~Stingray

Hey Guys,

I didn't see a sticky on this so I thought I would get some advice.

Looking at a used vette, coupe. What should I ask, look for, and check on?

Here is my list at the moment:
- Carfax and frequency of maintainence
- VIS report to see what warranty and recalls have been done
- view window sticker or build sheet to make sure the car has the options that are stated
- if not buying from a dealer, check the VIN with the local police to make sure its not stolen (far fetched, but I have read a few stories recently)
- Chevy dealer inspection
---> ensure ECU pull to see if engine was tuned or something would void the warranty
- Look at signs for water damage in the carpet and under the car
- listen for a dreaded t-top rattle
- check the display for signs of cracking or going black
- (if auto) listen for any issues in shifting
- side bolster wear from poor exiting technique
- fender walls for stuck-on rubber splatter (burning out evidence)
- tire life
- oil level after test drive (wait for the oil to get up to operating temperature)


Anything else?

z51 specific things to look for?
--> if the oil was NOT changed at 500 miles, should that be a deal breaker? (assuming not on the carfax)
Magride specifics to look for?

kenownr

Some guys have mentioned to check the fender wells for stuck on spatters of rubber. They say indicative of track use, and rear with lots of rubber chunks could mean a lot of trips down the 1320.

pdiddy972

Have Chevy dealer pull entire service/maintenance history.

Also have them check the ECU for any flashings or reflashings so you can see if it was ever tuned and would have the powertrain warranty voided.

pika

z51 specific things to look for?
--> if the oil was changed at 500 miles, should that be a deal breaker? (assuming not on the carfax)

wouldn't that be a good thing? or do you mean not changed at 500 miles

I would possibly add tire wear, and definitely have it inspected

pdiddy972

Dry sump engines like on the Z51, Grand Sport and Z06 call for an oil change at 500 miles so that's a good thing to see.

Kevin A Jones

Look for a musky/moldy scent or more a strong scent of air freshener or febreze where someone has tried to cover the musky/moldy smell of floor/water damage. It's usually harder to get rid of the smell of flood/water damage in a car than cleaning up the mess.

~Stingray

Yes, that was a typo. I updated it. Would it be bad it there was not a service record for a 500 mile oil change?

Example:
05/29/2014------27------Riverton Elko GM Superstore Elko, NV 775-738-5131 rivertonelko.com------Vehicle sold
06/02/2014---------------Nevada Motor Vehicle Dept. Elko, NV-------------------------------------------Registration issued or renewed
06/25/2014------251-----Riverton Elko GM Superstore Elko, NV 775-738-5131 rivertonelko.com-----Maintenance inspection completed, Electrical system checked
06/26/2014---------------Nevada Motor Vehicle Dept. Elko, NV-------------------------------------------Title #NV007046746-1 Title issued or updated - First owner reported - Titled or registered as personal vehicle Loan or lien reported
08/14/2014------2,525---Riverton Elko GM Superstore Elko, NV 775-738-5131 rivertonelko.com-----Maintenance inspection completed, Steering/suspension checked
08/15/2014---------------Riverton Superstore - Chevrolet Sandy, UT 801-576-4600 rivertonchevy.com------Vehicle serviced
12/15/2014------3,334---Riverton Elko GM Superstore Elko, NV 775-738-5131 rivertonelko.com------Maintenance inspection completed, Oil and filter changed

thill444

I would not be worried about it (no record of first 500 mile oil change). When they first released the 2014 Z51 GM did not request the first oil change be at 500 miles. They added that later.

~Stingray

Why did they add it in later? I assume there was an issue so should there be something I concern myself about?

roadbike56

My understanding is there were a few blown engines and they determined that within 500 miles any small metal fragments ( I mean really small) would be captured and removed with an oil/filter change.
If the car you're looking at did not have the oil changed at 500 miles, but now has 10K on the clock, I think it's past the point where you have to be concerned. Just my opinion.

1SG_Ret

If you are looking at a 2014 this is not an issue, but 2015's and later A8 automatics can and do have issues w/ surging and other anomalies.

These issues can be infrequent and random or can occur a lot, but mine started to occur when I did a bit of spirited driving (nothing crazy, just some quicker accelerations w/ some braking and more accelerations) and then resume normal traffic operations.

Surging occurs (for me) when rolling slowly up to stopped traffic, the car will surge or lunge forward before coming to a complete stop. Some can be fairly mild other can feel like someone behind you hit the car in the rear end. You can check for this during a test drive w/o appearing to 'flog" the car.

~Stingray

So the needed 500 mile oil change was more for automatics? I am looking at a manual.

dmaxx3500

I thought that was for z06/7 cars

thill444

This is what the service bulletin said. Honestly at this point if there was an issue with this car not having it's oil changed in the first 500 miles you would know it by now:

Bill Dearborn

Wheel wells can have smeared rubber stuck in the surface if the car was on the track. Also look under the car as tire rubber will catch in various locations on the frame and floor pan support bars.

Check behind the front wheel wells, the lower doors, the rockers and the rear quarters for signs of paint chipping. The sides of the car are subject to debris blasting from the front tires and it is a cumulative affect on all cars whether or not they have side skirts and wide mud guards. The chips start as very small barely seen marks in the clear coat but eventually add up to the point the finish looks sort of foggy and when water is run over it the finish looks great.

If the car is a dry sump car run the engine until the oil temperature (NOT the coolant temperature) is above 175 degrees F. Then turn off engine, wait 5 minutes and check the oil level.

As for the dry sump 500 mile oil change some early cars may not have it done as it was something that came about after 2014 cars were being delivered for a while. I know of one 14 Z51 that did not receive the 500 mile oil change since the owner had the car for 6 months or so and several thousand miles and had already received one of the two annual oil changes that were provided for in the price of the car. This all occurred before the 500 mile oil change was introduced by GM. He has almost 20K miles on the car now and the engine is doing fine. I suspect that any car that didn't get the 500 oil change and has a fair number of miles on it by now won't be affected by the problem GM discovered.

Bill

~Stingray

Is there a gauge that tells you that? I know my mustang doesn't have that.

And what am I looking for? Should it be over the fill line because of heat expansion, smelling it for burning, etc.?

thill444

Yes there is a oil temp gauge in the car. See the picture below. My dipstick reads pretty accurate. You are looking for the car to either be overfilled or under-filled.

~Stingray

Got it, updated the list.