elinter

Finally can afford my first Corvette. Looking at a low mile 2014 Z51 3LT coupe MT.

I've read through the forums and have some idea of potential problem areas, but are there any that the group thinks are a no sale issue that might be overlooked?

Skid Row Joe

Yes.

Avoid an out-of-extended-warranty used 5-year old used C7. Avoid high-mileage mercy buys C7s. There are literally tons of very low miles C7s.

.If you're stretching to buy a 5-year old C7, you would do well to not get soaked with repair bills at that point. Dealer headlamp change: $465.00! Get my drift on repair costs? !

.Oh, and contrary to what some here advise......DO a thorough GMVIS, AND Carfax check on the car.
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.Find an in-factory warranty C7. Best advise!


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Parcival

Skid Row Joe

Absolutely. ^^^^

jimmbbo

In general, C7s seem to be pretty trouble free. That said, without knowing the car's history I agree about getting a newer car with warranty remaining, or roll the dice that the car will not break. An alternative might be to purchase aftermarket insurance, but am unsure the cost of such policies. In any event, not having an extended warranty on a car where repairs can get kinda spendy is equivalent to financial Russian roulette.
If you plan to track the car, the Z51 is worth the extra cost. If it's a touring/daily driver, then looking for a base Stingray will save both initial expense and maintenance down the road. Also, IMO the 3LT adds mostly bling and leather touches to the 2LT which has the most useful options for a few bucks less.
Good hunting!

Billy346

The biggest problem area with C7's is the 8 speed automatic transmission. If "MT" stands for "manual transmission", that eliminates most of the potential problems. The 3LT can have problems with the leather dash peeling, so pay particular attention to that.

Corvettes tend to age well. I would feel confident buying a Corvette of just about any vintage given it has been well maintained and not hacked into by a previous owner. I've really enjoyed mine so far.

wlittle49

Just a quick note on extended warranties. I recently bought my first Corvette which is a 2014 base with 3LT and 21K miles. I hastily bought an extended warranty for $2,600 during the deal. Then the next day cancelled that because of the "limit of liability" sentence I did not read close enough. It had a $5K limit then the policy was cancelled. So you are paying $2,600 for something that could net you $2,400 which is a scam in my book. I checked with the policy claims dept and asked if I blew the engine and had a $10K bill, how much to you pay? $5K they said. OK, next week, the trans goes out, how much do you pay? Nothing, the policy cancels when we pay $5K.

Buyer beware on the extended warranties.

Jackie Chan

that's the shittiest esp I've ever heard of

Corgidog1

What a scam company.

to the OP, I would only get a low mileage (under 20K) 4-5 yr. old used vette. Tons of garage queens out there. My 2015 is an example-7k miles and perfect and out of warranty. Yes, anything could break at any time but I like my odds compared to a daily driver 15 with 40K on it.

4thC4at60

While I understand the concerns of buying used.... there's another side to these cars: I have more than 700,000 miles using Corvettes as daily drivers for 30 years. My highest mileage, trouble free, Corvette was a '94 C4 that had 168,000 miles on the odometer. The woman I sold it to now has more than 251,000 miles on the car, replacing only an AT, and, of course, the expendables: brake pads, shocks, etc.

The lowest mileage car was another C4, a '91, with 67,000 miles - I sold that car to a friend. He traded the car at 129,000 - he had zero problems with the car.

I traded a C6 with 128,000 trouble free miles for a CTS-V Caddy... the car was so clean the sales manager bought the car for his mother - that was 6 years ago, she's still driving it.

My C7 has 79,000+ trouble free miles...

Jus' sayin'....

Kenny94945

+ 1 for Skidrow post # 2

GM Extended warranty qualification.
Service history GMVIS, Carfax and all.
Yes, be aware tires and brakes are not inexpensive.
(Your decision to stay w/ a C7 or look to C6/C5.)

FWIW I'd avoid a used Vette with over 100K miles, more than
2 owners or heavily modified drive train as there are too
many Vette choices on the market.

Happy hunting for your new car.

JMII

Same here. I read these forums for about 2 weeks before purchasing my 2014 Z51 3LT and only two major things jumped out: leather dashes peeling up and touchscreen radio problems. Other issues regarding overheating are specific to Z06 supercharged models and transmission problems only occur with the automatics.

As mentioned low mileage C7s are common as many are garage queens. Thus the C7 market is quite different then your averaged used car. Cream puffs are common, for example there are people around here that have never driven their C7 in the rain! So for a high performance sports car most have been babied.

lakemg

What trans does your C7 have?

Mayor111

I bought a used 2014, 7-spd, Z51, 3LT - so Ill share what is needed:

1) Several folks have experienced a sporadic over-heating issue. The temp jumps way high, the dashboard error message "over-heating engine" comes up, and your told to turn off the car. The failure point has been minimized down to (2) root causes. Failing radiator fan OR a leaking radiator caused by hitting a curb when parking (driver not used to a low front end). So make sure you test drive the car, and drive it for a good 20+ min to make sure it doesn't over-heat and that the fan comes on after driving.

2) 3LT dashboards seem to be unpeeling or bubbling. Look for this around the top of the dash and by the windshield.

3) Make sure you have a warranty on the car. I may even suggest a wheel and tire warranty cause we read about wheels and tires get damaged all the time...be prepared

4) Run a CarFax AND have it taken to a Chevy / Corvette dealership and pay to have them do an inspection...it will be the best $200 insurance policy you will ever spend. You want them to do a Certified inspection (same one they do when certifying a used car)... It wont make your car "certified" but they literally will inspect everything (they even tell you if a bolt is loose).

5) If you can swing this, ask to have a new battery put in...its a 2014, coming on 5 years now and the C7's are super dependent on a reliable charge (starting, both doors, all the electronics and computer systems)... If that cant be part of the deal, I would spend the money and just get a new one right away...I think it was $125 at my Vette dealership - its a no brainer.

6) Since its a manual - you want to look in the clutch fluid reservoir to see how dirty it is. Ill bet its gross or low (if its clean you should see the bottom of the reservoir). See if a flush can be included...if not - here is a link to my post regarding how to do the "ranger method" yourself...very easy: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...fluid-low.html

Good Luck - the Z51 is the best (performance) bang for your buck with a C7...you will love it!

4thC4at60

I have a MN, but my buddy has a '15 with 81,000 miles on the A8 and zero problems - he shipped the car to Europe and ran around for a year over there.... there are several C7s in my area with A8s with miles in excess of 50K and zero problems. My next door neighbor has an A8 '16 that she drives from just North of Dallas to North Carolina every other month. She has about 85K on the car, zero problems.

orca1946

Buy what you like with the thought of all cars need repair at some point.

bc928

This is a pretty simple car. Sure, major issues can be expensive.

Advising someone not to buy a 4 year old example because that is what is in their budget is extreme.

elinter

I really appreciate all the great advice. The car I'm interested in only has 9200 miles and is listed about 2K below bluebook. Just noticed its a 2LT vice 3LT though. Can I post a link?

CARFAX report shows regular maintenance and only apparent major service was the "Body computer/module replaced" at 7K miles at about 2 years old.

Of course the dealer offers an extend warranty, but have asked to see the contract.

Zjoe6

I'd look for a Grand Sport. So awesome.

hemistar1