Corvettes for Sale: Should This 12K Mile 2003 Corvette Z06 Be Driven or Preserved?

9
6477

Corvettes for Sale: Should This 12K Mile 2003 Corvette Z06 Be Driven or Preserved?

Photo Credits: BringATrailer.com


With all the fuss generated around the mid-engine C8 Corvette, we thought we’d offer you a bit of a palate cleanser by taking a peek at a very cool 2003 Torch Red Z06 that popped up for sale over on Bring A Trailer.

While Chevy built thousands of Z06s from 2001-2004, we suspect few low-mile, unaltered examples of the King Of The Hill C5 remain. Our subject car has a mere 12,000 original miles on the clock, from four previous owners. It’s hard to believe that four separate shepherds of this C5 could collectively resist driving the wheels off this redhead beauty.

Although the car definitely has flaws, the low sheen of the interior, cleanliness of the door jambs, and overall condition offer clues that the meager miles are real.

Corvettes for Sale: Should This 12K Mile 2003 Corvette Z06 Be Driven or Preserved?


The true conundrum with this Z06, is what is the best course of action for a new owner?

The C5 might as well be the ’32 Ford of Corvettes (sacrilege!) because so many have been altered, low-mile original cars are getting rarer every year. The value in this Corvette is its low-mileage state and unmolested condition. If you want to mod one, find a high-mile workhorse and skip over this survivor.

On the other hand, a C5 Z06 was meant to run free, showing off its nimble track moves and letting the deep-throat baritone of its 5.7 liter, 405hp LS6 V8 soar at full-throttle.

Corvettes for Sale: Should This 12K Mile 2003 Corvette Z06 Be Driven or Preserved?


What would we do with this car? We would fix the scuffs and scars, refresh the paint with clay and a polish, and clean the thing inside and out. From there, we’d pop in our favorite CD and exercise the car regularly on the weekends, and let it hold court at local show and shines. Then we’d tuck it in a nice cozy garage where it could age gracefully for generations to come.

The current bid is $16,800 with five days to go. What would you do with this Z06, drive or preserve?

Corvettes for Sale: Should This 12K Mile 2003 Corvette Z06 Be Driven or Preserved?


Source:
BringATrailer.com

Related:
How To Import From Canada And The Corvettes That Will Make You Consider It
This 1958 Corvette Barn Find Can Be Yours at Awesome Joe’s Auctions
2020 Corvette Stingray Added to Mecum Indy Docket

 



-

9 COMMENTS

  1. I WOULD DRIVE IT EVERY CHANCE I HAD, THE BEST RELEASE FOR TENSION AND ANXIETY WOULD BE TO GET BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THIS BEAUTY AND LET IT STRETCH ITS LEGS, FREQUENTLY AND WITH VIGOR, SAFELY OF COURSE , OTHERWISE OTHER PROBLEMS COULD ARISE GIVING YOU MORE ANXIOUS AND TENSION THEN YOU HAD PREVIOUS.

  2. Drive it, l agree 12k is low miles, however not low enough to put it away at store it for years waiting for the price to go up. Buy it Drive it 1k-2k miles a year and you will probably recoup what you pay for the car today. Sounds like solid math to me!

  3. Drive it.

    I’ve owned (all new) a 2001 Z06, 2002 Z06, 2003 Z06, 2004 Z06,
    2006 Z06, 2007 Z06, 2008 Z06, and now a 2019 Z06.

    They were ALL daily drivers. At 70, I enjoy all the time I get to spend on this earth, and driving my Corvette is no exception.

  4. Drive it ! I purchased a 1998 C5 with 24,000 miles on it , put ten thousand miles on it the first year, sold it back to the guy but I purchased it from and told him he better drive it, then purchased a 2016 c7 with 2200 miles on it now 3 years later have 20,000 miles on it just doing long weekends… I am now thinking about the c8 …Don’t buy them to look at … Buy them to enjoy!

  5. If it was <1000 miles, a case could be made to preserve it as a museum piece. But at 12,000 miles, drive the damn thing!

Comments are closed.