Hey guys,
I have finally gotten back into a C5 Z06 and did that by buying a flood salvage 2004 through Copart. I knew what I was getting into and am cool with making this a straight race car if need be. I'm hoping I can address the odometer discrepancy between the last service mileage listed and the odometer. I'll give a little history I have here and hope that maybe someone knows a way to prove this or if my plan is worth a shot. Long story short, got this car for $7,700 and out the door with fees and shipping, $10,800. The odometer in the picture showed 53,095mi. I received the car and saw the water line on the diff while it was on the truck. Water got just high enough to take the BCM with it. As most of you know, if the BCM is shot, there is no communications and all the systems appear to need service. I bought a used BCM on ebay and sent to get wiped. Got the BCM back and did the handshake. Replaced plugs, wires, belts, and new battery. She started right up after the handshake process. Runs strong and only issue now (mech.) is the doors don't shut and the A/C compressor doesn't turn. I'll work those issues out shortly. My problem is the odometer reading not matching the service records. I get that there could be an issue, but I find the service record input a little fishy. The car was serviced by the owner in May of 2023 and the mileage was listed at 52,604. The flooding happened in Oct of 2024. The car was sent to the same dealership in Dec of 2024 and the miles were now 57,604. I feel like the technician didn't even look and added exactly 5k miles to it. The original owner was averaging 2768mi/year (not sure if that was front loaded), so following that math 3,922mi theoretically could have been put on the car. Just seems weird that it was exactly 5,000mi. Is it possible that the tech just put the additional 5k and knowing the insurance had already listed it as totaled didn't really go through the car? My mind set was the adjuster put the key in and as soon as all the "Service" this and that popped it was done, totaled. My plan was to call the dealership and have a conversation with them and see if they would change the mileage to what was on it. Wasn't sure if that was possible. Or should I just get it to my dealer and have them put it on the Tech II and have them amend it? I'm not really looking to sell, but never know what the future holds. At the moment, I've told my son (he's 11) that if he works on the car and really dives into it, this could be his first car. Mine was a '75 with no T/C or ABS and a lap belt plus no airbags, lol. I've only got to drive it inside my neighborhood for small shake downs and the odometer has tripped over as I drive it the half mile out and then half mile back, so I know the odometer is still running. The ICP was not damaged nor was the PCM. Grabbing gears again feels great. Love my C8, but love the shifter too.
Thanks for reading!
Josh

 

Congrats on your score. I don’t think you’ll have any luck getting the dealership to change the mileage.This is just my personal opinion,but the Z is a little much for a first car. Have you considered insurance cost? Anyway good luck.

 

Yeah, unless you can provide proof of what the actual mileage should be, the dealer will most likely tell you they cannot change the odometer. Could be big problems for them.

Good luck with the car though - heck of a deal if all things work out.

 

So your odometer shows 53,095mi and dealer service records show 57,604 and you want the car odometer changed to 53,095 to retain some additional value?
I get that the 2 in 52,604 might have been mis-read as a 7 somewhere in the process.
No one cares about 4,000 additional miles on a 25 year old car. Unless you have some definitive proof just drop the matter.

 

Thanks. I figured it would be a long shot with them. I hear ya on the first car. He would have to prove he can handle it and will be doing classes together, he doesn't know that yet. If he isn't ready, then whatever entry Chevy is available at the time will be in the driveway, lol. I have not looked at insurance costs yet. Trying to dot all i's and cross all t's for the title, then insure based on that outcome.

 

I'm not sure how to show my odometer mileage is correct and they are wrong. I'll see if my dealership can look and see if there is anything that would make them think the odometer stopped for a few thousand miles, then started back up. Only other explanation is the tech didn't actually check the odometer on data input.
Thanks!

 

My odometer reads the 53,098 (now was 53,095) and the service tech the looked over the car after the flood event happened input 57,604 miles. Since my odometer is less than the last service mileage input, I have an "Odometer Discrepancy" label on the title docs I got sent. I guess I'm worried about it making it so I can't register the car. I don't want the odometer changed as that is illegal, just the service record to be corrected. If the 57,604 miles is correct then most likely something else I'll need to worry about with the cluster. If this is resolved to match my odometer and I get a mechanic to okay the car, it is possible to get a clean title. That's a difference of about $12k in value. I don't plan to sell, but you never know what is to come.
Thanks for the reply.

 

If you were ever to try to sell in the future, I think trying to pass off a flooded car with a branded title as a clean title car is far shadier than a slight mileage discrepancy.

 

OP I'm not sure what you are trying to get out of this?

No matter the mileage it is a salvage title car.

It could be 5k miles off or 50k miles off it's not going make a hill of beans difference.

 

Make sure not kilometers to miles switch

 

I guess I was thinking there were 2 different parameters to worry about. In the end it doesn't matter.


Thanks

 

I don't intend to pass it off as a clean title. Maybe I'm being naive in thinking that if the car was checked over thoroughly by a certified mechanic it could get a clean bill of health. I'm confused on why insurance adjuster seem to have more say over this matter than a mechanic would. To label a car a flood salvage seems like a very broad stroke. The parameters for a car to be deemed a total loss seem to be in the insurance companies hands. I understand why that is. I'm just confused as to why a car can never be certified okay. If a flood happens and water enters the car and doesn't cause enough damage to be totaled out does the insurance company pay to repair and not label as a flood salvage? Serious question. I'm not 100% sure on the requirements needed to total a car out due to flood. I would assume that cars are totaled out when the cost to repair exceeds 50% of the value of the car, but maybe if a flood is involved it is 25%.
In the end it seems like this question can't be answered and I'm wasting my time.
Thanks for the replies.