No Service Records - are you concerned?
 

We are one week away from picking up my first Vette and so excited! Thanks so much to everyone on this forum for their guidance and information, its priceless!

Anyway the current owner does not have any service records on the car which is 8 years old. He states that he does all the servicing and oil changes himself. Is there anything specific that we should be looking for when we pick up the car knowing it wasn't serviced at a dealer?

Without the records, and buying from a private individual isn't of great concern, but I would insist on having a local dealer do a full inspection on the car including a compression test and at the same time a change of all fluids in the tranny and rear end.

I'm fairly certain that most owners do their own maintenance on their C6, so I would not be that concerned, but like it was mentioned, it may not be a bad idea to get a GM dealer service dept to run a GM VIS report for you to see if there are any outstanding recalls, etc.
You don't mention if it's a vert, coupe, auto, or manual.
Check the usual Harmonic balancer for excess wobble, see how old the tires are, take it for a test drive to see how it runs. Depending on the mileage, it may not have that much that could be wrong.
Once you take ownership, do the fluid changes for peace of mind.

As others say a lot of guys do their own maintenance l am one of those although I always write what have been done in a logbook, go for a PPI wouldn’t be a bad idea Good luck

Coupe and manual Grand Sport

Get a VIS history report from a dealer as mentioned to see if any warranty work has been performed & what extended coverages apply to the vehicle. There is an extended coverage of 10yr/120k mi on the clutch/master cylinder as well as a few others that may apply to the vehicle.

Mine hasn't been to the dealer since the warranty was up. I do all my own so I know it was done right. I don't keep receipts and I don't write it in a log book.

I wouldn't be too concerned but as stated earlier, get it checked out. After the freebies are no more, I do basic maintenance on mine, oil changes, filters.
In the back of the owner's manual, there is a section for notes, I annotate all services that were performed. I keep all service related receipts and have passed on to the new owners when sold. They do appreciate that.

Good luck with your new ride.

Agreed. My car went to the dealer for the clutch cylinder tsb, and that's it.

Yeah I do all of my general maintenance. With my Camaro I kept a log book. For the Vette I am starting to save the receipts for the oil/filter and plan on keeping those as well and do a better job than I have in the past. I don't plan on getting rid of mine, but if I come across another GS with a M6 in the next few years I may make a move like that. Shame 75% of them were A6.

I wouldn't be concerned, but as others state definitely get it inspected by someone that knows Vettes.

Although I do my own oil changes and maintenance, I do keep a spreadsheet when all this is done including the mileage etc.
That includes oil changes, tire changes, maintenance (brake pads, part replacements, etc)
I also keep "most" receipts of the purchases re maintenance, or at least on the sites from my account that I have purchased them from, so i can retrieve that info if required.
I'm well aware that not all do this, but it is helpful for my memory :)

I do everything on my 13 Grand Sport . . . its never been to my local dealer. About to replace the tires though . . .that may be the first

Keeping maintenance records is very easy with any of the phone apps available. I use Fuelly on my iphone and have everything tracked. No need for spreadsheets which was the old way for me. When I get a C7 the next owner will have reading material as well as receipts.

I must get me one of those phones :)

Was he the original owner? If he was and he did his own maintenance for the first 3 years (the B2B warranty) wouldn't he at least keep records for those years in the event of a warranty claim? And if the engine/power-train is 5 years/60K (not sure what it is) miles wouldn't he keep those records and for that amount of time for the same reason?

If car is what you want and everything appears in good shape, I would not worry. As other have suggested, for a piece of mind, you can always take it to a dealer and have them check it out.

I have owned 25 vettes over the years and well over 1/2 were used. When I buy used I always get the GM service report from a dealer and I will not buy one that doesn't have a complete service history with receipts for the service materials that were used, That is the only way you will know if they even used the proper weight and type of oil. If they bought it new the only way GM would have honored the warranty is with records and receipts even if the owner did his own service.

There is no way to know what service was done and at what interval time wise. I would be skeptical of anything they tell you, I have found that sellers lie and have caught them lying about ongoing problems that they didn't disclose when I asked them but showed up on the GMVIS report. The car looked and drove perfect but they had lied about not having any problems with the car.

If it was me I would walk away from this car.

Is he the original owner? What’s the mileage on the car? I would definitely run the VIN and take it to a mechanic. Put it on the lift to get a basic inspection and see if it has issues that should be dealt with.

Have you had full service records on every used car you ever bought?

JMHO, sometimes we tend to overthink things.

Just spoke to the owner and he has no issue with me bringing the car to the dealer for an inspection. He did say he would not let them do a compression test though. He said he gets concerned if it's not the right type of mechanic and they are unsure he doesn't want anything to get screwed up. He said he does all his own oil changes with Mobil 1. He suggested not doing Tranny and rear end fluid becuas the car only has 16,000 miles.

Here are the particulars.
2011 Grand Sport, Manual
16,000 miles
Person I am buying from is the 2nd owner
I am attaching a bunch of photos he sent me