rwheelz

At a track day this past weekend, I had the opportunity to drive a 2009 Z06. I have met the gentleman who owns it several times- he usually shows up to watch at our track days and occasionally takes a few slow laps. He told me not to go fast, but just the same, the performance was undeniable. The car is mint- it looks like new. ~30k miles and he wants $38k for it. The guy is really cool, is in his 60's, and it is clear that he takes excellent care of the car. He said most of the mileage was from driving between MT and MN.

I have always owned imports. I would probably unload my STI if I bought the vette (don't worry, the S2000 stays). How would this car hold up to track use? It would not be a dedicated track car or anything, but I would want to know that I could drive it as hard as I please without worrying that I am going to destroy the very expensive engine under the hood. Clearly, the tire expense would rise considerably. I have not looked into brake pad and rotor replacement costs yet.

Driving the car felt so effortless. I have always read and been told that driving a vette "is a handful." I could not disagree with this more, though I was not pushing it hard. It felt like I could probably match my STI's lap times while coasting in the vette. The handling, lateral grip, braking and acceleration were all superb. The car felt incredibly well composed. I almost wish I didn't drive it!

Ryan2949

I'm not an owner, but an 09 for 38k sounds like one hell of a deal to me and I'd most likely purchase it just because of that.

ninjajwl

I believe the '09s were the year that they switched to the dry sump system which is a must for heavy track duty. From what I hear, the Z06 is a pretty reliable track car. Tires are very expensive on the car, though. Expect to pay over $2k to replace the tires.

Sebring AP1

09 Z06 would be my entry ticket into the realm of truly "fast" lapping day cars. They are great, solid and reliable cars.

While driving one slow I agree where the numbness/lack of feedback comments are derived from. But the more you push this car - the better the feedback becomes. If you're not pushing the boundaries the car is in fact very lazy. It will achieve what most cars do without so much as an ounce of effort. It is a wonder, and a thing of remarkable achievement in this manner to me.

@ 38k if you can afford it - buy it and don't look back. I would love to own one.

s2kpdx01

some of the earlier ones can be twitchy at the limit. I believe the '10-'12 fixed some of that, but i could be wrong. I would check that out. Also, I know people that have popped engines on those things but they were 06 and 08...maybe that's been fixed. I would do some research about what the likely issues are with 09s before you make a decision. Good luck.

Also, I don't think the brakes in the pre-z07 versions were really up to hard track abuse? Are they the cross drilled ones with the 6 mini-pads? If so I would be worried about those too if you are fast at all. Maybe you can fit some of the ZR1 carbon brakes on there. Gotta be some wrecked ZR1/newer Z06s around that have those brakes!

AngryTurtle

All C6 Z06's are dry sump. pre 09 were 8qts and after went to 10.5. The other thing is the weak sodium filled valves. Id suggest swapping to a solid valve.

Anrosphynx

great price.. buy it!

CosmosMpower

Seems too cheap that car should be at least 45-50K.

TheDonEffect

For that price, if i had the money, I'd buy it with zero hesistations, especially since you know the seller. Every car, particularly cars in that realm of performance, will have their issues, especially in track conditions, so relatively speaking it's a solid car. I have heard of folks grenading those motors with the thin walls and what not, but honestly I wouldn't worry about that as much as I'd worry about grenading a trans in a GTR or blowing something in an M3.

rwheelz

He mentioned that the car booked for 10 grand more than he wanted. He does not want to deal with tire kickers, test drives, advertising the car, etc and said he would sell it to me cheap. I asked how much and he gave me the price above. Like I said, he is an older guy and he likes his peace and quiet. He is retiring, wants to buy an RV, and his wife wants him out of the fast car scene. I do not think he offered it cheap because there is something wrong with it. It literally looked like a new car. It definitely had a dry sump, and some options like a heads-up display, leather interior, screen in the dash... he could talk about that car for hours. I have a feeling that is part of the reason he bought it to begin with! He said he does not even take it past 5500rpm, and I actually believe him. I rode with him for a couple of laps before he let me drive it, and he talked as though he was pushing it when in reality he was babying the thing.

Does anyone know the best forum for vette info? I'd like to get on there and read up on the car to get some information from people who really use these cars for their intended purpose.