What i would like to know is, if i am a low lv character will is still be able to buy (Zen) a tier 5 ship and access it's "special item/console" and put that on any of the lower tier ships?

Or do i have to be of the same level as the highest ship that has the items?

You can buy any ship you want at any time, but you can't access them to get the Console, or other gear, until you are the appropriate level.

I thought as much, thanks!

Another thing comes to mind, the "refit" vessels do they require the original unpimped ship?

What i am trying to say is: if i buy a re or retrofit will that include the vessel itself or do i first need the ship it applies to?

You're purchasing a brand new ship... Previous versions are not required... However, in some cases (e.g. Excelsior) it is nice to have console from the lower level version...

Did Cryptic/PWE actually change the policy on this? I know with previous 'sales' I found that you cannot purchase a C-Store ship unless you had at least one character of sufficient rank to use it... (If you already have a VA ranked character, you won't run into this if purchasing for an Alt...)

It's very possible. I've had a level-capped character since the first week of launch, so I've never been able to test it. If I get a chance I'll try it on one of my kids' accounts to see what happens.

I just did something like this about a week or two ago.

Cosmic I believe is correct, you can buy any ship at any time from the C-Store, but they are usually level (grade) capped. So you can not claim the ship from the shipyard (Fed or KDF) until your toon is the appropriate grade.

Thanks all!