Help please! I plan on buying a ZR1 soon.. (and I'm a new guy here too)

[Robert P]

Hey everybody... I think I'm falling for a '91 ZR1. I drove past a local car dealership and they had a red one right out front. I am going to try and get it if it seems like a good buy. That's where (I hope) the wonderful zr1netreg forum members come in.

Will y'all give me some insight or things to look for when buying a used ZR1? The car has about 55,000 miles on it and I know it has had at least two owners. The current owner said he lost all the receipts/records/paperwork on the car when he last moved. I plan to go by the dealer tomorrow and drive it... It has some obvious small paint problems (bubbles, chips, etc), and a kinda cheap looking exhaust, but other than that it is STILL A F'ing ZR1!

The current owner is in a local Corvette club and currently (or recently) owns 3 or more 'vettes. I think he's selling this one because of some health issues he's having. Not sure...

I REALLY want this car. I didn't think people put these cars up for sale. If I buy it, I don't think I'll let it go!
Thanks - Robert...

[Z Factor]

Hello Robert, and welcome to the forum.

You will be well served to read about some common problems with the ZR-1 in this link http://www.zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_issues.htm which will help you to find problems with the one you are interested in. There is a wealth of information in the other sections as well.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have since our members will be glad to help out.

[WB9MCW]

Robert there is an excellent section on this that will walk you thru all the items ur gonna wanna check out!!! Here is the link to that checklist section. I would also use the NADA guide, e-bay past sales and the ZR-1's for sale on the registry as my guide for pricing issues...here are the links to these items...good luck hope it works out and u join the brotherhood of ZRONERS!!!!

http://zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_buying.htm

http://zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_prices.htm

http://zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_sale.htm

http://www.nadaguides.com/autohome2....wPr=0&wPg=2111

[rdezr1]

the first thing to consider is what do you want out of it,and what you are going to have to do to get it the way you want it.paint issues are common, can be expensive to correct,is it going to be a driver ,at 55k it is not a very viable investment car unless the guy is going to give it away,if it is going to be a driver have it gone through, the more you can find out about it the better off your decision making will be,check out zr1.net zr1s for sale that should give you an idea of valuations,also people are very amenable to selling 90's and 91's right now check out ebay there are 8 or nine last i looked.lol

[Robert P]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I went by and looked at the car more closely today and got to drive it too.

The glass top has a small crack (about 2" long) above the passenger side door, the passenger door's window doesn't seal or operate properly (it is kicked off to one side, not allowing it to seal), and the brakes are HARD to push and they stop worse than my '87 S-15 pickup.

Also, the Full Power key doesn't seem to do anything. I obviously don't know the "combination" to enabling full power. What do I do to turn it on? Another sketchy thing about this car is that in the little console beside the shifter there is a momentary on/off radio-shack type switch wired to something. Don't know what it does...

I offered the guy $15,000. What would you guys think about this and that?
-Robert

[91MinuteMan]

Here's what I think, slow down as there are a lot of 90-91 ZR1s out there for sale. "but other than that it is STILL A F'ing ZR1!" which means it is a car that costs serious $$$ to fix. For example, I just saw a set of cam cover emblems that sold for $365 on ebay and these are only cosmetic. With the sparse description you gave it sounds like this car has had a hard life and in the end you will spend more money and aggravation on this one than a lower mileage car owned by a ZR1 fanatic. In my opinion, there aren't many dealers out there who have the specific Z knowledge to sell these cars. Go to http://zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_sale.htm and check out what's there. Also, go to corvetteforums.com as their ZR1 sub-forum always has a lot of people on line and they may know of a good car. Lastly, check with local vette clubs. You can do better,after all they made almost 7000 of these cars.

[tccrab]

Robert:

Glass top, not a real problem, one off of any C4 will fit. New one cost around $1200 or so, used one from a Corvette Junkyard probably cost about half that.

Passenger window, not a huge problem. Probably cost couple hundred to fix if you have it done, or a wekeend chore if your fairly mechanical. Hard to say what's wrong, could be simply out of track, or maybe a rivet has given up the ghost.

Brakes. Make sure to get them checked. You gotta be able to stop this bullet once you've pulled the trigger.

Secondaries, engine has to be at operating temperature, and they don't really become obvious unless you get to farily high RPMs. Wind it up in first and second with the key off, then do the same with the key on. You'll know if they're working.

The switch, first thing that comes to mind is Linelock. Did the PO drag race?
It might also be a switch to change the logic of the power key from "momentary" to "on all the time". Sometime during the ZR1 production, they went from the power key being on all the time, to having to switch it on every time the engine was started. There was wiring mod that some people put on their cars which might have had a switch.

$15k is a good place to start, don't go much higher than that unless the dealer is willing to address all of your concerns. I'd be sure the brakes were dealt with before I drove the car home.

55k miles is not a bad thing for ZR1's, it actually means that all the little naggy things that eventually do go wrong have probably already happened and have been taken care of. You shouldn't worry too much about the engine, for the most part it's bulletproof. The rest of the car, well, it's a GM.

Good luck!

TomC
'90ZR1 #792

[91Mike]

There area couple of low mile 91 ZR1's currently on ebay. Check them out

[Bell Curve]

Sounds decent, just make sure it is running good because you do not want someone's headaches.

[tomtom72]

Robert, I'm in the camp of "slow down & take a breath". There are too many nice ZR-1's with no cosmetic issues out there....not at 15K but closer to double that. If a Z is what you really want I would first determine what your budget is and then go find a car that fits. Also in the budget figuring you must determine what kind of Z you want, stock or modded. On the surface this car sounds like a bit of a project and if you are willing to go down that road then okay. Just realize that there are a good number of better cars out there...just not for 15K.

The extra switch could be for a manual turn on of the secondary cooling fan.
The "full Engine Power" will not be enabled unless specific parameters are seen by the ECM...water temp & oil temp @ pre-set minimums & the absence of any active DTC's. There are also some other set points.

Don't get captured by the price of this one, be critical & skeptical while you evaluate the value for the money. I know this is not exactly charitable but I'd be loath to offer 15K for this one...but then I don't have 15K laying around doing nothing and I already have a Z! Just be critical and know what you're getting for the 15K...no rose colored glasses, use your microscope!

good luck!
Tom