Help!

GeoffCapes

New user
For the last three years I have been going to Le Mans and every year I have absolutely loved the Corvettes.
This year I had to go in my workhorse (Jaguar XFS) as I had sold my toy to fund a work project that I am involved in.
The previous years I went in my Maserati Granturismo S.

Now as things appear (famous last words) to be coming to fruition with regards the work project I figured it was about time that I started doing the prep work for a new toy.

Enter the Corvette.

Now I will be totally honest, I know nothing about Corvettes other than the fact that the look good, sound great, are left hand drive and you can't order them from new in the UK.

I know I want the latest shape, the C7 (none of that turbocharged nonsense) and I would love a yellow one.
However, I have noticed that there seem to be endless varieties with power from 460bhp to 600+bhp.
As the Maser had 440bhp I'd like the more powerful version.

What do I need to look for? And what am I realistically look to pay for one? Is it better to buy in the UK or get one from the US or Europe?
I have a friend who imports cars from all over the world so if I were to go down that route I could speak to him if I found the right car.

So where do I start?
 

monty

CCCUK regional rep
Hi GeoffCapes, If you are talking about the Z06 with 650 HP then it all depends on the year but you will be looking at 65,000 to 70,000 and upwards for a C7 version in the UK if you can find one as they are rare especially if you are looking for a certain one. If you are looking to drag one over from the USA it will probably cost you more due to the customs duties and VAT in fact mine would have cost me 30K more (i looked at this and all the costs involved) from the USA by the time i had paid all the extra costs. Good luck with your search and hope you find one for you. As time goes by though i suppose they will get cheaper like most cars. When i was looking (for about 12 months) i only saw about 3 for sale and one of those was a Carbon 65 series Z06 a limited run of only 65 in a year which included the Grand sport model in that 65 number, cost of that one was a couple of pound under 100k it was nice though.
 

z06_tim

Busy user
I would start by having a look at the spec of the different models of C7 and decide which one really floats your boat.

Reason I say this is, even the 460bhp base model will feel a fair bit quicker than a Granturismo S, due to it being over 300kg lighter. The 650bhp Z06 model is going to feel like a rocket-ship! Z06 (and ZR1) is supercharged by the way, so if you don't like turbos, that could be a consideration.

If you go for the lower spec 460bhp model there are two suspension options. It is the Z51 option that is more optimised for performance/handling/driving experience, and if you buy an official EU/UK car it will be Z51. There will be cheaper US cars for this reason, as there will be some with lower base model spec. I think Z51 comes with a load of other stuff, like better brakes, performance axle ratio, better cooling and some other bits and bobs.

Good luck!
 

GeoffCapes

New user
I’ve been looking on Autotrader in the US and It looks like the C7 might just be out of reach financially. However the Z06 with a supercharger seems to tick all my boxes.
There are a few with low mileage for sub $60k that I like the look of.
Will have to speak to my mate who imports cars to see where the best place to buy one from for shipping purposes.

I seem to recall him saying Houston is one of the cheaper shipping ports.

Might book a trip to Dallas if that is the case.
Any excuse for a holiday! :ROFLMAO:
 

UKBeancounter

Committee Member
Will have to speak to my mate who imports cars to see where the best place to buy one from for shipping purposes.

I seem to recall him saying Houston is one of the cheaper shipping ports.

Pretty much all of the east coast is cheap, Florida, Carolinas, Virginia up to New York. My C7 came across with Home - American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier organised by Hillshipping.co.uk. They run out of most of the East Coast ports.

Only thing to bear in mind with Dallas is there often seem to be an unusual number of flood damaged vehicles there, so make sure you get a CarFax report on any vehicle before buying.
 

GeoffCapes

New user
Pretty much all of the east coast is cheap, Florida, Carolinas, Virginia up to New York. My C7 came across with Home - American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier organised by Hillshipping.co.uk. They run out of most of the East Coast ports.

Only thing to bear in mind with Dallas is there often seem to be an unusual number of flood damaged vehicles there, so make sure you get a CarFax report on any vehicle before buying.

Something to bear in mind when I get over there. (y)
 

UTH

Regular user
For the last three years I have been going to Le Mans and every year I have absolutely loved the Corvettes.
This year I had to go in my workhorse (Jaguar XFS) as I had sold my toy to fund a work project that I am involved in.
The previous years I went in my Maserati Granturismo S.

Now as things appear (famous last words) to be coming to fruition with regards the work project I figured it was about time that I started doing the prep work for a new toy.

Enter the Corvette.

Now I will be totally honest, I know nothing about Corvettes other than the fact that the look good, sound great, are left hand drive and you can't order them from new in the UK.

I know I want the latest shape, the C7 (none of that turbocharged nonsense) and I would love a yellow one.
However, I have noticed that there seem to be endless varieties with power from 460bhp to 600+bhp.
As the Maser had 440bhp I'd like the more powerful version.

What do I need to look for? And what am I realistically look to pay for one? Is it better to buy in the UK or get one from the US or Europe?
I have a friend who imports cars from all over the world so if I were to go down that route I could speak to him if I found the right car.

So where do I start?

As someone who recently bought a C7 Z06 in Yellow, but was regularly looking online to see what came up, I only ever saw 2 for sale in over 2 years, second of which is the one I bought! So you might be waiting a while for one to come up for sale....if ever.
 

Roscobbc

Moderator
Be VERY careful buying one in the UK - as already said do a Carfax report - TBH initially all you really need to do is simply enter the full vin code in to Google and it should immediately pick-up on any cars with salvage titles and show full info plus damage images. Nothing wrong with buying a salvage vehicle if repaired correctly - just remember it will need to be far cheaper to cover for the loss you'll experience when trying to sell it.
 

GeoffCapes

New user
Thread resurrection.

As the C8 is now going to be in right hand drive, I have made enquiries with Chevy about putting my name on the list for one.
I have to say their customer service is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.

After several enquires (phone calls and emails) all I have received is a combination of "there is no list", "we don't have a date for RHD car going on sale in the UK" (even though the Chevy press releases say 2020), "speak to your local dealer", local dealer "we don't know when we will be getting demo's let alone cars to sell".

I thought Maserati were bad!
 

monty

CCCUK regional rep
Thread resurrection.

As the C8 is now going to be in right hand drive, I have made enquiries with Chevy about putting my name on the list for one.
I have to say their customer service is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.

After several enquires (phone calls and emails) all I have received is a combination of "there is no list", "we don't have a date for RHD car going on sale in the UK" (even though the Chevy press releases say 2020), "speak to your local dealer", local dealer "we don't know when we will be getting demo's let alone cars to sell".

I thought Maserati were bad!
Hmmm i am also interested in the C8 RHD , the hard top convertible looks a nice car and would be perfect for the wife as well,the C7 Z06 we have at present is very nice and although the wife does drive it she would prefer the automatic rather than the 7 speed manual we have so the C8 RHD hard top convertible with an auto box would be the answer hmmm i just might keep the C7 Z06 as well, one for me and one for the wife sorted.
 
Top