VeryUnoriginal

My grandfather is looking to get a C6, and he's put me in charge of finding him the best deal/best car for him.

Anyways, I found this Z06 on autotrader;
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...30743930&Log=0

Asking Price: $40,999
KBB:
Excellent: $47,464
Very Good: $46,564
Good: $45,564
Fair: $42,464

Before we go look at it, what are common things to look for? The ad says that there are a few imperfections (loose shift boot, a few paint chips, and some wear on the carpet in the hatch). I've never sat in a C6 nor do I have any experience with them. The price is really good compared to what I've seen other Z06's go for, so I was wondering what you Z06 guys think about it.

Thanks in advance guys,
-Jay

VetteVinnie

Well, from what I can see, the exhaust is aftermarket and it has headers so it's most likely tuned. Depending on who tuned it and when, there's no telling the condition of the engine. I would have a reputable tuner (one who can inspect the tune) look it over before pulling the trigger on it. If they have documentation and receipts of who did the work and when, all the better. Buying a modded car without knowing who modded it is a gamble, especially in light of what's going on with the valve guide wear.

Bottom line, if it has the modifications you'd otherwise do yourself and you can trace the modifications to someone who knows what they're doing as opposed to some fly-by-night or amateur "do it yourselfer", then go for it. It's a good price for what's on it. If you can't determine who tuned it or if the ECM is locked, then you're taking a chance on potentially someone else's problems. You'll also be looking at putting more money into it to have the heads inspected if it has an aftermarket cam. Who knows, though, perhaps the head work was already done by the previous owner. See if you can get documentation on the modifications.

Side note, the passenger side fuel rail cover is loose, so it may have been messed with recently. Pop the covers and take a look for any signs of "hack" jobs. And get it up on a lift to check the underside wiring. I've seen the work of a choice few shops who'd be better off weaving baskets for a living than trying to work on cars.

El Paso Vette

Be very careful. That kind of wear indicates high mileage or abuse. Take it to a Corvette specialist and have them look it over. Look at tires (can be $2K per set).

z51vett

Tune will kill the warranty if engine blows my friends went and was out of warranty GM stepped up and paid for new engine. If he had tune it would be on his nickle.
z51vett

RUGBY

Does pops want the risk associated with a tuned LS7? If not, look elsewhere.

VeryUnoriginal

Maybe it isn't tuned. Surprisingly, a lot of people don't tune their cars after CAI, exhaust mods, etc.

He likes all of his cars as close to stock as possible. He doesn't mind good sounding exhausts though. I'm staying hopeful, but I'm not going to be knowingly oblivious to red flags in this car.

Jawnathin

Lots of assumptions made here, rough in a few spots (front splitter), but overall seems ok. Brakes are also aftermarket, likely better than the OE pieces.

Being an 07, you may want to see if it is affected by the Rocker Arm issue.

VCUFAN

Would look at the Z06 home page and read through the rocker arm needle bearing issue. It's out of warranty as well so you have to be wary of that too. Looks a little rough for only having 40k miles. Not sure what would wear out the rear carpet that quickly either but guess you can see how bad it is. May check inside tire wear and see if it's been lowered. They're relatively solid cars so just listen for any noises. May be hard to do with the aftermarket exhaust though. Good luck.

Mookster

Yup, those are $4k Stoptech brakes

Prime Target

If its got CAI and headers, it's a good bet there's a tune also. No sense in running those mods without a tune. The problem you run into when buying a molded Z is you're not always in the know of who installed parts and tune.

With the addition of the Stoptech brakes I would think the car was probably tracked. It's an expensive mod to do to a car that just sees street duty. The stock brakes are more than adequate for the street.

Not a bad price if the car checks out, but there's a lot of clean, used, low mileage Z's out there. Me personally? I'd keep looking. $40k is a lot to spend on a car with question marks. Good luck in your search.

VeryUnoriginal

There's no mention of headers in the ad at all. Maybe I'm missing something. I've tried contacting the owner, and no response as of yet.

VeryUnoriginal

Okay just got a response from the owner. The Magnaflow is a cat-back system, headers and cats are original. And the car has NOT been tuned, like I thought.

FRChilln

37k tops. 40k can get you a decent 08z. When I was looking not to long ago I had a few good offers thrown at me just from posting up a WTB Z add. GL

SRVfan09

Here is a good tip...run your hand along the rolled edges of the hood. If the paint is rough the car has been repainted. Look at the bolts that hold the fenders in place and look for signs of removal/re-install (i.e. cracked, broken or disturbed paint). Also look for overspray in these areas that would show repaint. I'm saying this because CARFAX is crap and can be gotten around very easily. You want to do a few quick gut checks to see if the car has ever seen any damage.

VeryUnoriginal

Good advice! I almost got burned on a 98 Viper GTS, but I started seeing signs that the bumper had been replaced. Accident-free my a$$!

Also, SRV is my all time favorite guitarist. I spent this past summer learning as much about Stevie as I could. Man that guy could play.

londonk

big brakes = track use in most cases

VeryUnoriginal

The previous owner most likely did take it to the track. The current owner didn't know for sure, but he said most likely.

Zee0hSix

Since you asked. Yellow would not be my first choice. Those great Z06 lines seem to vanish on a yellow car. Also........

Ticket magnet

People looking for a cab will be flagging you down

You might be confused with a construction vehicle.

Just kidding, but I would look for another Z06, good luck!

VeryUnoriginal

I'm not the biggest fan of Yellow either, but my grandfather seems to like it though. He has a Bright Yellow '04 Rustang that he cruises with. Man, does that thing stand out. Grandpa seems to love bright colors (his '99 Vert is Torch Red).

And we both drive like grandpa's anyway, so the cop magnet part doesn't scare me too much. If it doesn't seem like a good car, then we'll keep looking of course.

Thanks for your opinion!

dwiemers

I wouldn't buy that one, at least go for an 08 with the carbon fiber interior for slightly more.... I wouldn't buy one with a splitter in that bad of condition, dead giveaway the owner is not really taking that great of care of the vehicle. Just my opinion...