This post made me think. I would rather have C5 ZO6 for the money because it is a better performance option with a less rare motor, but could the ZR-1 appreciate in value as they become "classic" and harder to find in good condition? I mean, these were the shiznit when they came out, and collectors of a certain age might want one of the cars they dreamed of in their younger days.
All corvette's appreciate eventually.
In reply to pinchvalve:
The c4 zr1 is one of the most "shoved in a garage with no miles" corvettes in recent history.... I've driven 3 of them that had under 300 miles on them.
Way too many were shoved in garages and left to sit. Will they be worth more eventually...Probably. I just don't see any of the C4's that are going to be super collectible. I think the fact that the base C5 is so much better car and the z06 even more so that will not help it's cause.
I owned an early model year C4 10 years back and hated it. I drove a couple of later model year C4's recently thinking I would have some nostalgia... nope. Car was crap then and still is. I think they will eventually be worth $$$, but I cant see that occurring any time in the near future.
You need to decide whether you are buying a collectible, or a car to drive. The ZR1 will be slower and far harder to get parts for than something with an LS1.
Collectible, ZR1 will be a better investment.
Look at the 78 Pace Cars and 80 Special Editions. EVERYBODY thought that they would be collectible and shoved them garages. Here we are nearly 40 years later and they still aren't worth much and there's literally dozens for sale every year with "showroom miles". In my opinion, they'll never be worth much. Neither will the ZR1.
Real appreciating collectibles are scarce and desired. Think Solstice GXP coupe, nobody put them away and there was like 150 of them built.
My money I would go FRC C5 or a really perfect C5 Z06 with low miles. Better all rounder on the street and both have the posibility of higher value in the future.
NordicSaab wrote: I owned an early model year C4 10 years back and hated it. I drove a couple of later model year C4's recently thinking I would have some nostalgia... nope. Car was crap then and still is. I think they will eventually be worth $$$, but I cant see that occurring any time in the near future.
Lets be honest here...ALL old cars are crap to drive. I bet I would detest a Ferrari 250GTO if I had to drive it more than around the track for a day. If at all like the kit cars, a Cobra would suck to own. But people still line up to acquire these things.
"Collectors" are a funny lot. They are driven, not driving, in their need to obtain what they want. As such, statistics dictate that there will be a market for the rare(ish) ZR-1, but it wont be a big market. And it wont be a driver market.
Javelin wrote: Look at the 78 Pace Cars and 80 Special Editions. EVERYBODY thought that they would be collectible and shoved them garages. Here we are nearly 40 years later and they still aren't worth much and there's literally dozens for sale every year with "showroom miles". In my opinion, they'll never be worth much. Neither will the ZR1.
Back in the day I worked with a guy who traded in a very nice '67 coupe on a '78 pace car. That wasn't the best investment strategy. 
The second Indy 500 I attended was in 1978 and the Corvette was the pace car - you are right when everyone was grabbing them and claiming they were worth $25,000. I think there are still those guys but you really want to own a 1978.
My money is on the pace car from the first Indy 500 I attended. The 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88. Also the first 3x winner AJ Foyt clinched it that year.
mileage seems a bit high for a "collector" but it looks clean and well maintained. Drive it and enjoy it. Short of a wreck or abuse the value should at least be stable.
Javelin wrote: Look at the 78 Pace Cars and 80 Special Editions. EVERYBODY thought that they would be collectible and shoved them garages. Here we are nearly 40 years later and they still aren't worth much and there's literally dozens for sale every year with "showroom miles". In my opinion, they'll never be worth much. Neither will the ZR1. Real appreciating collectibles are scarce and desired. Think Solstice GXP coupe, nobody put them away and there was like 150 of them built.
Our Solstice GXP coupe is pretty much put away. We bought it new in 09 and it has under 10k miles and is in perfect condition. I'm not sure if it will go up or not, but we'll see. We bought it because I'm kind of a Pontiac fan and it was one of their last performance cars. We actually took delivery after GM gave Pontiac the axe and for awhile the dealer didn't even know if we were going to get it. Just buying the car itself is a pretty interesting story.
As for the c4 zr1.....I think it will climb at some point. People keep comparing it to the pace car, but the pace car was basically an appearance package and the zr1 is a lot more than that.
Cotton wrote:Javelin wrote: Look at the 78 Pace Cars and 80 Special Editions. EVERYBODY thought that they would be collectible and shoved them garages. Here we are nearly 40 years later and they still aren't worth much and there's literally dozens for sale every year with "showroom miles". In my opinion, they'll never be worth much. Neither will the ZR1. Real appreciating collectibles are scarce and desired. Think Solstice GXP coupe, nobody put them away and there was like 150 of them built.Our Solstice GXP coupe is pretty much put away. We bought it new in 09 and it has under 10k miles and is in perfect condition. I'm not sure if it will go up or not, but we'll see. We bought it because I'm kind of a Pontiac fan and it was one of their last performance cars. We actually took delivery after GM gave Pontiac the axe and for awhile the dealer didn't even know if we were going to get it. Just buying the car itself is a pretty interesting story. As for the c4 zr1.....I think it will climb at some point. People keep comparing it to the pace car, but the pace car was basically an appearance package and the zr1 is a lot more than that.
We have a local who lives down a dirt road with a solstice coupe. Covered in dirt and road salt all the time...!
Mecum says A$50-$75K for a brand-new 1990 ZR1. That means that, including storage fees, they will loose money on this car that they never got to enjoy. Sad.
pinchvalve wrote: 23 Miles ZR1 Mecum says A$50-$75K for a brand-new 1990 ZR1. That means that, including storage fees, they will loose money on this car that they never got to enjoy. Sad.
How do you know there are storage fees? I don't charge myself storage fees and my garage/shop came with the house.
My real worry would be that every belt and hose would need to be replaced as well as seals and gaskets that have dried up.
Having at one time been VERY seriously involved with C4 Corvettes, my answer is no. They just aren't held in very high esteem, and as noted you can get equivalent performance with a C5 Z06 with a lot less hassle.
The problem is that the only way to keep a ZR1 valuable is to buy one with virtually no miles and keep it that way.
I think they will have their day in the sun eventually. The ZR-1 was the first Corvette (since the L88) that seriously attempted to take on the world. Corvettes had become bloated, slow, disco-tastic boulevard cruisers. The C4 changed that, but it wasn't until the ZR-1 that anyone took the Corvette seriously.
Historically, it's an important car, as it was GM's attempt to make the Corvette a true world beater. The "King of the Hill" Corvette--- as the ZR-1 was called, is vastly different than a regular C4. It had 400hp, and could top 180mph--- this was big news in the early 90s.
It may take another 15-20 years, but they will be worth good $$ someday.
I'd rather own and drive a C5 Z06, but historically, the ZR-1 is a more important car.
Cotton wrote:pinchvalve wrote: 23 Miles ZR1 Mecum says A$50-$75K for a brand-new 1990 ZR1. That means that, including storage fees, they will loose money on this car that they never got to enjoy. Sad.How do you know there are storage fees? I don't charge myself storage fees and my garage/shop came with the house.
There's always a cost with storing a car, even if it's the cost of not being able to use the garage for anything else. You also need to figure out what the money could have been doing. How many years before it outperfoms a bond?
Right now, high end collector cars are one of the best investments going. But we've seen that crash before...
Keith Tanner wrote:Cotton wrote:There's always a cost with storing a car, even if it's the cost of not being able to use the garage for anything else. You also need to figure out what the money could have been doing. How many years before it outperfoms a bond? Right now, high end collector cars are one of the best investments going. But we've seen that crash before...pinchvalve wrote: 23 Miles ZR1 Mecum says A$50-$75K for a brand-new 1990 ZR1. That means that, including storage fees, they will loose money on this car that they never got to enjoy. Sad.How do you know there are storage fees? I don't charge myself storage fees and my garage/shop came with the house.
I don't get that mentality. I understand taking insurance, some maintenance, and repairs into account, but not storage unless I was renting a building specifically for that purpose. I'm a car guy and I use my shop for cars, so that's just how I look at it personally. I have a retirement account and fund it completely separate from what I spend on the cars. You get too granular with "what could this money have done for me if I did x with it instead of spending on cars" and it can take the fun out of the hobby....that's not for me.
If you're looking at a car as an investment, it's not a hobby anymore. It's a business decision. And the numbers tell you if it's a GOOD business decision.
If you're storing a car in your shop, then you can't use the shop for anything else. That means that any costs involved in that shop - insurance, mortgage interest on the extra cost of the property, maintenance - are part of your storage costs. It also means that you may have something else parked outside that is now being damaged.
I don't even total up what I spend on my builds. Like you say, it would take the fun out of it. Storing a car for someone else to use in the future isn't for me either.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I see your point. I do buy cars with depreciation and possible appreciation in mind, but that's only because I try not to lose my ass with my hobby. However, if I were doing it as a business I would do things differently. I also don't tally receipts on builds... Some things your just better off not knowing. 
Cotton wrote:pinchvalve wrote: 23 Miles ZR1 Mecum says A$50-$75K for a brand-new 1990 ZR1. That means that, including storage fees, they will loose money on this car that they never got to enjoy. Sad.How do you know there are storage fees? I don't charge myself storage fees and my garage/shop came with the house.
Even if you don't charge yourself storage fees or think about the opportunity cost, there's still expenses involved with basically storing a car, the biggest being insurance for all of those years, plus registration, occasional maintenance, etc.
Javelin wrote:Cotton wrote:Even if you don't charge yourself storage fees or think about the opportunity cost, there's still expenses involved with basically storing a car, the biggest being insurance for all of those years, plus registration, occasional maintenance, etc.pinchvalve wrote: 23 Miles ZR1 Mecum says A$50-$75K for a brand-new 1990 ZR1. That means that, including storage fees, they will loose money on this car that they never got to enjoy. Sad.How do you know there are storage fees? I don't charge myself storage fees and my garage/shop came with the house.
Yeah if you'd read my post a little on down I do agree with a lot of that, but not the storage. I have classic tags on most of my classic/collectibles, which is a one time fee and does not require renewal. I also have classic/collectible isurance policies which are much cheaper than conventional, so there are expenses, but not as much as many people think. Of course I don't see myself as "basically storing a car either". I don't have any with just a few miles on them from new. They all get used and enjoyed however I want for each particular car, so some more than others.
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