RaginKjun

Hi All, I'm new here and am excited to find all the info on this forum! I've actually been a Porsche fan most of my life however I have several friends with Corvettes and I've been converted due to price/performance. I'm looking for weekend/trackday car so in the market for a C6Z06 and have test drove a few and love the feel of the car. In doing a little research and reading on these forums, I'm now a bit nervous about the head issues. How common are these issues? Is there any way to identify these issues without taking pulling heads?

I know the owner of one of the cars that I'm really interested in, The car has 67K miles on it many of which are highway for business. Here's a brief description of what I collected.... 2010, 3LZ, Z06, clean interior, few minor scratches nothing significant, 4 new tires and one fob. The owner indicates that he changes oil every 3K miles and has never had any problems with engine or drivetrain. I drove it and seems in great shape however I'm no expert hence this email. The asking price is $38500 which seems to be inline with market.

Prior to purchasing, my plan of action is to find a place to take and inspect and also pull a carfax. Does anyone have any other comments or recommendations? Any recommendations on someone that could evaluate a car in Dallas/FW area?

AtomicBob

Hi welcome to the forum. This is the wrong section but I'll throw some advice anyways. The head issue is very common and you are playing with fire if you do not address. You can do what's called a "wiggle test" (Google search) to see if guides are worn. The pricing of that car is just ok. The reason the price is that high is because it's a 2010 which the year isn't too important. 2008+ is where I would be looking. Tr6060 trans along with many other upgrades that you wouldn't know unless you had to deal fixing having an earlier year. Guarenteed you can find a z for that price with the heads done and less miles. Keep searching there are plenty out there.

IMXCITD

You are on the right track. Keep reading, researching and talking to people. The head issue should definetly be on your mind and something to consider when buying.

ghall

As the others have said, do some reading on the forum here and in the end you will have to make your own choice. If you plan on tracking the car, IMO you will be absolutely playing with fire if the fix isn't done. Good luck with your purchase.

phileaglesfan

I wouldn't buy a Z06 that hasn't had its heads fixed or is at least under factory warranty for a year or two. It is just too big of a risk since you are screwed if they do let go.

Y2KRoadster

Like the others have said, keep researching. You can find better Vette's for that price. The 08 and up is nice but if you aren't tracking or beating on the car from a stop then the tranny option really doesn't matter. There are 06-07 Z's on here with 800+ hp on the stock tranny with no problems.

I was going to buy a C6Z and I can tell you that, after closely looking/researching for 8+ months, I will not even consider ANY C6Z unless they have the heads addressed AND there is documentation that I can use to back it up. It is simply too great a risk to do anything else. The valve issue isn't really common; however, it's still not worth the risk. If you blow a motor and have to take it to a dealership to replace it (along with all pers that oil touches) it will run you 19K. A guy posted up talking about how much it is...luckily he was under warranty. Hope this helps. Good luck.

patrick983

Ill try to level the playing field here with my opinion. First, owned an 08 z06 with untouched heads for 73k miles...no issues. Second, although previous posters are correct, the failures can be catastrophic. The failures dont typically occur without symptoms. A wiggle test can be performed by someone with the ability to change their own oil and can give you a good indication of where the stock heads are in terms of wear. Although this problem is definitely there, there are still an overwhelming majority that never experience an issue. Seems to me if your searching cars with more than say...30-40k miles, the chances are slimmer of finding one with bad heads (probably would of let go by now).

And since youre a Porsche guy id say the IMS issue is a bit more widespread...for reference.

You will love these cars. And even if you get a stock car, a cylinder head change is actually not as intimidating a job as it sounds.

croatbob

If u can afford the extra money get the zr1. Bigger brakes, nicer box, supercharged forged engine with no value issues. If U can't
Get a z and fix the heads. The zr1 is faster around the track if you don't plan on going crazy on mods and want a near stock drive car

Y2KRoadster

I don't want to get into a back and forth here but, you are completely wrong about saying the valve failures do not occur without symptoms. If you do a search, you can find several members that had no symptoms and were driving the car normally when one of the valves let go.

You are right, the overwhelming majority do not experience symptoms. However, getting a car with the heads done or getting them done right away is well worth the piece of mind and potentially having a 19K repair bill.

SgtRod

Werent the pistons determined to be an issue as well?

croatbob

on boost not aspirated

RaginKjun

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the feedback.

I don't want to send the money on a ZR1 as much as I would love one. I'm struggling with going with a C6Z...keep telling myself it's just money but it's not sinking in yet!

camiv

Car you mentioned in post is a joke!
I let my 08 z go in trade for 42500 and is for sale from dealer at that price today. It was 2lz with 6800 miles on the clock. I had tracked it 5 times and never had one issue with the motor.
You can pick up countless z06's in the high 30's to low 40's with less that 7500 miles all day long.
If head are what you are worried about......buy car and have heads pulled....really not that big of a cost if you are concerned.
Do realize some of the head problems may have been from drivers who beet the crap out of there cares at the track..... And on this forum most problems get fairly...but way overstated.
Good luck

patrick983

Id consider valves failing a wiggle test a symptom. Im sure if those cars were checked they would of failed. Id hope by this point every single owner would at least keep an eye on it but i suppose there are plenty of people who just jump in a drive like its a Civic or something.

The op, dont be scared they are truly great cars. And the level of reliability for the level of performance you get is unmatched IMO.
I had the best luck finding cars on this forum and craigslist. Dealerships and ebay seem to have them really marked up.

SyberSaint

Are the 2013 427 cars affected by the head problem?

Dale

Cor430vette

If you buy a Z06 dont forget to buy an official Z06 shirt too: