Hello from Germany can you help me

[Neomacross]

Good day from Germany,

I came across a C4 ZR1 here in Germany which is sold very cheap.

https://www.autoscout24.de/angebote/corvette-c4-zr-1-benzin-rot-0e73abec-d84f-4b4b-909d-bc07eee1b411?&cldtidx=18&cldtsrc=listPage&searchId=586017337

The price is 24.500?. The normal price for such ZR1 in Germany is usually at least 35.000?.

A user on Corvetteforum.com gave me a tip that he found this ZR1 here on ZR-1 Net from one.

Now to the story.
The ZR1 was probably auctioned in 2017 in the USA.
My question:
-is there an accurate report on the auction
- so what damage the C4 ZR1 has

I have already written the previous owner a mail and I hope he responds.

After the ZR1 was auctioned in USA it went directly to Germany Bremerhafen.
There it was driven by trailer to Poland.
At this company it was restored.
http://www.whoknowsgarage.com/projekty.php?id=17

The condition doesn't seem to be very good when it arrived.
But it looks very good at the moment.

Now the question would be whether it was only "superficially" restored or also technically if something should have been done to it.

So either it is a true bargain by German standards or it will be a money destroying machine

complete CarFax report is available and looks very good

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[Matt B]

I'm new to ZR-1 - but not new two cars. Combining those things they'd have to give me money for that car: a ZR-1 is a decently complex machine and that one obviously was abused a lot. I know polish dudes can make great work. But it's not granted they will. It's hard to tell from pictures but my gut feeling is that this is a money pit.

I just recently imported a 1 owner 18.5kmls ZR-1 to Germany and my landing point will (hopefully) be a couple of thousands of Euros higher than this one, somewhere in the very low 30s for a working and road legal car. I might also be struck by defect injectors, fuel pumps or other issues. You never know. But speaking about value it is still is a 100% original, 1 owner car that even cam on it's original tires.

Remember: there is no bargain on cars. In 99.9% of all cases you get what you pay for.

Maybe Thomas will reply, he's also German and one of the (if not THE) ZR-1 capacities in our country. My knowledge and experience are on rookie level - anyway I would not want this one even when it comes for free ;)

[Neomacross]

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=whoknowsgarages&set=a.1933327426956930

On Facebook they have documented the progress of the restoration.

Here is the answer of the company to my mail request what all was done:

Good day, thank you for your inquiry, no accident car, imported from the USA. The restoration work we have done is:
repair of damaged floors during transport, repair of electrical wiring harnesses, renovation of car upholstery, replacement of operating fluids and starting the car.

[Corvette95]

I just depends on how good the person was doing the work. In my opinion, if someone does a lot of work on a car then sells it, they know something about why the don't want to keep it. I just did a two year restoration on a 90... it was done done painstakingly correct...it is not for sale...at all. If you are competent to do all the work yourself you may well go ahead but if must pay someone to do all the work for you, I would not.

[We Gone]

First Welcome.



If it has been restored..What? Looks to need a lot of work and clean up still.


A lot of what I see are common C4 parts. Without driving it who knows the condition of the drive train.

[Neomacross]

Thanks so far for the help.

Interestingly, according to the Carfax report, the ZR1 has only been ridden 3000miles since 2010 - 2017.
Since it has been in Poland it has not been moved.
Only the trip from Poland to Germany is traceable with 1300km.

The question is why in the 10 years only about 3000-4000miles were added....

Is it possible to find the last owner?

[Ccmano]

Welcome! It's always great to have another international member. We hope you'll stay and become a registry member.

3000 miles in 10 years is not that unusual for these cars. Many see even less for any number of reasons. Often cars are simply parked and forgotten. It appears from your links and statements the work to freshen up the car was done in Poland. Based on their response the works done was largely cosmetic. With a car this age it's always difficult to know what the car will need until you have it in hand.

As has already been pointed out there are several knowledgeable owners in Germany. I suggest you get together with one of them and start to understand how a good ZR-1 should run. Maybe inspect this car together with one of them.

It is not uncommon for the average ZR-1 to require upwards of several thousand dollars of work to bring it back to reliable standards and in your case TUV requirements. What's the serial number we may be able to get more information.
H
:cheers:

[Neomacross]

1G1YZ23J8L5802594

Thank you for the nice welcome.

Here is the email from the company that did the renovation work.

Good day, thank you for your enquiry, no accident car, imported from the USA. The renovation works we have done are:
repair of damaged floors during transport, repair of electrical wiring harnesses, renovation of car upholstery, replacement of operating fluids and starting the car.

The ZR1 has not been moved since it was in Poland and is now in Germany, so the last owner in the USA can give me all the important information.

[Matt B]

Mine was driven 1000mls from 2010. Reason? The owner grew older and older, must be in his 80's now. Also he used to own several cars with the ZR being just another supercar to fill his garage...
Mind one thing when considering a low mile car: many of them see little to no maintenance, often for decades. That means that many things may look like new but have become hardened and unusable. Things may crumble upon touching them. Brake fluid often hasn't been changed for years, being soaked with water which may lead to corrosion and a lot of downstream cost to fix the system. Same holds true for many other things. I reserved a couple of thousands of Euros for my ZR-1 for unspecific follow up tasks. Injectors, fuel pumps, leaking somethings, etc.
The last ZR-1 I inspected before I finally got mine showed an odometer reading of 45kmls but was in a WAY better shape then mine. Because it was taken care of.
Also I remember I read (here?) that in particular 90's models are common for low milage as many buyers followed the hype and bought the cars for investment - buy and hide strategy that up to today never really paid out with these cars. As I learned this is the reason why there are so many ultra low milage 90 and 91 cars. Situation calmed down from 92 onwards. But for sure there are more experienced persons here to confirm or correct ;)

[Thomas ZR-1]

The cost level for a Z in Germany is totally different to the US market. ZR-1`s in Germany are very rare and for a C4 model quite expensive. Standard price (if you are able to find one) for a 1990 is around 30000 Euro ($35000) with 80-100 mls. It`s difficult to find a official and competent car workshop for a 30 year old C4 and nearly impossible for a C4 ZR-1. So most of the offered ZR-1 have a really high maintenance deficit.

Common problems such as bad paint, damaged interior and visual issues can be solved in Germany or Poland. The result depense on the buyers view (good or bad). A test drive can give more information about the condition to the suspension (ok: PU bushing can discovered before for sure...), the brakes, the steering and so on. You will also notice if the LT5 runs at 8 cylinders or less.

At the Polish webpage you can see they only did optical repairs such as painting and leather work...no technical maintenance. The LT5 buyer of this car should calculate the following for change: all fluids, spark plugs incl. cables, coils, div. leaky gaskets and seals, timing chain guide facings!, fuel injectors, belt tensioner, water pump, alternator, starter contacts div. leaky sensors and defective el. plugs and an upgrade chip to the memcal.

This is my experience with the ZR-1 here in Germany (not inluded the problems for registrtion in Germany and the German T?V (inspection required by law)).

But all that I explained to you last week by phone. 24500 Euro are quite cheap for a Z in Germany but it makes no sense trying to rationalize problems. If you are lucky you`ll catch a good deal otherwise keep the upcomming costs in mind.

[DRM500RUBYZR-1]

If you could be sure the car needs little to nothing else, then perhaps it is a good value.
The dilemma is how can you possibly be sure.
There are many well- cared for ZR-1s here in the US that can be purchased in the $20-30,000.00 (US) range.
Many have well documented histories, and while things can still go wrong, I would feel far safer buying a car that was so well cared for it did not need a
"restoration" after only 80k miles.
That tells me the car was NOT well cared for, and may have other soon to surface problems.

All older cars have issues. One is fooling oneself if they think they can buy a "perfect" old car. However, if you buy a car that was "treasured" by it's prior owners, you stand a far better chance of having far fewer potential problems.

Someone who drives a car with electrical tape holding the seat together surely did not give a hoot about proper care of the vehicle.
DO NOT IGNORE such " Red-Flags".
They clearly tell you something, and that something is not ever good.

You can purchase a car here in the US, and have it shipped to you.

I have sent about a dozen ZR-1's to Europe, and 3 specifically to Germany.

You should be able to locate and buy a well-kept example of a 90 or early 91 and get it to your house for less than or equal to the "bargain" that you are considering.

You will end up with a far nicer car.
If I can help, feel free to reach out.
I have half a dozen ZR-1's in stock, with more coming in all of the time.
My 91 is now sold, but a nicely modded 90 ( most mods undetectable to the untrained eye) is still available.
Best of luck with your search!
Hope you are soon enjoying a Corvette ZR-1!
:cheers:
Marty

Marty Pinder
Owner
CONTE'S CORVETTES INC.
Where Corvettes are our passion,
not just our business.
851 W. Wheat Road
Vineland, NJ 08360
856-692-0087 Fax 856-692-1009
www.contes.com

marty@contes.com