Dilemma -#69 ZL1 CTF - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Nickmo · 03-13-2014, 01:44 PM

I have a dilemma.... and I'm hoping you, the Camaro5 community, can help me make a decision.

Here's a bit of background story:

I was looking to buy a ZL1 early in 2013. I learned the ZL1 was coming a few years before, and it had been my dream car ever since. There weren't many to be found up here in Canada and I was told by my local dealership that we may never see any in the small town I'm from. They had been trying to bring one in for another customer for nearly a year. They tried to sell me on an SLP Panther coming at the end of the summer, but if I had wanted an aftermarket SS, I would have built it myself

. I decided to broaden my search to other cities, but it was sidelined due to a busy work schedule and upcoming wedding.

In late July, my local dealership phoned me. They had received an allotment of ZL1's from Chevrolet. They were each used with about 2500 miles, and the sales manager told me they had been show cars for GM.

I went down and checked them out. I told myself I was against buying used, but the price was right. 1 was in getting inspected and out of the 2 on the lot, the one that was manual transmission was summit white... nice, but not exactly what I was looking for. The sales manager gave me the usual pitch "2012's are the first production year, blah blah, resale value, blah blah" and to be honest, I wasn't sold. The new 2013s had MyLink, which in my mind was a pretty cool option, and if I was going to spend $60,000 on a car I could only drive 6 months out of the year, it had better be exactly what I wanted.

Seeing my dilemma, the sales manager tossed me the keys to the summit white ZL1 and told me to have it back by the end of the next day... A**hole!!

So, after a solid day of hard acceleration and cornering, knew I needed one. I still wasn't sold on the colour though. So I returned and handed the keys over expecting to walk away. But, I happened to park next to an Inferno Orange ZL1 that had just come out from inspection. SOLD!!

And almost a year later, still my favourite car of all time. And that brings me to the dilemma.

I found out the ZL1s were sequentially numbered, but had never checked mine. So one day, I checked, but mine didn't seem to make any sense. I knew the production #'s were over a thousand for 2012 and my VIN was 979969. It didn't look very sequential to me, so I entered my info into the ZL1 Registry. Jason from the registry got back to me asking for a few pictures and said he had some "important information".

Turns out I bought #69 of 69 pre-production ZL1s. A rare CTF car. The LAST pre-production car off the line. I guess the sales manager wasn't feeding me BS for once... but now what??

I'm a huge car buff and owned a few classic cars over the years. I know what it means to own a piece of automotive history. But does THIS fall into that category?? I bought a ZL1 to DRIVE IT!!

Is it an atrocity to mile-out this car?? Should I sell it to someone who sees the value it it??

Your thoughts and opinions would be appreciated!

jayb53guy · 03-13-2014, 01:48 PM

Keep it and enjoy it. IMHO it's still too early to tell if our cars are going to be historical classics someday worth millions of dollars. Great story though, got any pics?

Nickmo · 03-13-2014, 01:57 PM

Thanks! That was my initial thought too, but my collector friends keep giving me grief for driving it all the time :P

Here's some pics

mrvenicess · 03-13-2014, 01:58 PM

CTF cars are probably not really worth any more than a reg one if not less. Having the last one may be something a bit special but not enough to not get out there and enjoy the heck out of it!

danvillekidd · 03-13-2014, 02:04 PM

Keep it and enjoy it just like you planned to before you found out it was a CTF. Don't know if it adds value, but would make interesting conversation especially if you can find out who drove it or what shows it was at.

jayb53guy · 03-13-2014, 02:17 PM

Nice! I love the color combo! My Dad has a 2011 SS in hugger orange.

BPG · 03-13-2014, 02:25 PM

Any car is only worth what someone is willing to pay. That said...if in your situation, I'd drive it and never look back. You only drive 6mo out of the year and chances are good your mileage will always be fairly low in comparison to other 2012s. I don't ever look at the odometer on my car. I bought it to drive it

Nickmo · 03-13-2014, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayb53guy

Nice! I love the color combo! My Dad has a 2011 SS in hugger orange.

Thanks! That is a lot of the reason I was having issues. I'm in lust with the colour (Heck, the whole car keeps me smiling just thinking about it). Was hating the idea of losing her.

Thanks for all the quick replies everyone!

HDRDTD · 03-13-2014, 03:52 PM

CTF (Captured Test Fleet) cars are cars that GM builds at the beginning of a production run to give to a select number of people usually GM employees, for them to drive and evaluate all aspects of the car to ensure the production process as well as the car itself is perfect and ready for production. The drivers are required to keep detailed daily logs of everything.
rest assured that they have been serviced by GM and recertified for sale.
Not all CTF cars are resold. Some are, some aren't.

Does it make the car worth anything more? Maybe to the right person, but most people won't know what a CTF car is.

If it happens to have an original black hood insert rather than the ECF insert, then it might add a small amount to the value of the car because the original black inserts are few and far between.

pumpkinrancho · 03-13-2014, 04:00 PM

Fifty years from now it might make a difference, however anyone who bought a ZL1 for an investment will be disappointed in the short term. I too bought mine to drive, 11k miles so far and its not my daily driver. I would drive it and like knowing I have number 69 which is VERY COOL by the way. andy

Whos_Drivin · 03-13-2014, 04:57 PM

What would make you more upset?

- Enjoying the car for 30 years and selling it for a bit less than if you put no miles on it
- Storing the car for 30 years only to learn its worth nothing more than any other ZL1

mr_honez · 03-13-2014, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whos_Drivin

What would make you more upset?

- Enjoying the car for 30 years and selling it for a bit less than if you put no miles on it
- Storing the car for 30 years only to learn its worth nothing more than any other ZL1

+1

SS Jett · 03-13-2014, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDRDTD

If it happens to have an original black hood insert rather than the ECF insert, then it might add a small amount to the value of the car because the original black inserts are few and far between.

Are the black hood insert harder to find on all the zl1s are just the ctf cars?

pumpkinrancho · 03-13-2014, 06:18 PM

No you can always paint the ECF black.

03-13-2014, 01:44 PM	#1
Nickmo Drives: 2012 ZL1 CTF#69 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada Posts: 38 View My Garage	Dilemma -#69 ZL1 CTF I have a dilemma.... and I'm hoping you, the Camaro5 community, can help me make a decision. Here's a bit of background story: I was looking to buy a ZL1 early in 2013. I learned the ZL1 was coming a few years before, and it had been my dream car ever since. There weren't many to be found up here in Canada and I was told by my local dealership that we may never see any in the small town I'm from. They had been trying to bring one in for another customer for nearly a year. They tried to sell me on an SLP Panther coming at the end of the summer, but if I had wanted an aftermarket SS, I would have built it myself . I decided to broaden my search to other cities, but it was sidelined due to a busy work schedule and upcoming wedding. In late July, my local dealership phoned me. They had received an allotment of ZL1's from Chevrolet. They were each used with about 2500 miles, and the sales manager told me they had been show cars for GM. I went down and checked them out. I told myself I was against buying used, but the price was right. 1 was in getting inspected and out of the 2 on the lot, the one that was manual transmission was summit white... nice, but not exactly what I was looking for. The sales manager gave me the usual pitch "2012's are the first production year, blah blah, resale value, blah blah" and to be honest, I wasn't sold. The new 2013s had MyLink, which in my mind was a pretty cool option, and if I was going to spend $60,000 on a car I could only drive 6 months out of the year, it had better be exactly what I wanted. Seeing my dilemma, the sales manager tossed me the keys to the summit white ZL1 and told me to have it back by the end of the next day... Ahole!! So, after a solid day of hard acceleration and cornering, knew I needed one. I still wasn't sold on the colour though. So I returned and handed the keys over expecting to walk away. But, I happened to park next to an Inferno Orange ZL1 that had just come out from inspection. SOLD!! And almost a year later, still my favourite car of all time. And that brings me to the dilemma. I found out the ZL1s were sequentially numbered, but had never checked mine. So one day, I checked, but mine didn't seem to make any sense. I knew the production #'s were over a thousand for 2012 and my VIN was 979969. It didn't look very sequential to me, so I entered my info into the ZL1 Registry. Jason from the registry got back to me asking for a few pictures and said he had some "important information". Turns out I bought #69 of 69 pre-production ZL1s. A rare CTF car. The LAST pre-production car off the line. I guess the sales manager wasn't feeding me BS for once... but now what?? I'm a huge car buff and owned a few classic cars over the years. I know what it means to own a piece of automotive history. But does THIS fall into that category?? I bought a ZL1 to DRIVE IT!! Is it an atrocity to mile-out this car?? Should I sell it to someone who sees the value it it??** Your thoughts and opinions would be appreciated!

03-13-2014, 02:25 PM	#7
BPG Faster than you... Drives: 1194whp. 8.62@168. daily driver... Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: USA Posts: 430	Any car is only worth what someone is willing to pay. That said...if in your situation, I'd drive it and never look back. You only drive 6mo out of the year and chances are good your mileage will always be fairly low in comparison to other 2012s. I don't ever look at the odometer on my car. I bought it to drive it __________________ GTR

03-13-2014, 04:00 PM	#10
pumpkinrancho COMPULSIVE CAMARO OWNER Drives: 18 ZLE,14 2ssrs,96,73 RS LT,69&67 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: SE. WYO & Northern CO, W NEB Posts: 1,238 View My Garage	Fifty years from now it might make a difference, however anyone who bought a ZL1 for an investment will be disappointed in the short term. I too bought mine to drive, 11k miles so far and its not my daily driver. I would drive it and like knowing I have number 69 which is VERY COOL by the way. andy __________________

03-13-2014, 04:57 PM	#11
Whos_Drivin Drives: '12 Camaro ZL1, '16 Silverado Z71 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Blaine, MN Posts: 846	What would make you more upset? - Enjoying the car for 30 years and selling it for a bit less than if you put no miles on it - Storing the car for 30 years only to learn its worth nothing more than any other ZL1 __________________ 2012 ZL1: M6, Rotofab CAI, ATI balancer w/8.66 overdrive, PFADT long tube headers w/cats 2016 Silverado LTZ-Z71 Midnight Edition: 6.2L, 8 speed auto, Borla exhaust

03-13-2014, 06:18 PM	#14
pumpkinrancho COMPULSIVE CAMARO OWNER Drives: 18 ZLE,14 2ssrs,96,73 RS LT,69&67 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: SE. WYO & Northern CO, W NEB Posts: 1,238 View My Garage	No you can always paint the ECF black. __________________

03-13-2014, 01:48 PM	#2
jayb53guy Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Niceville, FL Posts: 66	Keep it and enjoy it. IMHO it's still too early to tell if our cars are going to be historical classics someday worth millions of dollars. Great story though, got any pics?

03-13-2014, 01:57 PM	#3
Nickmo Drives: 2012 ZL1 CTF#69 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada Posts: 38 View My Garage	Thanks! That was my initial thought too, but my collector friends keep giving me grief for driving it all the time :P Here's some pics

03-13-2014, 01:58 PM	#4
mrvenicess Drives: 2013 CRT ZL1 auto Join Date: May 2010 Location: Venice Fl Posts: 1,443 View My Garage	CTF cars are probably not really worth any more than a reg one if not less. Having the last one may be something a bit special but not enough to not get out there and enjoy the heck out of it!

03-13-2014, 02:04 PM	#5
danvillekidd 2013 ZL1 Drives: 2013 ZL1 m6 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Avondale AZ & Indy will always be home Posts: 870 View My Garage	Keep it and enjoy it just like you planned to before you found out it was a CTF. Don't know if it adds value, but would make interesting conversation especially if you can find out who drove it or what shows it was at.

03-13-2014, 02:17 PM	#6
jayb53guy Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Niceville, FL Posts: 66	Nice! I love the color combo! My Dad has a 2011 SS in hugger orange.

03-13-2014, 03:52 PM	#9
HDRDTD Drives: 2013 Triple Black ZL1 Vert M6 ECF Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Trenton, Michigan Posts: 7,047	CTF (Captured Test Fleet) cars are cars that GM builds at the beginning of a production run to give to a select number of people usually GM employees, for them to drive and evaluate all aspects of the car to ensure the production process as well as the car itself is perfect and ready for production. The drivers are required to keep detailed daily logs of everything. rest assured that they have been serviced by GM and recertified for sale. Not all CTF cars are resold. Some are, some aren't. Does it make the car worth anything more? Maybe to the right person, but most people won't know what a CTF car is. If it happens to have an original black hood insert rather than the ECF insert, then it might add a small amount to the value of the car because the original black inserts are few and far between.