Bennett_C3

I am a previous C5 owner and was looking for another when I came across an 05 C6 locally that currently has 128k miles. The motor was replaced by the dealership with a new GM Long Block at 120k miles. They also replaced other parts at the same time (see photo). The cost to the owner was just over 13k. It also looks to have a 3 year 100k warranty on the work.

I have the chance to buy the car for somewhere in the 15-16k range. Having never owned or shopped for a C6, I want some input for those in the know. I'm curious about residual value and not losing my *** on it.

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cmonkey713

I will assume they put an original replacement LS-2 back in the car. Since the C-6 is not sensitive to "Numbers matching" it would not decrease the value and I would think it would actually make the car more desirable with the new engine. We must also assume the dealership did the swap correctly and with GM parts which would be a plus. Depending on the overall condition of the car and if you like how the car is equipped it may be a nice deal for you.

Landru

totally.

New LS2 w/ 8k is an enormous plus on an '05, or any MY FTM.
Asking $'s fair, would help knowing what trim level/options. Z51?

Sounds like a very nice, clean and safe vehicle & a new engine makes it 'new'. Ideal for a first time Corvette owner, IMO.

rkj427

as long as pricing is fair, and condition is acceptable for what you are looking for, the added bonus of a warranty on the engine makes it even better than a similar one without the warranty........

CadVette

For that price I would say it's a good deal. You didn't mention if it has an automatic or not. If it's a manual, I would wonder about the clutch. It probably needs tie rods and ball joints at this point. I still would not consider that to be a deal breaker for normal wear items like that except a clutch.

LowRyter

sounds like a deal

Arkyvette

New engine,torque tube and cats done at a GM dealer? I wouldn't have any problems with those things for sure. Anybody willing to shell out that kind of coin to fix an aging Corvette probably took care of it overall so I would expect the rest of the car to be in great shape also.

ByRiver

I would ask for a copy of the service records. If he had to keep taking it back to the dealer because it just wasn't running right with the new motor, that could be why he is selling. If it is running well, buy it.

owc6

When I replaced the LS2 with an LS3 on my '05, it took several tries (over a half dozen) to fine tune the air/fuel mixture so that it ran the way I wanted it to for the way I drove it.

The simple act of taking it back to "tweak" it means nothing.

A new engine at 120,000 might mean it was tracked, and that may mean extra stress on the diff. That might concern me; I would certainly find that out.

eta: it looks like a new torque tube was installed, that's good, IMO, but that also screams extra stress on the rear diff.

buckmeister2

you know, that engine is well-known for going 250K+ miles...I would be a bit concerned about why it needed a new engine. If everything else checks out okay, great, but I would still want to know why it needed that engine. Yes, they do fail sometimes, as all mechanical things might. But the prospect of later having to replace a trans, suspension work, etc. would concern me.

As one poster said, "price is good...good car for first vette", but only if all other components are A-OK.

AORoads

Some great advice above. Don't know how much of a tech or mechanic you are, but if you're not, I'd get the car and entire dealer write up on what was replaced to a person who does know and works on them frequently. I'd also do as advised above: drive it, see how it runs, etc.

But, the part I don't quite get is, it's a 12 year old car now, and you are talking about "residual value" and "not losing your a_ _ on it.

Are you thinking of flipping it, selling it in less than a year, etc.? That's what it sounds like to me.

The car, even in great condition and with original engine has lost about 75% of its original msrp (maybe a bit high, but you get the point), so as far as losing huge amounts in the immediate future, no it won't happen with a nice, new LS2, properly done.

And to answer your question, I think it's worth it if all is done right, and the rest of the car checks out well. Even if you have to do some of the above added repairs.

JMO.

ByRiver

The work order states all the catalytic material was missing. That means the motor was either running very rich for an extended period, or it was burning lots of oil which would burn out the convertors.

Running an untuned supercharger or NOS, then raced it? The previous owner could have blown the engine, then removed the components and had an new motor installed. He was unhappy with the loss of power so he he sold it and bought a Z06.

It was definitely rode hard.

Bennett_C3

Thanks for the input everyone. They story I got is that he bought the car and had it shipped from Miami about 6 months ago, drove it for 3 months and the motor blew. He had it fixed, because it was worthless with no motor, but after driving for a few months he decided he wanted a C7. He bought the C7 and now wants to recoup as much as possible on this one.

The car is an automatic, so no clutch issues. I'm waiting on him to send me the door tag so I can look at what options it has. I'm definitely hesitant though...
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AORoads

In which case, you've got a lot of checking to do and the car could get sold out from under you. The first thing I'd do is get all 3 checks on the car (CarFax, Autocheck and VIS). The last is GMs own, free, and available via vin from any service dept. of ANY GM dealer. That will tell a tale I'd think. The other two, maybe less, but not unimportant.

HammerheadTed

Price sounds good with a new motor. I paid under 14K for a loaded 05 Z51 Vert, but it had 193K on it. Had nose & hood painted to get rid of that sand blasted, stone chips look and it now looks like a new car and is fast, tight, rattle and leak free. Like some others, I wonder why it would need a new motor at that low mileage. Suggestions for carfax and so forth are right on. I found out my C6 was maintained at a dealer its whole life and had harmonic balancer replaced as well as fluid changed in trans, cooling, break system and diff at 175K. This was one of the reasons I didn't worry about buying a high mile car, the major one was of course, a thorough test drive.

irok

at that price impossible to lose your ***.with all the work done on it if the car appears to be in good shape buy it before someone else does

buckmeister2

Wow! You really went against the wisdom usually given on this forum. It is a great story you have. For folks who cannot afford $25K+ for a "special" second car, the high-mileage Vettes are attractive. The major components on the C6 have great service history, so why not? If you can determine that a high-mileage Vette was likely not abused (which is not easy to determine), go for it.

I see a lot of high-mileage C5's priced at the same price as the same mileage C6, so it would not seem that adding some more miles to a high-mileage C6 is going to hurt it's value.

Thanks for the info.

HammerheadTed

I wanted a C6 Vert and barely had C5 money, so I was patient and found my dream car. Took a bit of a chance with high miles and considered the cost of a rebuild on the motor if needed that I would do myself. I think this car/motor is going to outlast me. You are already well ahead there. I have a 4Runner and a Town Car both with over 200k that was put on by my son or I, so I might have a different perspective than many.