My experience has been that if you're really concerned about fit and finish, don't buy a Corvette. If you want a great performance value, it's hard to beat a Z06.
I am convinced that if GM decided fit and finish was causing a significant reduction in Corvette sales, we would soon see an improvement. You only have to look at the interior of most new Cadillacs to be persuaded that GM is capable of doing a respectable interior.
It's not related to price point either. Look at the fit and finish of a Volkswagen beetle, a vehicle that sells for 1/3 of a Corvette. I expect Volkswagen would lose significant market share if they allowed their fit and finish to drop to that of GM.
I think orange peel is a separate problem, brought on largely by environmental pressures to reduce solvent based paints. BMW has serious orange peel problems as well. Somehow, the Japanese have figured out a better way to paint cars. Perhaps the cars made in Japan are not subject to the same restrictions as Europe and North America.
It would be nice to hear from someone in the industry with an informed opinion.
I love everything about this car except all of the orange peel! Mine isn't too bad, but I've seen some C5 finishes that had unbelievable orange peel. You'd think that for 50 large, they could give these cars quality smooth paint jobs!
Overall fit and finish is good, with the exception of orange peel. If you don't like the orange peel, you can find a very good professional shop that can color sand very lightly to level out the clear, but it does reduce the amount of clear coat protection. I would only suggest this if you want a garage queen that is never driven. But, if you like a car to shine it will look great!
I did have scratches in the paint either from the factory or dealer prep. Not certain which one since I was not at the dealer when the car was delivered off the trailer.
Plastic trim moulding around the left front windsheild and door cracked in two and was replaced by non purchasing dealer (4 times to get the moulding around the drivers window even halfway correct, I finally gave up and got it close enough myself). So I am familiar with the wind noise problems as well.
Doors and body panels all meet up very close. No mechanical problems to date (only 850 miles on the odometer).
Paint quality is my biggest issue. You will find better paint on the GM pickups and SUV's!!! I don't understand why GM can't do a better job of painting one of there "Symbol" cars.
Originally posted by Black01Z06 But the paint - squirrel marks everywhere...or swirl.
I stopped in my tracks when I saw it in the bright sun. Dang...
Meguiar's Body Scrub followed by Zaino will take care of the swirl marks, no problem! I had the same swirl marks - all gone now! Big difference - looks 'liquid' now.
__________________ '02 Z06 , Electron Blue, Vortex intake, Magnaflow X-pipe, Corsa Indy, Stainless Works LT headers, LS1 Edit, TB bypass, Hurst, MGW Gripper, Born 2/20/02 380 rwhp / 363 rwtq
I grew up in my Dad's body shop from the time I was able to walk......started working on cars there around 1960 to 1972...I've seen alot of paint jobs.....I could'nt find ANYTHING wrong with my finish.....jusy my .02
i said pretty good. i also have 2 orange peel spots. also the front clip is starting to shift a tad bit. so you can see a larger gap between the hood and the clip. but it is plastic and plastic will do that. then again i have only owned "shitty "american made cars.
peace.............................
Pretty good here, fit of panels is OK and no squeeks or rattles but orange peel is sad for the price range. It is not as visible on my EB but some of the black ones I have seen have it really bad. Should be an easy problem for them to solve but they don't......
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Dave Thompson
Yorktown, VA
02 EB/ModRed Seats/Blk Delivered 25 May, 02
Lots of Zaino, Hole cover, Andy's Partition, CAGS, Lloyds mats, Chromies, Vortex Rammer.
pictures at www.picturetrail.com/aprsr
I voted pretty good. The fit in all the body panels are very good, no uneven gaps. The paint for being black is very good, however it does have some orange peel in it. I think orange peel is standard equipment!
carzzy
__________________
1994 Corvette Convertible
21st Corvette since age 18
Fit is excellent. Finish is good, but not outstanding because of the orange peel. Not too bad on my car, but I've seen a few that were pretty bad. My only other gripe about the finish is the softness of the paint... all you've got to do is look at it hard and it'll scratch. Bird crap, and even some bugs, can etch the paint within just a couple of hours.
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Jerry
'02 Z06, Mill. Yellow/Black, memory, mirrors,!CAGS, Chromies
'93 LT1 Coupe, Red/Tan, Auto
Ready to embrace the aging process, but I can't lift my arms.
If the panels on my car were lined up I would have to give it excellent. Im talking gaps that are not consistent and also some panels that sit a tiny millimeter different such that when you run your hand along the car you feel a bump when you meet the next panel. A little orange peel does not bother me. No squeeks, rattles or wind noise. I drive on some pretty rough and nasty roads and I have been really impressed with how solid the car really is.
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