Hey everyone,

Considering getting a used C7 Z51 as my next vehicle. How does the build quality compare to past Corvettes? I've searched some threads here and read publications, and I've gotten conflicting info. Initially the publications praised the C7 interior vs the C6, but I'm not sure if they're simply referring to the materials used or to the actual quality of assembly.

Most C6's I've been in sound very "crashy" inside when the driver goes over cracks and bumps in the road, and I don't think I could justify spending 40k + on a used C7 Z51 if that's still the case - it would make the car feel cheap and ruin the ownership experience for me. I've been in a buddy's Mustang (with their stiff suspension option and lowering springs) and when you go over bumps in the road, nothing inside rattles or makes noise - all of the noise stays outside the car and you simply hear the "thump thump" as you go over the bumps. It feels very solid and it's very confidence inspiring.

Any input here is appreciated. Specifically looking for C7 interior noise and how solid the car feels, especially over bad roads as I live in Pittsburgh and the roads here suck.

Thanks!
Joe

 

I have no complaints on my 19 z06 over the 3 c6's I have owned and the c4... Also been in enough c5's.

Seats are better built.

No odd creaks or groans.

Road noise is a touch high but that's the sticky tires.

Get a car with mrcs...

Sounds like you have not been in a c7... Go drive a few.

 

The C7 interior is much, much better than the C6 you drove in. It's better than the new mustang interiors imo as well. If you're interested in a C7, you should probably test drive one, yeah?

 

The best thing it to go test drive one like the poster stated above me. To me the ride feels like a very well built sports car. There is a trade off between luxury car rides and sport car rides. I can say that my friends Mclaren 570s is not noticeably better than my Stingray without MRC, except for the fact it feels a little bit more solid. But again, you will have to take a test drive.

 

On my list to improve the ride in my 2014 Z51 that you can consider:

Michelin all season tires. Some say that the non-run flats ride a bit nicer but I will go with the run flats.
Crazy Cowboy's sound deadening ($450 plus a day of your time).
For older C7's, suspension software upgrade ($350 at dealership).

You can research all 3 of these topics here on the forum.

Also, I have heard that the convertible is quieter than the coupe, but I have only been in a coupe for about 3 miles.

I did have a rattle in the driver's side dash vent that was replaced by a dealer.

 

Everyone has different standards and opinions just go test drive one and you will have the answer that matters most yours.

 

My 2018 Stingray sounds and feels extremely solid, especially when I have the Targa top off. The interior is snapped together using metal fasteners in the plastic and is a modern manufacturing approach. No worries!

 

I've put 57K on a 2014...

1. Interior quality is fantastic other than the center console lid wrinkling 2X.

2. Exterior quality is average... panel alignment is poor on some cars. I adjusted all mine in tolerance, but unfortunate I had to do it at all.

3. Exterior paint is poor on some early cars, but my 2014 was no worse orange peel wise than any of my 4 C5s. The later new paint shop cars have much better paint as they robotically sand all panels and then use a totally new paint shop with all new equipment and process.

4. The lingering issue is paint peeling at the bumper edges... even new 2019s have it. It's more prevalent on the front bumper where the bumper meets the fender on each side of the head light. It's bad panel prep... somewhere in the process all the mold release agent isn't getting removed from the part. The parts rub and the paint flakes off. Disappointing GM hasn't fixed it 100% over the life of the C7. I have a deposit on a C8 and hope I can depend on the paint to stay on the car. You'll see some on here incorrectly say it's due to joint tightness between the bumper/fender, but the C5 and C6 had tight panel joints there and I have never seen one with the paint flaking off. Paint flaking off is always an adhesion issue and not a wear issue.

 

C7 build and component quality is definitely better than C6 or any earlier gen. That shouldn't be terribly surprising. The same is true of all modern vehicles compared to 10 years ago.

 

The C7s do have great interiors, however, be prepared for some rattles. I have two or three in mine that I'm still working to track down, whereas in all three of my late model Mustangs, those interiors were pretty much rattle free.

 

"The lingering issue is paint peeling at the bumper edges... even new 2019s have it."

I agree with everything you said but have not heard of any new paint shop 2018 or 2019 having this problem. It is due to poor paint prep and seems to be associated with 2017s and 2018s painted in the old paint shop, just before the factory shut down for their $1B modernization. Do you specifically know of anyone who has had paint flaking between the front fenders and the bumper with the new paint shop? If so, then GM wasted $400M and it seems that there would be firings.

 

Unfortunately it is still happening on the new models painted in the new paint shop. Here is an example:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...nt-defect.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...e-repairs.html

 

Test drive several different NEW models/variations of C7s.
Then go drive several USED models/variations C7s.
Then make up your own mind about them.

My new C3 was mechanically and ride perfect. No creaks or any rattling. The interior was perfect too.
The fit of one body panel, and one area of paint were the only shortcomings the car had.

My new 2017 C7 Stingray convertible's construction is damn near perfect in every way.

 

Yep... it's still happening. I'm in a couple C7 groups on Facebook and pictures are posted there quite regularly of new owners asking "is this normal"?

 

That really stinks and heads should roll.

It really is not due to rubbing as many think, but to poor paint prep on the edges. The seam where this is happening is a fixed seam where the panels are flush against each other when installed properly. Moving seams like the hood, hatch and doors obviously should have gap and should not rub against each other. Thus it is not a design issue and it is wrong to perceive one will have a problem because panels abut each other without a gap

My production number was number 325 after the plant renovation and hopefully they were still spending extra time to make sure panels were properly prepped before painting

 

I feel your pain. This weekend drove through pa bottom to top on i81 in a Z51, and then back again in a Z07. I knew the second I hit pa i81 from road degradation. The highway was almost bearable outside the cities, but the road through scranton, wilkes-barre, harrisburg, Carlisle were all just patchwork quilts of one set of pothole patches after another, on top of each other, and some potholes that hadn't been patched yet. 45mph speed limits through the cities were welcomed, as I had more time to scan for the worst road cracks. I'll know tomorrow at the dealer when I get my first oil change and alignment check if my wheels didn't bend or crack from the roughest continuous road i've ever experienced on a Federally-funded interstate highway.

What's a vette like on a road like that? I have the widest tires: 285/30/19, and 335/25/20 cup2 michelins, designed for billiard table smooth tracks. 1 handed driving on a billiard table at speed. On pa i81 it was two fisted and my wife thinking i'm drunk as that vette darted from side to side of its own accord reacting to the varying heights and slopes of the patches applied to the base pavement. in some areas out of towns they put grooved strips across the road for no apparent reason except to make the Vette go BUMP BUMP every couple hundred feat. Extremely irritating.

I have the MRC. Suspension set for tour mode on both vettes. My wife noticed and I concur the new Z07 Suspension was softer riding than my old z51 MRC suspension with the.software update! Probably due to the softer rubber of the Cup2's. Both cars are verts and were tight as a drum. If you ever had sixties verts and experienced cowl shake you will be amazed, no chassis flex at all.

The elephant in the room. I mentioned the dreaded wheel crack and bend isssue that especially afflicts wide-body vettes. The forum consensus is to blame cheap old gm. Well, also blame BMW and Mercedes which have the same bending alloy rims. What gives? Well BMW and Mercedes are designed for table top smooth high speed autobahns; the Germans would not allow their highways to degrade to the same conditions that the American politicians in Washington have allowed our Federal highways to disintegrate to. Instead American politicians use the smoke and mirrors of impeach theatrics to divert taxpayers attention away from the fact that our Federal funding to maintain us roads and bridges has been diverted away to each representatives favorite pork barrel project for their district. DC bureaucrats can sure expand i95 to sixteen lanes of perfect asphalt in each direction far enough to get them home to their McMansions! So blame GM if you must; but also complain to your elected represntatives and tell them if they don't fix the ****** roads, YOU WILL FIX THEM come election day. Sorry for the soapbox, but if the roads are not fixed soon, all that will be able to navigate them will be Eisenhower's plan for deuce and a halfs travelling in convoys.

Or worse, states declaring eminent domain and placing toll booths on all of them!

To answer your question: if Pittsburgh roads are as bad as PA I81, and you don't plan to haul a vette to a track to enjoy as it was designed; i would not buy a vette, i'd buy a Raptor.

 

My ancient 2015 doesn't have it either...

 

I've owned 1 C5 three C6's and two C7's, both new and used though none went past 40K miles before sold/traded in so that
puts my response into a bit more limited category. Having said that the C7 is simply that much better; I had glove box door locks
just fall apart, C5 had the key insert plastic surround just collapse into pieces and other minor failures of an appearance nature.
Much more solid feel to C7 and so far none of the squeaks and rattles that older Vettes are "famous" for.

 

you really cannot compare a mustang to a corvette. One you sit way lower and have a sport car suspension in the corvette. However, as others have said you should go drive one and then look at used 2014 and see how they are holding up.

 

Can't compare to other Corvettes as this is my first, but its comfort level and NVH is way ahead of my previous car: a Nissan 350Z. That car was downright loud and knocked your teeth out. In fact the main reason I moved up to a C7 was my wife hated riding in the Z because the suspension was so jarring. Dropping down to 18/19 non-run-flat tires helped on my Z51 as I am not a fan of the OEM tires. I wouldn't get a C7 without the mag-ride suspension, putting it into Tour softens things up nicely. The car does have some squeaks and rattles, they seem just slightly worse with the roof off as the car flexes a bit more. Exterior panel fitment is not great, my bumper in particular isn't aligned very well. However a test drive is the only way to be sure as ride quality is pretty much up to the individual to determine.