irishecmo

Pensacola is currently Africa hot with temps around 100 and summer is still 3 weeks away. I pick up my Z06 next Saturday at the NCM (have to forfeit the plant tour ) and I'm starting to get fixated on the black paint deteriorating if I use my car as a daily driver where it will sit in an exposed parking lot for 8-10 hours 5 days a week (house has a garage). I've never owned a black car and don't know the quality / brands of UV protective waxes and the interval to apply them to keep a black car going through the summer months. I would appreciate any insight on first if it's recommended to use the car as a dd as long as it's properly waxed and two, what you guys recommend for best products and how often they should be applied. Worst case, I have my 94' tan corolla with matching rust spots and 250K on the odometer which can soldier on as the dd.

VetteVinnie

Garage queen here. But it's unlikely the paint will deteriorate. Pretty sure they have UV protectant in the clear coat. Now getting bashed and dinged by other cars and careless people? That's definitely a hazard.

I had a black truck (Mazda B3000) for many years that sat outside 24/7 and never had a problem with the paint. The dash is a different story. Cracked in a couple of places.

RyanT

Garage queen. I wouldn't let my car sit in a parking lot all day. To many dumb asses out there.

383vett

In the past when I had a C5Z and no covered parking at work, I would use a car cover on it. It helped protect the paint. Now, fortunately I do have covered parking for my C6Z.

Landru

Worst case?? That old rice grinder's your trump card.
Drive the beater to work or any other place the car will sit for extended periods of time out of your sight -- for all the reasons other members have pointed out and more.

IF you'd been around this forum long enough, read the crap people have had doe to their Z06s while their car was parked somewhere in public? You'd know why.

Your new Z06 will be your personal "escape pod", purely for your enjoyment on days you deem to take it out. On nice Fridays or a Saturday if you have to go in, weather's nice? Take the Z06.

Otherwise, let'er sit in your garage. It'll be your secret source of sanity unless you come out after a hard day's work to find it gouged/keyed/dinged and/or otherwise smashed. Save yourself the potential grief.

Gary '09 C6

wholeheartedly with both of the above posts.

BigMike NY

With all the great waxes and polishes out there my concern would NOT be the sun as much as moronic people potentially bumping and scraping and scratching your car!

irishecmo

The good thing about work is the only people in the parking lot are flight instructors, students, and L3 contract maintainers so as far as dinging the car, I should be good there (tons of car enthusiasts and all mil or former mil). I'm with you on the not taking the car to any random parking lot esp. walmart (the modern day O.K. Corral), the mall, or movie theaters where the oblivious and those with chips on their shoulders (lots of em' down here in the lower Alabama area) will abuse your car. As far as products I used to use zaino wax on my C5Z. Along with that I might go with a car cover. I'm all ears for any other recommendations.

LEJ ZO6

My wife and I are in the Tampa area. I have a black 2008 ZO6 and my wife has a black 2007 convertible. They are both daily drivers. Garaged at home but not at work.

Just keep a good coat of wax on them and keep them clean and the finish will last.

People my wife works with ask if the car isn't awfully hot after sitting in the sun all day. She just tells them that it has the same air conditioner that our Suburban has but not nearly the interior volume.

Enjoy your black ZO6 and drive it every day !

spicytuna

My 07 Z06 sits outside in a parking stall during the late spring/summer.

I use it on wet roads to get to my ski resort and use it on dirt roads to get to my rock climbs. I use it to grab milk at the local grocery store and to pick up my mail at the end of the street. I also track the car whenever I have the chance to.

And she loves me for it!

blackmagicZ

2008 with 6k miles. Is that a garage queen? I drive it when I can, rain or shine.

z06clif

110%

Clif

TB427Z06

Yea, I've got the same dilemma. I've got a 25 mile commute one-way and no covered parking in Houston 100+ degree heat. So far it sits at home in the garage and I drive my 09 Honda Civic to work. I've done the car cover before with other vehicles but you've got to keep the car perfectly clean to avoid scratching the paint. I'm considering driving it once or twice a week and parking as best I can in the shade of the trees.

seamus2154

I've lived Palm beach for years now and own all black cars. Not easy, but I love black. Yes it get super hot here and some precautions do help. Keep car as clean as possible. Must have a good coat of wax and use car wash soap to preserve it. Use a sun shade and tint windows. The most important thing is DO NOT LEAVE BUGS ON THERE IN THE SUN! Especially when it's love bug season!!!!! There is an enzyme in the bug that will eat and destroy your paint. When I get home from a trip and there are bugs on the nose I will wash just the nose piece to avoid the sun the next day and them baking on there. I learned this the hard way my first year in Fla. and the locals told me what happened. I needed a repaint in was so bad on the bumper!! Never had a problem since practicing above. Good luck and enjoy!

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Mine is a daily driver....save for the fact it's hard to keep it clean and the tires throw rocks all over it. I don't know if I would have it any other way. I spend an hour to work, and an hour home and that makes for the best way to relax I know of on a daily basis.

Just have to spend a lot of time cleaning it, make sure it has a clear bra, and figure repaint the quarter panels every 40k miles.

irishecmo

Thanks for all the advice. I'm thinking of only using the Z as a daily driver if to work. You can't beat the 20 min drive along the Florida beach in the morning. Cleaning has never been an issue but I think the beater will be making the odds and ends runs esp. asfter reading some of the horror stories on here. There's something to be said about a car that was paid off a decade ago and is carefree to the point if someone keyed it, it might actually even out the rust stains and add flair to the car.

HolyRoller

About the black paint in the sun, I drove a black 2002 Civic 194,000 miles, never waxed it and only occasionally ran it through a car wash, and the only problem with the paint was where I scraped it on a wall, white of course. I traded for a red 2006 S2000 with black interior and noticed that the leather seats would get pretty toasty if the top was down on a hot day. Traded that one at 56,000 miles for a yellow 2008 S2000 CR, still with black interior, but the seat bolsters are Alcantara or something similar and don't transmit heat. 77,000 miles on that one now, might be moving to a 1LT base coupe soon, we'll see.

About daily driving an envy-inspiring car, I've done that for five years and 133,000 miles, mostly in the country but often in the Fayetteville NC area. The day after leaving it in the movie theater parking lot at the Pirates 3 premiere in 2007, I was standing next to it in my yard, ordering a new set of tires, and happened to look down. "... Well while you're at it, get me a new radio antenna too, cause somebody picked it off." That was all of $15 and took less than a minute to screw on.

Other than that, I've parked S2000s--much rarer than Corvettes, which you see every few minutes in Fayetteville--many thousands of times in normal parking lots in front of normal places, Walmart being a favorite, without the slightest damage or trouble. One time I came back and thought somebody had spit on the windshield, and drove off mad, but upon reflection, and closer inspection, I had to admit it was just Mr. Kitty having marked it as HIS car. When I got home, I decided to test the slogan "Cat: the other white meat." It sure is.

If I made car decisions based on being worried sick about somebody MAYbe keying my car, I would have missed out on most of 133,000 miles of smiles. And I would be factually wrong.

If somebody keys your car, get it fixed and be thankful you have a keyable car.

irishecmo

HolyRoller,

I loved my 01' S2000. I'm always impressed by the durability of that engine. Sold mine with just shy of 70K miles. On this forum I read about a few 5-600rwhp turbo'd S2000s riding around. It absolutely blows my mind how a 2.0l I4 w/ 9K redline can take so much additional punishment from 2-3 bar of boost. This is the first car I'm having to contend with breaking the mold of "hey I bought this thing to drive it" and driving it occasionally as a fun and rewarding getaway....although Spicytuna's post shows lots of promise with everyday use.

The NNIAL8R

I waited three years for my black C6Z...No way am I gonna let it sit in the blazin' sun in a parking lot everyday....If there was no way around it I'd invest in a high quality car cover...Im very lucky...not one of the 8 vehicles I own have to sit in the sun....I work nights...and only nights for the past 30 years....When I do have to venture out I seldom have to worry about gamma rays

Geared

DD my black 08 z. park her in parking lot at work. I park in the back, and walk.

I wash it often (i have a problem, lol) but I like to keep her clean, and keep the paint from deteriorating.

I do have minor rash on front of rear quarters - i would suggest the 3m protectant film