Advice on buying Z06

[SaucyBoy]

Hi guys,

After some advice. I currently own a Noble and absolutely love it. However, i keep lusting over the thought of owning a C6 Z06 I went to look at one the other day and now really want one. Unfortunately they are just out of my reach at the mo and the other half has said (Yes I know under the thumb) that I should wait 1-2 years. Does she not know how much i need one, lol.

Anyway, I was talking to a mate today and he suggested at looking at importing a secondhand example from the states. So my question is how easy/cost effective is this idea?

I have looked on the net (Only EBAY at present) and can see the possibility of getting a 2006 model from around $52k, but how much would it be by the time it reached our wet shores?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I'm sorry if this has been asked before.

Cheers

James

edited to reflect research on this forum.

Fellas, searching the forum I see that this has been done to death and I'm sorry to bother you again. I have got an idea now of the cost involved but can anyone give some advice on the best people to use, i.e. shipping and dealers etc??

Edited by SaucyBoy on Monday 11th August 21:35

[Y50 VET]

There are some tips for shipping on this thread,
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t...


Also there is a cheep ZO6 that Nigel Dob has spotted on Auto Trader
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t...


Anyone within reach of London would be well advised to use Ian Goss for the SVA


Sam

[zubair]

hi i think you should try to buy an 07 z06,there are couple of them for sale on ebay and autotrader for around 53 to 54 thausand dollars.the exchange rate is around 1.97 to the pound.as the market is a bit lull at the moment so with a little bit of persuasion and determination you should be able to strike a deal. Insist on the vehicle being delivered to the docks in the deal. Depending on where the vehicle is located you can ship it either in a 20ft container to thames port or felixstow for around 1400 dollars or roll on roll off to southampton or liverpool for around 1100 dollars. The clearence fee is around 200 pounds, the duty of 10% and VAT of 17% is added to the price paid for the vehicle. If you do it this way you will save 7-8 thousand pounds rather then paying someone else the profit. Its a very easy process and regestering the vehicle is no big deal.

[Le Man]

Or you could ask a UK based dealer to find a type approved car with the balance of it's three year warranty. Something around £40,000 maybe.

[vetteheadracer]

Tell us your budget and I will tell you what your options are.

Also do you know what colour you want? What options you want? etc.

www.c6registry.com is an invaluable source for information on options etc.

also there is a Z06 specific forum site called www.z06vette.com which covers both the C5 Z06 and the C6 Z06.

As Le Mans said if for example you want a UK spec car and have £40k as a budget then he can help you. If you have £40k and want a 2008 with no warranty i.e. you import it yourself then I would say you will be a couple of thousand pounds short by the time you factor in the cost of the SVA conversion and getting the SVA test done.

With the current dollar / sterling rate ($1.90 / £1 at the moment) you will find everything will get a bit more expensive than when the rate was $2 / £1 as it was a few weeks ago. I would recommend using Moneycorp for transferring the money from sterling to US Dollars.
You also need to consider where in the USA your purchase will originate from as this can add considerably to your costs over there.

A simple rule of thumb is cost of car + 35% to cover importing, duty, VAT, SVA work and registration.

So if you see a car at $58,000 then it will cost about £41,500 on the road in the UK at todays exchange rate.

[mitch_]

zubair said:

hi i think you should try to buy an 07 z06,there are couple of them for sale on ebay and autotrader for around 53 to 54 thausand dollars.the exchange rate is around 1.97 to the pound.as the market is a bit lull at the moment so with a little bit of persuasion and determination you should be able to strike a deal. Insist on the vehicle being delivered to the docks in the deal. Depending on where the vehicle is located you can ship it either in a 20ft container to thames port or felixstow for around 1400 dollars or roll on roll off to southampton or liverpool for around 1100 dollars. The clearence fee is around 200 pounds, the duty of 10% and VAT of 17% is added to the price paid for the vehicle. If you do it this way you will save 7-8 thousand pounds rather then paying someone else the profit. Its a very easy process and regestering the vehicle is no big deal.

Actually as of this morning it's $1.89 : £1..........

[twistedsanity]

here is my best advice

DO IT DO IT DO IT

my friend owns one and it is the doggles dangley bits

[john_uk]

I've recently done it! At first it was very daunting and I was worried what i was getting myself into. Now I've done it, I'd do it over again! I highly recommend using an agent, it's well worth paying their small fees, they do everything from start to finish, so you simply collect the car in the UK and it's ready for the UK roads. i used these guys www.specialised-shipping.co.uk

If you buy an imported car, you wont have the manufactures warranty. If a warranty and aftercare is important to you then see 'Mitch' above as he's the best UK Corvette dealer in the UK.

A few thing to watch for in the US. Make sure you do US version of the HPi check, called 'Carfax'. This shows that car hasn't been in an accident etc. Also ask to see the log book (Title), many banks/lenders in the US hold the Title until loan is paid off. This will make sure there is no outstanding finance on the car. There is still away around this, by getting a settlement figure from the bank, then you simply pay the bank the outstanding loan and the balance to the owner. Also the back of the Title will show if the car has been 'Salvaged' written off.

Beware of the early 2006, make sure all warranty work has been carried out, the main thing the 'flying roof' problem! Yes the roof came flying off. There was a problem with the material/glue used on 2006 cars, so make sure the work has been carried out under warranty. It could cost a fortune if it happened in the UK. So check the cars history. Get a 2007 model car if you can

Good luck with your choice!

Edited by john_uk on Tuesday 12th August 11:12

Edited by john_uk on Tuesday 12th August 11:42

[SaucyBoy]

Wow that is a lot of advice, thanks fellas.

I will definitely be getting a Z06 for my next car but may have to a short while as my budget is around the £35000 mark at the mo. Although I'm looking to extend this in the near future if all goes well. Just the mortgage re newel to sort in a couple of months before I can stretch 5k further.

I noted that someone said using a agent is a good idea to source the car etc. How much are their fee's?

Got to say I will most certainly be doing my research with regards to importing my own from what i have seen on here. might even be a good excuse to take a trip out there, well that's how i would sell it to the other half. Warranty not do big a deal with me, didn't get one when I bought the Noble. Don't mind getting my hands dirty and have a friend at Bruntingthorpe who is very good with high performance cars. There's also a Corvette place just around the corner for me called Claremonts I think. Only found it the other day when a friend who owns a C4 recommended me going there, doh.

I see that someone has stated that i should try to get a 07 model. Was there any other issue's with the 06 cars to look out for, other than the flying roof, lol?

Thanks for all the advice again guys. Looking forward to joining the fold some time soon. i hope there's a good social circle with these cars, i.e. events, as I love a hoon or two.

James

[SaucyBoy]

Can't get this out of my mind now.

I was up town yesterday with the other half so popped into Park Lane Stratstone so she could have a look. Well, good news, she loved it and has said I can start to sort things out in order to get the money together to get one, wahoo.

I've been doing a shed load of reading on old threads and have got to grips with the cost involved etc. My next question is, what is the best way to go about bringing it back?

i've seen that some people in the past have advised to seek out a car near the East Coast to reduce the cost etc. But, whats the best way of arranging the shipping? By this I mean, should i use a company from this end or one that say the dealer uses?

I've just seen a 2006 model on EBAY for $49k, which is not a lot of money for such a special car.

At this rate i can see the Noble going up for sale very shortly!!!!

Thanks for the help so far guys

James

[G4HKS]

Phew - for one moment I thought you were going to say you gave them the order!

Edited by G4HKS on Tuesday 19th August 22:15

[saucyboy]

LOL, no way, not at that price. The guy was very nice though and let me have a sit in a rather nice brand spanking new Z06.

James

[vetteheadracer]

I have just imported a 2008 C6 Z06 which I bought thru eBay and on the road cost in UK will be sub £45k. Try getting to The Fairmile BBQ tomorrow night as there will be a lot of Corvettes there. I'm sure one of the owners could be persuaded to take you out.

[GW65]

john_uk said:

Beware of the early 2006, make sure all warranty work has been carried out, the main thing the 'flying roof' problem! Yes the roof came flying off. There was a problem with the material/glue used on 2006 cars, so make sure the work has been carried out under warranty. It could cost a fortune if it happened in the UK. So check the cars history. Get a 2007 model car if you can

Edited by john_uk on Tuesday 12th August 11:12

Edited by john_uk on Tuesday 12th August 11:42

No need to worry about the flying roof on the Z06 - that was just a problem on the body-colour roofs on the regular C6 so shouldn't be an issue on the Z06 with its fixed roof.

[irish boy]

na think the roof thing affected the fixed roof on the 06 z06 but there was a recall so any 06 cars stateside most likely will have it done!

[Tom74]

irish boy said:

na think the roof thing affected the fixed roof on the 06 z06 but there was a recall so any 06 cars stateside most likely will have it done!

Yup, I had this happen to my Z06, but that could just have been too much Dubai sun melting the glue!

[saucyboy]

Vetteheadracer, $45k, is that all. EBAY definitely has some bargins. Is there any chance you can email me the company you used to ship it over etc??

Like I said I've got a few things to sort out before sticking my current motor up for sale, but hoping to get in the fold soon. I want to be in a strong position re knowledge when it comes to buying from the States so any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks for all your help guys.

I wont be able to make the BBQ and am absolutely gutted. Instead I will be at a wedding for someone that i dont know in Essex, pants.

Thanks again

James

[vetteheadracer]

saucyboy said:

Vetteheadracer, $45k, is that all. EBAY definitely has some bargins. Is there any chance you can email me the company you used to ship it over etc??

Like I said I've got a few things to sort out before sticking my current motor up for sale, but hoping to get in the fold soon. I want to be in a strong position re knowledge when it comes to buying from the States so any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks for all your help guys.

I wont be able to make the BBQ and am absolutely gutted. Instead I will be at a wedding for someone that i dont know in Essex, pants.

Thanks again

James

£45k not $45k

[saucyboy]

Sorry mate, that's what I meant!!!!!

James

[john_uk]

GW65 said:

john_uk said:

Beware of the early 2006, make sure all warranty work has been carried out, the main thing the 'flying roof' problem! Yes the roof came flying off. There was a problem with the material/glue used on 2006 cars, so make sure the work has been carried out under warranty. It could cost a fortune if it happened in the UK. So check the cars history. Get a 2007 model car if you can

Edited by john_uk on Tuesday 12th August 11:12

Edited by john_uk on Tuesday 12th August 11:42

No need to worry about the flying roof on the Z06 - that was just a problem on the body-colour roofs on the regular C6 so shouldn't be an issue on the Z06 with its fixed roof.

It was the Z06 too! I've seen plenty been effected by this on the US forums. GM haven't been very helpful over this matter and didn't do an 'official' recall. So check the cars paperwork!