vettedoogie

How much do you know or care about the history of your Vette? For instance, do you know who owned your Vette before you? Are you sure you know how many people owned it before you? Do you know for sure where it was sold? Do you care?

What tools did you use to find out about about your car before you bought it? I've found that CarFax is a joke as far as giving a full (or real) history.

Epic_C6

Do I care? Yes I care quite about about who owned my car previous to me. The only thing I really used to check my history was CarFax and the GM service report that a local GM dealer provided me. CarFax isn't horrible, it will give you an idea of how many owners the car has had and if it was involved in any serious accidents that were reported to the DMV (police report filed, etc......) If it was involved in a minor accident that was NOT reported you may never know and that is a chance you take buying used. I did call the dealer that sold my vette new and asked if they recall the owner and they said yes and gave me a little history of there experience with him.

Le Mans Z06

You can beat yourself to death trying to figure all of that out. If it's just one owner, you may think they took care of the car but could of beat it to death, or you can have 5 different owners and a few took care of it but a few didn't, but that's at least better than 1 owner that didn't take care of it. Just have someone you trust do a good inspection on the entire vehicle, do a thorough walk around, check everything you can think of. If you feel comfortable buying it, and feel it's worth it then go for it, if not then walk away.

As for me when I bought my C6 it had 27k miles on it and 1 previous owners. I felt comfortable with the guy I was dealing with, and felt the car was what I wanted, and my mechanic which I trust checked the car out and said it was fine. The bottom line is someone can take the BEST car of their car, sell it to someone else and they may have issues. It's a gamble really.

LMB-Z

Bought car from private seller. Car had full documentation, including all warranty work, upgrades, oil changes, tires, everything. I was very impressed (thanks Phil).

Documentation is very crucial, in my opinion.

NOCRISIS

plan on the worst and hope for the best,,,,,

KX

Bought used at 9,600 miles. Met the owner before I bought the car from him. Called the dealer where he bought it and where it was serviced. Service mgr knew the car and verified all of the docs I had on the car. That was 16 months ago and I have not had one issue except for a broken clutch return spring which was a favor in disguise as I replaced that with a C5 spring. Factory warranty expired last summer and I did not waste my money on an extended warranty as I do not believe in them, especially at the rip off price most outfits charge. Car is a daily driver but I do not commute...and I no longer drag race!

Racer

Beside the usual carfax, VIS report, three of my Vettes were owned by forum members that had been on the forum for a while and everybody seemed to know them pretty well. Couple I bought, never met the person before in my life and those cars, like the rest were/are beauties! The rest were brand new and I wouldn't trust the salesman and more/less than the strangers I bought from.

Poppa Bud

I got a VIS and paid the $35 for a carfax. Other than that I did a visual inspection and a road test.

I bought private party from the original owner. I also bought a GMPP during a sale that one of the sponsoring dealers was having.

jpee

Why... its the most fun I have since I got married... I still give it a shot about once a month PS I'm 67 yrs old I guess I never grew up ....

N2TU

Bought my car from a 'vette dealer in Florida...it had 7K miles...the CarFax looked good (Car was a repo sold at auction) and its GM maintenance records looked fine.

I got lucky and everything was 100%...do your homework and, if possible, know the owner.

bruno06

Just bought mine about a month ago from a Ford dealer that I have done a lot of business with. One of the forum members was nice enough to do a GM back ground check on it for me which told me about owners, if warranty or recall work had been done, etc. Took it for a ride to the house and checked it out real good.

It was used, but in good shape.

RAGGDOLL

Absolutely, get to know the owner, talk, ask lots of questions. If he's a straight shooter, he'll respond accordingly.

I've always done this, and always been pretty fortunate. The last guy (forum member) I bought my C6 from was amazing, had all the details, paper work etc etc.

N8sFavToy

Bought mine from out of state dealer. Talked to them on the phone before I went up. Seemed like a good dealer, car still had some of the original warranty left, and was certified. No idea who, or how many ppl owned the car before me, and don't really care.

kevakasper

Bought in April from a dealer, saw the car fax. Better yet I found the previous owners business card and talked to him personally. I found out that the scum bag dealer trashed on the car for 6 months and 4k miles. Car was traded with 6K on it, had almost 10K on it when I bought it. I got all the info on the car that the dealer was trying to hide from me. Will never buy from that dealer again. I only found out the actual dirt after the deal was done! Used = Private party in my book!

2006C6

Bought from private seller. Car had full docs, including all warranty work, oil changes, etc.... Car still had original warranty left and had about 14,000km so I took the chance.

GM paperwork/carfax reported 1 owner (the person I bought from)

check6x

Bought mine close to a year ago. It had 3500 miles. I am 99% sure it is a repo from the LA area. Home address still in Nav sys.

The car came with bumper to bumper coverage. I now have over 15K miles and 2 road races under the belt.

Had an exhaust leak in El Paso. They tightened drivers side exhaust manifold. No other issues.

Am I worried? He$$ no!

Knob Jockey

CarFax and VIS.

Car had less than 6K miles and the owner was a few years older than me but in a similar line of work and as it turned out we had many mutual friends.

Did a casual 'check' on his personal history and was happy to find out he was as he appeared.

He used the Vette when he was up in the area at his 'summer' place and had just bought his wife a MB SL 500 convertible and didn't feel he needed two verts.

Added up to my good fortune, and the pristine car had most of it's warranty left, so I felt pretty safe. Car was bone stock, but not for long.

SunnyVette21

I bought my 06' Coupe in March of 09'. I had a VIS done and also through research at the museum found out that my Vette was a museum delivery and was purchased by a local fellow who likes to swap every 2 to 3 years. Mine was treated well apparently as it has given me no problems and was like new when purchased. It was pampered for 8100 miles before I got it.

bonnevillebill

Carfax is pretty worthless because it doesn't get any info from insurance companies.

lavla

Bought my car with 4k miles on it from a Chevy dealer. It looked perfect and I haven't had a problem with it for four years.