COvert-red

More actual street stuff:

I did a little more shopping last week (2013 427 model). I stopped back at a nearby dealership today to check on a white/blue 427 with the Heritage Package that is in-transit as a consignment sale. Here is the car:

http://www.emichchevrolet.com/Vehicl...-CO/2959408443

After some discussion with the service and sales manager, I asked if they were aware of concerns with LS7 "valve guide issues." They were. I asked if it came down to a condition of sale on this car, would they complete a valve guide inspection... They said that they would - that it would be about 3 hours of shop time, and that they would initially agree to "split the cost." This car has less than 3000 miles on the clock and 22 months of factory drivetrain warranty remaining. VIN: 1G1Y83DE8D5702345

Would this be necessary? It's arguable according to many opinions expressed on this board. The point: A dealership that wants to represent the car in the most positive way has acknowledged that the concern is valid.

It's a beauty -

Unreal

At 3k miles I would hope they are still good. Problem is passing it just means they are good at 3k miles, not at 10k miles. So what are you going to do a year or 2 from now? Inspect again? I wouldn't even bother checking at 3k. Wait until warranty is almost up, or wait until 10k+.

MTPZ06

And even if by some strange chance they do test bad...all the dealer would do is install another set of OE GM (Linamar assembled) heads. That's not a fix...that's just resetting the clock.

COvert-red

...but, it's a negotiating point.

Assuming the top end looks good, at least there is some peace of mind for the majority of the remaining GM W. If things are loose, a purchase price that covers the rework (non-GM) could at least be thrown out there (??).

IMO: Add $3K to the price of the car and stuff it away for the fix. In this case, it makes the car pretty pricey. CF hood and blue cloth sure is pretty. Everything comes with a little catch..

I appreciate the information; it's proven to be very enlightening and anything but hysterical myth (!)

Undy

Let's see... The selling dealer is going to inspect the valves, sale conditional on the heads being OK. My money would be on the heads being OK, whether they are or not. Just saying...

COvert-red

This didn't go far enough to determine who would potentially do the inspection. And, dealerships have service departments that also get paid to do warranty work.

The possible deal here really wasn't the point, it was the acknowledgement that valve guides and LS7's have enough of a history that a mechanical novice (me) and a willing dealership would address it [even on a virtually new car].

Thanks.

philpacs

I agree with DH. My old GMPP warranty covered a new motor without any push back and also paid for 2 new starters, a 2K repair for an oil leak, hub assembly and my car had a tune/intake before the dropped valve and later H/C/I for all other repairs. I also got a factory warranty on the new motor. My shop had a good relationship with the rep which may have helped, regardless there was no abuse from me or the aftermarket to cause the repairs.

It's a decent option with a warranty. The hard part for me would be leaving the car stock for that long. It takes some of the enjoyment out of owning the car. Luckily I was still covered with mine and leaving the car stock would suck.

freddyvette

At the date of expiration for my aftermarket warranty, I have a grand total of 56,000$ in repairs.

motor, trans, diff, suspension, ac, ps, alternator... and much more.

ratomicZ06

DAmn.... that is awful that you had that many issues. I would have been out of that one at some point. Sorry you went thru that and hope you didn't buy it new. Jeez

****, did you get to drive the thing?

freddyvette

Just passed 52,000 miles on it with 620 to the wheels. Destroyed a GTR, McLaren, and a ZR1 on the way home from the today (must have been coming back from Texas World Speedway track event)

I paid 1,300$ or so from Dennis Fitchner in 2012, and it ran until Dec 31 2016. There were a few outstanding issues with the interior (window regulator, etc) but I guess I'll have to fix that myself.

moose.b3

$56,000 on repairs! That's more than I paid for my Z when it was 2 years old with 12k miles on it.

freddyvette

That includes the re-work because they didn't want to pay for the transmission replacement the first 3 times they re-did the seals. The 4th time, they called it a loss and ponied up for another one.

Total lower end engine replacement was 15,000, not including re-doing heads because of out of spec valves, not including incidentals like alternator, oil pump, and some other smaller claims which were discovered during the teardown of the vehicle.

OH and that doesn't even mention the 8700$ they paid out for when my valves were out of spec (the FIRST time) in 2014.

These cars weren't meant to be daily driven... lol

P.S I paid 41,500$ for the car, 1,300$ for the warranty. Its a 2008 and had 18k miles when I bought it, completely stock save for a corsa exhaust and an aftermarket radio.

nuke61

Good to hear about GMPP, because I have a GMPP Major Guard warranty for another 18 months or so - it came with the car, not something I purchased. Just had to pony up $4k on rental house repairs, but I'm hoping to have the heads replaced by Autumn.

ratomicZ06

All of that is amazing. Truly. I wouldve bailed long ago. Glad you got it straightened out.... finally. What a trail of events.

yeah.,.... i only paid 38k for my 07, 2 1/2 years ago. That warranty was worth it!

freddyvette

How wrong you are. You're the reason aftermarket warranties keep making so much money (and keep policy costs lower for people like me )

That price was 4 years ago, but yeah they were pretty stable for a while there. I wasn't going to sell my dream car. It's still a technological marvel, and considering how much I drive it, it's super competitive in ANY type of event... drag, AX, RX, rolls, I can even use it as a ute (I've had an engine and transmission in the back!)

nuke61

Blasphemy!

freddyvette

Tell that to my poor speaker bezels!

ATOMIC ORANG

So let me ask the Thread ? So i address the vavles on my motor, and any other issues said. And i am driving my car and i drop a valve, and my engine is now trash, what do i do now?there is no warranty, NO!! One gives you that after there done, Your on your Own, it should of taken care of my issues, but i sit with a trashed motor ?? What should i do ? What should i do?? I am out all this money !!!! So you know what i do, is i buy another Motor !!!! and countine on Driving my Z, There are NO WARRANTIES !!! ON What will happen to a motor when you drive it slow or Fast, Track or Strip,There could be a issue. So i say just drive the car, anything With moving parts you taking chances. Just my Thoughts on this valve issue.

masoch

I figure I'd drop in my .02 seeing as there has been talk about the probability of valve guide or valve failure within LS7 engines.

When I was shopping for C6Z's the dealership tried to sell me a 2011 that had blown up in 10k miles due to the valve issue. I would never have known this if I didn't call another dealership I've done more business with and ask about any warranty work done to the car. It's talked about in whispers but if you ask the right questions to the right people you start to see that there is a big pattern here and it's sure as hell more than just .5% of all C6 Z06's affected by this issue and it's not something anybody who is selling you the car is going to want to talk about.

So I walked away and ended up with an '09 Z06 with 5k miles. I brought it to a shop I trust; went with full exhaust, Borla, a dyno tune and exchanged heads with a pair that had already had the valve guides and exhaust valves upgraded for just over 4k. Car put down 510whp and is even more fun to drive now than it was in it's factory form.

I may have paid around twice as much as you but the peace of mind and the return in performance has been in spades. Good luck

shane p

What would that be?