weaselboy

Newbie here. I saw this on Craigslist locally asking 12,000 and it made me start looking into Corvettes for the first time. I love the look and the performance of this C5 but don't know much at all about Corvettes in general. Never even sat in one before. Can anyone tell me if this sounds like a good deal? Here is the Craigslist ad:

Z06 built with 383CI stroker kit, camshaft, long tube headers, Flowmaster exhaust, Vortech intake, RPM stage 4 T56 transmission, stage 3 clutch, and much more! We went through it and replaced every bushing with high quality VBP poly bushings, new ball joints, and tie rods all around. Replaced all the fluids, front wheel bearings, sway bar end links as well. Brand new Bridgestone Potenza tires all the way around too. Sounds great with lopey idle. Car came in with about 15K miles on the engine build and transmission. Previous owner lost control and hit a curb that resulted in it being written off as a total loss. No frame, or subframe damage. Wheels were damaged as well as one of the balljoints. Everything was replaced and we installed a set of genuine GM Speedline wheels and got alignment done. It all checked out good and we have the alignment report sheet in hand. We built it to keep and drive for the summer and have put 3000 miles on it but do not drive it enough to justify keeping it. Great looking car that catches alot of attention. AC blows cold. It is not perfect inside or out but a ton of car for the money with previous owner spending more than $15,000 on the engine and transmission build. Could use a good ECU tune and some TLC. It has been inspected and will be sold with a Michigan rebuilt title.

Sorry for the long post.

neutron82

well for a salvage title I would pass personally, fairly nice z's can be had for mid to high teens with a clean history... if you plan to keep the car for a long time and don't care about the history or resale value then double check with your states laws to make sure the car can still be registered with a salvage title

Sabre34

Sounds like an interesting car except for the title. I’d pass on it.

weaselboy

Actually, it's a "rebuilt title". I had a honda with a rebuilt title before and had no problems at all with the car or getting title in Indiana.
I'm not ready to pull the trigger just yet anyway, so I'll be looking a anything in that price range for a while. Just getting started. Never thought I would be buying a Vette, maybe it's my mid life crises?
Thanks for the reply.

Corvette#2

Considering what clean title cars go for, I wouldn't say it's a "good" deal. If the frame is truly straight and it was only totaled due to body damage, it might be an okay purchase if you want a project, with all of the mods and it still needing tuning etc. Personally, I'd rather have a stock one, than something with tons of mods that may or may not be reliable.

For reference, I just saw a nice looking Z06 on craigslist with a clean title, 107k miles, 14.5k firm. I'd much rather buy one like that, than a highly modded, rebuilt title car.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/c...497087194.html

(no affiliation with seller)

weaselboy

That's a good point. I wasn't sure about the mods not knowing who did the work.

Vetteman Jack

I am not a fan of buying a car with a rebuilt or salvage title. Plus the point about the mods is a good one. I would rather purchase a car that has a clean history, but that is a decision you would have to make.

ALLEGRO

Could get lucky and have an enjoyable car.

Could be unlucky and have a money-pit OR a car you cannot resell.