Calidave

I'm buying my first.. 07 Z51 yellow convertible 3LT, Nav, chrome wheels

It has about 20K miles.. no mods at all.

Oil has been changed regularly.. other than that.. nothing has been done.

I've read a few things about maybe changing the coolant? Or battery issues? Is there anything I should do as preventive maintenance right now?

I'm not a big fan of chrome wheels. Would love black, should I just powder-coat them? I don't really have the funds to spend $5K, buying all new wheels.. any thoughts?

What are the best bang for your buck mods? Don't want to have the car less reliable though. I love the sound of the exhaust.. Is that something that can be changed for around $1500? Will it add more power, and be a bit louder? Or will it be too loud, being a convertible?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

ZO ZICK

First of all Congrats on the C6

$1500.00 will defently buy you an exhaust, If I was you, I would get headers and they will give you a little more HP, but not enough to tell the difference

TLS_Addict

Cat backs are for sound and not for power. They can be had well under $1,500.

If the oil is changed and its stock and look/runs good I would jump on it but still I would attempt to have it gone over by someone who knows Corvettes.

You can paint or powdercoat the rims but it seems the going trend is to plasti-ricer-dip them. If you dont like chrome I wouldnt go that route, make them black that wont peel off.

Good luck with the car, sounds like a nice one.

m48xhp

virgin? be sure to get a new rubber...


no really, check the tire tread if they are original

Don-Vette

Congrats!! If you have original battery. Put a new one in. It's going on 6 years. A little preventive maintenance.

RicK T

IMO, buying a pre-owned car you know nothing about, you should change everything so you have a known starting point.

Coolant - should be changed every 5 years so it's due anyway

Brake fluid - should be changed every 2 years but there is no official requirement

Clutch fluid - if it's manual trans, should be changed regularly, at least twice a year but probably more often.

Battery - big deal with these cars so if you don't know how old it is put in a new one now.

Air filter - at least look at it

Windshield washer fluid - should be cha.......oh never mind....you get the idea.

bearphoto

Get a battery maintainer. If you dont you will have a dead battery on a day you were looking forward to driving. I'm sorry to say the maintainer should be your first priority, period!

Calidave

Thanks for the advice.. I will have the maintenance done on everything as suggested.

Yeah the tires are original, they are in pretty good shape. Hopefully get a year or so out of them.

I know this might be a naive question.. but do I need to find a Corvette expert? Or take it to a dealer? I'm guessing jiffy lube isn't the answer.

Bearphoto.. thanks for the battery maintainer tip. I just realized that's what my dad had on his 62 corvette and it plugged into the cigarette lighter.

It'll be a weekend driver. I'll have it covered in the garage.. should I store it with the top up or down? Or does it matter?

TLS_Addict

Blinker fluid is a must. My last two new cars were low from the factory.

Gearhead Jim

Good post!

Two more items:

Cabin air filter sits just behind the battery in a little panel, yours will be ugly if it hasn't ever been changed.

Get a cheap tread-depth gauge for your tires and measure each groove on each tire. If the wear is even across, then your alignment is probably ok. If wear is uneven, find the Pfadt street alignment specs here and have it aligned that way, with a small amount of toe-IN.

And, enjoy the car!

mcandrew67

Try plasti dip on your wheels, do a search on here, lots of guys have sprayed their wheels with great results, good thing is if you don't like it you can peel it right off.
I was surprised how good it looked really.
Welcome to the corvette world.
David

Tally Ho

Take the VIN to a Chevy dealer and see if they will run a courtesy service history. It's a good way to tell if that car is yellow for a reason.

Batman 357

Unless it's a daily driver buy a battery tender, change the oil and enjoy. They are great cars.

mcandrew67

Maybe the previous owner was I.P Daily

Don-Vette

Don't forget to check the muffler bearings for wear.

VET4LES

I agree with all the above. Lot's of good advice. As for the rims I would live with the chrome for awhile. If you spend time on this forum you will find lots of different opinions of the black. Do a search for a poll on the subject. If I remember chrome was by far the favorite.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...ou-prefer.html

This is one poll. There are many more, check them out.

Gearhead Jim

Wheels:

There are several different styles of factory wheel for your car, and most are available in silver paint, comp gray paint, polished, or chrome. That's a lot of choices.

Our 2009 came with chrome Gumbys, I replaced them with factory silver-painted 2008-2010 split spokes. Bought two different sets (summer and winter tires) on Craigslist for $300/set in like-new condition.

If your chrome wheels are original, save them for when you sell the car some day. If the buyer doesn't want them, then you can sell them separately.

2kvetmy

sent you a pm about GM comp gray rims with sensors and tires



[QUOTE=Calidave;1581926836]I'm buying my first.. 07 Z51 yellow convertible 3LT, Nav, chrome wheels



I'm not a big fan of chrome wheels. Would love black, should I just powder-coat them? I don't really have the funds to spend $5K, buying all new wheels.. any thoughts?

TLS_Addict

Remember.....its a sports car. No chubby chasin' with it. They are bucket seats, not wheelbarrow seats.

dklowrider

make sure you check the entire tread width on the front tires. turn the steering all the way both ways so you can see the inside tread area. i had experience with 2 c6's at 25,000 miles that had the tires worn down to the steel belts on the very inside edge, while the rest looked decent.