designman

Thought you might be interested in reading this about a cracked engine block on a new Z06. It was posted on an Edmunds forum. Of course it's an isolated incident but at the moment it appears that Chevy has no intention of replacing the car, just the engine:

"Guys, you want to hear about quality, read this! I purchased a brand new yellow 2006 Z06 on the last of October, after waiting patiently for a few months. Note that I owned a '01 Z06 which I kept for 2 years and recently returned a '03 911 Turbo off of a lease and purchased the new Z06, thus to amazement of some of my friends went back to a Corvette after having a Porsche.

About 2 months ago after not using the Z06 for about 10 days, my Z06 woudln't start. I called roadside & received a boost. A similar situation happened 2 weeks ago, but this time after 4 or 5 days of not being used... Obviously a problem, so I made an appointment with my local dealer to check into the problem. This was this past Friday 1/27/06. Otherwise the car seemed to operate normally.

The dealership checked the battery and told me it was fine, but when they were about to return the car to have me go on my way, the car didn't start! They obviously kept the car and later in the afternoon informed me that it was a defective starter... It happens, right, no big deal. They would overnight the part and fix it on Monday 1/30/06... No problem...

Monday comes and I have a very unpleasant conversation with the dealership (who by the way are very professional) and I'm informed that when they car was lifted to install the starter... they discover a CRACKED lower ENGINE BLOCK!!!! They immediately tell me that they will swap in a new engine! The car is 3 months old with 1,300 miles on it, so you see the problem! I'm demaning a new car, NOT a repair!

Mind you, I have a number of friends who own dealership and know numerous mechanics! I speak with all of them that same day on Monday. ALL state the same. The only way this could have happened is that the engine was overtorqued on the installation, thus cracking the engine block! This car was delivered to me defective and quality control (what an oxymoron) at Chevrolet didn't catch the problem! Fine, things happen... but Chevy, you made the mistake, rectify it and give me a new car!!!

I call Chevrolet customer support, and get a very polite, non-comittal run-around. When I ask the lady who is a manager to let me speak with someone above her, she states that she will not as per her "guidelines." Coincidentally, that dealership where my car was being fixed had a visit from a Chevy field rep. and this issue was immediately brought to his attention. He obviously okays the engine swap under warranty, but when informed that the customer wants the car replaced, refuses it.

I immediately file a Better Business Beureau complaint, and receive a phone call from a GM's customer relations manager on Tuesday morning, who is apparently above the customer support manager with whom I spoke earlier... He is told all the facts and promises to get back to me on Tuesday 2/06/06.

I want the car replaced & my issues with the repairs are the following:
a.) Obviously the Z06 is a very high performance automobile, the dealer admits to me they have never did this job on this car, I'm afraid the reliability & performance of my car will be affected in either the short term or the long term. Nothing against the dealership, but they have specialists at the factory hand building & installing these engines, and now this job will not be done in the factory? P.S., I would feel the same had they told me that car would go back to the factory for the repair job as my confidence & security in this car is totally gone.
b.) A simple carfax will reveal that this car has a new engine, thus substantially affecting the value of the automobile. Again, Chevy delivered a defective car, they need to do right by their customer and replace it.
c.) We all know that owning a Corvette is an emotional decision, and surely the way I feel about this car has been substantially affected in a negative way. I still want to have a Z06, but this car is obviously not the one I will keep.

Finally, I feel betrayed by Chevy's immediate reaction to my situation. The company (GM)is having a lot of problems as we all know. I feel that we, as Corvette owners, are the backbone customers and need to be heard and I think Chevy/GM is very dangerously undermining the core customer base with these type of actions. I see myself and others like myself as GM's #1 customers. Not only do I own their HALO car which states to the world, take a look and notice, the Z06 is what GM is all about, but I'm also a repeat customer having previously owned another Z06! I still have hope that Chevy/GM will do the right thing and replace the car without any further action by me... I'm still waiting... But I'm prepared to take all steps necessary, including legal ones... P.S. I am an attorney.

All contributions & opinions would be highly appreciated. Anyone else ever have similar issues? Any ideas in dealing with this situation? Needless to say, I'm extremely distressed by this situation!"

Doug&Julie

...I've said it a thousand times...in the end it's still a GM car...

500

From my own appraisal of both cars is the Porsche better built? Yes, I believe so. However, that kind of failure (i.e. cracked block) is just a random thing that can (and does) happen to any car. There are horror stories for any car if you dig for them.

The C6 and Z06 are pretty decently put together, miles ahead of where they used to be. But, as with all things, everyone else has progressed too.

1AS

I've been ignored at both Chevrolet and Porsche dealres. There is one ZO6 cracked block story and a hundred 996 RMS sagas. The cracked block may represent poor assembly, but the RMS is poor design and manufacture.
As for no test drive, I certainly empathize but side more with the dealer. I would not want to be the owner of a new car that has been beaten by two dozen dreamers. The solution to the test drive is to find an owner who wants to show off his car.
The ZO6is a heavily upgraded C6, but the Caymen is a decontented Boxter. Which manufacturer/dealer is yanking your chain?

Doug&Julie

Does the Z06 go down the same assembly line as any other GM car? (I'm asking, I really don't know...) I'd worry far more about the build quality of any GM product than anything that comes from Porsche. GMs problems go far deeper than minor engineering oversights from Porsche (which get corrected quite quickly).

Alex, care to elaborate on your "Cayman is a dcontented Boxster" comment? Have you ever driven a Cayman S? Have you ever driven a Boxster? They're both brilliant machines...and the Cayman is different than the Boxster...

500

"Decontented Boxster"?

MagicMtnDan

I was gonna say how much you guys crack me up but I realized that tis is a Porsche forum. Over on the Vette forums they put down P-cars all the time too - that's the way of the Internet car forums.

Porsche is the most profitable car company in the world. Their prices are sky high and (IMO) way over-priced even though they make fine automobiles. I am a former owner of a 2000 Boxster S and I absolutely loved the car. But I probably won't ever buy another new Porsche again due to the company's greed.

Want to compare the Cayman and the Z06? Go right ahead. Want to compare Porsche dealerships to Chevy dealerships? You're crazy to even bother.

The Z06 is truly the best value performance car in the world. It will do everything any other performance car does at a much lower price and do it very very well. If 505HP is too much they have an even better bargain, the C6, which only gives you 400HP for a lot less money.

Instead of writing about how you dislike Chevys or the Z06, maybe you could spend some time explaining to everyone just how it is that Porsche justifies selling their Cayman S for more than the Boxster S when everyone knows a coupe is less costly to make than a convertible.

Wondering why Chevy dealers don't offer test drives of Z06's? Here's why - they don't have any other than the few that are sitting on showroom floors with way over-sticker prices. They are selling EVERY Z06 they make and there's continuing solid demand for these cars. No, they won't offer you a test drive on the one with the $100,000 sticker (still a good performance car value at that price). Just because you want to test drive a Z06 or buy one at MSRP doesn't mean that can happen.

I submit that if you're someone who buys a Cayman S instead of a Z06 then the Z06 really isn't the right car for you anyway. Being satisfied with 300 HP instead of 505 HP speaks volumes about you.

By the way, the Boxster S (and I'm sure the Cayman S) is a great car. It has incredible handling, brakes and the steering feel is as good as any car made. They're wonderful cars to drive and own BUT Corvettes offer those (like me) a great performance car value and they offer something I always wanted in my Boxster S - more torque and more HP!

I love performance cars and enjoy talking about them but I'm no Kool-Aid drinker (neither Porsche nor Vette). That said, I still want a C6 Z06

mooty

i dont think anyone here is saying C6Z06 is a bad car.
i think we all agree it's the performance bargain of the world. the lack of test driving is not excusable. not saying i must test the car on the lot. but how about a demo that's used for demo?

mooty

Yes but what will hurt the engine is taking it to redline within two minutes of putting the key in the ignition.
_____________
absolute. i wait until the motor warms up.
yes, i do EXTENDED test drives. 5 min around the block is not a test drive to me.
but when i go bother to go as far as test driving it, i usually end up driving it home.

500

So what does this say about me?

I think if you read most of the posts here Dan, people are appreciating the Z06 for the excellent car that it is.

pstoppani

Actually, the Z06 can't do everything other performance cars can; it can't feel like mid-engined car. It can't have the quality of the other cars either.

BTW - I owned a 2005 Z06 and loved it.

In a perfect world, I'd have a C6 Z06 *and* the Cayman S.

Virtigo

I am sensing a little BS in that post about the Z06. He states he bought it in October of 05. If that is true it would have been one of the VERY first to come off the line. People with those cars were on waiting lists for over a year and a half if not longer!!! Not a "few months". I could be wrong. But anyone can hop on the internet and claim anything they want!

Virtigo

Yes same assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky. But the engines are hand assembled by an idividual tech in another location.

1AS

Re deconted boxter:
Don't mean to start a flame war. I haven't driven a Cayman, since I'm not in the market. I was referencing the removal of the convertible top simultaneous with the price increase. Offhand, I can't recall a convertible model cheaper than the comparable coupe.
AS

M1nkster

No Z06 in 2005 2004?