Hoping to get a ZR-1 but I have quite a few questions

[Eaglerulez]

Hi Everyone,

I just registered for the boards today, but have been researching the ZR-1 for quite a while. Regardless! I am excited to be here!

I've always been a big Corvette fan and when I was about 8 years old my dad had a black ZR-1. Unfortunately he got sick a few years later when I was 11 and we had to sell it to pay for his hospital bills, but my memories of my Dad's old car are very fond and for the longest time I have always told myself that I would buy a ZR-1 one day.

I am about to graduate college and have a bit of money saved up for a new car. My brother and I currently split the payments on a 2012 V6 Camaro, which I currently drive, but at the end of the semester he gets to keep it as his own per our agreement.

My budget is about $30,000 and I've been considering a used BMW M3 a used BMW M5, as well as a used Cadillac ATS. However, considering the fact that I have been finding ZR1's in the $20,000-$25,000 range as opposed to the $30,000-$40,000 range of those other cars, I feel like the ZR1 could be a better investment simply because it is cheaper, will give me similar performance to the other cars, and it has always been my dream car. I feel like if I purchased a ZR1 I would be keeping it for the rest of my life for the most part whereas the other cars, though proven performers, just don't evoke as much passion or emotion in me.

Having said that I do have some questions that have just been eating away at me when researching all of these cars.

1) How much "better" will this car be in comparison to a V6 Camaro? I know this is kind of an obvious question, but I still think it is worth asking. My Camaro is a great car, but as a whole it feels "heavy" when doing daily driving, so much so that it becomes a bit of a pain for me to drive. Though the V6 packs 323 HP, the car as a whole feels like it is lacking. I'm pretty well versed on the straight-line metrics for both of these cars so I know the ZR-1 will be better, but how will a ZR-1 feel from a handling perspective? I really just want something that feels light and agile, most of the time, but can pull like a freight train if it needs to.

2) This car will be used as a daily driver and will be my primary and only vehicle. I know the LT-5 will be rock solid, but are there other things that I should be aware of that could hinder my enjoyment of it from a daily driving perspective? I feel like the stock stereo system would probably need to be replaced? And I am concerned about the seats/interior falling apart simply because they are getting kind of old. Are these things cheap/manageable to upgrade?

3) I know these cars are pretty old and will need some "standard" 20 year old car maintenance (replacing fluids, changing plugs, wires, etc). I don't have much under-the-hood experience aside from doing some simple bolt-on mods. Would these things be pretty easy for me to handle/ learn? I do work right across the street from Corvette Mike's in Anaheim so I do have professional help available, but I heard those dudes charge a premium price for their work. Plus, part of the reason for buying the ZR-1 is because I do like tinkering, but because I've always had relatively new cars I have never really had to for fear of messing up something, or for fear of voiding a warranty of some sort.

4) If I do purchase one of these I am hoping to keep it for a very long time. I would probably mod it in order to get the most out of the car. How much more power could I expect from fairly straightforward mods? Every time I search ZR-1 mods and the like I do see some good recommendations (like exhausts, headers, a chip, etc) but I never know what sites to look at in order to find these mods. Usually when I find ZR-1 parts they are for OEM replacement. I ask this mainly because I want to get an idea of how much modding a ZR-1 would cost.

Also, I have searched Google a few times but haven't really found much on suspension upgrades. Are there any good suspension mods for the car? I know for the Camaros we have a whole package from the likes of Pfadt that supposedly do wonders for it. Are there similar things available for the ZR-1?

I apologize for the long topic and all the other questions, but owning a ZR-1 is just such an awesome notion, and I can't believe that I am in a place in my life where this could actually be a reality. Furthermore, I just really like the idea of taking an old classic (that still is very strong on its own) and just adding some modern flare to it, to make it an even more amazing car.

Thanks in advance for the responses!