Buyer beware Ron Fellows ZR1's
#81
Le Mans Master
Whats the big deal about these cars? I wouldn't hesitate buying one after attending the school. It was clear the cars were cared for while at SM, supposedly most/all high wear items were replaced prior to sale, comes with full warranty as 0 owner cars, etc... From my time at SM the vast majority of students did not even come close to pushing the limits of the car. I would assume there are/were far more "beaten on" ZR1s for sale/sold since 2018.
What about future collectibility? 15-20yrs from now will a low VIN, GM owned car be considered more desirable? Maybe the SM pedigree helps it long term?
What about future collectibility? 15-20yrs from now will a low VIN, GM owned car be considered more desirable? Maybe the SM pedigree helps it long term?
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ernhart333 (11-03-2022)
#82
Pro
I totally get that argument however ANY ZR1 you buy today is in that same boat. Either flogged on the street or on the track regardless of milage....At least the SM cars have fresh brakes, etc. and were properly maintained for the majority of their driven life...
#83
So I assume when you buy a used car it makes no difference if it is a one owner car or if it was a "Properly maintained" airport rental car?
I'm pretty sure everyone agrees a "Prostitute ZR1" is better than having "No ZR1" but the issue with us "Prostitute ZR1 Haters" is that these track ****** are being listed and sold for damn near the same price as the privately owned one or two owner ZR1's.
I suppose at the end of the day the man who married the "One owner" virgin wife and the man who married the "Airport rental car" prostitute can both say they "Have a wife".
#84
Pro
LMAO!
So I assume when you buy a used car it makes no difference if it is a one owner car or if it was a "Properly maintained" airport rental car?
I'm pretty sure everyone agrees a "Prostitute ZR1" is better than having "No ZR1" but the issue with us "Prostitute ZR1 Haters" is that these track ****** are being listed and sold for damn near the same price as the privately owned one or two owner ZR1's.
I suppose at the end of the day the man who married the "One owner" virgin wife and the man who married the "Airport rental car" prostitute can both say they "Have a wife".
So I assume when you buy a used car it makes no difference if it is a one owner car or if it was a "Properly maintained" airport rental car?
I'm pretty sure everyone agrees a "Prostitute ZR1" is better than having "No ZR1" but the issue with us "Prostitute ZR1 Haters" is that these track ****** are being listed and sold for damn near the same price as the privately owned one or two owner ZR1's.
I suppose at the end of the day the man who married the "One owner" virgin wife and the man who married the "Airport rental car" prostitute can both say they "Have a wife".
Most of you are arguing these cars should be discounted due to their school/track use? Well if they actually are then the buyers are getting an even better deal! When it comes to resale value down the line their profit margins will be much better than ours!
#85
To each their own. I'm just saying I wouldn't be scared. Hate all you want, the buyers of these cars are very unlikely to lose money and will have a badass car they will surely enjoy. In 10 years they will sell for the same as the "one owner virgin" cars you speak of and no one will question the SM history.
Most of you are arguing these cars should be discounted due to their school/track use? Well if they actually are then the buyers are getting an even better deal! When it comes to resale value down the line their profit margins will be much better than ours!
Most of you are arguing these cars should be discounted due to their school/track use? Well if they actually are then the buyers are getting an even better deal! When it comes to resale value down the line their profit margins will be much better than ours!
Second, if you thick 10 or even 50 years from now a knowledgeable person (who will know the history of the car by its serial number) is willing to pay the same price as a "one owner virgin" ZR1.............. "LMAO.......... Like I said, if he is happy with his prostitute .......... that's all that matters.
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SBR (11-03-2022)
#86
Pro
First I'm not arguing and the bottom line is if the folks buying these track ****** are happy with them, that's all that matters and good for them!!!
Second, if you thick 10 or even 50 years from now a knowledgeable person (who will know the history of the car by its serial number) is willing to pay the same price as a "one owner virgin" ZR1.............. Like I said, if he is happy with his prostitute .......... that's all that matters.
Second, if you thick 10 or even 50 years from now a knowledgeable person (who will know the history of the car by its serial number) is willing to pay the same price as a "one owner virgin" ZR1.............. Like I said, if he is happy with his prostitute .......... that's all that matters.
#87
Pro
My car has 14,500 miles on it. 3k miles on Gumball 3000 Mykonos to Ibiza in 2019 (crossed the Atlantic in a container twice), 2500 miles on Crown Rally Chicago to Charlotte in 2020, about 6k track miles driven HARD, the rest spirited street driving. Multiple brake changes, hubs have been replaced, front leaf spring replaced, etc. Would you rather buy mine as a "virgin one owner car" or a SM car that was babied around a track 90+% of the time by a first timer?
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Jeff V. (12-05-2022)
#88
Wish you a great day my friend!
#89
Pro
After talking with you and how you continue to defend and compare a car that's had hundreds of people in and out of them over a privately owned car .........I defiantly rather own a totaled flood damage ZR1 before owning anything you have!
Wish you a great day my friend!
Wish you a great day my friend!
#90
Melting Slicks
@ernhart333 I agree with you. While it is better to have a C7 ZR1 than not to have one, I do think the future buyers or any C7 ZR1 will do his/her due diligence and research, starting with the VIN number which will show this car was used at the driving school. While we all know Spring Mountain is awesome (And you have been there too my friend), I do think it will affect the values of the car vs a private owned one that was not a SM car. I think that has been proven out already with other Corvette, Camaro and Cadillac models already that were decommissioned from the school and put for sale.
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ernhart333 (11-03-2022)
#91
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#92
Le Mans Master
About SM cars and such, some of us like to track, some like to show our cars. History and condition always dictates prices. I'm sure yours have some battle scars and won't sell as well as a garage queen. My '10 ZR1 sold for a song, even though it was in perfect mechanical condition, but both the windshield and CF splitter was completely sand blasted from heavy track use. My C7 ZR1 only saw track twice and still looks pristine. I still clean it with a microfiber. SM cars do sell for considerable discount. Who knows pricing 20-30 years down the road?
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#93
https://www.kearnsmotorcar.com/vehic...rolet-corvette
1G1Y32D96K5800041
Listed as a "One owner, out of Minnesota.".
(I know it was mentioned in another thread, but posting it here to keep it in the list of others.)
1G1Y32D96K5800041
Listed as a "One owner, out of Minnesota.".
(I know it was mentioned in another thread, but posting it here to keep it in the list of others.)
#94
Instructor
Thread Starter
The Ron Fellows ZR1's vin numbers are below sequence number 42 (to the best my knowledge).
Any vin 42 and below should be checked on the Corvette Action ZR1 registry for possible Ron Fellows history.
Any vin 42 and below should be checked on the Corvette Action ZR1 registry for possible Ron Fellows history.
Last edited by $Bill; 02-07-2023 at 05:54 PM.
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SBR (02-07-2023)
#95
Le Mans Master
https://www.kearnsmotorcar.com/vehic...rolet-corvette
1G1Y32D96K5800041
Listed as a "One owner, out of Minnesota.".
(I know it was mentioned in another thread, but posting it here to keep it in the list of others.)
1G1Y32D96K5800041
Listed as a "One owner, out of Minnesota.".
(I know it was mentioned in another thread, but posting it here to keep it in the list of others.)
#96
Premium Supporting Vendor
I'd take a loyal ex-prostitute over a divorced wife that cheated on the original husband
There are plenty of non Ron Fellows ZR1's that are "tastefully modfiied" by the original owner, "garage queens", etc... that are beat to death on the street without the appropriate maintenance. I'd be more concerned about being the 2nd owner on an abused garage queen when compared to being the 1st owner of an appropriately maintained track car. These cars were built to be thrashed on the track, I am sure GM knows what they are doing when it comes to maintaining these vehicles for resale. Typically, they are going to maintain those tracked cars better than a majority of the private owners.
For reference, even though it isn't a ZR1, I purchased a used gutted interior ZL1 1LE that had 3500 miles, 95% of those miles were spent endurance racing at COTA. Engine leaked down perfect, drivetrain was perfect. I restored the car back to stock with a full factory interior, and it is good as new minus some paint chips. Have ~20,000 hard miles on it now, ~5,000 of them with 1000 HP, and I haven't had a single issue.
If the price is right, don't hesitate to purchase the car you want as long as you do your homework and inspect prior to purchase.
There are plenty of non Ron Fellows ZR1's that are "tastefully modfiied" by the original owner, "garage queens", etc... that are beat to death on the street without the appropriate maintenance. I'd be more concerned about being the 2nd owner on an abused garage queen when compared to being the 1st owner of an appropriately maintained track car. These cars were built to be thrashed on the track, I am sure GM knows what they are doing when it comes to maintaining these vehicles for resale. Typically, they are going to maintain those tracked cars better than a majority of the private owners.
For reference, even though it isn't a ZR1, I purchased a used gutted interior ZL1 1LE that had 3500 miles, 95% of those miles were spent endurance racing at COTA. Engine leaked down perfect, drivetrain was perfect. I restored the car back to stock with a full factory interior, and it is good as new minus some paint chips. Have ~20,000 hard miles on it now, ~5,000 of them with 1000 HP, and I haven't had a single issue.
If the price is right, don't hesitate to purchase the car you want as long as you do your homework and inspect prior to purchase.
#97
I'd take a loyal ex-prostitute over a divorced wife that cheated on the original husband
There are plenty of non Ron Fellows ZR1's that are "tastefully modfiied" by the original owner, "garage queens", etc... that are beat to death on the street without the appropriate maintenance. I'd be more concerned about being the 2nd owner on an abused garage queen when compared to being the 1st owner of an appropriately maintained track car. These cars were built to be thrashed on the track, I am sure GM knows what they are doing when it comes to maintaining these vehicles for resale. Typically, they are going to maintain those tracked cars better than a majority of the private owners.
For reference, even though it isn't a ZR1, I purchased a used gutted interior ZL1 1LE that had 3500 miles, 95% of those miles were spent endurance racing at COTA. Engine leaked down perfect, drivetrain was perfect. I restored the car back to stock with a full factory interior, and it is good as new minus some paint chips. Have ~20,000 hard miles on it now, ~5,000 of them with 1000 HP, and I haven't had a single issue.
If the price is right, don't hesitate to purchase the car you want as long as you do your homework and inspect prior to purchase.
There are plenty of non Ron Fellows ZR1's that are "tastefully modfiied" by the original owner, "garage queens", etc... that are beat to death on the street without the appropriate maintenance. I'd be more concerned about being the 2nd owner on an abused garage queen when compared to being the 1st owner of an appropriately maintained track car. These cars were built to be thrashed on the track, I am sure GM knows what they are doing when it comes to maintaining these vehicles for resale. Typically, they are going to maintain those tracked cars better than a majority of the private owners.
For reference, even though it isn't a ZR1, I purchased a used gutted interior ZL1 1LE that had 3500 miles, 95% of those miles were spent endurance racing at COTA. Engine leaked down perfect, drivetrain was perfect. I restored the car back to stock with a full factory interior, and it is good as new minus some paint chips. Have ~20,000 hard miles on it now, ~5,000 of them with 1000 HP, and I haven't had a single issue.
If the price is right, don't hesitate to purchase the car you want as long as you do your homework and inspect prior to purchase.
I agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with an appropriately maintained track car being sold at the appropriate price, BUT there is a HUGE difference between a one or two owner well maintained track car and a "DRIVING SCHOOL" track car used for and by 100's of NON-PROFESSIONAL drivers.
And regardless of what people say to defend these ex driving school track cars, ANYONE in their right mind would choose a poorly maintained garage queen over a driving school track car. (UNLESS the track car was down priced accordingly) And why is it that 9 times out of 10 people are willing to pay more money for a documented one owner car, or one that was owned by a little old lady? Do the buyers really care or think about how that little old lady had the means of changing the oil or properly maintaining the car? Nope, most feel they hit the jackpot, all except for folks like you who would much rather have an ex "Driving school track car" that was properly maintained. Haha okay!!!!
It's NOT even so much that they are ex driving school track cars, but that SOOOOO many different drivers were in and out of the seat and behind the wheel of these damn cars. You don't think it makes a huge difference between a car always driven by the same person rather than a car driven by 100's of drivers?
If you don't think so, here is a very simple but very true example. The company I used to work for purchased 3 new cars every three years. Two of the cars were assigned to 2 of the outside salespersons who would be assigned that one car for the next three years. The 3rd car was assigned and used by several inside salespersons for the next three years. I can personally account for all 3 cars being maintained exactly the same and all ending up with having very close to the same number of miles at the end of three years.
At the end of three years the owner would offer the cars up for sale to employees.
Think hard and take a guess which car/cars were already spoken for way before the time they were even offered for sale? Hint, the 3rd car, driven by several drivers during the first three years, was a complete POS and could only be sold at a fraction of what the other two were sold for. Hmmm, think it had anything to do with being driven by several drivers and how each driver drove the car? One drove the car like I would drive it, one drove it like my wife would drive it, and another would drive the car like my 16-year-old son would drive it..... Make any sense?
Okay, want to talk about a well-maintained airport rental car being sold with 12k miles versus an exact same "ONE OWNER" car being sold by a private owner? Same car, same year, same miles being sold very near same price? Oh, and the airport rental car was "Appropriately maintained." ....... Not a very difficult decision, BUT its the person who can not afford the better of the two cars, who makes excuses and defends the lesser car. I could not afford a new Z06, but the R title, scrap yard Z06 I bought and rebuilt is just as good and valuable as any one owner poorly maintained garage queen? Right?
Again, God Bless anyone who can own a C7 ZR1. Garage queen, track car or a restored flood car. Like I said many times, ANY C7 ZR1 is better than NO C7 ZR1......But it upsets me when people are here looking for advice on buying a ZR1 but get misled and brainwashed into believing these ex-driver school track cars are just as good as a poorly maintained garage queen. I SAY BS!
My 2 cents
God Bless and wish all a great day!
Last edited by ernhart333; 02-08-2023 at 03:28 PM.
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JG853 (02-10-2023)
#98
Le Mans Master
The general public has voted with their money, the SM cars are CHEAPER than privately owned, one owner cars. Its a great opportunity for price conscious buyers.
#99
I do agree the SM cars are a great opportunity, but the buyer deserves to know the cars history AND the price should most certainly be cheaper compared to Non SM cars. This is not always the case and uneducated buyers are paying too much. So I feel strongly the folks who know, must speak up and educate those who do not know!!!!
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Factoid (02-08-2023)
#100
Le Mans Master
Originally Posted by ernhart333
Think hard and take a guess which car/cars were already spoken for way before the time they were even offered for sale? Hint, the 3rd car, driven by several drivers during the first three years, was a complete POS and could only be sold at a fraction of what the other two were sold for. Hmmm, think it had anything to do with being driven by several drivers and how each driver drove the car? One drove the car like I would drive it, one drove it like my wife would drive it, and another would drive the car like my 16-year-old son would drive it..... Make any sense?