I'm purchasing an '02 EB Z06 from a dealership either tomorrow (yes, they're open believe it or not) or Friday, depending on how much egg nog I drink tonight.
The car has a clean carfax and just under 21k miles. No piston slap issues, car runs well, motor is very quiet even when cold (well as cold as you get in south Florida). I know that carfax doesn't always show everything, particularly accidents. Any hints on how to check for this? Anything else to look/listen for?
Drive the car and just see how the clutch and tranny feels. A z06 tranny is a bit notchy due to the hight torque it must handle, but make sure it goes into gear well w/ no grinding and doesn't want to kick out of gear. Look at the tires and look for curly's of tread in the wheel wells. Carfax won't show evertying, but it you look over the car closely and drive it then you should be good. Z's are awesome so enjoy it !
Check the body seams for allignment, just in case carfax missed something. put on lift and check for leaks in the differential area. and like cobra said, check clutch and tranny for feel. you should be able to tell by this if it was run hard and put to bed wet, good luck. look brakes and rotors over good too, look for hot spots on rotors.
Check the obvious cosmetic stuff like sand blasted nose, body panel fit, windsheild chips, and wheel damage (curb rash). Also check remaining tire life and look for any signs of fluid leaks under the hood. It doesn't hurt to check for stored PCM codes, even though these are easily cleared by the current owner. Drive the car a while and then check for codes. Oil consumption and column lock have been troublesome on some C5's. If the current owner has had the car serviced at a dealer, you should be able to get a print out of the service history. Check for any major repairs or rework. If you have acess to a lift, a look at the underside never hurts. If the car's been modded, find out who did the work. If you find a good one you will difinitely be happy with your purchase. Good Luck.
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. They're all moot, though, since I just got the most unbelievable Christmas present ever from my lovely wife:
Crappy picture, I'll take more and post tomorrow. Its an '02 EB with 6000 miles, completely stock and in absolutely pristine condition. And she even got a pretty good deal on it.
Originally posted by steves AWESOME!! What a great car (and wife) you have.
Enjoy them both.
You, sir, have a PM... and it contains your Christmas present.
__________________ Liberty is to faction what air is to fire- MadisonFederalist No. 10
Better not take a dog on the space shuttle, because if he sticks his head out when you're coming home his face might burn up. - Jack Handy
It is stories like this that keeps me married. Give her kiss before you go to bed tonight, tell her how much you love her, and heck, give the wife a kiss as well.
Thanks for the well wishes, guys. The car is nothing short of incredible. The Z06 truly is a world class supercar and I'm thoroughly enjoying "bonding" with it. Can't wait to hit the road courses with it!
Just to clarify, my wife isn't a rich sugar momma (unfortunately). I was in the market for one and I am actually paying for the car, but my wife found the exact car I was looking for, negotiated a good deal and purchased it, and managed to keep it hidden for 2 weeks (a few of my friends were in on it). She gave me the keys in a jewelry box last night in front of our whole family. I just about died when I walked outside and saw it parked there with a big bow on it. The efforts she went to in surprising me are worth more than money can buy and I adore her for it.
Hope everyone else's Christmas was great too!
Oh, Cobra4B - that's not a chip, its a spot of drool.
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The efforts she went to in surprising me are worth more than money can buy and I adore her for it.
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