gatti-man

This is not a bash thread. I seriously would like to know besides the valve guide issue is there anything else someone should fear with a higher miles z06 (20k+)? Assuming stock tune unmodified I just havent heard a thing, yet common consensus here is anything above 15k miles is questionable.

Edit: I tend to think higher miles given reasonable treatment is fine. My modified c6 got better with age and miles. The interior while not nice stayed tight and quiet the exterior paint stayed solid unlike other sports cars Ive driven.

Olddudesrule

First off, I guess you have to define what you mean by "driven". If you mean a Z that gets tracked frequently, then every moving part needs extra attention and maintenance, and a potential buyer would probably be another "track savvy" guy. As far as "routinely" driven Z's, I wouldn't give them any extra worry than any other car, per se. Based on many of the threads I read on here, we worry an awful lot about wear and tear on a very well built, very well thought out car. Maybe too much.

My daily driver is a Chevy Duramax, and the guys looking to buy these also do the same thing with a potential purchase with over 100K miles. That when a properly maintained diesel will go for 250-300K easy.

I think we spend too much time worrying about breakage on the 95% of our Z's that are lucky to get a few seconds of hard accelleration a day on city streets or highway.

Just my .02....

LMB-Z

What do you fear with any other car with the same high mileage (20K and up)?

1)tires wear out
2)rust
3)a/c leaks and need recharging
4)brake pads wear out
5)exhaust system wear out
6)electrical gremlins start appearing
7)seats wear out
etc
etc
etc
etc
etc
etc

MudZ06

so false it hurts.

extremely low mileage cars can possibly be of more concern because faulty parts from the factory may not have been "found out" etc.

gatti-man

I meant daily driven or just street driven. Imo I tend to fear the 10k mile z06s bc that means a lot of dry starts or track only duty. Im not buying new bc I think its a poor value and financially its a poor choice for me. However when guaged against new and used cars currently in the market I think the used z06 is the best buy available once a few things are checked.

gatti-man

I never said I agree with it lol. I agree with you but Ive never owned a z06.

Olddudesrule

I've owned to Z's. An 03 and now an 07. I bought both used, because I normally buy any car or m/c used because it financially makes better sense to me. I bought my 07 with 24K miles, a few mods, but did enough homework to know it was well maintained. You have to assume any Z's been romped on here and there, but overall, I wouldn't "fear" buying any well maintained Z, regardless of the mileage.

I know $30-$50K is a lot of money, but it's not like we're buying $130K exotics.....

gatti-man

Im just wanting to know for my own sake. Im on the cusp of buying. I buy my cars in the winter and sell in the summer.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

I don't know if 15,000 miles is the "consensus", but it is the opinion of myself and some others when considering buying a sports car like the Z06., to try and look at cars with mileage around that range.

It is better to find the garage queen that the first owner took the depreciation hit on, rarely drove, and never tracked, thought it was going to go up in value if he kept the miles down on it, than it is to buy someone's daily driver with 45,000 miles on it, that they are the second or third owner of, or even the first owner of, and God only knows what else.

The only thing I would be "concerned" about, and it's really not a concern per se, is if it was an '06, I'd replace the axles on it with either C5 Z06 axles, which are dirt cheap and a DIY job, or updated 2008 and up C6 axles. And that's only if I was planning on drag racing it.

If I had plans of putting it on the road course, then the Lingenfelter high capacity oil tank, another DIY job.

Make sure the roof recall was done on it.

If it were an '07 in the Jan '07-July'07 window, I'd probably put new stock rocker arms and stock springs in it.

Other than that, and getting the crap Mobil 1 5w30 out of it ASAP, that's about it.

I'd try and get all that done within 3-6 months of ownership.

At that point, I'd have a nice car with 15-19K miles on it, brand new valve springs, brand new rockers, new updated and/or stronger rear axles, new roof, which is free, and I'd drive it and not worry about the so called "dropped valve" issue, unless I was planning on modding it, or spending a lot of time on the road course.

If I wanted to get into the valve guide stuff, and was a subscriber to that theory, I'd head straight to Carlos.

Either way you come out smelling like a rose. You simply cannot lose with a Z06.

If I were buying a 20-25K mile car, then I'd probably approach things the same way as above.

jasonn5

Oh No.. I only have 4000 mi to go before my Z goes boom....Where do all these stories begin?
Given the amount of Z's built and the so called failures, the percentage is extremely low as with any other exotic.
Most of the failures ( I know there are exceptions) happen to cars that are heavily modded and driven extremely hard. Despite what the owners might say.
There are plenty of high mileage Z's that have been taken care of and are still running strong.
Just because a Z has low mileage doesn't mean its been beat on or abused. Some like me drive these cars on weekends because we have other daily drivers.
If you can afford to by a high performance car, then be prepared to repair it if something goes wrong. That is the bottom line. Just compare the repair to the cost of some Italian exotics.
Drive and don't worry...Mike

pewter99

78K on my 07...bought new in July 06

issues so far:

roof delaminated fixed ...was fine for over a year before it became an issue..under warranty
RF turn signal bulb dead in first 2 weeks

pewter99

weird...that crap has served my over 120K C5 just fine ...my girlfriends 02 with 140K is fine as well...in fact when my 99 was taken apart at 50K for the blower and then again at 115K the motor looked like new....oh well

h2oskiman

41 k on my 08 so far so good no issues yet

Turbosixx

Since when 15k miles became known as high milage????

'06 Quicksilver Z06

And I have seen a number of cars fail with it in them too. For me, in light of what we have seen with some of this valve guide wear in some of these LS7s, I want an oil in my Z06 which is going to give me a better antiwear additive package than does Mobil 1 5w30.

Indeed, many of the LS7s which have failed on this board were running that in them when they failed. Especially those which failed on the track.

May have had nothing to do with it, but I don't think it's coincidence, and I don't want to find out using my own engine.

Go figure.

pewter99

again...I don't think choice of oil whether it be Mobil 1, Amsoil, Royal Purple or whatever is gonna matter ...if these cars were gonna have a failure (especially at such low miles) they were gonna have a failure....15K on an LS motor is practically brand new if nothing else this should be a good reason to drive the damn cars as opposed to "saving" them.....get it fixed under warranty....I am waiting for the influx of "low mileage" cars with these issues 5 years from now from the garage queens who complain that GM won't fix their car because it is beyond the warranty in terms of time.

08 ATOMIC-Z

You will have to find a good plastic surgeon to fix that permanent grin on your face.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

You're right pewter, it might not matter one wit.
But when Katech comes out and says that they have seen excessive valve guide wear in LS7 engines, and the recommended oil in that engine is M1 5w30, then I'm thinking that one way to address the issue of excessive "wear" is to use a lubricant offering better "anti-wear" properties than does the factory fill M1 5w30.

And I can't help but wonder, if we would be seeing all of these reports of excessive valve guide wear, we're another oil with a better antiwear package were being used.

I'm giving it a shot.

Gary '09 C6

so Quick, curious as to what oil you use in yours ? I believe you also track your car...

allanlaw

I'm curious too. Something that won't have unintended consequences - like gooping up the cats, etc.?