Calling all current/past Z06 owners

[kthxbye]

So I am on the fence about picking up an E92M in the spring and I am having a tough time deciding if the M3 will be enough for me everyday or should I also keep my C5Z with an LS3 swap.

The C5 will be paid off before I jump into the M3 so there is the added insurance cost of owning two cars and the fact that I will have to make higher payments on the M3 (since I won't have the $20-25k for my Corvette to put down)

My question is for current M3 owners have owned or still own a Z06 (C5/C6) - after you had your M, what did you think of the vette?

My thought is that I will still miss the raw, brutal feel of the Z06 - but that could also fade with some seat time in an M3.

[wwjd15]

I have a C6 Z06 with the Nav one. hard to compare these two though. If it's not your everyday car, go with the Z06. If you are looking for an all around car, then M3. Keep it simply. I love the power of the Z06, even the interior in the newer model.

[richb811]

Originally Posted by kthxbye

So I am on the fence about picking up an E92M in the spring and I am having a tough time deciding if the M3 will be enough for me everyday or should I also keep my C5Z with an LS3 swap.

The C5 will be paid off before I jump into the M3 so there is the added insurance cost of owning two cars and the fact that I will have to make higher payments on the M3 (since I won't have the $20-25k for my Corvette to put down)

My question is for current M3 owners have owned or still own a Z06 (C5/C6) - after you had your M, what did you think of the vette?

My thought is that I will still miss the raw, brutal feel of the Z06 - but that could also fade with some seat time in an M3.

I miss my C5 Z06 immensely. Amazing power and such brute force. The thing had tons of lateral grip, but alas none of the finesse of the M3.

I agree with the above post, the Vette is great as a 2nd car. That was the primary reason why I got rid of mine, I needed something that was more practical.

I think as a car that does everything well, you go for the M3. After a while I got tired of the terrible Chevy interior in my Z06, but that was the only part of the car I didn't miss.

[crabman]

Had two vettes, one C6, one C6Z. Not sure if I'm going to miss them or not, my M3 is in production now. Think as above it depends partly on what you want. They M3 has a much better steering feel and the suspension feels more sorted out. In my mind its a better handling car even though the numbers are less than a 6Z. No question the Z is far more potent everywhere in terms of power. For me being older I kind of grew up with straight line performance as being THE thing that mattered. Now days mostly because of my corvette ownership I have learned the joys of turning and handling has become more important to me than it used to be. In other words I have reached a place where I'm willing to trade off some power for the better feel of the M3 and I also shopped P-cars. If I were you I would test drive a used car so you can give it full flog to see how you feel about giving up the power. As you know a vette makes a surprisingly good limited daily driver (car wont be needed for costco runs or carrying more than 2) so your needs in that capacity will define whether you might be better served by the M.

[kthxbye]

Thank you for the responses guys

I guess what I am saying is, lets assume that I am 100% going to get an M3 that will be a DD - from your experience do you think I should keep the C5Z as well or that I won't miss it much once I am behind the wheel of an M3.

Financially I could swing keeping the two cars, but that is only marginally. If I won't miss it much, then it does make sense to use the Z06 as a good down payment on an M

[Chachi112]

it's really depending what kind of car your looking for..i had 2 C5 Z's, 2 C6 Z's, and a C6 ZR-1.....with the exception of my '02 Z06 i've always had an M3 at the same time so i've done a lot of back to back seat time....the C5 Z's were a lot more raw then the C6s...the same could be said with the transition from the E46 M3 to the E92 M3...if you love your Z06 i'm not sure the E92 is for you...thats the reason i've always had both...every time i have driven any of my M3s i marvel at the precision and feel the car has..how fun it is to run up the revs on the motors and listen to it scream...on the other hand when i drive the vette i sit in the drivers seat and laugh when i drop the hammer and burn the tires off the rims through third gear....one is a scalpel, one is a sledge hammer...both fast, but get there in very different ways...if i had to have one it would be the Z06, but it would have to be a C6 with an LS7

[kthxbye]

Originally Posted by Chachi112

it's really depending what kind of car your looking for..i had 2 C5 Z's, 2 C6 Z's, and a C6 ZR-1.....with the exception of my '02 Z06 i've always had an M3 at the same time so i've done a lot of back to back seat time....the C5 Z's were a lot more raw then the C6s...the same could be said with the transition from the E46 M3 to the E92 M3...if you love your Z06 i'm not sure the E92 is for you...thats the reason i've always had both...every time i have driven any of my M3s i marvel at the precision and feel the car has..how fun it is to run up the revs on the motors and listen to it scream...on the other hand when i drive the vette i sit in the drivers seat and laugh when i drop the hammer and burn the tires off the rims through third gear....one is a scalpel, one is a sledge hammer...both fast, but get there in very different ways...if i had to have one it would be the Z06, but it would have to be a C6 with an LS7

Thank you ChaChi, that's very helpful. At least I have a few months to think it over. It looks like my options are:

1. C5Z + MKIV GTI as a DD (Finacially this is the smartest move)
2. C5Z + E92 M3 (the best of both world, everything I want and more - but with the price tag attached to it)
3. MY11 E92 M3 ZCP
4. Upgrade to a C6Z + MKIV GTI as a DD (This would give me a little more refinement + the sledgehammer effect)

[Chachi112]

Originally Posted by kthxbye

Thank you ChaChi, that's very helpful. At least I have a few months to think it over. It looks like my options are:

1. C5Z + MKIV GTI as a DD (Finacially this is the smartest move)
2. C5Z + E92 M3 (the best of both world, everything I want and more - but with the price tag attached to it)
3. MY11 E92 M3 ZCP
4. Upgrade to a C6Z + MKIV GTI as a DD (This would give me a little more refinement + the sledgehammer effect)

i will warn you about one thing though....my C6s had absolutely horrible resale value...given the fact that i usually keep cars 18 months tops, them two cars were exceptionally bad

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by Chachi112

i will warn you about one thing though....my C6s had absolutely horrible resale value...given the fact that i usually keep cars 18 months tops, them two cars were exceptionally bad

Just out of curiosity, why do you flip cars so quickly? Assuming you're buying new that seems like a massive hit to take on depreciation (even if you're buying used it'd be bad since the trade-in value would factor in having one extra owner on the record). Do you get bored of cars that quickly?

[THE TECH]

I don't miss my C5 Z06. It was a powerful car and I got looks everywhere I went, but it never gave me the satisfaction I was looking for. If you can have both, I don't see why not just do that?

[Chris M4CS]

I didn't own a Z06 but did have a 2007 C6 Vette. I do miss the car for one thing and that is insurance! For the same coverage, my Vette was about one third the cost of my M and no my ticket/accident situation did not change...still spotless. What I don't miss is the steering feel of the Vette. It had the same steering wheel as the Malibu and the same overall feel too.

[Chachi112]

Originally Posted by jphughan

Just out of curiosity, why do you flip cars so quickly? Assuming you're buying new that seems like a massive hit to take on depreciation (even if you're buying used it'd be bad since the trade-in value would factor in having one extra owner on the record). Do you get bored of cars that quickly?

this is going to sound a little nuts but i'm pretty ocd with my cars....once they get a little wear its on to the next one...the financial hit is worth the mental peace....at first it was boredom but i'm pretty stuck on M3s and vettes....im sure i'll eventually wonder over to porsche..most like next year or the year after.....i tried the audi thing but that lasted less then a year...people are pretty excited when i sell my cars due to the fact they rarely have more then 10k on the odometer

[FASTTOYS]

I have owned a 2003 C5 Z06 & 2006 C6 Z06. When comparing a Corvette to an over engineered German car like the M3 I don’t feel it’s a Apple's to Apples' comparison. If you are looking for performance/speed and don’t have OCD then the Z06 is hard to beat. If you’re looking for a fast sedan with precision , balance, resale value, quality interior then the M3 is the better choice. I move cars ever year to 20 months and most recently drove a 2012 Z06 because I was looking to move back to the brand. After the test drive I came away very disappointed. The seats and the plastics have improved but still did not meet my expectations for a car at this price point. IMO the interior is cheap. Thoughts: The recline lever on the side of both seats is so bad it bends when pulled to recline. The A pillar has a large vent that looks out of place that is one of the mic’s for blue tooth and OnStar. The OnStar mirror has more cheesy buttons than the space shuttle. The rear curtain that covers the back glass and trunk is so cheap it’s embarrassing on a car at this price point. After the test drive it made me appreciate the M3 and justified my reason I moved to European sports cars. I also test drove a 2012 911-S on Saturday, NOW that is an evolutionary change from the 997 (911) it replaced. Good luck with your decision the good news if you choose wrong you can reverse it later. I bought a 2011 Audi S4 in Feb 2011 I sold it in June for my 2011 ZCP E90 M3. The Audi was nice but not sporty enough when compared to the M3.

[Nautik]

Sell the c5 vette. You won't miss it. Buy a lightly used M3. One from a forum member who took great care of it. Don't take the depreciation hit on a new M3. 15k is a lot of money to just throw to the wind unless you are in the top 1%

After you have your lightly used M3 and if you still miss that raw sense of power, take all that savings and buy a classic hot rod with a big block in it (vette, camaro, chevelle, etc). They don't depreciate like your current vette will and really are the perfect car for a little fun on the weekend. I actually just sold my 68 Camaro for about 15,000 more than I bought it for 5 years ago.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by Chachi112

this is going to sound a little nuts but i'm pretty ocd with my cars....once they get a little wear its on to the next one...the financial hit is worth the mental peace

You just described me . Looks like I'll surpass the 10K-mile mark (after decades) on the M3, since I have 9,910 now . Well, technically I didn't because sold it to my brother, but he decided on a California and gave it back to me. Ironically, I'm about to trade it for a '12 Grand Sport Centennial Edition 4LT. My M3 is like new, but has several rock chips from road crap, and that bums me too . Next car will get all the front wrapped in clear bra; lesson learned.

OP, the C5 needs to go man; nothing special about those now. Then decide if a C6 or M3. I personally felt the '12 GS has very similar steering feel (improved) as the M3. Neither is great, but not bad either. In fact, that's the #1 criticism of the M3 by auto journalists. And now with every car switching to electric power steering, we might never have the feel of old Porsches. Good luck.

[TRY...M3]

i had an 07 z06...bought new and put 1,100 miles on it in a year before I traded in for my 08 M6 which i put 48,000 miles on in 2 years. How do yo think I liked the vette?

but no seriously if you want an all around performer and daily driver the M3 is the way to go. The z06 is great "race" car but other then that its still a chevy with shit interior and too unpractical to drive daily. buy one when you retire IF you cant afford a ferrari haha

[SchnellM3]

Is StingRay still around here? I thought he had a couple of Vettes and a E93?

[xrayos]

This is an easy problem to solve. Remember 2 cars are always beter than one. If you are a vette guy then you'll always be one. Get the new Z06. I hear it's pretty trackable.

Otherwise get a GTR. good enough for a daily and beats both the m3 and Z06 at the track

[Mookster]

Originally Posted by xrayos

This is an easy problem to solve. Remember 2 cars are always beter than one. If you are a vette guy then you'll always be one. Get the new Z06. I hear it's pretty trackable.

Otherwise get a GTR. good enough for a daily and beats both the m3 and Z06 at the track

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...eife_lap_times


7:22.68 Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 (2012)
7:24.22 Nissan GT-R (2011)

GTR sure does beat it but somehow was 2 seconds slower...

[alms211]

Originally Posted by TRY...M3

i had an 07 z06...bought new and put 1,100 miles on it in a year before I traded in for my 08 M6 which i put 48,000 miles on in 2 years. How do yo think I liked the vette?

but no seriously if you want an all around performer and daily driver the M3 is the way to go. The z06 is great "race" car but other then that its still a chevy with shit interior and too unpractical to drive daily. buy one when you retire IF you cant afford a ferrari haha

I agree 100%.......although it took me three C6 Vettes to learn my lesson (including an '07 Z06) and most recently an '11 Grand Sport. Love the exterior styling of the widebody C6 versioned Vettes. But the shitty build quality, La Z Boy recliner seats and cheap ass interior kills it. I even had the top of the line 4LT interior in my Grand Sport. Still sucks. All told, I owned the three Vettes for a total of 21 months.

I have come to the conclusion that I just prefer the driving dynamics of the BMW and Porsches better.

Even when I had my Vettes, CaymanS, 997S, E60M5, 996 Turbo -- I always missed my E46M3. Now that I have the E92M3, I don't miss my old E46M3 at all nor do I miss any of the other cars that I just listed. This is my favorite car I've owned in my life. Can't really put my finger on it. It isn't the sexiest, fastest or most luxurious but it is by far the best combination of those things.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by TRY...M3

buy one when you retire IF you cant afford a ferrari haha

If you only want a manual (like me), a new Ferrari is out . And many others. I rather own a manual Vette than any automatic Ferrari. But that's just me .

[W Cole]

My buddy went from a stock C6 (non-Z06) vette to an M3. He says he wants the acceleration and torque of the Corvette back. He is considering trading the M3 for another C6 but will probably wait for the C7.