C8 Z06

Its all about allocation. If a dealer has allocation open you can have this happen. But if you talk to most people still ordering one, its a year. Then again, Dealers could be LYING and trying to get people to buy use C8's at inflated prices instead of waiting "a year".

Mike Furman at Criswell stopped taking Z06 orders in January saying he had enough orders for three years in the future. There was no point in taking more orders that far out.

I still think GM would prefer to try to "build to the market demand" on the C8 rather than crank out too many to keep the factory open and then give out massive rebates like they have in the past.

But, who knows? Its GM we are talking about.

 

Thats a race car, to be run by race teams. A very different animal to a track car thats treet legal.
A Porche Gt3 is very different to a Porche cup car.

 

I sent my dealer the spec for my Z06 today. Going with arctic white, blue 2-tone interior, with Z07 package. 3LZ options package and a few other minor things like lifter. Machine face forged wheels.

Their configurator is garbage but he should be able to put together a brochure for me when the order goes in. I am #1 on the list with my dealer according to him.

 

So does he have an open order or are you just telling the salesmen what you intend to buy? I haven't heard anyone really place an actual order into the system yet.

 

That's what I thought. To me they will release the price configurator a week before. That's why its not up yet. The visualizer is for entertainment purposes.

 

It's just an order at this point, when the allocation arrives then it can turn into a real car. I'm not too worried, this is the same dealer I bought my last C7 Z06 from so we have a good relationship and it was painless last time. In fact I've been using the same email thread with the guy since my 2015 car lol.

 

Some dealers have literally cancelled old Z06 orders and given back the deposits so they can sell above MSRP. I feel sorry for anyone in that situation but there's nothing they can do about it.

You have to wonder the damage to the dealership's reputation vs long term credibility with their customers but -- its GM.

 

Ive got an order down at Criswell, and am happy to wait 3 years. First year of a new engine architecture from Gm hmm, esp for track use. By 3 years the car will be better sorted and there may be more developed versions. I haven't sold a car in 30 years(unless you count wifes series of leased mercedes), so if this car is good, its a keeper. We're looking at the last of the ice, well porche says they'll keep the 911 ice and run it on sustainable fuel, so maybe not the last but close.

meanwhile thinking a hellcat as a keeper next year too, cause for sure we'll never see something so ridiculous again, the hellcat redeye truly is the last of the last..

 

Chevy dealers are total scum in general. They will cancel orders, backstab you, change the deal like darth vader etc.

I actually have 2 early build slots lined up. One is #1 at a dealer for +$20k (and my order is in the system now). The other one is +30% and I will likely just get my deposit back from them and let them sell it to someone else.

Waiting 3 years isn't a thing for me, simply not happening. I got one of the first C7 Z06 cars (which is still in my garage) by using the same method I used this team which is relying on my established dealership relationships.

 

So Mike Furman is a bit of different type. This guy was pushing Corvette tin when no one wanted them. He took all the C6 and C7 special editions he could get when normal dealers wouldn't touch them. Even in the C7 to C8 changeover he was getting as many C7 Z06's he could get his hands on an finding buyers for them.

He personally built Criswell's Corvette business when he joined them. Of course he doesn't run the place but he certainly has helped Criswell's bottom line over the years.

 

yep he answered the phone, spoke with me , took the cc details and told me 2.5-3 year wait, no markup.
I’m good with that, it’s normal buisness.

I could have been a Ferrari and porche buyer, I’ve kept My ferrari 30 years. but every time I went to buy they were such a bunch of nimrods I wasn’t prepared to drop on
My knees and suck. Ferrari was the most egregious, their whole deal is selling to hedge fund managers who then trade The car back in 1 year for the next one and the dealer does multiples deals. Their product and product development reflects that customer base.

porche if you want to buy a gt series car is the same. Although in fairness some number of gt porches are actualy tracked.

in theory these manufacturers are selling new cars, why not satisfy new car buyers.I guess they prefer Chevy sells to their customers.

the rise of maclaren Lamborghini and latterly Maserati with the mc20 are essentially clients who have not been served by ferrari. The z06 for the likes of me is a client not served by porche and maybe ferrari.

I like that I can buy ya new Vette without all the drama. I get that there are multiple orders for the car so there is a wait, that’s fine. I’m a buyer and a keeper and frankly these days there are choices.

it continually amazes me how otherwise successful people enjoy the abuse at car dealers for exotics. My conclusion is it’s some form of masochistic streak. Like the one thing they can’t have they really want. Or if you have to wait in line then the retreat with rushed service must be good? Good marketing I suppose but a serious negative for others. And the cars themselvs have morphed into everyday gt cars missing a lot of magic. Turns out Chevy can build a great gt with exotic motor too.

All modern cars are good can handle and brake. Imo the only ones that stand out are the porche gt3 and gt4 cause those can track too. All the rest are great sporty fast road cars. For a whole lot less drama not to mention $!I’ll take the Chevy. I’m not so weak of self esteem that I need “exclusivity” to add to my feeling of self worth. Mostky I care what the machine is looks like and can do. Looking forwards to seeing how the z06 turns out.

 

I'm back on the fence.

I'm thinking about converting my zo6 deposit to another z51. I could probably have the new car sometime in the spring of next year. The hit (if any) would be minimal, assuming things stay the same. I put a lot of miles on my cars, so the sooner I move on, the better.

On the other hand, I could stay on the list and still order another base car. I only have a 1k deposit on the z06, and every time I hear a GT350 it makes me want the zo6 a little more.

Just thinking out loud. It would ne a no-brainer if intended to track the car, but I don't think I ever will.

 

My experience has been quite the opposite. Chevy plays games and Ferrari doesn't. Ferrari is always straightforward with me in terms of what's available, what I can order and what it will cost (MSRP). The number of times a Chevy dealer has changed prices or availability is pretty gross. Chevy service is also trash compared to Ferrari. I felt the need to line up multiple dealers with Chevy to make sure I got a car!

As for driving experience, I haven't driven the new Z06 yet but the previous generation doesn't compare in any way favorably to my 812. I'm hoping the new car will close some of that gap otherwise I will likely not keep the car.

 

I guess different dealers are different experiences. I've found ferrari service to be polite but no better than say mercedes. As for purchasing I gave up on ferrari around the time of the 430. I did test drive a458, I think it was a 18 moth wait at MSRP so yes the games were gone by then. But besides styling the car did not appeal. the 488 I thought drove much better but stylistically looked like some bad plastic surgeon attacked a beautiful 458. i might have gone for a speciale or a pista, but you couldnt buy those and that was back to games.

Personally I found Chev service to be great in that it was competent, Ill put it way above Mercedes and BMW in cometance, but you have to not mind Styrofoam cups and tattoos. the best service to date has bene alfa of stuart and Ill give a shout out to alfa of danbury. That being said two other alfa stores i visited were atrocious, I wouldn't take a 10 yo chev there.

I guess part of my issue with newer ferraris is they are to me neither fish nor fowl. They're basically Gt cars for the road imbued with simply way too much power for road use(oter than short accleration thrills), and lacking in finesse(haven't driven a f8 so maybe thats changed) at road attainable speeds, while not really being trackable in any sustainable way unless your a billionaire who does not care about any rational $ and most billionaires I know do care. The newer Ferraris I did like that had some edge, the speciale and pista, you couldn't buy. I guess if its a sportscar I prefer something on the more raw side. 812 is great, but once again, its not really rationally trackable and otherwise overkill, like a porche turbo. these cars flatter with excess speed and immediacy, just not my thing. Frankly the Alfa Gulia has great steering, is tactile for a modern and more than quick enough for road.

For road my BBi works, I have to really work it to go fast so it rewards and engages on road while you're still not at totally insane speeds. On any ferrari club run there is no issue keeping up or outpacing anything else there, so they're holding back for some semblance of sanity and life/license preservation while I'm at least pushing. Now on track of course an 812 or pista would shine and a BB would be absolutely nowhere, but those newer cars don't go to track due to depreciation and obscene cost to run on track for performance that something lesser (gT3) will eclipse. Don't get me wrong, the new ferraris are apex machines in many ways, they just dont fit my use/budget balance. I wish ferrari made a 300k car that did. I think any new fast car should work on road(ferraris do this weell), reward at road speeds(thats a question mark) and be able to drive to track run reasonably well on track for 2 days without racking up +10k in consumables and huge sums in depreciation.

I thought Maclaren were onto something with the 600lt(flawed as mclarens are), and when they make a "pista" version of the MC20 that may really be something, a sweetspot, the modern day 288. Here's hoping


As for recent vettes, drove a c7 zr1 and it reminded me more than anything of a kit car. In fact prior to the c8 id say any vette at 30k miles was like used Tupperware, and I never bought into the bang for the buck theory. Any car can sorta work for 3 controlled laps with excess power and excess rubber, if you dont mind a total lack of refinement, finesse and uglyness at the limit. Vette interiors also no excuse, if a 30K korean car could have a great interior so should have vettes pre c8.
The sad part is if you put a c5-c7 vette on a lift and look at the underside these cars really had lots of excellent suspension pieces, but Gm being Gm always hobbled them with other cheapo bits and pancake twisty bodies which all limited the potential. A c6 z06 when strippied, equipped with coilovers, proper brake lines and a cage for stiffness is a formidable car on track.

I'm hearing that the c8 is different to what came before, in a good way. its major drawback for me is weight, but after seeing how camro zl1 1lts perform on track Im seeing weight can still can sorta work if you're just playing hard for the day in car you drove to the track.

I think the c8 z06 will disappoint directly compared to your 812, its heavier and longer wheelbase and ferraris are honed by the masters, plus a nee plus ultra powerplant.

To me if the c8 z06 is less of a lux gt than a regular C8, if it has litheness to it, the exotic na motor that can really rev with a broad powerband(something vettes have lacked, broad powerband), if the steering is dialed in so it rewards at road speeds, then to me its road car that works in FL heat and highways that I can occasionally drive to track to get my ya yas out. Yes I'd be happy to be pleasantly surprised and get Gt3 or GT4rs levels of track honing, but alas I don't think thats going to happen, at least not with ver1.0 if ever, so I'm setting my expectations differently. To me this car is going to be more like a lambo aventador that works. basically a somewhat too big heavyish fast exotic, the supercar that works.

As an aside the current italian exotic I think is the pick of the bunch is the hurricane. Its got the motor, the styling, and its honed. Still only really a road car though.
If they made a 296 without the electrics, that would be a sub 3000lbs car and really interesting. Much as I am a lotus guy, the emira is a reclothed evora, and that car (evora) is frankly just not that great in steering feel or power to weight, maybe 20 years ago it woulda been a contender.

Gt4Rs probably works best on track for a drive to the track car, but you cant get one, the vette is going to cost less, work far better on big roads in fl and cost less to run on track, and I still have my dedicated track car for serious use over the summer. Plus, go team USA, and a vette is not in your face wealth envy as in you can pretty much drive it everywhere and its thumbs up, or ubiquitous enough not to be noticed.

Horses for courses then.

Would be nice to have them all, but if you gotta choose the vette may just work.

 

Chevrolet dealers, on average, try hard to be competent but their staffing or clientele let them down. Many dealers have a focused clientele and they attempt to be good at that particular part of their line-up. I would hate to have to sell some of their products so dealers focus on other profit generating ideas to supplement, like pre-packs that total in the thousands of dollars. In general, an average Chevrolet customer is not a Corvette consumer so oftentimes the experience is poor. I can remember when I received the first 2006 Z06 in Kansas City - Le mans blue. The owner of the dealership delivered the car himself. Took a bunch of pictures with the staff and service department. That dealership changed hands several years later and now it is a horrible experience. Maybe the whole corporate roll-up of dealerships has had an effect on the experience.

 

I think as far as chevy service goes they are just oriented towards a lower end customer and have a hard time meeting my expectations. That being said the last dealer I used for service seems pretty good?

The Z06 is purely a toy car for me. I literally think it sounds like a cool car so am buying it to play with. If I like it then it stays, if I don't then it goes. I will likely track it a bit to get the feel and then we'll see how it goes. Overall I enjoy road driving more than track driving so my 812 is almost the ideal car for me.

 

now that you mention it . I was at Annapolis in our boat at Annapolis yacht basin and they have several mega yachts .... but the one that drew my attention was owned by the guy that owns Criswell Chevrolet it was a spectacular maybe 200 ft or so custom Palmer Johnson yacht.. .. I talked to the Captian and he told me whose boat it was .. anyway had a crew of about 6 or 8 people and they were busting ass to get it extremely clean (one girl spent the whole day polishing the anchor ... wish i took a picture but then about 5 pm it was suddenly gone for the rest of the time we were there..
SO HE is doing OK .. don't know his name (Criswell is a town)..............so pushing corvettes pays...

 

Meanwhile, all this drive speculation about a car that has supposedly been signed off and ready for production for a while. We still await an actual road test of review, what gives.

 

So I have a theory about this.

CLEARLY, GM has a campaign planned. IMO those cars we saw going to Michigan on a truck were for press and influencer videos, most of which will be released on the same day that GM picks.

Why are they waiting? They are waiting for orders to open so that the requests that will naturally come in can get into the system by the salespeople. Its the same reason the configurator is not available. Certainly GM has it. They are holding it until they are ready to take actual orders.

What are they waiting for? I don't think the factory is ready to produce cars or they are having parts supply issues.

 

I have heard and continue to hear a lot of rumors about allocations, the car availability etc. Where the truth lies nobody really knows. The dealer where I am #1 on the list says that he has heard 40% of production will be Z06s this year. When I got my 2015 Z07 car he had no problem ordering that for me and I had it within a month (I've never waited less than a year on Ferrari, my Portofino M is nowhere to be found and I put in the deposit last september!).

 

I have noticed that everyone is #1 on their dealers list!

.

 

I'm #1 on one list, and in the top 5 on another dealers list. It's nice having established relationships to rely on. I do trust the first dealer as it's the same dealer I got my early C7 Z06 from (ordered Feb. 2015 as the first allocations hit).

 

I'm happy for you guys on the top of the lists. I'm not so lucky, the dealer had already warned me that with how few allocations they get there's a chance I may not even see one. I'm assuming it will be 2-3 years minimum before I'm able to get it. Regardless, since buying my Ferrari this has been the first car I've truly been excited about, assuming I can purchase at MSRP. I've been debating selling my F430 privately, but I was hoping to see what a trade would work out to, problem is the waiting.

 

I got on the list around January of '21 with Criswell. Mike Furman told me to expect 3-4yrs.

EDIT: 3-4 MORE years.