DwayneR6406

I'm tossing around the idea of trading in my 3LZ on a Yukon/Tahoe in preparation for a 2nd child and would like to be note free. I have headers and a halltech on the car. Has anyone traded in a modded car before? I have TSP headers on it, and the cost of pulling the headers is about the same I'd get if I sold them. Has anyone found that they get a lower trade in value if there is aftermarket exhaust? If it'll affect my trade in by a couple thousand, I'll pull the headers for $500 and just sell them for $600. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

23/C8Z

Have them removed and sell

been through that before good luck can always go back to a vette 20yrs from now lol

davepl

Remove and sell them. Or remove and store them. But I think headers will hurt the trade value in the dealer's mind. Future buyers may also use it as a symptom that the car has been "raced" or somehow abused. So I don't think having them on the car helps you at all.

We have a 3LZ Z06 and a 3LT Tahoe LTZ, both are great vehicles! Totally different purposes, but both are great. Just did the first oil change on the Tahoe yesterday!

Bill Dearborn

I have another suggestion. Don't Sell. Over the last 55 years I have known plenty of guys like you that made that decision. It was understandable in the 60s when most families were one car families and only had single car garages. However, with a two car family a Vette can be used as a daily driver for one person to go to work, shop or drop a kid off at day care. If you have two rug rats then it becomes harder to justify. I purchased my first Vette when we had 2 young kids with a baby on the way, it was our second car and since it was a plastic car it got to sit outside in the driveway Vs the full size metal car getting preferred treatment inside the garage where it could be protected from the elements that didn't bother the Vette.

I drove the car winter and summer in deep snow and rain. It did fine and my two older kids loved riding in it. I traded it for another Vette and all of my kids loved me having that car. They used to have long arguments about who got the car if something happened to me.

At work I would hear all of the guys who made the fateful decision to sell their car for something more practical complaining about how much the missed driving a Vette and were jealous of me when I pulled into the parking lot with my Vettes.

Do the numbers and you may find that selling the Vette for something more practical doesn't really make sense over the long term. Do not make emotional decisions about the car either in purchasing or selling. In the final analysis it is just a two seat car like any other two seat car.

Bill

DwayneR6406

Thanks for the input. I have 20 month old and another on the way. Due to our work schedules, we end up taking turns picking up the baby from daycare, so it isn't unusual for me to go a couple of weeks without driving the car as it is. With a 2nd, I can only imagine it'll get worse. The main reason I'm thinking of selling is to get rid of the car payment and save for a piece of land with some acreage and build a house. I feel that that's the more financially savvy move. I love the car, but I think I'll love having a few acres that will continue to appreciate rather than depreciate even more.

23/C8Z

Like I said... you can do this again in 20 years... but ask yourself this, will you be happy in your self getting rid of your outlet or therapy car to satisfy making room for another kid? Pick up a 5k dollar Honda Accord or Camry for that and keep your sanity.

I went from selling my sports cars to trying to make my main cars and trucks fill the gap. In the end it was me defaulting back to a sports car once my kids hit 18 and 16.

Maybe get rid of the vette and grab an srt8 jeep or an X5 or 6m. Etc. you'll be yearning for the sports car every nice weather day. Tahoe even new one with 6.2 and 10 speed will not fill the bill unless it's got a blower on it lol

davepl

I'm all for keeping the Vette, but you must not have kids... I'd pony up the money for a large, safe vehicle for the family before I kept a Z06 around.

Ideally one has both, but if you gotta pick one, normally the family wins.

joeking

Let's be honest. You have a new family and the acreage would be a much better investment in your situation. You can always buy a used C4 or C5 or even a C6 because they drop in value quickly. Buy the acreage now and get a less expensive Corvette when you can afford it. There are plenty of us that did the same thing at one time or another and that includes myself. You won't regret buying the acreage or a nice house on a decent lot.

23/C8Z

said second vehicle to pick his kid up from daycare. so u think a 2007 or so honda accord or camry isn't safe enough for the trip?

yeah i do have kids and have done everything to keep them clothed, housed, well fed to the sacrifice of our own enjoyment too many times to care to remember (no regrets just truth).

having said that we are on a corvette forum, not a minivan soccer dad club. you want this brother to fall into the trap many of us did at one time looking back was for no reason? just giving him my own life experiences here. it was dumb for me to go the route i did. i should have done it like bill suggested. my kids would have been no worse for wear and i'd have more of my sanity lol.

davepl

Back in '97, when we were planning to start a family, I bought a new Explorer. Then a little later I bought a used C4. That's priorities. I don't consider it a "Trap" any more than I consider my wife and kids a "burden". If I chose to start a family, I was going to do it right, not halfway. That means other things had to bend.

I'm sure some would have bought a new C5 and, as you suggest, a used Camry or something. Just not the way I work. I'm not indicting anyone else for what they decided to do, but I don't have to endorse it either. It's not my place to do either.

If you can afford it, that's one nice thing about the C7 relative to the C6, it makes a great second car.

Now I have 10+ cars and not enough space for them. Be patient, have confidence in yourself, and make the right choices no matter what someone else tell you -should- do, including me!

Ltrain925

Keep your z06, and go lease a new Honda Accord 159-199 a month (depending on where you live) and throw 0-400 down. 15k a year bam, done deal. You have a safe. Big car for your kids, looks cool and Honda is always a winner for what you get. I have been leasing hondas every 2-3 years and in the Bay Area where it's outrageously expensive I get a new one for 150 civic and 170 accord with less than 500 down and 15k a year. your spending little money up front and keep the z06 dude. You only live once, live life.

Gary '09 C6

^ a good alternative for the right circumstances...

HPT

This. I lease a Honda Accord for my housekeeper every couple years for $200/mo. I literally have not spent one penny on maintenance over the last 5 cars and the only time they've ever gone to the dealer is to be traded in.

Stingray23

Sounds like the wife talking

Kaged

Or just has different priorities at the moment than some of us.

I did the same thing with my motorcycles when I had kids. It is a choice I cheerfully made and would do it again!
Once they were out of the house, I started riding again.

JerriVette

2017 Camaro ZL1 comes to my mind as a solution for picking up and dropping off two little kids and still having a fun sports car to drive..

Same for the new ZL1 1LE recently discussed in the media...

Sell your z06 privately and do an in and out to save on the sales tax at the dealership your taking ownership of the new ZL1...

You don't want a Yukon instead of a performance vehicle...

If you really need four doors...pick up a low mileage second gen cts v sedan, and if you want to save even more money...buy a 2012 camaro ZL1 .. I think those are coming up as great buys in the marketplace,,,,don't do the Yukon thing,, jmo

That move will never sit well with you over time....

That 60 grand ZL1 will save you a couple of bucks, give you room for a man to put in and take out the kiddies when need be...and allow for some awesome driving experiences as that car is bad @ss...

b4i4getit

Family should always come first. Its only a car. Sell it privately and wait for the day when it makes sense to have a sports car. You will know when that day comes.

b4i4getit

10+ cars. It must be a good life being your insurance agent.

theboom

My I suggest taking a look at the 16+ cadillac cts-v? Or is that out of the budget? Same engine as your z06 but 4 door and very nice on the inside. Or are you looking at a tahoe for the other stuff a large suv can provide other than seating?

DwayneR6406

haha, she's actually wanting me to keep the vette. I just look at the note and would rather put that on land. I don't think I'd sell outright since I'd never recoup the tax I paid in it. It's 10% here, so it makes the most sense to trade it on something similarly priced. I've also got a 2008 4Runner that I'd sell or trade with it just to keep from taking on a new note. I've never been a big believer in leasing, as I like to own my vehicles outright and want minimal debt. I'm 33 and work my tail off. It'd be nice to slow down a little and enjoy my new family. I feel like there will be time for another sports car when dad isn't cool anymore.

I love the thought of the ZL1, but it's pretty hard to get a rear facing car seat in the back of one of those!

Thanks for all the input everyone!