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Mercedes 560 SEC vs. Corvette C4 ZR-1

What would you do?

  • Sell the 560 SEC and get the ZR-1

    Votes: 5 41.7%
  • Keep the 560 SEC

    Votes: 7 58.3%

  • Total voters
    12
Michael, really, youre asking an apples top oranges question; the two car are very dissimilar.
The Corvette is not nearly as 'good' in the NVH or comfort dept as the Benz, but is more fun to drive and will be faster. Its handling is at another level. If youre used to the 560, the noise, harshness and occasional rattles from the Corvette will drive you nuts. But then, you have an old Mopar, so if that car doesnt bug you, the Corvette will be miles ahead of it.
I have a friend who has a low mile ZR1 in the 40th Anniversary paint. Ive spent some time behind the wheel. Once inside, its fairly comfortable and theres plenty of legroom. That engine is really sweet, and once you disable the skipshift thing, the gearbox is nice too. Has a metric tonne of brakes and goes where you point it. Notice tho that I said "once you get in"... those cars - C4 Corvettes - are horrible to get in and out of unless youre a small 18 year old gymnast. Something to think about.
The Corvette should be very reliable and much less maintenance than the Benz. However, if anything ZR1 specific goes South, you might be in for an issue; Lord help you if you need a starter. Understand the fascination with the ZR1 engine, but the truth is that a Z06 in the later bodystyles [C5 or especially C6] is a better car. Also understand that you dont like those cars, so its really not an option. Id get what I wanted and could afford. If you find a Corvette you like, go for it. The Benz is easily replaced in your end of the world if you decide you want one back.
Now...one other thing... I dont want to start a brouhaha - tho it seems I have unwittingly done so recently - but your thinking about not posting on a Mercedes or Corvette forum is somewhat flawed. Yes, its logical, but in this country at least, there is a tremendous prejudice against Corvettes amongst devotees of other marques. Im not sure why, but non-Corvette people really have it in for Corvettes. I dont know if a Corvette driver stole their high school girlfriend, outran em too many times in front of the drive-in or what, but its there. Oh, the standard answer is that 'I dont like the people that own them, too many gold chains and Hawaiian shirts' or whatever, but it goes deeper than that - it was there before there were gold chains as a 'mans' fashion accessory. Methinks it goes much deeper and is worthy of a Doctoral thesis in Sociology, Psychology and Political Science, but I won't attempt that here. Just remember that when asking opinions. car people are pretty tribal - not saying that is necessarily bad nor unnatural - and there is often a basic, underlying prejudice against Corvettes for some reason. Ive owned them and I like the cars. Dont like many of the 'Corvette people', but that can be said for most people quite frankly... :) I like 911s, but basically dont care much for Porsche people either; never stopped me from owning one tho. So look at the car itself, and what you want. Lifes too short to drive boring cars!
[oh, and that 72 Olds...sweet. Great little cars. :) ]
 
Michael, really, youre asking an apples top oranges question; the two car are very dissimilar.
The Corvette is not nearly as 'good' in the NVH or comfort dept as the Benz, but is more fun to drive and will be faster. Its handling is at another level. If youre used to the 560, the noise, harshness and occasional rattles from the Corvette will drive you nuts. But then, you have an old Mopar, so if that car doesnt bug you, the Corvette will be miles ahead of it.
I have a friend who has a low mile ZR1 in the 40th Anniversary paint. Ive spent some time behind the wheel. Once inside, its fairly comfortable and theres plenty of legroom. That engine is really sweet, and once you disable the skipshift thing, the gearbox is nice too. Has a metric tonne of brakes and goes where you point it. Notice tho that I said "once you get in"... those cars - C4 Corvettes - are horrible to get in and out of unless youre a small 18 year old gymnast. Something to think about.
The Corvette should be very reliable and much less maintenance than the Benz. However, if anything ZR1 specific goes South, you might be in for an issue; Lord help you if you need a starter. Understand the fascination with the ZR1 engine, but the truth is that a Z06 in the later bodystyles [C5 or especially C6] is a better car. Also understand that you dont like those cars, so its really not an option. Id get what I wanted and could afford. If you find a Corvette you like, go for it. The Benz is easily replaced in your end of the world if you decide you want one back.
Now...one other thing... I dont want to start a brouhaha - tho it seems I have unwittingly done so recently - but your thinking about not posting on a Mercedes or Corvette forum is somewhat flawed. Yes, its logical, but in this country at least, there is a tremendous prejudice against Corvettes amongst devotees of other marques. Im not sure why, but non-Corvette people really have it in for Corvettes. I dont know if a Corvette driver stole their high school girlfriend, outran em too many times in front of the drive-in or what, but its there. Oh, the standard answer is that 'I dont like the people that own them, too many gold chains and Hawaiian shirts' or whatever, but it goes deeper than that - it was there before there were gold chains as a 'mans' fashion accessory. Methinks it goes much deeper and is worthy of a Doctoral thesis in Sociology, Psychology and Political Science, but I won't attempt that here. Just remember that when asking opinions. car people are pretty tribal - not saying that is necessarily bad nor unnatural - and there is often a basic, underlying prejudice against Corvettes for some reason. Ive owned them and I like the cars. Dont like many of the 'Corvette people', but that can be said for most people quite frankly... :) I like 911s, but basically dont care much for Porsche people either; never stopped me from owning one tho. So look at the car itself, and what you want. Lifes too short to drive boring cars!
[oh, and that 72 Olds...sweet. Great little cars. :) ]
Definitely worth a Doctoral thesis in Sociology, Psychology and Political Science!
 
Hands down driving a Corvette is an experience unlike any other car. If it’s just a weekend fun car get a Vette, but do your due diligence.
 
5 out of 7 people voted for "Keep the 560 SEC".
If you share this opinion for reasons not yet mentioned please tell me your reasoning, thanks!

it's 5 for the Vett 45.5%
& 6 for the Benz now 54.5%
 
Right now i'm just casually looking for a testdrive opportunity.
If there is no opportunity in the near future i will try asking in the german corvette forum and classifieds after winter. :)

As much as i'd like to buy a 90 zr-1 TODAY: I wont risk it without a testdrive.

Edit:

And thanks again for the informative posts. :)
 
Right now i'm just casually looking for a testdrive opportunity.
If there is no opportunity in the near future i will try asking in the german corvette forum and classifieds after winter. :)

As much as i'd like to buy a 90 zr-1 TODAY: I wont risk it without a testdrive.

Edit:

And thanks again for the informative posts. :)


I think this is a sensible approach to it.
 
I think this is a sensible approach to it.

It would simply be to much hassle otherwise.
Selling the 560 SEC, buying the ZR-1, i dont like the ZR-1, selling the zr-1, buying another 560 SEC...

1*8xraf6eyaXh-myNXOXkqLA.jpg


I would also 100% loose money if it would went like this...
 
A late friend of mine had a 560sec that I was going to take from the estate when he passed! I arranged with his brother to pick it up! His dad stepped up and said he already promissed the car to another good friend of ours [i was fine with that}. the car was brought up where we live to a shop for safety I went to see it and looked in the back seat and noticed there's really only 2 seats in the back,wife wouldn't have been happy being we have 3 kids! things just work out sometimes! the car is still mint with the BBS rims and looks just like the one sonny drove on miami vice! the last time we discussed maybe changing owners I looked at them to see what current value was and the only clean one I found was in california and as I recall belonged to Brad Witford of aerosmith! I bought the wife a 420sel as she had her mind set on driving a benz. what I really liked about the sec was the little arm that comes out and hands you the seatbelt! I still might grab it one day!
 
what I really liked about the sec was the little arm that comes out and hands you the seatbelt!

Basically everyone i took for a ride so far was deeply impressed by this feature :D
 
Can someone run the last 5 years and all years hagerty price history for the 1990 corvette ZR-1 for me?
It costs 45$ and on top of that i can't just simply buy it as a german. (Would have to call)

I would really appreciate it, thanks. :)
 
Last edited:
Instead of posting this on the mercedes or corvette forum i figured it's better to ask here for unbiased advice.
Situation is the following...

We have a 1989 Mercedes 560SEC since about 8 years now.
It was used mainly as a weekend car, mostly highway miles and regularly serviced at mercedes benz.
Recently paid 5k at the dealership (mercedes benz), then switched to an independent shop specialised
in classic mercedes where another 5k was spent because mercedes did crappy work and was basically ripping us off.
Car got new camshafts, timing chain such as other stuff done.
After this major service we changed it over to historic plates which means cheap insurance & taxes.
The car is in turn key condition, i regularly drive it 500miles on the weekends with no problem.
Its not perfect though:
- Previous owner reimported the car from the united states back to stuttgart, germany (I live in germany. Good thing is this means lots of options & no rust)
- Has been repainted by the previous owner in germany (I was told pretty good but not perfect. Normal people seeing the car on the street wont notice)
- You can see some wear from the sun (I think the car came from california but need to check documentation again) mainly on the front seats and armrest
-- I got this "detailed/repaired" though and it looks good, but you can see it if you look close

Some pictures:
https://abload.de/img/img_1020w1krl.jpg
https://abload.de/img/img_1038x4kid.jpg
https://abload.de/img/img_0541bbj8u.jpg

So much for that.
We also have the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T that i bought last year and a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (my very first car).
All those are pretty similar being luxury coupes with V8, RWD & automatic.
For my personal taste the mercedes is the least impressive of the bunch. Still a nice car, though.

Lately i'm craving for really good handling and acceleration, a real sports car.
If i had the money i would build a pro touring car out of the cutlass.
The level that i want (schwartz performance chassis & all) is WAY out of my (basically non existent) budget, though.

So the best i was able to find is the 1990 Corvette ZR-1. (It has to be a classic american car)
So now (for quite a while actually) i'm thinking about selling the 560SEC in order to buy a ZR-1.

I do not really want to sell the mercedes but i do not have the money & space for both.
I also think/fear its now or never looking at classic car prices lately and this one not yet exploded in value. (I think/fear it will soon)
Then there is politics and electric cars trying to kill the gasoline cars...

On the other hand i fear i could regret replacing the 560SEC with a ZR-1.
I know the ZR-1 is no imperial but i want to sit acceptably comfortable with enough legroom and not having backpain after every ride.
Note that i would take the ZR-1 for 500mile trips quite frequently.
That's what i want it for: Being able to cover wide distances as fast as possible on the german autobahn!

So what would you do?
Keep the mercedes or buy the ZR-1?
Also what is your opinion on comfort and future prices of both?

Were you the lucky buyer?

Screenshot_20220320-091416~2.png
 
Instead of posting this on the mercedes or corvette forum i figured it's better to ask here for unbiased advice.
Situation is the following...

We have a 1989 Mercedes 560SEC since about 8 years now.
It was used mainly as a weekend car, mostly highway miles and regularly serviced at mercedes benz.
Recently paid 5k at the dealership (mercedes benz), then switched to an independent shop specialised
in classic mercedes where another 5k was spent because mercedes did crappy work and was basically ripping us off.
Car got new camshafts, timing chain such as other stuff done.
After this major service we changed it over to historic plates which means cheap insurance & taxes.
The car is in turn key condition, i regularly drive it 500miles on the weekends with no problem.
Its not perfect though:
- Previous owner reimported the car from the united states back to stuttgart, germany (I live in germany. Good thing is this means lots of options & no rust)
- Has been repainted by the previous owner in germany (I was told pretty good but not perfect. Normal people seeing the car on the street wont notice)
- You can see some wear from the sun (I think the car came from california but need to check documentation again) mainly on the front seats and armrest
-- I got this "detailed/repaired" though and it looks good, but you can see it if you look close

Some pictures:
https://abload.de/img/img_1020w1krl.jpg
https://abload.de/img/img_1038x4kid.jpg
https://abload.de/img/img_0541bbj8u.jpg

So much for that.
We also have the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T that i bought last year and a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (my very first car).
All those are pretty similar being luxury coupes with V8, RWD & automatic.
For my personal taste the mercedes is the least impressive of the bunch. Still a nice car, though.

Lately i'm craving for really good handling and acceleration, a real sports car.
If i had the money i would build a pro touring car out of the cutlass.
The level that i want (schwartz performance chassis & all) is WAY out of my (basically non existent) budget, though.

So the best i was able to find is the 1990 Corvette ZR-1. (It has to be a classic american car)
So now (for quite a while actually) i'm thinking about selling the 560SEC in order to buy a ZR-1.

I do not really want to sell the mercedes but i do not have the money & space for both.
I also think/fear its now or never looking at classic car prices lately and this one not yet exploded in value. (I think/fear it will soon)
Then there is politics and electric cars trying to kill the gasoline cars...

On the other hand i fear i could regret replacing the 560SEC with a ZR-1.
I know the ZR-1 is no imperial but i want to sit acceptably comfortable with enough legroom and not having backpain after every ride.
Note that i would take the ZR-1 for 500mile trips quite frequently.
That's what i want it for: Being able to cover wide distances as fast as possible on the german autobahn!

So what would you do?
Keep the mercedes or buy the ZR-1?
Also what is your opinion on comfort and future prices of both?

Greensboro Auto Auctions in Greensboro, North Carolina has an upcoming auction with a low mileage 1990 Corvette ZR1.

Friday; July 22, 2022

1990 Chevrolet Corvette

VIN: 1G1YZ23J1L5801898

Screenshot_20220701-192331~2.png
Screenshot_20220701-192452~2.png
Screenshot_20220701-193110~2.png
Screenshot_20220701-193131~2.png
 
Last edited:
Greensboro Auto Auctions in Greensboro, North Carolina has an upcoming auction with a low mileage 1990 Corvette ZR1.

1990 Chevrolet Corvette

VIN: 1G1YZ23J1L5801898

View attachment 1306874View attachment 1306875View attachment 1306876View attachment 1306877

Thanks for the heads up but i'm not really interested in this one since the color combination is fine but not my favorite and more important: I can't look at it in person.
If people buy the 10k miles (might be true?) it's probably also more than i would want to spend on one of these.

But since you're bringing the topic back up:

Just a few weeks ago i noticed someone is renting out a ZR-1 just 40 miles or so from where i live:
The guy also has a testarossa (amongst other things) that he also rents out:

I was totally ready to rent BUT the guy requires you to have the drivers license for at least 15 years.
I'm not even old enough to have it for that long. What a bummer since i'm still curious if it's the right car / worth selling the mercedes.
Especially since you can still pick them up cheap compared to similar vehicles.

Personally i think it's a bit overkill to require 15 years of drivers license ownership for a car that's not worth more than a toyota camry but there's little i can do about that.
The "rules" also include an average speed limit of 60mph and you're not allowed to take it on the autobahn.
Pretty ironic/useless rules since there is nothing stated about drag racing or stoplight fun which would stress the car a lot more than an average autobahn run :D

Well the guy should do what ever he wants.
It just sucks for me since i'm specifically looking for that particular service.
 
Have your Dad rent the car. You can ride as a passenger.:)
 
Have your Dad rent the car. You can ride as a passenger.:)

The rules also state you're not allowed to go over 60mph on average and you're not allowed to take it on the autobahn.
Not that i'm looking to replicate this record on a rental car:

689.01.jpg


But i would at least want to know how it feels at this kind of speed. (Just for a couple minutes would be enough.)
It's part of my decision to buy or not to buy one. Not possible without breaking the rules.
 
Pay the owner to drive you at that speed.
 
Pay the owner to drive you at that speed.

Never thought about that. Will do now.
But one concern that already comes to mind is that i might be dying if the owner isn't a good driver. :D

Edit:

These speeds are managable if you know what you're doing. I've been at 175mph before.
But they can also be exceptionally dangerous if you make a mistake.
 
A good friend of mine had an accident in an older mercedes.
He was driving pretty fast on the autobahn (Don't know how fast) while he was tired and felt asleep for a moment. He hit a truck and then traveled all over the place.
He got very lucky walking away without serious injury. He's afraid of going fast since then. (And probably won't drive tired anymore)

What i'm trying to say is i don't know if i want to be passenger in a car going 175mph with the driver being a complete stranger.
 
@DeltaV You know what, i won't be playing russian roulette.

What i will probably do is contacting the guy and explain why i want to rent this corvette and ask for an exception.
If he disagrees i will ask if he would allow to go 175 for a short period of time if my dad was renting and driving.
But i do not expect the guy to agree.
I'm also not sure if i would even do it if my dad was driving. I want to drive myself. But i will ask if that would be even possible.

I could be a jerk, let my dad rent it & then go 175 ignoring the rules. Heck i could even drive myself.
But i'm not that typ of guy. Also if there was an accident or the engine blows up this would mean a lot of trouble.
I'm pretty sure the guy installed a GPS Tracker in the car.
So he at least would find out i ignored his rules. Don't know if he could charge me for that, though.
 
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