muncie21

haha, seems I'm not the only one to go out to the garage in the middle of the night to check body panel gaps and look for OP after reading this thread.

On mine, the body panel gaps look pretty good. Found a few very minor, imperfections that one would not notice if you're not on the lookout for them.

On one side the fender is very close (or could be touching) the front bumper/fascia; however no sign of rubbing or paint wear yet. Driver door gap isn't consistent from top to bottom and top of the door where it meets the fender crease is off a hair.

Having said all of that, it's going to be 60* here tomorrow (20* this WE) so I'm going to take'er out and enjoy the heck out of it tomorrow.....no worries about panel gaps or misalignment

Red Devil

The red one is terrible! Not sure if the dealership can send the car back but having that on the lot is an embarrassment to the dealer and GM.

TorchZ51

It appears that a lot of folks have faith that GM has addressed these issues and resolved them for the 18/19 MY. I would agree some cars are worse than others, but sorry to burst your bubble, just not going to happen anytime soon. It’s not in the GM business model for a mass produced car. We can all come back when the next C8 is released, and post about the same issues along with some new ones.

RFZ

my 17 ce gs is pretty darn good in all aspects of fit and finish. body gaps very good, minimal orange peel. have seen poor quality in the past on cars in showroom, but my last 4 new vettes have been pretty good. luck of the draw i guess.

Patman

I disagree! GM just invested a TON of money in the assembly plant in order to raise the quality of both the paint and the fit/finish of the entire car. Do you think they did this because they don't care about the Corvette? Damn right they do! It'll never be as perfect as a hand built car, but for the price it sells for, it doesn't need to be. I am very impressed with the overall quality of my post-renovation built 2018. Only the extreme nitpickers are going to be disappointed in the newest cars out of the assembly plant, and I truly feel sorry for those people. Maybe the Corvette is the wrong car for these types....

wrecker3

My 2016 Laguna Blue Z-51 was built in Sept 2015 and my car has almost perfect panel fit, very little orange peel

You have to remember this is a PLASTIC CAR !!!!!

Skid Row Joe

That's exactly right.

ALL C7s come with orange peel. Even the earnest Kool-Aid drinkers have admitted their C7's orange peel.

red62vette

The fit and finish on my '17 GS is pretty decent but not perfect. On the driver's side, the hood wasn't level with the fender so I had to adjust that myself. It was visible. It sort of makes me wonder what the heck the assembly workers are doing, and whether they care the in the least. They clearly should've caught that.

The fit and finish on my Porsche Macan is far better, but I'm pretty sure that car will be more expensive to maintain. I owned exactly one Benz, an S-Class, and it was absolutely the worst car I've ever owned. I didn't have it one day when it wasn't scheduled to go back to the dealer. The assembly quality and appearance may have been good, but the car was an absolute POS.

LT4CMG

Fair enough Joe. But we can either all avoid buying one of the most fun cars ever made, sit around and complain, or love it with the imperfections and all, correct them where we can and enjoy every minute behind the wheel. The latter is a lot more fun I think

Skid Row Joe

I just wrote nearly a $70,000.00 check for my new 2017 C7 on November 24, 2017. I think that speaks for itself.

jagamajajaran

These two Corvettes are located at Rick Hendrick Chevrolet in Norfolk, VA.

They currently have two 2018 Torch Red Stingrays for sale. The VINs for these two are: 1G1YA2D7XJ5100946 and 1G1YB2D79J5102362. I believe the one in the photo is VIN 2362.

They also currently have two 2018 Arctic White Z06s for sale. The VINs for these two are: 1G1YU2D66J5601086 and 1G1YU2D61J5601321.

The last Stingray off the assembly line before the 13 week shutdown was VIN 1G1YA2D78J5104302.

The red Stingray in the photo was definitely painted in the old shop.

NashvilleGrandSport

The way I justify some of the "stuff" with these cars is that you're paying for what you can't see. The engineering and performance "bang for the buck" are probably unmatched anywhere.

I truly believe that because in many respects the fit and finish on our two Nissans and two Hyundais is better, particularly on my 2016 Equus, which is flawless and is in the same MSRP range as a Corvette (although I paid nowhere near that).

Having said that, my 2017 GS seems to be superior in every way to the 2013 GS I traded in to get it.

RapidC84B

That explains the orange peel, but doesn't excuse the panel fit and peeling paint.

Yes... the performance of the cars and interior are great. My gripe though is GM specifically marketed the panel gap specs and attention to detail with this car. Just like they marketed the Z06 as the most trackable Corvette ever... I don't like being lied to.

RapidC84B

Looks great... you got a really good one.

JoesC5

My Mercedes is 19 years old and 2 years ago I had to spend $145 for a new MAF sensor that I replaced in my driveway. That's all I have spent on repairs. The C5 that I bought a year earlier was in the shop 14 times during it's first 14,000 miles for warranty work.

Oh, and I change the oil and filter in my Mercedes as I have two 4 post lifts in my garage for ~$25(Mobil1 full synthetic 0w40). ~$38 to change the oil and filter in my C6 Z06 with Mobil1 full synthetic 0w40.

While I didn't drop an exhaust valve in my Z06's LS7, I was proactive and spent ~$4,000 for new aftermarket heads to ensure I didn't(like so many other CORVTTE C6 Z06 owners did) end up with a broke LS7.

jagamajajaran

About "plastic" cars...

Extreme cold and extreme heat cause their panel gaps to increase and decrease as the temps change. I've watched panel gaps on all three of my C7 Corvettes increase and decrease in extremely cold weather and extremely hot weather. The OP's pics look to have been taken during the last winter weather event on the east coast. What may have not been a panel gap issue in the plant may have become one on the lot. There are more explanations for some issue than quality control at the plant.

RapidC84B

I am the OP... it was 50 here yesterday when I took the pics after buying a part for my car. The door gap issues at the front edge of my doors are there in summer and winter. They cannot be corrected any further. The doors are molded poorly and clearly GM made a change.

The panel gaps on the cars in my post are not the issue. The panel fit if he headlights and peeling paint and noticeable quarter panel ripple are the real issues. Those things won't correct on the red car with a little heat.

As I said the white car was basically fine and in the same weather.

jagamajajaran

Can you circle the lower door gap issue in a photo that are referring to? Is it the door to fender gap or the door to aperature panel?

Skid Row Joe

Your C7 headlamp bulb R&R costs up to $600.00.

Your German auto argument costs just lost.

patentcad

Ignorance is bliss.