justin.

Hey Everyone, I will be relocating to the Seattle Metro from Dallas area soon for work and will be brining my 02 z06 and had a couple questions. Any help is appreciated!


1. Do you only have 92 octane? My car is a heads/cam tuned on 93, so if you dont, any good tuners in the area to recommend?
2. I will be working in a territory from Belleuve to Tacoma, what are some good affordable areas south of the metro to check out to live in? Will be likely renting a house for the first year. Thanks!

Beltfedbob

1. I would get it tuned down there for 91 if you're gonna drive it up.
2. Nothing to compare to Texas in price. Check Zillow and that will give you a good shot at the prices. Don't know of anywhere in the Puget Sound area that's "good affordable" it's either or.

https://find93.com/

justin.

thanks! I will be towing the vette in an enclosed trailer up with my truck. Is the Renton or Kent areas nice? I'd be looking at spending 2200-2400 a month for rent

2000 Vette Guy

I live in Lacey which is next to Olympia. Some of the rents I have heard is under $2000 a month for a 2000 square foot 2 story. Lacey might be a little to far south for your employment. The house next door rents for under $2100 and is 2200 square feet and is 4 years old. Hope this will be helpful. Good luck and Welcome to Washington.

700HP+

Tom Wong performance for tuning in Vancouver, WA

four0nefive

Renton and Kent are great places to live, the only problem is that it's somewhat difficult to find a house to rent. Most of the houses down here are for strictly for sale.

kenthomas4

I'd stay away from Kent unless you can be on the outskirts. Look in Covington/Maple Valley or even Sumner/Bonney Lake areas.

AaronZ51

^^^I'm on the outskirts of Kent and really like it - convenient to most things but, as with the whole region, prices are rising. The Kent/Renton area is centrally located to both Seattle and Tacoma.

Tom Wong does great work on tuning - he's located in Vancouver, WA, right on the Oregon border. You also might want to give Corvettes of Auburn a call and speak with the owner, Dan, about the tuning but I've not had my car tuned there but they take care of all my other Corvette mechanical needs (and also for my other vehicles).

When are you relocating?

Aaron

c4cruiser

You will find that there are many nice cities in the Greater Seattle area. Rents can be high but do your research for the type of apartment/condo you will need. Commuter traffic can be a nightmare so you may want to decide which end of your work commute you want to live near.

The WA State Dept of Transportation has online traffic maps that show what traffic is like at any hour; the websites for the Seattle TV stations also will have morning and afternoon traffic info. Might be worth looking at some to get an idea of the traffic situations before you decide on a rental. You can get some traffic apps for your cell too, but the state just passed a new law that makes it illegal to use (hold, operate) a cell phone by holding it up to your ear. Can't even use it when stopped at a light. No texting either. Get a Bluetooth device to make/receive calls and you will be OK. Guess it's a $136 fine and the law takes effect in the next couple of months.

WSDOT: Seattle traffic
Tacoma traffic

Seattle TV Stations websites:
KOMO
KIRO
KING
Q13FOX

Here's some information regarding vehicle registration in WA. You will also need a WA Driver's license, but you have some time to get that stuff done. Vehicle registration fees can be somewhat pricey as there is a new Regional Transit Authority tax that is added to tab fees based on where you live in King, Pierce, or Snohomish counties. There's some issues with the calculations right now and it's expected that the RTA tax will be lowered.

As far as gas and octane, have you tried to run the car on 92? As long as you don't push the car hard, our 92 premium gas should work until you get a good idea as to what the engine really needs. There are lots of modded Corvettes (and others) around that work just fine with the 92 stuff. Another good Corvette shop that can help with tuning is Corvettes of Auburn. Good guys and they do excellent work. Also, given the mods you have on the car, you may want to find a place to live where emissions testing is not required. Not every county or even cities within a county require emissions testing.

919cw313

Not to threadjack, but what are you guys paying now? I'm not in the RTA zone but got a renewal notice for a 2013 Sierra I traded in, $400!

NW94Z

So far only one of our cars has come due. Cost more than tripled, nearly $700. Across 5 cars we are looking at over $2000 extra this year to register them for the road. BTW I still drive as many miles per year as someone that owns one or two cars.

I'm glad my insurance company takes into account the number of miles I put on EACH car per year and bills me accordingly.

Beltfedbob

January my 12 GS went for just under $200. But a couple months ago my 14 Mercedes cost $510. That's in Un-Incorp Sno Co.

kenthomas4

Being in Black Diamond, we haven't been hit yet .
My 14 Vette was under $100 and my wife's Q7 was just over $100. Not sure what the other cars were...she pays the bills!

duramaxsky

That must be RTA. Non RTA is cheap. Under $60 for anything.

justin.

Thanks for all the info guys! I will be relocating at the end of June. I will be flying into Seattle June 5th and be there for two weeks to explore and find a place to live while working too. I actually work for General Motors on the Chevrolet side so I will be working with all of the chevy dealers within the Seattle/Tacoma areas. I think I have decided on the Renton area or east as it seems to be a good spot central to my territory. I have seen many people post about Tommy Wong so I may be taking the trip down there.

I would have my car tuned before leaving but sadly we only get 89/93 in Dallas. Being tuned on 93 I could run Sunoco 100 until I could get it in to be tuned on the 92. Passing inspection has never been an issue in Texas as they just plug the scanner into the OBD port and no CEL equals a pass. Is that how it is there? My car is catless but as long as the shop tech is cool I've never had a problem. Thanks!!

Kmcoldcars

An emission inspection is plug it in and check for CEL and some codes, on 1996 and newer cars. If you do not have a CEL you will pass, even without cats, as there is no physical inspection. Even my 1991, which is supercharged and has no cats passes emissions, and it has to do the old sniffer up the exhaust as it is OBD1.
And just for information, I just renewed the license on my 2000 convertible. I live in the RTA zone which has raised the rates. I paid about $ 110.

kenthomas4

Fortunately being in Black Diamond I am exempt from RTA tax and emissions.

last901

Hmmmm,

How would you like a few "Roomates" Ken? At last in terms of using your address?

NofakeJake

Can you imagine owning 3 or 4 Exotics in Redmond

last901

Well, for what it's worth, allow me to offer a few notions about our area.

Washington State is really two states within he same boundaries. Both are beautiful and wonderful places to live, but different and separated by the Cascade Mountains and political affiliations.

We (Western Washington) seem to have become sort of s second Silicone Valley (Microsftt, Boeing,Amazon, Costco, Starbucks... Seattle proper is in King County. Probably the most expensive place to rent or buy a house. The traffic also rivals that of SFO.

Affordable housing - compared to King County - can be found to the north in Snohomish County and in Pierce County to the south. The traffic issues - and they can be really bad - are often based on the surrounding communities trying to get into Seattle and Bellevue.

Every county in between has their issues in terms of community development and statistics. I suggest you spend some time on the internet reviewing the demographics of each county and each community.

Overall, it's a beautiful area in which to make your home. During certain times of the year, one can surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon.

Each community and city has their own problems with crime and mischief (I so wanted to use that term) Some worse than others. Study those demographic websites carefully, but all have their problems and their charms.

Let any of us know if you need further advice and suggestions.