Psychoholic516

Hey guys,

I recently traded in my '15 Z51 2LZ M7 on a '17 Z06 3LZ A8 (with CCB) and I'm absolutely in love with this car!

I'm a little concerned that the 'inspection' that took 2 hours didn't actually check anything useful. The tire pressures were all over the place (right side of the car were both 34, left side 26 and 28 respectively), the alignment is off a little bit, and a few times when I've turned off the car after not even flogging on it I keep smelling oil. I didn't buy the car from some podunk dealership, it was a very large franchise that happens to own a few nascar teams. Combine this with the fact that I've been asking for the GMVIS for a week now with virtually no response I have to say that I'm not overly impressed so far with the dealership.

I still have a bit of time left on the factory warranty (bumper to bumper and drivetrain). I'm definitely taking it in to see about the oil smell - there is no reason a car with 25k miles on it should smell like burning oil and even with the 44k I put on my '15 the alignment was perfect (actually other than it popping out of first gear occasionally I had ZERO issues with that car in 3.5 years). Should I get them to fix the alignment? I had a pretty less-than-stellar experience buying this car anyways and I'm not sure how much stink I should raise to make it right.

Thanks!

Chris (Psychoholic)

Road machine

Who did the inspection??? I would have taken the car to your mechanic for inspection. Anyone else especially if recommended by the dealer will not want to kill a deal, lest they get a bad reputation and lose work. The oil smell can be anything from spilled oil on the exhaust when they changed the oil to a lose valve cover to a leaking rear main seal. You can look under the car by where the Torque tube is attached to the motor. There is an inspection hole at the bottom of that bell housing( it isn't a bell housing because of the torque tube, but it is where it would be) If there is oil coming out of that hole, you have a leak in your rear main seal, but I think that is rare with these cars. It is more likely spilled oil, and will go away after a bit. If it doesn't go away or gets worse, check the valve covers. the only reason not to check them right away is that it may be hard to tell spilled oil from a leaking cover. If this car was modified at all, look for an oil catch can which may be overflowing or not installed correctly. Where were you thinking of taking this car for the issues?

Psychoholic516

I was going to back to the dealership that sold it to me and raise some hell with them, I figure I should at least give them a chance to make it right. I don't really have a mechanic I go to since I wrench on my own cars 98% of the time and since the last Vette was so flawless in it's execution of being a great car I hadn't really had occasion to find one.

Oh yeah, and the left bumper reflector almost fell out. A friend of mine noticed it when he was following me somewhere.

I sorely miss the experience I used to get at my local Infiniti dealer. They had great coffee, the service people were incredible, the waiting room was plush and well appointed. The dealership I bought this from has a daycare.

Road machine

Is this a GM dealership?? Also did you look for body or frame damage or recent repairs....the reflectors should not just fall out. Do not trust Car fax....that is easily bypassed, and usually ends up with sub par work.

Psychoholic516

It is a Chevy dealer.

The left rear quarter looks like it was painted (poorly I might add, there is a little paint run and some bubbles in it) but I can't find anything about it. The panel wasn't replaced and it was definitely a touch up (you can veerrrrrry faintly see where the paint line was at the crown of the quarter).

The carfax does have:

'Accident reported
Involving right front impact
Damage to front
Minor damage reported'

Also according to the Carfax it had an alignment about this time last year (about a month after the above incident).

Not sure what recourse I have at all - probably none I assume. It's not major stuff but more irritated at paying that much for a car that even used should have minor things like this.

Psychoholic516

I feel like I could use the wisdom of a customer advocate if such a thing exists in the Corvette world.

Road machine

Funny that the car fax says Right front damage and you see work done to the opposite side rear quarter. Did you see the car fax before you bought it, and did they discount the car due to the car fax report. If you see damage that does not agree with the car fax you may have a claim that the car fax was altered. I would call car fax to see what you can do.

Road machine

Who did the inspection??

Psychoholic516

Like an idiot I didn't run the Carfax before I bought the car. It does show where the car has been serviced in the past so I might try and reach out to them to see if I can get some service records on it.



The dealership. It was absolutely pouring rain so I didn't get a lot of time in the car before I drove off in it to go home. Didn't notice anything was even remotely amiss until 3 days later when it quit raining.

pkincy

Good luck getting it all fixed. At least you have the warranty. This is 100% the reason I would/will not ever buy a used Corvette from a dealership. You lose all touch with what has been done to the car. If you buy from an individual and they are honest you will get all service records and will know exactly what has been done to the car. And if you buy a car from a long time forum member you know you are getting the straight story. I bought my C6Z 4 years old from a forum member w 4200 miles on it and it was perfect and exactly as he stated it was. A great transaction. I paid a bit extra but the peace of mind and ultimately very successful transaction was worth it easily.

flying_vette

If they are not giving you GMVIS, try to get it from someone else. Worst case could be it has an engine mod (aka custom tune) that voids the warranty.

pkincy

Always do 2 things when you buy a new GM performance car. Have the selling dealer go to Global Connect and print you the Vehicle Build sheet. It give you lots of info including all the option codes on the vehicle but will also give you info on title and warranty status including any blocks if they exist. Then have the service department run the Global Diagnostic System 2 report on the flash history. It gives you some data and then also gives you the past 10 calibration part numbers. 1 will be hopefully the oem tune flash. 2-10 should read 4294967295 which in hex is $FFFFFF meaning blank or not flashed with any tune past the original oem tune. That does not take a tech more than a minute to pull from the aldl. If there is anything in Tune 2-10 in the flash history besides that code for blank, than somebody has tuned the car. It is possible that could be an updated factory tune, but at the very least you will need to ascertain what the additional tune was.

Bill Dearborn

Most shops vehicle inspection is nothing more than a cursory look at the car. Maybe hook up a code reader and see if anything shows up. Air pressure probably isn't checked. If the tires don't look flat they are OK. Putting the car in the air and walking under it looking for anything that looks out of place is about the best you get. Maybe shake the wheels to see if the hubs are OK. A quick look at the brake pads and rotors and the bottom is done. On top all you have is paint and dress items in the engine compartment. I doubt they even check the air filter.

As for the fresh oil smell some dry sump cars will smell like fresh oil has been spilled on the engine right after an oil change.

As for the alignment being off a little bit what do you mean exactly. All alignments are off just a little bit as it isn't an exact setting. Set the alignment on the machine and lock it down and check again, then drive off the machine and back on and the alignment changes without a single bolt or shim moving.

Bill

Road machine

Let the buyer beware. You should never trust the dealership to do an inspection unless they are putting some sort of guarantee behind that inspection. That said I think you need to speak to an attorney.....I am not at all sure about laws in Georgia but in some states they must disclose any damage or problems. Look the car over very carefully right now and note anything you see, including any modifications damage poor repairs like the poorly painted rear quarter. If your lucky there may be some mods that would void the sale due to not being able to pass emissions. (cats removed) tune that voids warranty. At the least you can complain about not disclosing the things you find....there may be a case for fraud if they said in writing that everything was good but you found things. The longer you wait the more chance they have to say it happened after you took delivery. Good luck, and keep us posted.....and name the dealer. Your experience will help others in the future.

Psychoholic516

I suspect 'caveat emptor' applies here.

It's the risk when buying a used car in general I suppose and especially something that is essentially a factory hot rod plus you do sign a piece of paper that says 'as is' as part of buying a used car just to protect them for such a thing.

After doing some sleuthing I did end up talking to the dealership who did the work on the 'minor front end damage' as declared by CarFax. Apparently the car was parked in a parking deck and someone came hauling *** through the deck, missed the turn and hit the front of the car pretty good. Something to the tune of $12k worth of damage but $9600 of that was just in parts. Not sure I'd call that minor damage but given how freaking expensive body panels are for a Z06 I'm not shocked and strangely I'm less irritated about the entire thing after finding that out.



Hadn't even considered it honestly but it does make total sense. Most cars I've ever bought for personal enjoyment (read: not my daily) have been bought from individuals through communities and forums. I'm admittedly not as good of a negotiator when it comes to buying a car from a community member versus a dealership.

Solid advice from everyone, thank you! Damned good forum!