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New to corvettes and I’m dead set on a manually coupe 08+. Been talking to a dealer a couple hundred miles from me about a corvette they have and I’m wondering if there’s anything else I need I ask for. Mainly I’m worried about it not being mechanically in shape. Car is one owner 2010 GS with 66k Miles on it. No accidents or anything, I’ve asked for pictures of the underbody everything look to be in shape and from the pics I don’t see any leaks. But what I’m concerned about is something the dealer isn’t telling me, obviously they just wanna make the sale and I don’t want or need to spend 27k on a car and it give me major issues right off the get go. He’s sent videos of the car running that I will try to attach, and some pictures of the car as well. Any advice at all would be appreciated this is my first corvette and I just don’t want to pass on this deal if it’s not a scam. Thanks in advance.
Best thing you can do is go and test drive it and give it a good look over in person. Take someone else with you that knows cars as well so they can catch things you might miss. Took me a few months to find my C6 Z, and I drove 400 miles for it.
Personally, I'd look for a vette with about 5k miles per year. They're out there. But. There nothing necessarily wrong with a car that has 8k miles per year. See if the dealer will throw in an extended warranty, at least on drive train, at no extra cost.
Been talking to a dealer a couple hundred miles from me about a corvette they have and I’m wondering if there’s anything else I need I ask for.
I don't think there's anything else you can ask them, or trust them to answer. You need to either pull the trigger blindly, or...
As mentioned, get a VIS report to see any work done at a dealership. Look at a Carfax, too, for any maintenance done. DON'T trust Carfax regarding accidents, however.
If you're serious about buying this, ask in the regional forum for a local member to check it out for you in person. I'm sure there is someone willing to a least take it for a drive and give first-hand opinions of it.
Assuming it passes the local's preliminary inspection, get a PPI done at a shop that specializes in Corvettes. I don't hate dealerships, I just don't think this is their strong suit.
Yes says clean title. I’ve considered doing a pre purchase inspection At the nearest chevy dealer. Does anyone have any experience with that?
I did that on a 08Z I bought last year from a Jeep stealership 600 miles from where I live, they sent me a lot of pictures. I made sure they sent close-up's of the front bumper and area near the rear brake ducts, these areas are prone to getting rock chips that usually can't be seen from far distant shots. Get close-up's of both seats and side of seats, under floor mats to see carpet condition, all 4 rims to see if there are any curb rash, engine bay. If it has the leather dash trim, get a few pictures of that, they have a tendency to lift due to glue failure, I believe it is a 3LT option, check into it. When I did this I ended up making an offer on the car and putting a refundable deposit on it via CC on the contingency that they bring the car to the nearest Chevy dealership for a used car inspection. I had to make the arrangements with the Chevy dealership for the inspection which ran me $120, I then called Jeep and told them appointment was made and paid for. The next day Chevy emailed me the inspection report and maintenance records. The inspection report included, rotor measurements, brake pads measurements, tire tread measurements, battery output reading, check fluids, belts, exhaust system components, Evap system, A/C, drive axle leaks and wiper blades. There will be a section where they have recommendations, for me they recommended wiper blade be changed and that was about it. I will PM you with what the report will look like. This all started on a Wednesday and had the report on a Friday, I took care of financing Friday, made the trip at 3am Saturday, arrived 10 minutes before they opened, no need to haggle as we already did that on Wednesday. Signed papers, drove across the street to Autozone and picked up a good pair of wiper blades and back home in my garage by 8pm. Long day but, one hell of a memory.
If you're serious about buying this, ask in the regional forum for a local member to check it out for you in person. I'm sure there is someone willing to a least take it for a drive and give first-hand opinions of it.
Having a local forum person check it out is a good idea, as long as he is not considering a new Vette, himself. A little over two years ago, a "local forum member" agreed to look at a vehicle I was interested in. He bought it.
I was PO'd for a couple days, but I learned something very valuable. There are far more Corvettes out there for sale than people realize. If you miss one that was what you wanted, another one will come along if you keep looking.
That's one reason I always advise to get everything you want when you buy one. If you for settle for one that doesn't have everything you wanted, sure as the sun rises, you will find one exactly like you wanted soon after.
Be aware that LS motors dont like cold starts once they get some miles. Piston slap occurs and they sound like a diesel until warm. It is normal. I actually got a great deal on mine because the previous owner and used car dealer didnt know what piston slap is.
I flew from San Diego to Detroit to drive and inspect my Grand Sport before I bought it. I found a nunber of things that didn't show up in the pictures and got the price reduced. Go look at it and drive it.
All of the above advice should be done when checking this car out but keep in mind at 66K, I would like to know if it is the original clutch, this is a $2500+ problem just waiting to arise.
All of the above advice should be done when checking this car out but keep in mind at 66K, I would like to know if it is the original clutch, this is a $2500+ problem just waiting to arise.
lots of folks with stock clutches at that mileage, but every car is different, and it is an expensive fix.
have $$$ prepared for fluid changes if you buy the car. brake bleed,oil,tranny,diff, radiator. it all adds up. also may want to do the clutch fluid (ranger method)
tires low? thats gonna run at least $600, if not $1200. When I bought my car last december it needed new brake pads. Surprised at how expensive they were so i went with the Duralast Golds. good reviews for a decent price. I'll need new tires next winter.
I also had to replace my accessory belts because they were squeeking. I thought, oh great, harmonic balancer, but it was just the belts for now. Be prepared for the Harmonic Balancer to possibly go out.
I also needed an alignment and tires re-balanced. I really dont know much else to look for other than what people suggested already. I still cant get the visor garage door opener to work. ugh. Also, if you work on your own car, be prepared that this forum has old posts with no pictures to follow. It can be tough if you're trying to do your own stuff.
04-24-2018, 09:20 PM
Found a grand sport im considering. Opinions?
