I am looking to purchase a 2001 z06 and the owner told me that the car consumes 1 quart of oil every 7000 miles. I know that some of the 2001's had problems with the piston rings. Is this normal oil consumption for a vette or am I better off looking at a 2002 model?

UPDATE...
**After driving the car and inspecting its condition I just could not pass it up. The car has been in my possession since wednesday 3/28 and I am glad I made the purchase. Thanks for all those who gave their input.

 

My memory isn't perfect for this, but that sounds like much less oil consumption than the standard "oil burning 01's" are known for. I certainly wouldn't be too upset to lose about a quart in 7000 miles. If it were a quart every 1000-1500 miles, that would be different.

I wouldn't skip over this car if everything else is to your liking! Good luck!

 

A quart every 7000.....that's as normal as baseball and apple pie. I change my oil every 3000 miles so this would be the least of my worries.

 

thanks for the reply's, it's an original owner car with only 30k miles and has been garaged throughout...if everything goes well i will pick it up on wednesday.

 

I have a 2001 that was an oil burner ... reringed by GM in late 2000 (I picked the car up in August of 2000 ... one of the first 2001 Z06's here in NorCal), and to give you an idea ....

The car was burning about a quart in 700 to 800 miles while street driving ... I took it to Laguna Seca for an HPDE and burned a quart in about 200 miles !!!!

Chevy considers a car an "oil burner" if it consumes a quart (or more) in 1000 miles ... so a car getting 7000 miles before having to add a quart is an OUTSTANDING engine ... go for that baby !!!

 

2001 is a great z. I would go with the 2002 Z.

 

Now that I'm going to have my tranny rebuilt b/c of aluminum shift fork, I would have looked at the 03's. I'd heard the buzz about this problem and thought it was the exception rather than the rule, until it happened to me

 

mr-z,

Another useless post on your part - why don't you recommend he wait and get a 2008 Z06 ????

The original post indicates that his only concern with a 2001 Z06 that he is considering buying is whether or not it is an "oil burner" ... all the rest of the replies helped him understand that if the only issue is whether or not the car is burning oil, then he has nothing to worry about.

Your post, as usual, is useless to the discussion ... go away you

 

This was enough of a concern to me that I only considered 2004 models when I started shopping, since I knew it was a "mid-year" 2003 thing. Still, I'm really sorry to hear about your recent trouble with yours, and anyone else who has to deal with that.

 

My 01 Z burns an average quart about every 2500 miles or so...and I'm a very "spirted" driver. Hell after all it is a "Z" I change the oil around 3000 miles or 50% which ever comes first. It sounds as if the car your looking at does exceptionally well...go for it, You will love the car!

 

Mine burns about 1/4 to 1/2 quart every 3,000 miles. I drive pretty aggressively at times. I change my oil every 3K miles as well, so it's not a big deal. The mileage seems about perfect for an '01. I would stay away from a car that's been driven too much less than that in six years. The engine and transmission seals don't tend to like it very much when a car sits. I bought mine in December with 44K on the clock and use it as my everyday driver. Buy it, you'll love it!

 

As an owner of a former 2001 oil eating Z06 I'll give you my knowledge of this issue: Under aggressive driving one day, my car ate 2 qts of oil in less than 200 miles which destroyed the camshaft. Although the cam/lifters got replaced, the oil eating continued as expected. Oil consumption test continued. After another 8 qts over a 3000 mile period a rod bearing starting banging. The engine was replaced under warranty at 13K miles. I autoX my car and it would eat a 1/2 qt in any event (3 or 4 runs).
They use the most oil at high RPM and low load....like cruising the highway in 3rd or 4th gear only. I wanted my engine repaired while still under warranty so I never drove it in 5th or 6th gear. Anytime I would do a tank of spirited driving the entire rear bumper would have a lot of oil grime all over it. I left it on there more than once to show the dealership I wasn't kidding about the oil usage.

With the new engine my Z now uses no oil no matter how it is driven, the way it should be in my opinion. I put 5000 miles on it before an oil change and the oil was not burnt looking, but was a dark brown color without being black. I use Mobil1 oil filters as well as the oil.

I would only buy a 2001 Z06 if I was able to drive it like I stole it for a good amount of time to make sure it was not an oil eater being driven kindly by a non-enthusiastic driver, or if I had proof that the engine was either repaired or changed. My car would use very little oil when driven within the limits of the law. Then again, if you don't plan on any kind of extended race like conditions it may not ever be an issue for you. Just add extra oil on those days as a precaution.

 

Here we go with the stalking again. Everyone here knows that there was a callback to replace a piston rings. A lot of people here would rather go with the '02 and up because that problem was resolved.

Maybe I will report your posts to the moderators.

 

The original poster knew that there had been a problem with the 2001s .... Duh ... he says it right in his post .... what he was asking was if a car that uses a quart in 7k miles is an "oil burner" .... and the CORRECT answer to his question is NO. Not some moronic post saying "I would go with the 2002 Z" ... with no further explanation, observations, reasons ... whatever.

Please do, ya little

 

I have to chime in sorry. Maybe the mods will tell you to fill out your profile

 

There was no "callback."

 

The oil burners were in the earlier made 2001's...
...StuzVette was one of those...
GM paid to replace the rings....
...alls well...

...Oh..and if it was really any oil burner the exhaust would be coating the rear fascia...

btw...I just purchase a 2001 Z06 and I feel confident alls well...

 

My 01 was built in Nov 00 and I got it from the original owner. He had no idea there was an issue with oil burning. The car has never had any engine work. I have put 8k miles on it for a total of 76k now and I beat on it when I feel like it. I saw 1/2 quart in 5000 miles with it.

For 21 grand the car is a solid reliable and fun ride...no regrets on buying an 01 here

 

If you like it, snag it. That LS6 is there as a placeholder anyway, till your 402 goes in

 

I also have recently purchased an '01 ZO6 with 28,000 for $21,000. The build date is 06/01. I picked it up some 650 miles from our winter home in central Oregon and drove it back home by way of hwy 84 and Hwy 20 (hwy 20 has a section that follows the winding river ).
No symptoms or signs of oil burning such as resdue in the tail pipes, or on the rear of the body. Also burning oil will clog the cats in no time and also effect the O2 sensors.
I have not done a dealer printout of the cars history as of yet ( owned the car for almost two weeks now) but I doubt that this LS6 has been touched.
'01 was not the only year that oil burning issue appeared , as far as I have read.
Anyway , If the car in question only uses 1 quart in 7,000 miles , I would not call that an issue if the price were right and it had no other issues.
dD