Good time to buy a ZR-1

[WARP TEN]

I think Hib's Barney is the steal of the century. An exceedingly well cared for car with great history and a rare and exciting color. For peanuts. Amazing that no one has jumped on it.--Bob

[FU]

I agree with that Bob !!

[ZRapid-1]

Barrett-Jackson, Palm Beach, FL, 4/8/2016 - 4/10/2016

1991 ZR-1
Lot #504 - White with red interior, Bloomington Gold Certified, this very original ZR1 has 350/400hp with a 4-speed manual transmission. From The FAC Collection.
Sold for $19,800.

I'm still wondering when the bottom will be.


In contrast, 1977 to 1980 Trans Ams sold for $50 to $70K!
Two Buick Grand National GNXs sold for ~$120K.

And they can't compete with the performance of our ZR-1's.

[32valvesftw]

Originally Posted by WARP TEN

I think Hib's Barney is the steal of the century. An exceedingly well cared for car with great history and a rare and exciting color. For peanuts. Amazing that no one has jumped on it.--Bob

FACT!
Anyway, I agree with what most say that the bottom of the market may ben approaching. But I am not convinced the ZR-1 will ever fetch air cooled 911 money, why you ask? Different buyers, the cars have distinctly different personalities as do their owners. I think a Guy who buys an old 911 would have a dim view of a C4 Vette even a ZR-1. Us ZR-1 owners recognize how special the car is, many of us are DIYers, kind of cause we have to be. 911's have been around forever in basically the same configuration which breeds all sorts of experts. True LT-5 ZR-1 experts are few and far between. This makes people fearful of the LT5, and lets face one other issue...flame away guys, but a 911 is screwed together better than the Chevy, so in my opinion the 911s age better.
All said I truly hope I'm wrong and ZR-1 values will go up.
In the meantime I plan to drive the heck out of mine, and will enjoy beating 911s every chance I get.

[ghlkal]

Originally Posted by ZRapid-1

In contrast, 1977 to 1980 Trans Ams sold for $50 to $70K!
Two Buick Grand National GNXs sold for ~$120K.

While I _suppose_ I can see mad money for a GN, but for a 77-80 "Trans Am" ??!? Good grief

[edram454]

yeah you wonder why a 1977 trans am is worth 30 to 50k.?? slow, bad quality, heavy and about 180 horsepower... who the hell wants that?? to be like burt reynolds?? have you seen him lately??? porsche 911 (volkswagen carmen ghia) anybody see the awesome performance of a 1990 911 porsche?? pathetic. The one thing these cars have is the availability of parts and experts to fix them. We lack both and that creates fear. Fear makes people run from a zr1 purchase. I ran for a long time until I finally bought one. I had to truck my car out of state to have it worked on at a grand a tow. The motor is robust and reliable but it can scare off people because such few people really are experts at diagnosing and repairing these engines.

A friend of mine recently bought a zr1 from a known person who did some of the work himself and some very important things were done incorrectly or not done at all. He is rectifying these issues and will have a great car but it had to go out of state, to an expert to be diagnosed and repaired correctly. When the car is repaired correctly and maintained correctly, it will run forever and run very good. It is the fear of one day not being able to get a part that you need to fix something. We have some people who are life savers and provide parts for our cars exclusively and that is great but unless you are in the zr1 subculture you wont know it. One day these cars will get the respect it deserves and people will realize how special it is. If a pig trans am can garner 50k then a zr1 should be 100k.

ed ramos #3028

[PostmanZ]

Originally Posted by 32valvesftw

flame away guys, but a 911 is screwed together better than the Chevy, so in my opinion the 911s age better.

As a former owner, I wouldn't necessarily say "screwed together" better, but maybe a little more "simply" put together. My 930 was an oil slobbering son of a bitch, that no matter how many times we tried to fix the leaks....they just kept coming. Also you will be hard pressed to find many air cooled 911 turbos capable of going much past 75,000 miles without requiring a $15-20K rebuild. Luckily the owner before me absorbed that hit to the tune of $17K. The 3.2s (premature valve guide wear) and 3.6s (clutch, lack head gasket, fly wheel) also had many issues of their own that popped up from time to time. Every NON turbo air cooled 911 I drove from back in those days were complete dogs as well....you'd pin the throttle and they never felt like they went anywhere lol. If you wanted that rush, you had to go with a turbo. I would however certianly say the interior on those 911s were better looking and more simply designed than the Corvettes, but engine wise, I would take a reliable and durable LT5 power plant over anything that Porsche put out back in those days.

And let me tell you, driving a 930 in the hot desert climate like LV is asking for trouble.....I had MANY problems with oil coking in my turbos (even after always letting them cool before turning off) that led to more $$$ wasted trying to fix the problems caused by the coking. Not to mention the frequent valve adjustments became an annoyance after a while (and expensive as adjustments are something I've never wanted to toy with myself)

They're fun cars to hit the twisties with, but air cooled 911s certianly aren't as "bulletproof" as many have claimed them to be (I know first hand). The 911 itself is a cult vehicle for car club guys and enthusiasts (which drives the prices). Guys like Magnus Walker and all his buddies have done an excellent job with video blogs/reviews/stories etc. on YouTube to help build the 911 phenomenon. But as somebody who went through that, I'm glad I don't have to worry about maintaining those money pits anymore. I happily enjoy my relatively trouble free ownership with my LT5 ;-)

[Z51JEFF]

Not to hijack the topic here but Ive got a 1991 issue of R&T and they did a comparison between a ZR-1 and a 930 and it really disgusted the author the declare the Z the winner between the 2 but I do think the Porch,no spell error here,came out tops on the interior comparison. Side by side the Z just looks better.

[Tony Davila]

I had the only ZR-1 in my town and now I found two for sale, one at a car lot and another at a dealership. Both were trade in vehicles and it looks like some guys are just getting rid of them.
I knew one of the owners but not the other. They were not really a part of the brotherhood, they were just Corvette owners.

[We Gone]

I've seen some unbelievable sales over the last year, never would I have thought the ZR-1 would drop so low. If I won the lottery I would buy a warehouse full of them So yes it is a great time for buyers right now.