marinablu67

It's been a long time coming! I finally sold the house up North, and have become a Floridian! I started looking for C6 Vert 08 up with 6sp manual and Z51. I've narrowed my search mostly to the Southeast, but this car is really hard to find. Most everything I have seen online have been Autos, or grossly overpriced.


I finally found just what I was looking for! 08 vert, manual, Z51 with 25,000 miles, for a very reasonable price! One minor problem, located up North. I said to myself, that people that have these cars, wouldn't dare drive them in the winter with sand and salt on the road! The photos looked very nice, so I called the dealer, and told him I was in Florida, and I'd have to have it shipped. I also asked him to please take some photos of the undercarriage. I told him living up North over the last 20 years, and driving my cars in the winter, I had to junk 3 cars.


Some how my keyboard just posted this unfinished post!


So I'm just going to continue.
He very kindly sent me pictures, and I couldn't believe that someone did indeed drive this car quite frequently in the winter after the roads were sanded and salted.


Here is one photo of the front passenger wheel, check out the deposit in the inside rim, and salt on the fender well! It broke my heart, because I really wanted this car! Once that stuff bonds to almost any metallic surface, it's just a matter of time!

LMB-Z

Congrats on finally getting to the warm south. Hope everything works out on the car. Let us know and it didn't happen without pics.

ART T

Which side of the bay do you live?

marinablu67

Thanks, but I didn't buy the car. That stuff gets into everywhere, and corrodes whatever it's on, even if you use a high pressure hose!


I had enough rusted cars! The search continues.

jrose7004

I just see a nasty under carriage.

Bruze

Yup, that's why we put them to bed before the first salt trucks come out. And it's worse now than it used to be because of the salt/calcium mixtures they use today.

LowRyter

suspension looks fine. I'll bet the wheels can be cleaned and will go for the life of the car.

Every time I look at the bottom of every car I cringe, there's dirt and grease under there too.

FAUEE

It looks like brake dust and road grime to me?

919cw313

^ Me too. Looks like a car that was treated like a car and just driven, instead of being doted on.

Surprisingly, not everyone enjoys cleaning wheel barrels and detailing undercarriages.

cv67

dont know anyone that cleans underneath, takes wheels off etc
most do a basic wash and drive

LV Vette

Do you think a power wash would remove the deposits? I had a little rust problem with a prior Vette and cleaned it of and used rust converter on it and it was fine. Just a suggestion.

Good luck with your search!

Judgebull

I would not be afraid to own this car. Clean it and paint and open corrosion. Corvettes are tough cars. Few hours I bet it would clean up really well. Remember if you want a pristine like new car you will have to pay a pristine like new car price.

Jimmy W1

Uhhh....I do. Every cleaner, like Turtle Wax ICE or tire cleaners that don't work, get used for cleaning wheel wells and the back side of my wheels. I get under mine and clean it all the time.

The picture of the under carriage by the OP looks like fluid that has leaked out from some place.

Cockroach

I call that patina, gives a car character. What fun is a garage Queen?

FortMorganAl

Looks like brake dust and general grime to me also. I lived most of my life up north and know how bad the rusting can be but aluminum doesn't rust. Neither does plastic. The wheel wells that you complain of having salt are plastic. The wheels and suspension are aluminum. Even the exhaust system that would rust so badly on a regular car doesn't seem to rust on a C6. A vert is going to have a steel frame but the frame is VERY thick compared to the unibody cars that rust so badly. I see nothing in the picture that shouldn't clean up just fine with some elbow grease. As said above, if you want museum quality when you buy it you will have to pay museum quality prices. But if you are willing to put some effort into it, you can clean any C6 undercarriage to almost factory original condition, if that is what is important to you.

Corvette_Ed

I pull my wheels off and clean the undercarriage quite frequently. It keeps everything looking new and removes road grime buildup.

RobLo

I don't see anything to be concerned about except MAYBE those drips/possible leaks in the radiator area. I live in the North, NEVER drove my car in the salt or snow and my undercarraige looks about the same, you're looking at a 9 year old car here...

marinablu67

That's good to hear! I'll tell you what, I'll buy the car, and when you're in Florida you can come to my house and show me how!

marinablu67

I lived on LI the first almost 50 years of my life! When I started driving, I don't remember cars rusting badly on the Island. I'm not saying they didn't rust, but compared to living upstate NY for the last 20 years, the cars developed terminal cancer after a few seasons of winter! They use a very aggressive combination of chemicals and sand/dirt that coats the whole underneath of the car and gets into every nook and cranny. Once dry it will not wash off even with soap and water(even high pressure)! I lost the brakes twice with my Jeep Wrangler that had only 90K miles! The front axle, control arms, and chassis were so corroded, that it wouldn't pass NY safety inspection, and had to be junked! When I got the jeep, it was pristine, and all it took was 5 winters to do this, even after washing it with a high pressure hose when ever possible!

The dealer that had this car was in NY, and he really tried! It was obvious that they took off the other front wheel in one of the other photos and tried removing the "normal brake dust, road grime", and as a last resort, tried something abrasive, like sand paper, or emery cloth, and gave up!

I'm sure someone will buy this car! I can't see spending over $28,000 shipped to Florida on a compromised car! I'd rather spend a couple of thousand more, and get a clean, nice driver, that's never seen snow!

RobLo

I'm "only" on the Island for 37 years but I came from neighboring Queens. I seem to remember when we first moved out here they used sand on the roads, never saw salt, at least in my area of Nassau County. All that has changed now as the use salt and brine, probably the reason our roads have gone to crap and definitely the reason I rarely drive my Vette from Dec. to April.
I'm sure you'll find a nice clean garage queen down in Florida, good luck in your search...