37pat

Background -- (the long story) Well, what can I say. I've been a member here for some time. Back in the mid-to-late-sixties, I had a 58. It was (by the time I got it) a hardtop-only car. 327 cu in, fuelie heads and fuelie short block in a 4 speed car. And a pair of Rochesters on an aluminum 2 X 4 intake that I think was a GM item for the factory 283s. Had it for about a year. Fast forward about 25 years, and the Corvette itch that my wife had been reaching for finally got some relief. She bought a 1969 Coupe, 350HP small block 4speed car. We had a lot of fun in the car, including a grand SouthWest "circle" for about two weeks. We travelled well over three thousand miles, including a fair part of the old Route 66. Eventually, though, I found myself making repairs I'd already made once, over again. I was getting tired, so I bought her a ten year old 1999 Convertible and we let the '69 roll down the road. The C5 is a Z51 M6 and had 43,000 miles on the clock. Thus we entered the C5 world. 20,000 miles later, a few oil changes and one set of tires, we've discovered that these cars aren't just fun to drive, they are actually pretty good, reliable cars. About 18 months ago, I started Jonesing for a Z06. Well, I'm sure you all know how that works . . I limited myself to examples that should be pristine, low milage cars. I thought about cars with mods, primarily superchargers, but the more I considered it the more I concluded that an original, low milage, non-modded example would be the best fit for me. So I've been watching Craigslist, eBay and other sources (this forum) for the last several months. Not real consistently, but periodically. I found a few local cars at dealers that were under my 10,000 mile benchmark. And one or two that had really low milage. Regrettably, many of these cars had minor mods of one kind or other or were a little higher-priced than I felt comfortable with. I'd accept a skip-shift eliminator. It's the only mod I've made to my wife's car, and I find it makes the car more drivable. So I found a car on eBay. It was an auction sale with a non-disclosed reserve. This car was located in California (me too), had 8500 miles on it, and the auction photos were clearly amateur photos. I felt confident I was dealing with a private party. I put in an automatic update bid through a sniper service. At auctions end, I was high bidder, and wrote to the seller. Did the car have any mods, what was the condition like, what was his reserve . . . Well, we worked out a deal. His reserve was only a bit over my max bid.

Question -- (and the short story.) This 2003 Z06, at 11 years old appears to be a garage queen. Under-hood, it truly looks to be showroom fresh and clean as a whistle. In the trunk, the spare tire kit has never been used, and the sealer is still in its plastic bag. In the center console we found the DVD owner's manual, unopened and still in its cellophane wrapper. In the glove box was the little folder/case, including the paper manual, 50th anniversary/Z06 notepad and Z06 tire pressure gauge. Below this case was an elastic mounted yellow string tag (no longer mounted, and I dunno where it actually belongs) cautioning people to turn off the passenger air bag if transporting children. Okay, here's the actual question: For low milage garage queens, are these kind of finds common? I know they are just details, but I was a bit surprised.

The bottom line. Driving the car, though, is the really big surprise. I've never before driven a Z06, but I find the car has a whole different character than the base convertible. Driving about 50 miles around town on the street what I noticed most is the much better-defined shifting gates, and the old Supercar tires feel stickier than the convertible's much newer pilot Sport runflats.

Moto One

Not knowing what you paid for it, and don't need to, I would say you got just want you wanted. Doing a history through GM will let you know if all recalls. and other maintenance has been done. I would be ware of the Goodyears if original, safety wise.
By the way my 110,000 mile Z also had all the manuals, DVD, Airbag waring label, and emergency tire repair kit (unopened also). This is common with original owners.

Enjoy it and don't just let it hang in the garage.

Mark.

apollo240

Seems about right. I dont think i have the dvd. I do think i have the corvette pen. Rubbed that one in my girlfriends cobra loving face lol. My spare kit hasnt been opened, and i think im on factory tire. I bought mine with 12 or 13k. Im at 18k now.

37pat

Moto One, Apollo240--
Thanks very much for the feedback. I know my post was wwwaaayyy too long. I did get exactly what I wanted! Love it.

zeevette

....and all I got was this lousy VHS tape.

SDS Photography

Uh, what?

2014 - 2002 = 12 Years

racebum

sadly

this is almost a daily occurrence around here

people buy sports cars, then neglect the single most important part of them. tires, which are traction, which are the only thing that allow the car to perform

when i raced a lot i would switch tires every other summer. now i may stretch tires up to 4yrs from the date code but these 10-12yr old threads are just crazy, no grip, risk of the tires coming apart is high.

ugh...

dlc02z06

My 2002 came with everything but the DVD. But there was a golf pencil and score card in trunk under the carpet. Previous owner was a country club goer. Don't know why, he wasn't that good at golf.

SDS Photography

Mine were old when I replaced them a year or so ago, but they were not the stockers. I would really worry about pushing 12 year old tires.