Should I buy a Z51 without warranty?
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Should I buy a Z51 without warranty?
Hey everyone!
I am in the market to buy a 2015-2016 Corvette Z51 with the 7 speed manual. I found one locally which has EVERYTHING I want, it's pretty much fully loaded 2016 model with 3LT, Z51 w/ mag ride, carbon bucket seats, suede inserts on steering wheel, seats and shift ****, yellow brake calipers etc. They're asking 49k for the car and it only has 3k miles on it, however there's a catch. The vehicle was registered as commercial and was sold without a warranty as it was "given" to one of the executives in the local company that owns multiple car dealerships. He owned the car for only 2 months and put 2.1k miles on it, other than that the car has a clean title without any accidents and the car itself is very clean and drives with no problems. I plan to keep the car for about 1-2 years and do some light modifications like exhaust or headers.
So as the car is sold WITHOUT any kind of warranty I wanted to ask you guys for your opinion:
1. is it worth it to buy a C7 without a warranty? How much would I be looking to pay for maintenance etc (without tires) per year?
2. How do you guys think it will affect the resale value? It's sold now for 49k being almost brand new, MSRP was 76.5k, so what do you guys it might be worth in 1-2 years?
3. Is 49k a good deal or should I negotiate a different price? The car has been sitting for almost 300 days at the showroom so I'm a little afraid to buy it considering there's no demand for it.
Thanks for all your input, any tips/recommendations are very welcomed!
I am in the market to buy a 2015-2016 Corvette Z51 with the 7 speed manual. I found one locally which has EVERYTHING I want, it's pretty much fully loaded 2016 model with 3LT, Z51 w/ mag ride, carbon bucket seats, suede inserts on steering wheel, seats and shift ****, yellow brake calipers etc. They're asking 49k for the car and it only has 3k miles on it, however there's a catch. The vehicle was registered as commercial and was sold without a warranty as it was "given" to one of the executives in the local company that owns multiple car dealerships. He owned the car for only 2 months and put 2.1k miles on it, other than that the car has a clean title without any accidents and the car itself is very clean and drives with no problems. I plan to keep the car for about 1-2 years and do some light modifications like exhaust or headers.
So as the car is sold WITHOUT any kind of warranty I wanted to ask you guys for your opinion:
1. is it worth it to buy a C7 without a warranty? How much would I be looking to pay for maintenance etc (without tires) per year?
2. How do you guys think it will affect the resale value? It's sold now for 49k being almost brand new, MSRP was 76.5k, so what do you guys it might be worth in 1-2 years?
3. Is 49k a good deal or should I negotiate a different price? The car has been sitting for almost 300 days at the showroom so I'm a little afraid to buy it considering there's no demand for it.
Thanks for all your input, any tips/recommendations are very welcomed!
#3
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Mar 2000
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Why does it not have factory warranty of 3 years or 36,000 bumper to bumper and 5 years 60,000 power train?
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djpatrick35 (02-27-2017)
#4
Tech Contributor
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Is the complete warranty gone or just the powertrain portion of the warranty? Power trains are pretty robust so the likelihood of a major (costly) problem occurring there isn't too great. Issues with the body electronics/electrical items and fit/finish issues are more likely to occur and some of those module prices will give you heart palpitations.
Bill
Bill
#5
Intermediate
Thread Starter
When I spoke to the dealer he said that when their dealership was purchasing the car they could get it brand new for significantly less if they purchased it without any existing warranty... and as the car was a "bonus" for some employee they tried to avoid the extra costs. Never heard about it but that's what the salesmen told me
#6
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Is the complete warranty gone or just the powertrain portion of the warranty? Power trains are pretty robust so the likelihood of a major (costly) problem occurring there isn't too great. Issues with the body electronics/electrical items and fit/finish issues are more likely to occur and some of those module prices will give you heart palpitations.
Bill
Bill
#7
Burning Brakes
Yeah, I've had a few things taken care of under warranty which other dealers might decline due to my mods - paint peeling on the engine covers could have been blamed on the added under-hood heat from my supercharger.
They even did a warranty repair on my seats which I had upgraded to competition, and got rid of some bass rattles in my doors that may or may not have even been a warranty thing.
I think if you find a good dealer, they'll be reasonable and work with you for warranty issues.
They even did a warranty repair on my seats which I had upgraded to competition, and got rid of some bass rattles in my doors that may or may not have even been a warranty thing.
I think if you find a good dealer, they'll be reasonable and work with you for warranty issues.
#8
Yes, but not for $49K. I would not, but you might.
A really loaded 17 is $80K list. At 20% off for a year old car = $64K
At $20K for the warranty = $44K. What do you think a new transmission would cost?
So, if the price was more like $40K, maybe.
However, a nice dealership should be able to write you a contract for repair coverage. Maybe, if they bridge the warranty to repair any problems at their cost you could justify the deal. But as is where is, no - do not do it. That is unless you plan to use it like you really did steal it and plan to void the warranty anyway. I just do not think the deal is good enough, but folks buy vintage at more than you are considering and no warranty there. So, again.....I would not, but you might.
Good luck with your decision. Pat
A really loaded 17 is $80K list. At 20% off for a year old car = $64K
At $20K for the warranty = $44K. What do you think a new transmission would cost?
So, if the price was more like $40K, maybe.
However, a nice dealership should be able to write you a contract for repair coverage. Maybe, if they bridge the warranty to repair any problems at their cost you could justify the deal. But as is where is, no - do not do it. That is unless you plan to use it like you really did steal it and plan to void the warranty anyway. I just do not think the deal is good enough, but folks buy vintage at more than you are considering and no warranty there. So, again.....I would not, but you might.
Good luck with your decision. Pat
#9
Instructor
If you want the warranty, could they certify it? At that point they would add money to the price but you could negotiate to a price you are comfortable with from there. I assume they may want to get rid of it sooner rather than later being that it has sat for 300 days.
#10
Price seems fair for that car. I don't understand the no warranty thing as the car is within the allowed time and miles. Even if the car is a Hertz rental I think the warranty is still good within miles and time. I would have the Vin number checked for service history you like really like the car. If you plan to buy a Grand Sport anyway why not pass on this car and wait until you can afford the one you want. If you buy the car and try to sell it within normal warranty period the next buyer is not going to like the lack there of.
#11
Team Owner
Price is not bad at all. But the whole warranty story is a bit weird, I would pass.
#12
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Sep 2012
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St. Jude Donor '15-'16,'18
There is something fishy. Unless the car was totaled, salvaged or used at a track it should have a basic OEM warranty. Heck, GM even extends the driveline warranty for commervial/ rental vehicles. Talk to someone else at the dealership and have them run the VIN.
#13
Safety Car
It appears nobody wants to purchase this car without a warranty. (300 days on the showroom floor) If you purchase the car, I wouldn't be concerned about depreciation, I would be concerned about finding a buyer for the car. I don't think anyone would want to purchase a used vet without a powertrain warranty. If you have any major problems with the car (transmission, electrical, engine) the costs will wipeout any savings you get with the low price.
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Rebel Yell (02-27-2017)
#14
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Thanks everyone! I also think that there's something weird about the warranty, why would it have no warranty at all if it's 100% stock, no accidents and supposedly belonged to an executive and not a driving school... I'll ask someone else to run the VIN and see if they're hiding something. On another hand I have one more option from a different local dealer. They have a 2015 Z51 3LT with all the same options (alcantara inserts, competition seats, M7) for the same price of 49k. Unfortunately it doesn't have the magnetic ride which is something I hoped to have due to many road trips. Nonetheless the car still has 25 months of full warranty coverage and seems to be in a great shape other than some wear on the seats. Would you say that this would be a better buy? Does 49k sound like a good deal for it having 21k miles? Thanks!
#15
Advanced
I'm curious to the no warranty thing too. If you have the vin I'd like to run it through GM website. To check history and current status. I've never heard of this before.
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Rebel Yell (02-24-2017)
#16
Intermediate
Thread Starter
#17
There is definitely something going on, and it sounds like there is a GM warranty block for some reason.
I don't know why a car sold "for commercial use" alone would come with no warranty, but it is well-documented that the cars purchased by Spring Mountain for school use are purchased at a significant discount and are delivered with GM-blocked warranties. The actuarial cost of warranty repairs are built into the price of new cars, so it's possible a dealer could purchase a new car with a blocked warranty at a steeper discount than their invoice price.
If that's the case, then it doesn't matter how "cool" a dealer is because GM has to approve warranty repairs for a dealer to get reimbursed. The first thing any dealer does is run a VIN check to verify that a vehicle is under warranty or not. If a warranty is blocked, there will be no reimbursement from GM, and it's all on the owner.
I don't know why a car sold "for commercial use" alone would come with no warranty, but it is well-documented that the cars purchased by Spring Mountain for school use are purchased at a significant discount and are delivered with GM-blocked warranties. The actuarial cost of warranty repairs are built into the price of new cars, so it's possible a dealer could purchase a new car with a blocked warranty at a steeper discount than their invoice price.
If that's the case, then it doesn't matter how "cool" a dealer is because GM has to approve warranty repairs for a dealer to get reimbursed. The first thing any dealer does is run a VIN check to verify that a vehicle is under warranty or not. If a warranty is blocked, there will be no reimbursement from GM, and it's all on the owner.
Last edited by Foosh; 02-23-2017 at 11:27 PM.
#18
Melting Slicks
there is definitely something going on, and it sounds like there is a gm warranty block for some reason.
I don't know why a car sold "for commercial use" alone would come with no warranty, but it is well-documented that the cars purchased by spring mountain for school use are purchased at a significant discount and are delivered with gm-blocked warranties. The actuarial cost of warranty repairs are built into the price of new cars, so it's possible a dealer could purchase a new car with a blocked warranty at a steeper discount than their invoice price
if that's the case, then it doesn't matter how "cool" a dealer is because gm has to approve warranty repairs for a dealer to get reimbursed. The first thing any dealer does is run a vin check to verify that a vehicle is under warranty or not. If a warranty is blocked, there will be no reimbursement from gm, and it's all on the owner.
I don't know why a car sold "for commercial use" alone would come with no warranty, but it is well-documented that the cars purchased by spring mountain for school use are purchased at a significant discount and are delivered with gm-blocked warranties. The actuarial cost of warranty repairs are built into the price of new cars, so it's possible a dealer could purchase a new car with a blocked warranty at a steeper discount than their invoice price
if that's the case, then it doesn't matter how "cool" a dealer is because gm has to approve warranty repairs for a dealer to get reimbursed. The first thing any dealer does is run a vin check to verify that a vehicle is under warranty or not. If a warranty is blocked, there will be no reimbursement from gm, and it's all on the owner.
#19
Intermediate
Thanks everyone! I also think that there's something weird about the warranty, why would it have no warranty at all if it's 100% stock, no accidents and supposedly belonged to an executive and not a driving school... I'll ask someone else to run the VIN and see if they're hiding something. On another hand I have one more option from a different local dealer. They have a 2015 Z51 3LT with all the same options (alcantara inserts, competition seats, M7) for the same price of 49k. Unfortunately it doesn't have the magnetic ride which is something I hoped to have due to many road trips. Nonetheless the car still has 25 months of full warranty coverage and seems to be in a great shape other than some wear on the seats. Would you say that this would be a better buy? Does 49k sound like a good deal for it having 21k miles? Thanks!
Last edited by Blue Batman; 02-24-2017 at 12:39 AM.