I recently joined the family of Corvette owners. I purchased a 2001 C5 that is clean and has decent mileage. After reading posts in this forum. I should of purchased a Z06 Corvette and spent the few extra bucks. I'm not sorry I bought my Vet. I had no idea what a Z06 was, nor a Z51 for that matter, but had I done my homework, I'd be owning a Z06 instead.

 

even better idea is buying a FRC vette, and put z06 suspension
you have a z06 minus the LS6 for much cheaper.

 

If you need to save $ sure. But why would you not want the LS6?
To the OP, good point for prospective buyers. Be sure you get what you want before laying down the dough. I drove base models and my Z06 when looking. After driving the Z I knew there was no way I wanted anything else.

 

I did...and bought a Z06.

 

Not for nothing, but you could sell what you bought and buy a Z06.

 

Same here. I thought about a vert, but the Z performance was more important to me.

 

Fairly recent Z06 buyer here - but did so after a lot of homework, some of which came by way of some very good posts in this forum. I think there's something to like in most of the generations (obviously a personal decision at some point). If you think you're going to sell and "trade up", I would highly advise doing some homework on this forum and asking the veterans for links to discussions that fit your need for information...be it basic info; model-specific; etc. The information already canned + the general feedback I got in here helped me tremendously...I ended up w/ a 2003 Z06 and have loved every minute of it since I drove it home. Good luck.

 

Was looking for my "first Corvette" and had done a lot of research, was not in a hurray, thought I was looking for a 2008 coupe w/auto and Z51. But when I came upon a 2001 Z06 with 21,000 mile for only $20k I pulled the trigger, didn't really appreciate how much more car the Z06 is compared to the base model until I owned and drove it.

 

I, too, bought in ignorance. My mission was to buy a Corvette for my wife as a retirement 'gift'. She's always liked them; I was never impressed with them. I drove LOTS of them in "test rides" as an auto painter between 1978-1993. "Underpowered and overpriced", was my opinion. But she's always liked the pop-up headlights and the sleek lines, so I went searching. We were fortunate that I had no expectations. I didn't care about generation, any Vette with pop-ups would have done it. Failing that, a good deal on a c6 would work, too. So I drove a 2008 coupe. Gutless and boaty (I'd just sold a slammed and tweaked Firebird WS6 about a year earlier). In ignorance, I'd about given up on the Corvette as a desirable model with one test drive.

As I was leaving the used lot, I spied a pretty 03 FRC. During the test drive I was easing off the gas in fourth gear at ~120mph on an on-ramp and decided this car had a better engine; during the same session I liked the handling, too.

I bought the car for its' road manners and brought it home. It was a day's research on the internet before I knew what I'd bought. Never heard of the Z06 until then. "Ignorance is bliss"... all those years painting them, and I gave up on 'em never hearing about the revival of the "racing" intent. Thank you, Dave Hill !!

I was luckier than a leprechaun.

 

I didn't even test drive a base. Went straight for the Z06 and never looked back.

 

I bought my first C5 in 2011...I made the same mistake. I bought an 02 coupe & although I enjoyed it, I regretted not buying a Z.

So I sold the coupe and bought a C5Z!!!! Best decision ever.

 

The first Corvette I drove was a c5z, and I was so in love with it that I vowed to have one within a year.

During that year I tested out a mildly cammed c5 coupe (around 380rwhp) and was really not nearly as happy as before. To me the coupe with the same power as a z wasn't nearly as fun.

Bought a z, been happy since

 

It's pretty easy to mod any C5 to exceed Z06 specs. If you love wind in your hair, or just "look at me" ability, other models take well to performance mods.

 

Easy within reason, yes. Costly, yes. Probably as or more cost-effective to just buy a Z if you want all the attributes of one:
HP, sure, sound, sure
Weight, not that easy
Gear ratio, sticks will have it
Tire size, sure, new wheels and tires
Start adding up all those numbers

 

I haven't had my Corvette very long, but I'm finding that aftermarket stuff is expensive compared to other cars. Since the C5's are plenty on the selling market, it's more cost effective to find one with all the modification done.

 

I don't know how you drive, but I know how I drive and the "gutless and boaty" C6 will run away from a WS6 (ls1) Firebird in any contest.
I've owned both and felt that only a cheap pimp would be impressed by the WS6 car.
Glad you're happy though.

 

The good thing is with a few engine and suspension mods you can get close to z06 preformance. Enjoy your car its beautiful.

 

guess I got lucky, first vette I drove or even considered is the one I have now, i knew nothing about them, but I was sold on the test drive

 

op....if you aren't going to be satisfied...clean up your coupe and put it on the market...then back to the drawing board to find the right Z06 for you.

 

Sure, and then you'd only be down on power and stuck with a whole bunch of old stuff, such as the Gen 1 TC, 97-00 BCM, etc

If you can afford it, the Z06 is worth it