Jawnathin

FWIW, I do think the issue is a bit blown out of proportion, but it is still a valid issue one needs to think about it. If I had warranty, I wouldn't worry about it and enjoy the car. It truly is a wonderful car and I wouldn't be making the 'investment' into head work if I thought otherwise.

If you plan on selling the car before warranty expires, then I wouldn't bother with headwork and let the next guy decide what he wants to do with it.

But if I had plans on keeping the car in the long term, I'd look into getting head work done.

My main point is, while a warranty is very nice for peace of mind, it is a delay of the inevitable. A long term car will want head work regardless, so you either pay for it now with a less expensive out of warranty car, or you pay for later with a more expensive car when it gets out of warranty. In that regard, you could argue that the less expensive car is a better value since the upfront cost was less to start with and you've got a set of reliable valves/heads.

But this is not to say the newer cars aren't worth it, but I wouldn't look at a possible engine problem as the reason to move forward or back away from a certain year car. If there is a certain option or package available for a specific year that you want, then sure, go for it, but if you aren't tied to that, then find the best deal that the buyer feels is right for them, older or newer.

Also, I also do not think headwork is just throwing money away, it will be of value to the next buyer.

This is a really unfortunate and sad situation, there are no winners here (except maybe WCCH & GM) but it is what it is.

X25

You and I are talking about the same 2012 engine.

jwmgr8

Try and Find a new one like you described make em an offer- Don't think your close
You can probably find a piece of junk for low dollars.

My recommendation is Find the vette you want make a deal!

GMuffley

Good advice.

Marc Lefebvre

Joe, you have a 2012 Z06!? What's with the junker in your avatar?

The_Raging_Bull

Back to the thread topic
2009 Z-06 Cyber Grey Metallic 3LZ 751 miles...... $52K from McClaren Philly

3 Z06ZR1

I wanted the 2008 then bought a 2008 and put 25 k on it!
I just bought a 2006 last fall then came down sick.
I only drove the 2006 about 150 miles but notice some things are cooler about it compared to the 2008.
Plus stock to stock it feels stronger and lighter.
The 2006 is for sale with 1lz and black 7900 miles and GMPP
till 7-29-2015. The plan was two replace the higher mile 2008
but is F/I'd now and now I'm attached to it! Going in the trader this weekend!

Adam_W

A couple questions from a newbie, please bear with me if these sound like dumb questions (or as one of my professors used to tell me, "There are no dumb questions, only dumb people") :

1. Does the "headwork" involved in preventing the "valve guide problem" void the 5-year drivetrain warranty, e.g. if I buy a used 2010 Z06 have the headwork done?

2. Does the "headwork" essentially fix/prevent the problem close to 100% ? Or is it not that simple?

3. How much does the "headwork" cost, and can it be done somewhere in Southern California? If not, where could I take a Z06 to have this done by some people that will do a solid job ?

4. In regards to the prior statement "There are so far no reports of a car with the issue past GM's stated Feb 2011 quality fix date in terms of cars with dropped valve issues." How do you tell if a given 2011 Z06 was produced before or after Feb 2011? Do you just pop open the hood or door and look at some sticker that says "Made in January 2011" ?

I will be in the market later this year for a Z06 and am trying to learn as much as possible. Thanks.

The_Raging_Bull

There are no dumb questions, just members who occasionally flame folks .
Anyway my guess is that if GM inspected the heads to see if they had hardened guides, yes it would void the warranty. Then again, if it prevents the valve drop...? Personally I have 866 mies on my 09; I plan on doing a 750 to 850 RWHP supercharged LS7 in about a year and a half once the 5 year is almost up; and using a very low milage LS7 to help defray the costs of that $22K to $25K in costs. I wont be buying a C7 any time soon, since I think an upscaled C6 Z06 will destroy any upscaled C7 model in stock form, and I'll still be way less money than the newest latest greatest from Chevy; as I bought my 09 3LZ Z06 at 751 miles for $52K.

If I was going to keep the car for a while, and wanted to fix the main issue until the 5 year warranty was up and then do bolt ons, then I''d have no issue with valve guides. Thats the root cause for the engine grenading. Since all the other issues wouldn't require GM to rip apart the heads who'd know?

Same thing for a tune, since you can rewrite bit for bit the ecu bios in the tune, so all you need to do before warranty work is restore the oem tune, and allow the registers to reset. The new tune just rewrites the bios, but the registers are not filled. BTW this is the same thing that happens when you allow your battery to discharge, since that will eliminate the register data too.

From my end, a Halltech CAI and a tune were good for +33RWHP; so a pretty good investment at about $32/hp; plus CAGS was disabled...goodbye skip shift.

Mike McGinnis

Id pick up a 2006, and have the heads done if GMPP was not available. No sense in paying way more money for the the same car overall. Throw a 2008+ center console in, and you will be very pleased.

SUPERCRUZ

Amazing how a thread about buying a used or new Z turns into a dropped exhaust valve pissing match. My advice, buy the car and enjoy it and quit worrying about valves. To answer the OPs question, as with any used car, the newer the better. Depending on what you have budgeted, look for the newest and lowest mile car you can afford. As for buying new with discount, good luck in finding a new 1LZ without options at this late stage in the game. As someone else stated, most discounted cars are in inventory on dealer lots. As for pricing on used cars, you have all kinds of pricing guides on the Web such as NADA, Edmunds.com, Cars.com, and Kelly Blue Book. Use them. You will be looking at pricing based on mileage and condition. If buying from a private owner, you are looking at a price between trade in and retail. Good luck with it.

Mark2009

1. It depends. If a subsequent engine problem could be reasonably blamed on the head work, then yes, the warranty would be voided. GM might try to do this regardless, so you might have to take them to court. I cannot cite a source on the following, but if you have the work done by ASE certified mechanics you may have a better leg to stand on should you wind up in court.

2. Depends on exactly what you do. Although there are many claims, there are no long term studies to confirm. However, the answer is probably yes.

3. Again depends on what you do. Paying a certified shop to do all the labor, figure $3K - $4K. Before doing any work, however, you should have the 'wiggle test' done. If you have no significant valve guide wear, you have no problem (keeping in mind that if it is a very low mile car, you might want to check it again in 10K miles or so). A certified shop should be willing to do the wiggle test for well under $500 (the heads do not have to be removed).

4. The build month and year will be inside the driver's door jamb. FYI, generally speaking most 2011 model year cars will have been built in late 2010. Personally I would not put too much faith in GM's inspection statement, since they have failed to exactly identify the problem.

638HP SILVER BEAST

There is a 2007 black Z06 6200 miles, they are asking 48980.00 on cars.com. Offer them 46000.00.

tim414

You mentioned '10 MY Z. Your best selection will be 2006-2008/2009. Fewer built after '09.

If you buy in warranty then you have no worries. I would have the heads/guides checked at least if I bought out of warranty. Less than 500 to have it done.

add: the engines build date is on a sticker on driver side front (engine), behind alt bracket. There is a alpha/numeric on a white sticker, the build date is coded in that number. Post it here and someone will tell you how to decode it.

gatti-man

I'd buy a certified 09 and just drive it. An 06 is a 6 year old car. Assuming you finance it will be 11 years old when its paid off. That's just too old for me.

Property1

I personally would not buy a new car right before a switch to a new model. I would lean towards the 2007, 2008, 2009 models. I bought a 2008 last week for 44k.

638HP SILVER BEAST

How many miles on the 08?

gatti-man

A new z06 is atleast 1 1/2 years out. The c7 is not a match for a z06.

The_Raging_Bull

'06 Quicksilver Z06

Internal engine modifications, and this would include head work, will usually void the powertrain portion of your manufacturer's warranty.

It essentially hedges your bet. Nothing put together with human hands is ever going to be 100% fail proof. But the usual head work to address the LS7 valve issue, includes replacing the stock hollow stemmed sodium filled exhaust valves with solid stainless exhaust valves, replacing the valve springs, and replacing the valve guides with bronze valve guides. A multi angle valve job is typically done as well and sometimes porting and milling the heads too, as per the owners plans.

This practice has been going on since late 2005, and so far appears to be effective in preventing exhaust valve breakage episodes.

There are plenty of places in Southern California for you to address this matter.

In fact, SoCal, and Texas, are arguably the two best places in the United States to be, if your intent is to be proactive with regard to this issue.

Cost is going to vary based on what you want done to your heads, "core" charges, if they apply, and who does the work. But a word of caution here. If you are interested in this type of work, and advice on it, then you are going to want to talk with people who either have actually had it done, or who actually do it, and take their advice.

This is a listing of some of the forum members who have had it done. It is arranged alphabetically and by state, U.S.Territory, and country.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...st-valves.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1583018767-post443.html

The best price I have seen, in your area, for the usual head work done to address the LS7 valve issue is $2,695.00 and that was offered here back in October by one of the forum vendors.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1582061981-post5.html

The price may have changed now however, but from time to time there is special pricing on this type of work in your area.

The information you will need for build date can be found in the following posting.

That said, you may want to know the engine build date, and the post will tell you how to determine that as well.

Good luck with your purchase Adam_W