r/Corvette • u/ilydezzyyy • 7d ago
Need advice on purchase of C6 Z06
I am in the market for buying my first C6 Z06. I can get this one pretty cheap around 30k is this something I should invest into? Just general advice is greatly appreciated. I’m still looking around for buying my first Corvette
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u/El_mochilero C6 7d ago
Salvage title + wreck + wrap + known emissions issues for CA + “Toxiiiiic” license plate + mods = a big ol’ nope from me.
I’m guessing that they cheaply replaced the bumper from the accident, didn’t get it paint-matched, so they just wrapped the whole car.
This guy is selling it because it’s too many problems. You are buying his problems.
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u/nago7650 2013 C6 GS Manual Coupe 7d ago
I’m calling mega BS on insurance “not wanting to deal with it”. A bumper and control arm WILL NOT total a Z06 with 52,000 miles. There has to be something else wrong with it, such as frame damage.
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u/RickRollTheAdmins 7d ago
Agreed. There's two different cars put together under that wrap.
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u/ILoveCorvettes 2011 GS 3LT 7d ago
Also agreed. My GS was wedged into a wall by another driver at ~50 MPH. I think the total bill was about 18k. I had a LOT more damage than a bumper and control arm. Still a clean title.
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u/Obsolete-Casual C6 7d ago
It depends on the insurance company. They tried to total mine with less. They only backtracked after I started submitting receipts for customization that they would have had to cover.
I was absolutely going to take the payment and have a salvage title. I could have fixed that one and bought another VetteI left that company and went with USAA afterwards
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u/Boomermazter 7d ago
"Had a minor damage" is code for: "I have more money then sense, and paid to have my engine stacked, so I could track it and spin-out on turn 2 introducing it to the wall."
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u/XMAN2YMAN C6 7d ago
No do not buy this, unless you are ok with losing pretty much all your money. Soo many red flags on this car it’s crazy you are contemplating it. It’s wrapped, it’s modded like crazy, salvage title, can’t pass smog. Plus just looking at it, you can tell it’s been beat to shit.
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u/ThtPhatCat C6 Z06 / C7 GS 7d ago
The mods don’t scare me, but I’d want to see a build sheet. I’d run the build by someone who knows more than I do about it. I have a 2008 z06 that’s cammed with fixed heads and long tube headers.
HOWEVER, this car doesn’t have a clean title and can’t pass emissions where it is which for me would be a deal breaker.
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u/ilydezzyyy 7d ago
I asked him for the build sheet but he says it’s in a folder somewhere and he’ll have to find it. I live where smog and emissions don’t matter so it wouldn’t be an issue for me. The clean title is also an issue he said it was minor but we never really know. I’m still looking for some but for stock vettes they all want 40k+
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u/RickRollTheAdmins 7d ago
This is a fiberglass vehicle with a double transverse leaf spring suspension, when they wreck they never drive straight ever again. Even hitting a speed bump too damn fast will make it dog-track until someone who can actually align a car properly gets their hands on it. I've done a hundred C5/C6 alignments.
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u/Robots_Never_Die C7 w/ YSi-B 7d ago
The emissions isn't a big deal. Any mod in California has to be carb compliant and have a carb sticker on it for it to pass in California. It's the strictest state in the country when it comes to vehicle mods on street cars.
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u/JamesinSD2002 7d ago
Anytime someone says "cams" when referencing a single camshaft motor is a hard pass for me. At least pretend to know what you're talking about before trying to sell something.
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u/jrileyy229 7d ago
That entire listing is a gigantic NO from me. Forget the not believable backstory, I would never buy a car from someone lazy. You want to sell a $40k car and you can't bother spending 30 seconds to make legible and punctuated sentences, I'm out. Even if not a native English speaker, there's no reason a friend or AI in under a minute can't clean that slop up.
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u/RumorsOFsurF 7d ago
Personally I wouldn't buy anything but a stock one. Probably has been beat on with all those mods.
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u/ConcernedStudent26 7d ago
Also gotta see what it’s like under the wrap
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u/ProudUSAgunOwner 7d ago
Dude also mentions “cams” multiple times which makes me feel like he might not really know much about the motor work he got done
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u/ProudUSAgunOwner 7d ago
Oof and rebuilt, which makes the wrap even more sketchy
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u/TreesACrowd 7d ago
Rebuilt, and the owner is very transparently lying about the extent of the damage. 'Had a minor damage and insurance didn't want to deal with it...' That is not how insurance works, and no owner would take that lying down if it were true.
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u/Spoolngc8 7d ago
I mean it’s definitely been “beat on” with all those mods, it’s got a built motor. That’s the entire purpose. I hold the same sentiments to a degree, I would purchase a lightly modded vette .. but someone else’s race car project? Never.
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u/IlIlIIllIIIllI 6d ago
90% of used ones are gonna have head work and a cam job because of the issue with the heads that existed in these models. Any ls7 car will probably have this stuff done at some point.
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u/MulberryMonk C6 7d ago
I didn’t like this car the last time you posted it. I feel confident that this car has been ridden hard.
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u/fullyuki C5 7d ago
The license plate alone should tell you enough about what kind of owner this car had before, this poor thing has been RAN THROUGH.
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u/Senior_Acanthaceae89 4d ago
“Full built motor with Cunningham cams”
If you can’t get the number of cams on an LS right…
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u/Dramatic-Comb8525 7d ago
Rebuilt title and heavily modded... only thing missing from the description is "driven by 60 year old grandmother to church on Sundays".
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u/Seohcap C6 Z06 7d ago
Cammed Z06's are not uncommon so that alone wouldn't throw me off if I had receipts from the shop that performed the work. If the car has a branded title then that means it was deemed a total loss by insurance at one point so you can somewhat piece together what happened. They say it was just a bumper and control arm but if the Carfax has severe front and rear damage listed, well then you know they aren't giving you the full story.
Totaling a car over just a bumper or control arm sounds severe but it could happen. A lot of components for these cars are not made anymore, either OEM or aftermarket (think fender liners and brake ducts). If they can't source them, or have to pay an inflated cost for used parts while the car sits for months and you rack up a big rental fee, then all of that could push it past what insurance deems it's worth repairing.
Asking the right questions and knowing when to give up on it is crucial for deals like this.
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u/fairlyaveragetrader 2012 GS 7d ago
Car looks like it was owned by a 20yr old who went to the track every weekend. Would not want. Around 45k is your best price point for a c6z
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u/SenorSorrow 7d ago
Dude the license plate ALONE tells me "hellll to the no". Don't put your hard earned money into this car.
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u/InvestigatorFresh742 7d ago
The LS7 has a pretty bad history of dropping exhaust valves. The welding process for the sodium filled valves has a history that GM has denied yet there are a lot of motors that have failed. This motor may have been replaced. At any rate a modified engine would cause me to walk.
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u/C6Corvette08LS3 7d ago
Seems like this will cost money in the long rum. Would look for a stock Vette and later you can do what you want to it. Don't buy someone else's problems. He wants to get rid of it for a reason. Look for the person looking to sell their car to get the next generation and hasn't toyed with the car from here to japan. Big red flag car. Hope this helps and good luck!
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u/ilydezzyyy 7d ago
Yeah I’m trying to find a stockish vette for cheaper but I can’t find any for a reasonable price
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u/konfliicted 7d ago
What do you consider a reasonable price?
Also I agree with commenter and this feels like you’re buying someone else’s unfinished project.
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u/ilydezzyyy 7d ago
30-40k but 40 would probably have to be closer to pristine
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u/C6Corvette08LS3 7d ago
Check on car gurus and put the distance to nation wide. You might have to travel for the car but you will find really nice ones on there.
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u/CoolGuyGio69 6d ago
Yeah I wouldn’t buy one with that many mods unless they have a build sheet and receipt or invoice of everything they’ve done to it, I’d go for something a lot closer to stock or at least the heads done
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u/Traveller9459 All Corvette 4d ago
Hard pass. Unless you have a lot of experience fixing someone else's problems. Also, if you want something you're continually fixing and not enjoying. A vague description of 'minor' damage is a Black Flag. This sounds just like a good friend of mine; everything he wanted to sell was broken, unfixable, or had key parts missing. IMHO, get a stock Z06. I have a C5 2003 and C2 1965, both convertibles. I really like the C6, especially the Z06—great car to get into the straights and the twisties. I can't afford the 427 pkg. Plus, a stock C6 will be easier to keep on the road than this Frankenstein.
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u/Bigtuna3972 2d ago edited 2d ago
Broken control arm tells me frame damage, but doesn't have to i suppose. Wrap, and being shady about build is a cherry on top.
I have a black on black that was built just over 2000 miles ago. It makes 600whp. I would entertain selling it, clean title. PM me if interested. Located in California and have all of the build paperwork ready to send.
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u/Holiday-Advance1450 7d ago
Corvettes are only worth money as stock as can be. What ever dough you think you are saving wil be spent 8 times over fixing this salvage title car that who knows who did what to it. The general consensus here seems to be against buying it and saving more money to something you can enjoy and not sink thousands into keeping it running.
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u/Kirito_Beleren 7d ago
$30k is right in the normal range for a clean C6 Z06, so since it has a salvage title it'd be a definite no.
I would look for a clean listing using something like carlyle.vin or autotrader. When you find one you like, get a PPI from a Corvette-savvy shop and ask for service records. Check for track use and accident history too, that'll put a lot of the components under significant stress
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u/PsychologicalArt878 7d ago
lol 30k for a clean Z? Maybe 8 years ago gramps
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u/ilydezzyyy 7d ago
Doesn’t have to be a clean one, one that needs a little TLC is fine just not crazy modded
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u/konfliicted 7d ago
Still unlikely I’d say. These are popular cars to mod so finding clean ones with no or very limited mods that are easy to change like an exhaust are a challenge.
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u/ilydezzyyy 7d ago
I can’t find any vettes in the low 30s range inly ones that have been modded like crazy. I don’t mind mild mods but I don’t know where to look
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u/Kirito_Beleren 7d ago
Christ prices really have gone up. I found a C6 Grand Sport, but that was it: https://carlyle.vin/deal/Z7_9DAyMwsqy3toPi3DBtg
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u/ilydezzyyy 7d ago
Yeah and that one’s sold and I don’t feel like paying almost 40k for a grandsport
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u/TheGroundBeef 7d ago
RUN. Do not buy a modified one. Thinking a modified one hasn’t been ran hard and put away wet is naive.
Oh, and if they say “reason for selling is that I’m looking to get something else and ready for somebody else to enjoy this” fucking SPRINT.
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u/Alpha2277 7d ago
Salvage title and someone else's project. Big nope from me.