The second-generation Subaru BRZ is an outstanding car. It lets you have fun without getting into too much trouble, is priced sensibly, and is just practical enough to use as your only car. However, for track rats, reports of oil starvation are cause for concern. So, what do you buy if you’re worried about depriving a new BRZ of oil?
Well, this might seem like a wild proposition, but what if the guys in New Balances were right? After all, the Corvette has a formidable record in real sports car racing, already has a supremely capable powertrain, and whips ass. Best of all, it’s always been, and will always be, a desirable car.
There are many reasons why the C7 Corvette will be collectable. It’s the last front-engined Corvette, the last Corvette available with a manual transmission, an end to a form factor that lasted 56 years. However, not all examples are collectable now because Chevrolet made too many of them.
In fact, Chevrolet made so many that you can now pick up an early C7 Corvette for the same price as a new Subaru BRZ. If you want a good argument as to why enthusiasts are more likely to buy used cars than new cars, this one ought to be iron-clad. So, care to see what sort of C7 you can get for BRZ money? Let’s dig into it.
What Are We Looking At
While the Chevrolet Corvette might be an icon, it feels like it’s at its best when it’s in a tight spot. The C5 almost didn’t happen, and it wouldn’t be the last time the Corvette team had something to prove on a shoestring budget. In a 2020 column for Road & Track, former GM car guy executive Bob Lutz recounted that when planning the C7, everyone’s backs really were against the wall as the model they wanted to build simply wasn’t in the cards.
My last GM tenure coincided with the 2008 economic crisis. At the time, we had earmarked close to $1 billion for a mid-engined Corvette, along with a visually different Cadillac variant. At the end of hours of painful meetings, the mid-engine program was canceled.
At the end of all those meetings, Lutz and the Corvette team had managed to scrounge up $250 million, and while that’s still a lot of money, it really isn’t when we’re talking about developing a new car. Creating an entirely new model costs around $1 billion, so the Corvette team had to deliver something that looked and felt like an entirely new Corvette for around a quarter of what some manufacturers spend on a new compact crossover. Deliver, they did.
We’re talking about a 450-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 that made buckets of low-end and mid-range torque, but was paired with a standard seven-speed manual transmission to earn an EPA-rated 29 mpg on the highway. Zero-to-60 mph happened in less than four seconds, and if you ticked the box for the Z51 package, you’d get a dry-sump oiling system, a shorter axle ratio, 10 more horsepower, unique chassis tuning, a bevy of extra heat exchangers, and a differential that made a real difference over this car’s predecessor.
Really flog a C6 Corvette, and something strange happens — it goes all numb. The C7, however, took leaps and bounds to rectify that. A new electronically controlled limited-slip differential opened up on corner entry to aid rotation yet locked up on corner exit to put the power down. The chassis was simply more tolerant of slip angle, the steering was more precise, and the Michelins were night-and-day from the Goodyears on the C6. The result? A noticeably more playful, more confident, more communicative car.
Oh, and the C7 Corvette wasn’t just better to drive than its predecessor, it was better to live with because Chevrolet finally gave it an interior to suit its price tag. Substantially more supportive seats, richer textiles, a more sculpted dashboard, and a few trick elements like climate control displays embedded into knobs made the C7 feel just as luxurious as a contemporary Porsche Boxster or Cayman.
Add in rakish new bodywork, and you end up with a vehicle that simply embodied cool at the tail end of a rebuilding era. No surprise, then, that Chevrolet’s seventh-generation darling charmed on silver screens and MTV alike. It was in the Avengers franchise, it was in “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” it was in the music video for Jack White’s “Lazaretto”. The C7 Corvette told the world that America was back, and that it was hungry.
How Much Are We Talking?
The C7 was also still strong value when it came out, so now that it’s depreciated, let’s set a new value benchmark: The most performance-oriented 2025 Subaru BRZ, the tS. It gets Hitachi dampers, Brembo brakes, and a bunch of cosmetic upgrades for a price tag of $37,415 including freight. That’s not terrible as far as sports coupes go, but it’s also not hard to find C7 Corvettes going for less than that. If you’re alright with two pedals, and let’s face it, the majority of Americans are, this 2015 Corvette sold on Cars & Bids for $34,750 with 35,400 miles on the clock. The catch? It’s a theft recovery car, having been reported stolen in 2023 and recovered roughly 500 miles later in 2024. It also has a claim for vandalism on its record, but as a daily driver to run into the ground, there’s something liberating about a car with slightly wonky history.
Alright, what about something a little less sketchy and with a little bit more power? Well, this 2016 Corvette Stingray Convertible recently hammered for $36,500 on Cars & Bids, and it has a Magnuson supercharger under the hood. A dyno sheet claims an output of 504 wheel horsepower, so this thing ought to really move. As a bonus, it’s a seven-speed manual car with a clean Carfax and just 41,000 miles on the clock. Hell yeah.
Looking outside of auction sites on online classified sites, it appears even better deals are out there if you’re willing to put up with a bit of mileage. This 2014 Corvette is up for sale in Kentucky for $33,990, and not only is it a mid-range 2LT trim with the Z51 performance package and the seven-speed manual transmission, it’s got a clean Carfax and awesome Velocity Yellow paint. The catch? It also has 88,901 miles on the clock. Actually, that’s not a terrible trade-off.
What Can Go Wrong On A C7 Corvette
While the supercharged Z06s had overheating issues on earlier examples and all wide-body cars had fragile alloy wheels, those issues don’t affect the base Stingray coupes and convertibles we’re looking at in this price bracket. Some isolated failures of the collapsable lifters used for cylinder deactivation have been reported, but this is really more of an opportunity than anything. See, the proper way to remove cylinder deactivation is to switch to normal LS7-style lifters, plug the oiling stacks for cylinder deactivation, delete cylinder deactivation from the tune, and oh yeah, slap in a chunkier aftermarket cam and make some wicked sweet horsepower. Even a fairly mild Texas Speed & Performance Stage 1 V2 camshaft claims to pick up 89 horsepower, and that sort of horsepower for less than $3,000 all-in while adding reliability seems like a win-win. However, you probably won’t even need to do that.
The truth is, these are pretty solid cars, so there aren’t any real reliability caveats on early examples. Automatic cars from 2015 onwards had some issues with their eight-speed transmissions, but owners report that flushing the fluid fixes that. The biggest hardship, aside from more expensive consumables than a BRZ and the lack of rear seats, is not having Apple CarPlay or Android Auto on early cars. If that’s the biggest issue you’re realistically dealing with on a decade-old high-performance car, that’s not a huge deal, right.
Should You Buy A C7 Corvette For BRZ Money?
Oh god yes. I mean, the BRZ has its perks. It’s good on fuel in the city, has a warranty, is easy to get financing on, features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and you can cram a human or two in the vestigial rear seats for short journeys if you truly must. However, the C7 is another tier of car upwards without any major downsides. It’s a properly quick, seriously powerful sports car you can live with every day without spending much, if any, time in service loaners, and that’s no hardship.
(Photo credits: Chevrolet, Cars & Bids, Autotrader seller)
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Insurance?
I’m sure Corvettes are a lot of fun, but I need more than 2 seats. I don’t have the money or the garage space for a 2-seater toy.
I just bought a red 2011 C6 convertible with six-speed manual. C6 is my favorite body style, the C7 is a bit too Batmobile for me and the C8 only comes in auto. It’s just the base model, but still a hoot to drive. Not terribly practical, but it’s a “fun” vehicle for weekends and I enjoy hooning around in it.
Still out of my budget! I’m a lifelong “Ford Guy”, but I’m looking at C4s. I think every American “Car Guy” should own a Corvette at some point! I doubt I’ll keep it long, but I’ll enjoy my time with it.
Can I get a set of golf clubs in these? I mean and 2 passengers.
I have a C6. Super comfortable on a long trip. 30+ mpg with cruise at 80, 85 or more.
C7 is great as well. With depreciation, the C6 & C7 are some of the best performance to $$$ values out there in my mind. Sure, some things have the Corvette tax, but at the end of the day, they are a Chevy. Relatively cheap to own and the LS3 is reliable.
You couldn’t pay me to drive a Chevy.
Everyone has their price. I’m sure someone could pay you an amount big enough so that you’d do it at least once…
To the Levy?
But what if the Levy was dry?
The choice of getting the Coquette over a BRZ also means you admit of being now a middle aged person
The best part about middle age is no longer feeling like you have to pretend that having a sports car with the same horsepower as an economy car is somehow better than having a fire breathing V-8 because nerds on the internet think they’re “better balanced.”
And plus corvettes were always, since the beginning, balanced to some degree.
Dude, as a late-teenager i can confirm, I would want a C7 Corvette more than a new BRZ. It was a close battle, but the C7 won.
I always wanted a corvette, reaching middle age just means I might be able to afford it.
I have no problem admitting that I am middle-aged.
I kind of want one of these now.
Oddly enough, I’m now ‘middle aged’. I like the Corvette but I think I’d go for the BRZ.
And it has nothing to do with image. It has to do with the amount of power and how it’s delivered.
I like doing the slow-car-fast thing. And the BRZ, with a 6.5-ish second 0-60 time, it’s actually decently fast by my book.
The Corvette is waaaay faster.
And THAT means I can wind out the BRZ much more without fear of losing my license as would happen with a Corvette.
And the better fuel economy the BRZ gets is an added bonus.
I also would prefer a BRZ for the same reasons. I just don’t really have a need for the Corvette, but for those that do, enjoy.
The fuel economy IRL is closer than you’d think.
Honey, I’m 70, so those admissions are liberatingly pointless.
I remember when the C7 came out. I thought it looked great. Previous modern Corvettes did little to excite me, but the C7 rocked! It still looks great and has “aged” if we can even call it that because it’s pretty young still.
These are growing on me. Still a little too many angles, but combined with my old guy curves I can add a few gold chains, an open shirt and live the fantasy.
I own both a 2016 Stingray Z51 and 2023 BRZ, both are special cars in their own right. I have tracked both and the each have their own merits. The power and noise the Vette makes is awesome but the handling and precision of the BRZ is unworldly. The BRZ has a bit more practically with its back “seats” and it’s nice being able to fit another set of wheels in the back to take to the track. I don’t think you could go wrong with either.
Awesome. I participated in the 86Cup with my BRZ and had a blast for 3 years beating the absolute piss out of it. While it did meet it’s demise at my hands, I was shocked at how capable it was. It wasn’t uncommon for the 86 twins to give the Corvette’s problems in the technical sections of tracks.
I keep seeing people referring to not wanting the “image” of a Corvette owner.
That’s just so silly in and of itself, because if your that concerned with image that it affects your choice in vehicle, you are exactly the same as a Harley Guy or a Bro-truck guy.
But let’s pretend for a sec that image really matters:
Do you want people (Esp. Cops) to see your car and think “Mid 50s suburban dad”
Or “28 old kid with a flat bill hat that has 3 different weed pens and a girlfriend that just turned 18”
Just sayin’
I’ll take the image (not the activities mind you) and be able to whoop Harley and Bro-Truck guys at the drag strip.
You have completely failed as a car enthusiast if you give a shit about your “image”. At that point you don’t care about the car, you just want a boost to your ego.
Maybe it’s where I am (MA), but I don’t think there is a stereotype for the BRZ, at least not the 2nd gen as almost nobody I’ve run into with my GR86 has ever even heard of it as there aren’t that many around. BR is even more rare and I see probably 1 for every 5 ’86s. I’ve been asked if it was a Porsche once or Supra a bunch of times (which I find really odd as they look very little alike and if one knew the Supra, one would think they’d know what it looks like as that’s not a car the average non-car person has awareness of) and a surprising number of people have come up to me to ask what it was or checked it out with a look like they don’t know what it is. Of course, I got Smurf blue, so that doesn’t help with the attention, but I’m also pretty damn far from the Subaru stereotype. I think the ones that get stereotyped is due more to the appendages and dumb mods (that, so far, I’ve only seen on first gens), like the giant wing, moron camber, and the like than awareness of the car in particular. The signature dumbass stuff on any other car would also ned up getting the driver stereotyped about the same way.
The C6 is my favorite looking ‘Vette for its compact look and clean lines. That said, the C7 always looked pretty good to me, and is improving with age. Add in the better driving experience, and I’d be tempted.
Could I avoid the stereotype, or would I start flirting with women who aren’t my wife.
If only my Honda dealer would get a Type R for me to at least sit in. I think that’s more my style.
I get the distinct feeling that optioning up a BRZ is always going to kill its value equation. If you’ve achieved a status that requires you to sit only on dead cow skin, you’ll never understand the logic of buying the cheapest bare-bones BRZ that your Subaru dealer will consent to order for you. In the 1st gen days, half the charm was figuring out what bolt-ons you we’re going to add and whether it was possible to find any torque in that little 2-liter without defaulting to a blower. With the 2nd gen, it seems that Toyobaru has solved the torque puzzle for you. And despite being a better powered, better looking car, the 2nd gen seems to have less excitement surrounding it than the 1st gen. I’m not sure why.
Comparatively the C7 Corvette seems a bargain indeed. But if that’s not your style, consider a fancier alternative that looks initially like an even bigger bargain but is guaranteed to have even higher running costs down the road – a Mercedes SL55 AMG.
I’ll tell you the truth, I’m still on the C5. For the money, they have the looks (pop up headlights!), performance (especially z06) and targa top (I know, not all of them), for crazy cheap money. The C5 arguably brought the Corvette forward by leaps over the C4. Do you really get all that much more of a Corvette with the C6? Who’s with me?
I really like them all, but the C1, C4, C5, and C8 are my favorites.
Now that the C8 has been out for a while, I think I would prefer the C7 Corvette to the C8 – sure the C8 will drive circles around the C7 – but the C7 is still a beast, and the C8 looks like all the other mid-rear engined super cars only a super-fan can differentiate.
.
I would have to adjust my lifestyle. For one I need to buy loads of large gold chains. Secondly I need to alter my speech to Brooklynese101. Then I have to grow hair on my palms. Only then will I be a true Vette owner.
I’ll stay in my Miata thank you very much. Much smaller, easy on the eye, and handles like a dream. I don’t need kickass acceleration, just great handling.
My son has a Miata (NC1). At the recent autocross, I did a ride along in a C6 Vette. It was eye-opening. Very, very fun. If I’m spending the money though, I’d probably just buy a Miata and do a turbo or motor swap. They are just fun cars.
I’ve been looking. The ones I like seem to be quite a bit more expensive than these at the moment. Convertible, manual. Not white, black, silver. Something other than black seats. I’ll wear jorts and white New Balance to fit in with the crowd.
FYI. The 2019 model year was painted in the new Bowling Green paint facility. The paint quality is way higher than the previous year’s.
I’ve already got to deal with the BMW owner stereotype. Do I really need the Corvette owner stereotype at the same time.
I could go for the trifecta and get a mustang too.
This is the way.
The BRZ is the more efficient platform vs the C7. Less mass and CdA. It needs the C7’s engine and transmission. If that were to hypothetically fit, now you’ve got a 30+ mpg sub-3,000 lb V8-powered daily driver that also serves as a track demon.
Not gonna lie, I’m sorely tempted. Someone stop me.
GO FOR IT MAN!!!
The Grand Sport has always been the C7 to get. All of the good handling stuff without the overheating engine.
A friend has a C7 GS Z07 and it is a beast of a car. He tracks it regularly, but it is a car with limits well beyond most drivers and any street conditions.
It’s been ten years and GM has since badly transposed its styling on its successor even though the C8 is shaped completely differently, and yet I still think the C7 is hopelessly overstyled. I’d much rather have a C6 Grand Sport no matter how much worse the interior is.
Is there any argument to buy a new BRZ over a C7? Besides lame stuff like warranty or preferable new car lending rates?
You don’t look like you are from Florida in a Subie
I think Subaru stereotypes are just as bad: You’re either a lesbian or a flat-billed hat wearing, vaping douchecanoe.
It’s crazy how many car brand stereotypes there are lol.
Reduced weight, cheaper on consumables, mileage, doesn’t have a stupid center exhaust that precludes a hitch, arguably better styling, still cheaper unless one gets the special edition as listed, probably more fun at normal speeds in the real world, not seen everywhere, and it’s actually useable as an only car if one does something other than just drive themselves around looking for women who could have gone to high school with their grand daughters (just
halfkidding about the last one, I like these cars—more the C6 as it’s nicer looking—and sort of thought about getting one, but it’s just not me).Apparently CarPlay/Android Auto if the article is to be believed. Its sad when that is being pitched as a deciding factor between cars like this
Slow car fast > Fast car slow if it’s a daily driver. I’m sure the C7 really rips 1st gear through a tunnel, but beyond that, I got insurance rates to think about.
Look at the insurance rate thing. Corvettes have a lower incident rate, lower miles per year, and typically higher age ownership. I’m not in the insurance biz but I have a friend who is and he ran my costs on a C6 vs an Acura RSX-s a few years back and the Acura was about 10% more expensive.
Apparently it has to do with the type of buyer. Corvette owners love their cars and baby them. Most probably don’t ever push the car beyond 50% of its capability.
As a result, the average claims per vehicle is pretty low.
By comparison, Ram truck and Tesla Model S vehicles have insanely high insurance rates because for some reason, all the terrible, boy-racing drivers gravitate to them.
And as a result of that, the claims per vehicle are pretty high.
I learned about this recently as I wanted to buy a Tesla Model S for myself. Even an old 2014 Model S with my accident free driving record would have resulted in an insurance rate of around $4000/year vs $1500/year on the Ford C-Max Energi I bought.
Now I was prepared to pay more for insurance on the Model S… but not 2-3 times more.
I love the Model S, but for an extra $2500/year for insurance? I can do a lot of other fun things with $2500/year
I think my point was missed. Slow car fast is great because you can have a lot of fun somewhere near the legal limits. Fast car slow means you’re snoozing for the whole drive, or you’re exceeding speed limits by 30mph or more, which gets you a misdemeanor rather than a ticket, and elevated insurance costs until you can launder your past a couple years down the line.
Yeah, as others stated, Corvettes can be surprisingly cheap to insure. They might even be cheaper than a BRZ as my insurance on the GR86 isn’t great, though not outrageous seeing as insurance has gone up everywhere. Definitely more kids buying twins than Corvettes and doing dumb shit and crashing when their video game skills don’t translate into drift trophies in their “slow” car.