levels. I've had the chance to drive a ton of cars (my Dad's a bit of a sports car nut) and I've rarely found cars that have a ride as easy to deal with as the Z06. An M3 has a much harsher ride. My Boxster S with the sport chassis was more harsh. My NSX with the NSX-R suspension was downright dangerous on public roads (broke a windshield on a pothole). My Dad's Viper is more harsh and doesn't handle nearly as well as the Z06. I could go on, but it'd just be silly. Let me say that there are several cars that cost more than my house (and begin with the letter F) that I would not drive as often as the Z06 even if I had the means to do so.

As far as daily driving goes, I have a choice too. I can sell the Porsche and buy the Z06 or buy a Jetta Diesel. I made the mistake of buying a pickup truck, and now that my wife knows how useful it is she'd rather I spent the money on gas than ever sell it for a more economical daily driver. Hmmm, I wonder what I'm going to do?

 

I run my '03 from March - November. Coming up on 40k miles without any major repairs. Driven in rain plenty of times and have no leaks but I do avoid hitting puddles at speed. Lots of electronics to splash.

One other thing I am careful of is not to rev the engine before it gets up to operating temperature. I will take a couple miles of idling up through the gears if I don't have time to let it sit warming up. The reason I do this is because of stories I've read here about broken valve springs. None of those for me yet.