Hi, I am a Vette newbie, never had one but just bought one out of state through EvilBay a 2002 Z06. I am going to check it out and it should be fine but I would like input as to what things a Vette like this might have that I should look for or inspect. I have HP Tuners which I will check the ecm out but would love any kinds of things you guys may know about.
Everything I have read about the 2002 Z06 sounds good and this one only has ~8300 miles so it should be like new, still can't help but ask for your ideas?

Thanks

Carlos

 

When you run the test on the ECM, check the SES (service engine soon) history. if you see it's had a bunch of trouble codes, you may want to stay away.

i've got an 02 Z06 with the recurring P0410 Secondary Air pump SES issue that has been a nightmare. it has been to the chevy dealer 10 times and it still isn't fixed. i love the car, but i hate dealing with the SES light. (IN NYS, it'll fail inspection with a SES Light).

As far as everything else....look at it to see if it's been beat.

if it's got 8300 mile it outta have the stock tires still on the back (if they chewed up tires in 8300 miles, the previous owner, or owners had some fun with it).

See if it's still got the tire inflater kit in the trunk.

Ask if the steering column recall has been fixed on it. (i bought mine in january 09 and mine HAD NOT been fixed).

Im sure theres a lot of other things to look at, but thats what i would look at, at least to start. You can usually get a good or bad vibe with the car within a couple minutes.

 

If you don't mind me saying so, But you should of asked the questions before you bought it.

 

True... but you can't blame him for seeing the C5 and falling in love with it. To the OP, Carlos, you're going to never grow tired owning this ride. But, in tune with Mr. Bill's comments, I hope things turn out okay.

Typical problems are all of which I had and I also own an 02 Z06,

- the gas gauges not reading correctly because of corrosion of the fuel level sensors which are part of the fuel sending unit assemblies (one inside each tank)... I had this problem with my car and had to replace them both.
- the rear driver side differential seal leaking
- the door control module relays going bad causing the door locks to not work
- electrical connections going bad (component cleaner and dielectric grease cheaply resolves this)

Enjoy and welcome to the forum brotherhood!!

 

Thanks for the input guys, its little tips like that that are helpful. It is hard to check on a car thats 800 miles away and I didn't have much time, I came upon the auction with less the half a day to make my mind up. We decided to go for it and if we don't like what we see we can away, I did that before with a truck that was not what it was advertized. I wanted to get some help so thanks the hints are helpful.
On the plus side the stuff I have been reading on the 2002 Z06's seems pretty good, lloking forward to checking it out and if we come home with it I'll post some pics.

Thanks again

Carlos

 

BTW I did read here today about the electrical issues, grounding and battery leaks. My wifes Trailblazer also had two fuel tank level sensors fail! LOL

 

ITs good to ask these kinds of questions...but keep in mind people here are going to post up every problem they've had, and then the next person does the same thing and you end up with a huge list of stuff that you don't really need to worry about all happening to one car.

The biggest thing I would check is the column lock, see if a bypass has been installed or what recall work (if any) has been done on the column lock itself. This was the single biggest problem and most common. Others will post up about leaky diffs and electrical gremlins, again remember, these are not in EVERY car.

You can also read more information about this in the Tech section. Over all they are pretty solid cars...and if that car only has 8300 miles on it you should be fine if the owner took even average car of it.

 

Is it the yellow one? It's a good looking car. Pretty rare to find one with 8,000 miles.

 

Thanks Frank, your right about that too. I do like to gets peoples thoughts because lots of times someone will come up with something others may not have realized. I always told my kids "it's common sense after some one explains it to you!!
Yes it is the Yellow one and after wanting one for a long long time I talked to the wife and she said it's up to you! OHH Boy not much of a decision! LOL LikeI said it should be OK but if not I am not afraid to walk away!!
Hopefully it will be a nice drive home, the owner says not to worry it drives like a dream!!

Thanks guys hopefully I'll be able to join ou guys as an owner next week.

 

I would pull a carfax; gauge clusters can be swapped easily

 

Hi Mr. Bill -

Buying a car from ebay is similar to buying a house -

You do a preliminary look-see (check out the pictures, as questions etc.) and then make your financial deal - pending the inspection.

If, during the inspection something comes out that is untenable, then the deal can be dissolved.

For the OP - check under the car and look at the rocker panels to make sure that they are not cracked. Those are a little tougher to replace than most of the other panels. They can be damaged by lifting the car improperly - not critical fault damage, just cosmetic.

Check under the nose of the car to see how much (if any) parking curb rash there is - again, damage here does not put the car in peril, it is just cosmetic, but it can give you insight as to how the car was treated.

The plastic trim along the outside a-members (along the edges of the windshield) have shown prone to cracking.

Does the car have the original wheels on it? I would prefer the stock Speedlines (or, if the car was built in Oct 2001, it will have ALCOA wheels..) - I just prefer them to aftermarket replicas.

Ask if the column lock TSB has been done - if not have they installed a column lock bypass (preferable in my opinion). The TSB is no longer valid, so that would be a $450+ pay to play deal at the service counter.

Check the inside edges of the front tires - they can wear out quickly if the car is not aligned properly. Tires on these cars can be a spendy issue if you are buying the OEM replacements.

Does it still have the Titanium catback? I don't personally care what other catback it might have - I would at least want the option of taking the Ti instead of any aftermarket setup. That again is my personal choice.

If the car has any aftermarket equipment on it - carefully inspect the installation - look at places where they may have had to drill etc - check BOTH sides of the hole if you find this kind of "intentional damage".

Check the functionality of the HUD - make sure they have not sprayed windex down on the plastic sheet or wiped it off too hard etc - that can warp the image of the hud.

Check that the windshield is the 4.8mm hud stock type (if originality is important at all I suppose).

You can search here or google and find the procedure for pulling codes out of the DIC (drivers information center). That will tell you if there are any issues stored in the OBDII. Link to the page you googled that tells you what the codes are and look them up if you get any reported to you.

The car came stock with a DELCO AGM (absorbed glass matt) battery. It is lighter weight and a little pricier than a "regular" battery, and the original should have died already (in my experience). Just check it out and see what is in there now, and look at the battery connections - see if they are all boogered up.

Good luck - I suppose with 8k miles it will be an over-maintained garage queen - just the kind you want to buy!

best regards -

mqqn

 

Hi guys, what can I say except thank you, thank you, and thanks again all great little tips.
That steering TSB is a big one for sure. I do have HP Tuners on my laptop so that will allow me to read the ecm for trouble codes but all the little things you guys mention are good check out. The car has a Blackwing Air intake and a Corsa exaust. I did get to see a small clip of the car and hear it running!!
Originality is not that important to me, but that the car is in good shape and has good parts is....after all it was advertised as low mileage and in great condition!
I just need to relax when I check this car out instead of feeling and acting like a teen ager on his first date!

Thanks again I'll let you know how we made out!!

Carlos

 

From what you have posted, car sounds like a great deal, and low miles is always an added bonus Good luck!

 

Just to give you a heads up, The C5 has a built in code reader in the DIC and you can even clear the codes with the DIC, No need for HP Tuner to read or reset codes..

 

02's aso have a valve spring breaking issue. So far the only sure thing we know is that it effects 2002's. There is no mileage factor or production sequence that can be identified. There was a bad run of springs that made it into production.....its a gamble you may or may not want to take. Most people have had no trouble. Others like myself, decided to stop living in fear and jst change them out. I just did the job today in fact.

Good Luck!

 

Good to know on all counts guys, thank you.

 

Carlos - Good luck with the car. I've got a few Word files, including a Corvette Buyers Checklist that might help you out. If you'd like a copy, PM me your e-mail address.

 

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....



Itty-bitty little yellow valve springs can be an issue... much bigger issue than the steering column lock recall. I can't think of a weaker link in the drive train on a 2002 Z06.



Whatever. If I had it to do all over again, I would stick with the LS1, but that's just one man's opinion.

 

Congratulations Carlos. Sounds like you found a nice Z06 there

My advice, as Mr Bill says, would be to check the codes on the DIC. You're looking for anything with a "C" after the code. That means theres a current problem.

As suggested the list of potential problems could be massive so I'd focus on a few that could give ongoing issues

Check the diff for leaks. The 02s had the AGM batteries so battery leaks shouldn't be an issue. Make sure the windows operate properly.

Apart from that, there are bound to be a few snags and you can always post here for help.

Best of luck and post a pic once you get the car.

Corvette Codes

To list your codes, turn the ignition key to the ON position, but don't start the engine. Clear any present DIC messages (like Door Ajar, or Service Steering Column) by pressing the RESET button. Then hold the OPTIONS button down, while pressing the FUEL button 4 times. This will get you into the CODES section of the DIC.
The computer will automatically display all the codes your car is or has created. It will cycle through each code every 3 seconds. You can watch it display codes for every module in your car. If you want to write them down, go ahead. Any code that ends in H is a history code - something that has occurred in the past but is fine now. The computer is very sensitive and would throw a code if you turned the radio off while tuning it.
Once the computer has finished going through all of it's automatic codes, press RESET to enter Manual Configuration. It should start with a module and show "NO CODES" or "# CODES". If it shows a number of codes, press and hold RESET until it displays "NO CODES".

 

Well guys the wife and I spent the last couple of days traveling back with our first Vette. We love the car although there are a few things we need to take care of.
I will post some pics soon and more info as well as questions.
The bottom line though is we are seriously impressed with the Z06, what an awsome road machine!! Mary said it chews up the curves and spits out the straightaways!!