I am finally thinking about purchasing a pre-owned Z06 and have a dilemna . I am considering 2 different cars, a 2001 and a 2003. The '01 has around 3500 miles and is $34.5K. The '03 has 20,000 miles and is the same price. I've spent a lot of time here recently and I know about the oil issues w/ the '01's, and that the '03 has more HP, HUD, etc...The '01 is a cleaner car, but I swore I would buy an '02 or newer because the '01's just seem like less car for the money, plus they seem to depreciate faster. A new one is out of the question (even though $43K brand new is a steal), so what which car would you guys buy? Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.
A lot of people are going to say get the 03, but I don't necessarily agree. I had an 01 and have an 03 now. I decided to take advantage of the 0% financing, and get the HUD and 20 ponies too.
On the summer days, the HUD is difficult to see, and I still find myself looking at the instruments most of the time anyway. It's real easy to pick up 20 hp.
On the other hand, the 03 is going to have some factory warranty left. Worst case scenario, if the 01 is a burner, you're going to be out $5 every couple of months.
Having said all that, the 03 is the better buy, IMHO, IF it's in excellent shape.
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"'tis better to have zoomed and failed, than never to have zoomed at all." - Zoomin, 2001
Check out the price though on both of them. $35K approx? With the deals that they have now on the new 04's, I wouldn't even consider it. Talk to Rick Daniels through the forum here. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't pick a brand new one up for the low $40K range.
Also, since the C6 is coming out, the resale on our cars is really soft. $35K for either car seems a bit much to me. I would keep looking.
For what you can get an '04 for now, I would borrow the extra money from your dad. Brown bag it for lunch for a couple of months or take a weekend job as a Wal-Mart greeter to pay for the difference in price.
I'd buy the 03, 20K miles isn't that bad, not great for a Z06 either but then again for $34K, what do you expect? The 03 is a steal compared to the 01 at that price regardless of mileage. Look up the values of both cars in NADA and you'll see that the 03 is going to give you much better resale value since its 2 years newer.
Thanks for the input guys. I didn't think the deals were great, and you confirmed my suspicions. I will continue to look until I find the right one for me. The QS F/S is a great deal, but I will only consider MY for my Z!
I find it really hard to find a used car that meets my standards, which is why I usually suck it up and spend the extra money and buy new.
Not to push you into spending more than you can afford, but I'd look real hard at the incentives and pricing on the 04s. For example, if you buy used at $35k and get a 4% used car loan for 60 months, your payment is $644/mo with zero down. A new 04 Z06 at $42k and 0% is $700/mo with zero down. To me, I normally would pay the extra $56/mo for the 1-3 year newer car that had zero miles on it.
This is possible for me since I earn a decent paycheck and have good credit. May not be feasible for many.
I know I lose money on the depreciation hit I take as soon as I drive the car off the lot, but I normally hold my cars for years, so to me it doesn't matter.
If you are set on used, I'd keep looking until you find exactly what you want so you aren't second guessing yourself for the next several years.
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. I am considering 2 different cars, a 2001 and a 2003. The '01 has around 3500 miles and is $34.5K. The '03 has 20,000 miles and is the same price. I've spent a lot of time here recently and I know about the oil issues w/ the '01's, and that the '03 has more HP, HUD, etc...The '01 is a cleaner car, but I swore I would buy an '02 or newer because the '01's just seem like less car for the money, plus they seem to depreciate faster. A new one is out of the question (even though $43K brand new is a steal), so what which car would you guys buy? Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.
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