C7 reliability generally blows
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 138
Likes: 14
St. Jude Donor '17
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,385
Likes: 86
From: San Diego CA.
Wait! I have a 2017 C7 Z51 2LT Watkins Glen Grey and it has wipers and a washer pump??????, hum never knew that. Now it has been in to the shop 2 times: 1 screw in tire, 1 oil change
Think those rags your reading, sometimes list stuff only whiners and snowflakes complain about. So far my Vette is good and reliable
Think those rags your reading, sometimes list stuff only whiners and snowflakes complain about. So far my Vette is good and reliable
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
I saw a list of unreliable cars and was surprised at how many were there because of transmissions. My 2014 is manual and it has only been to dealer for the air bag control module reprogram in over four years
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; Aug 11, 2018 at 12:03 AM.
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Drifting
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,385
Likes: 86
From: San Diego CA.
Robert. Off subject, but why do you change cars so frequently? Does each car you buy have different features? I mean you loose so much money on each transaction. Are there such differences in the years? Just curious my friend.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 793
Likes: 142
From: Texas
I agree with all that the Corvette C7 is a very nice package: The most beautiful car that I have owned, has tremendous handling, powerful powertrain, etc.
My experience following CR for years while buying recommended electronics or home appliances has been a very poor experience. Probably having better luck if I buy them straight without reading CR.
But need to be sincere even that I'm part of the Corvette community, is that my '14 Stingray has not been reliable compared to my prior cars that I owned ('14 Camaro ZL1, '11 Mustang GT, '05 Infiniti G35 Coupe which didn't gave me a single headache). Just my '02 Porsche 911 Carrera was unreliable as my C7.
My experience following CR for years while buying recommended electronics or home appliances has been a very poor experience. Probably having better luck if I buy them straight without reading CR.
But need to be sincere even that I'm part of the Corvette community, is that my '14 Stingray has not been reliable compared to my prior cars that I owned ('14 Camaro ZL1, '11 Mustang GT, '05 Infiniti G35 Coupe which didn't gave me a single headache). Just my '02 Porsche 911 Carrera was unreliable as my C7.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 57
Likes: 18
Right now I don't have enough miles on my 2017 M7 to rate it (4,500 miles). When it gets close to my 4Runner (187,000 miles) I will let you know how it rates. The only thing replaced on the 4 runner are the normal wear and tear like tires, battery, etc. When I took it in for my last oil change they told me it had the original water pump, and I said yes, and the original plug wires, plugs, etc. I hope my new Vette is just as reliable. So far I have no reason to doubt it won't be as I haven't had it back to the dealer for a single item. As far as all the normal political nonsense that occurs on most forums of any kind, I'll stay away from that silly senseless stuff.
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 57
Likes: 12
From: AZ
Corvette owners dont have many issues because the car sits in a garage most of the time! Lets be honest here, when you go to look for a used corvette anything driven more than 30k miles is too much, regardless of year. The number of vettes with low miles is staggering. If the older population drove their vettes like a 9-5 working DD Toyota owner, the number of issues would be far higher. Maybe I'll treat my Kia Optima like I treat my vette, the little princess would rarely need an oil change, much less any repairs required.
Last edited by the_darkness_vette; Apr 14, 2019 at 04:06 AM.
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 57
Likes: 12
From: AZ
Forums tend to be like a video game, reality doesnt apply much.
Vettes are normally high mileage DDs, practical, clear curbs with ease, get great gas mileage and easy to get in and out of. High fives ya'll!
Vettes are normally high mileage DDs, practical, clear curbs with ease, get great gas mileage and easy to get in and out of. High fives ya'll!
Last edited by the_darkness_vette; Apr 14, 2019 at 05:21 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,261
Likes: 4,750
From: SE WI
Drove my 2019 Grand Sport 4000 miles with not a single problem. All I can speak of is my own experience. I read about a lot of stuff here but I've not experienced any of it myself. My 2004 Z06 was same experience with more miles.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 5,348
Likes: 3,319
My Corvettes have been extremely reliable, especially my 2001 C5 Z06 on which I put over 100,000 miles - including lots of track time. The only repair was a check valve between the gas tanks. Everything was in good shape when I traded it in, including the clutch.
I wish my BMW was as reliable.
I wish my BMW was as reliable.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 485
Likes: 167
From: South Florida
Consumer Reports' "research" consists of sending out surveys to members, i.e.: People who subscribe to the magazine, and compiling the check marks of returned surveys. The problems with this are many. It's not a scientific survey. It is not shown that CR subscribers are representative of the total population of corvette owners. By definition, it's not a random sample. You have a severe sampling problem right there. Further, since CR does not publish the raw data, there's no way to determine just what this means. Did 500 owners of corvettes return the survey, or did five? You'll never know. It doesn't matter whether CR is left or right; the survey itself is not scientific. If you want a better sense of reliability, try True Delta and you'll get a much better sense of how well corvette does. If you rely on CR as THE source of reliable and valid information about cars, you're not doing yourself any favors. Spreading the myth that CR provides reliable information is a disservice to others.
https://www.truedelta.com/Chevrolet-...frequencies-52
https://www.truedelta.com/Chevrolet-...frequencies-52
Corvette shoppers don't really consider (or subscribe to) CR so it limits the Corvette sampling. But much more importantly, people who buy Corvette's are adventurers and don't need to subscribe to CR like those who need help choosing the best blender or A-to-B transportation. We don't need CR's assistance in car buying because we can turn a wrench and are more informed about our car from other sources. We are enthusiasts. Its purely a management decision by any manufacturer to spend limited budget funds on performance technology and less on perfecting reliability (extremely expensive). Chevy made their choice on that ratio, and Toyota made theirs. If Chevy put out the most innovative designs AND had the best reliability, the car would cost double, would be unmarketable, and you would not own one. It's a tricky balance but I think the ratio GM chose was perfect. No doubt, a few of us have been unlucky and have had issues that would not be found in a Toyota, but overall, its reliable enough for the price paid. If CR wants to compare Chevy's reliability-per-dollar-spent to Toyota's, then they must also compare performance-per-dollar-spent because the funds are always limited and manufacturers must make a choice.
Now, lets see the facts of what we are talking about...CR's exhibit A. Not too bad when you judge the whole context...
Scientific Negotiator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6,729
Likes: 2,036
From: USA
St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'10, '14
Corvette owners dont have many issues because the car sits in a garage most of the time! Lets be honest here, when you go to look for a used corvette anything driven more than 30k miles is too much, regardless of year. The number of vettes with low miles is staggering. If the older population drove their vettes like a 9-5 working DD Toyota owner, the number of issues would be far higher. Maybe I'll treat my Kia Optima like I treat my vette, the little princess would rarely need an oil change, much less any repairs required.
only single real issue I had with any of them was a broken power steering rack, and that’s because I’m a knuckle head and broke it on Road Atlanta doing “abnormal things”... HAHA
These cars are amazing, just drive them and drive them hard!
Racer
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 251
Likes: 83
From: So Cal
I've owned three Corvettes over the years, and they have all been above average for reliability. And they've all been my favorite cars to drive. I've not read CR ever really, but not even seen one for many years. I don't understand why folks are comparing a high horsepower sports cars' reliability to small economy cars in the first place. One would not expect their performance car to cost them less over the years than their low performance, high mpg, economy car, would they?