alk1984

I've been reading the forum for a while now and registered to ask a few questions. I am considering purchasing a 2001 Coupe with 60k miles located in Vallejo. I am going to look at the car on Tuesday, and if everything is as described I plan on having the car looked at by a mechanic before pulling the trigger. I did some reading and it seems like Abel Chevrolet in Rio Vista is the place with the most recommendations. I proposed Abel to the seller but he (understandably) did not want to drive almost an hour each way.

Does anyone know of a mechanic/shop in or very close to Vallejo where I could get a proper inspection done?

60k miles isn't THAT many miles, so I don't expect any major problems, but it would be nice to have someone familiar with the car put my mind at ease. I will be sure to check for any codes after I test drive it.

If I can't find a shop familiar with Corvettes, are there specific things things I should request to be checked beyond a "normal" inspection?

Thanks!

TitaniumZ51

Call Richie at Abel and have him run the vin. That will tell you a lot. Also carfax it too.

ptroxx

Its only about 30 min from Vallejo to Abel.. If you want the car checked out by the best take it there,,, if the seller doesn't want to take it to them maybe there a reason......Just sayin

LS WON

alk1984

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I went to look at the car yesterday. The body was 8/10, a few rock chips and a scratch on the trunk. The interior was nice except for the drivers seat. I could feel the spring and metal skeleton of the seat in the bolsters, although I read this is fairly typical.

I checked the DIC for codes and the ones that came up were:
U1016
U1064
U1096
B2282
1255 - I can't read my own handwriting! It's either a U or a C.

I asked the owner if the car had had any problems and he said that when he bought the car 6k miles ago in 2012 it had many BCM codes. He said the problem was traced to a wire shorting out in the driver's side door. He said the issue was fixed (I did see many BCM codes, but they were all H codes). This could explain the B2282 code I saw. The owner said he didn't know of anything else wrong with the car, but I saw that the oil pressure gauge was pegged. I brought it up and he said oh yeah he had forgotten about it.

I looked into the codes a little and it seems like the first 3 aren't a problem, and the door code could mean there is a short in the door. If the 1255 code is a U that's not that bad right? If it's a C I read that's a very costly repair unless I'm willing to learn how to work on circuit boards myself.

I took a short test drive and everything seemed to be as it should, although I didn't push it very hard at all. The car still had CAGS and does not have a column lock bypass. After the drive I noticed that the DIC said low oil. It didn't show that before the drive. Could that be related to the bad oil sender?

I scheduled an appointment for tomorrow with Team Chevroler (nearby dealer) for a pre-purchase inspection. $225! That is by far the most expensive ppi I've ever seen. I suppose it's worth it for the peace of mind. It's not Abel, but hopefully they know what they are doing and know what to look for.

A forum member local to Vallejo pm'd me and graciously offered to help with the inspection. I reached out to him, hopefully that works out.

Any other comments or advice are more than welcome. Thanks.

*Edit - I almost forgot, the car has 4 previous owners. I don't know if that's necessarily bad, but it did make me raise an eyebrow.

Boomer111

LS WON

I remember this dealership back when the first C-5 Z-06 Corvettes came out they tried to force me to drive one of theirs off the show room floor but I couldn't as I did not have the time. Real pushy sales people.