High Mile '13 ZL1 for mid-$20K Risky?

[CHRISCAM]

Hi guys.
I'm nearing my "D-Day" for getting a Gen5 SS that I've been wanting since they came out.
I have been leaning toward an SS 1LE not only for the looks but for the hardware upgrades it comes with over the standard SS. I also like the relative rarity of the 1LE package vs. overall production totals of the SS line.
I'm specifically going to get something with the M6 trans. regardless.

That said, my 'Dream Car' has really been the 2013 ZL1. A black one with the M6 would literally 'check all the boxes' for me. Problem is, I really haven't seen any out there on the car sites for what I'm looking to pay. I'm looking at cars in the $22-27K asking range in hopes of getting something for as close to $20K final price as possible.
Obviously, in a perfect world I could find a 1LE with about 20k miles on it in that price range (or, better yet, the ZL1). I just haven't seem them yet.
Currently on a couple of the sites there is a listing for a 2013 ZL1 with about 70K miles. I don't think we can paste links here, so if the link I'm pasting here below doesn't work, check out City Toyota in Daly City, CA for the actual listing.
https://www.citytoyota.com/vehicle/2...z1ep2d9801397/

Assuming this thing has been properly maintained during the last 5+ years, would this be worth considering seriously?

I appreciate any feedback guys. Thanks in advance for your help!

[CHRISCAM]

80+ views and no one has any input?

[Idaho guy]

Miles are quite high for anything I would buy. It's a matter of your opinion and perspective. I wouldn't pay that much money for a higher mileage ZL1 but the next guy might.

[Silveradoss573]

For myself I wouldn't consider it unless it was a 1 owner and the guy had been on a forum since day 1 of owning the thing so I could maybe get a idea of how it was treated. That's my opinion.

[205]

Your dream car, for that asking price? I would be all over it. It doesn't look like it has been a hard 70,000. It SHOULD have plenty of life left. 70k is not high mileage for a 6yr old car..

[RobZL1]

I'd buy it if you can go look at it first. 70k wouldn't scare me away, but the fact that the carfax says it's been stolen and recovered might give me pause. I'd still potentially buy it, but need to thoroughly check it out first.

[Brutale arancia]

If you finance and it's a DD it will be over 100K miles before it's paid off. All vehicles need parts after 100K. Not too bad if you can do the work but labor is costly. If a loan payment put me at the safe limit of income to debt ratio I wouldn't want to risk funding repairs along with a payment.

[CHRISCAM]

Originally Posted by Brutale arancia

If you finance and it's a DD it will be over 100K miles before it's paid off. All vehicles need parts after 100K. Not too bad if you can do the work but labor is costly. If a loan payment put me at the safe limit of income to debt ratio I wouldn't want to risk funding repairs along with a payment.

This is good logic to work with. I realistically drive about 9K miles a year. That would put the miles at around 115K by the time I paid it off. That would be just inside the 120K mile warranty GM put on the supercharger, but likely my time would run out first though (10 years from original sale date). Of course, that's just talking about the supercharger. I know things like the struts, wheel bearings, etc. likely will need replacing too.

And as far as checking out the car first, SFO is about an hour flight from where I live. If I was really interested in it I might do that. I'll see if it's still available in a couple of weeks when I'm really ready to actually pull the trigger on a buy.


I don't know. It's tempting, but maybe I should just wait for a fairly low-mileage 1LE and be happy with it.

[StreetRage320]

buying used cars is always risky. There are things I look for:
(1) clean carfax
(2) look at all engine components for clean bolts, nuts, parts alongside dirtier parts this would help determine if at one time it was built and been ran at higher HP and been returned to stock.
(3) check to see if factory tune still in place or if it has been tuned.
(4) look for youth mods - painted brake calipers, painted or plastidip parts etc. run the other way.

nobody on this forum can tell you if it is a good deal or not without looking at it.

if it is well maintained, then yes a 580HP car for 27k that was 60k new is probably fair.

good luck

[RobZL1]

Originally Posted by StreetRage320

(4) look for youth mods - painted brake calipers, painted or plastidip parts etc. run the other way.

Hey! I've got beautifully powdercoated red calipers, and a plastidipped rear bowtie and I'm no spring chicken. LOL!!

[CHRISCAM]

Well, looks like that 70k mile one was sold. Oh well...

Thanks all, for the input anyway!

[RareDarkness]

All I'm going to say is that my friend has a 1LE, I have a ZL1. He bought his, put a LSA blower on it. mild cam, e85, most the standard bolt ons and is putting down 760whp on e85. I'm at 650whp. His car whoops my ass every time and he has less money into his car. I love my car, but if I had done it again, I'd probably have gone with a 1LE and saved the money up front and upgraded it. I bought the ZL1 thinking it'd be all I needed. I was doing work on it before I ever even really drove it. (bought in december in Michigan). By spring I had all my work done for the first real drive.

[DRKS1D3]

It seems as if you don't quite have all of your finances together and are also potentially quite young. Settling for a high mileage used vehicle, simply because that us all you can afford is not wise. Let's think logically about this.

[StreetRage320]

Originally Posted by RobZL1

Hey! I've got beautifully powdercoated red calipers, and a plastidipped rear bowtie and I'm no spring chicken. LOL!!

I bet they look great