370Z or used LS3 C6???

Crash · 01-21-2009, 10:44 PM

^^^ Bowling Green plant is in danger of closing, although I doubt that GM is going to shed a tear since they want their manufacturing done out of country anyway.

I not only owned a LOT of GM cars and trucks, but I've also owned a Corvette. Made here or made anywhere else doesn't mean crap about the build quality in all honesty. The fact is that their quality control is horrible. Our hood-release sticker was upside down! No kidding!

GM cuts corners. Weld points are sloppy, components are made with cheap plastic when they should be made with metals, interior components are built like snap-together toys to make configuration changes a "snap" although after a few miles over rough road, those parts become looser than a 80 year old hooker. That's why everything rattles at every little bump. They blame their cheapness on American standards policies, health care, OSHA, etc, but the fact is that hardly ANYTHING is built in the US, and even more so, there's almost nobody in any GM plant. My high school had more people in it than a GM plant!

Subjective, yes. But correct, yes. Their build quality isn't an opinion, but it is a problem.

I agree, Corvette's interiors lack big time. The C5's interior felt less cheap, actually. The C6 uses a LOT more plastic on everything. For a 50K car (when loaded with the features you WANT), you're not getting much. GM's trying to make their money back for the retardedly stupid amount of money they spent developing the Vette.

Lug · 01-22-2009, 12:15 AM

Reliability ratings
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Reliability - MSN Autos

2005 Cadillac XLR Reliability - MSN Autos

Crash · 01-22-2009, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lug

Reliability ratings
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Reliability - MSN Autos

2005 Cadillac XLR Reliability - MSN Autos

Um... Sorry, I don't believe that at all. Those ratings (I believe) are bought and paid for. No way that GM has EVER had good reliability since the late 80s.

Lug · 01-23-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crash

Um... Sorry, I don't believe that at all. Those ratings (I believe) are bought and paid for. No way that GM has EVER had good reliability since the late 80s.

Look where Cadillac falls on this list. The Corvette won't show up as it's averaged in with all other Chevy's. Bowling Green is a totally different world than the rest of Chevrolet.

Crash · 01-23-2009, 02:14 PM

Interestingly enough, Chevy is below average. That I believe, but my friends Cadillac has been in the shop 36 times for completely unrelated problems in 3 years. That's 1 visit per month!

My sisters finances BRAND NEW CTS was in the shop for failed power steering and poor paint quality.

I don't care what J.D. says, experience speaks louder than words.

Lug · 01-23-2009, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crash

Interestingly enough, Chevy is below average. That I believe, but my friends Cadillac has been in the shop 36 times for completely unrelated problems in 3 years. That's 1 visit per month!

My sisters finances BRAND NEW CTS was in the shop for failed power steering and poor paint quality.

I don't care what J.D. says, experience speaks louder than words.

A friend of mine has had his RX8 in 12 times. That doesn't mean all RX8's are bad, it means the guys that built this particular one probably drank too much saki at lunch that day.

Also, the CTS isn't built at Bowling Green.

Pushing_Tin · 01-22-2009, 01:53 AM

I drove an new 08 C6 in December. I really liked it, but couldn't justify the huge one year depreciation on them. While it is a fantastic driving car, I couldn't get over the super mega crap interior for a $50k car. People then say, well you don't buy it for the interior. Well for me it's not the only thing, but IMO a $50k car shouldn't look like a POS Neon inside!

bossman · 01-22-2009, 02:17 AM

vettes are badass whips, the 370 is still a step above when it comes to refinement and curb appeal

TerribleONE · 01-22-2009, 05:20 AM

370 imo

Lug · 01-22-2009, 11:07 AM

The C6's (and the C5's as well) best feature is the incredibly lightweight body. Reducing weight is the best thing you can do for every aspect of a sports car. It's why the Lotus Elise and Exige operate at such high levels with minimal HP and torque. The C6 is a 1/2 step between the two. The cost is......the cost.

frost · 01-22-2009, 07:46 PM

I didn't have reliability problems, such as engine and drivetrain (as listed in on these articles). I had more quality related issues. Heavy squeaks, rattles and so on. My interior quality was so low (even in my c6 vette) that I felt embarrassed having people ride in it.

Crash · 01-22-2009, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frost

I didn't have reliability problems, such as engine and drivetrain (as listed in on these articles). I had more quality related issues. Heavy squeaks, rattles and so on. My interior quality was so low (even in my c6 vette) that I felt embarrassed having people ride in it.

Yeah... I've owned 7 GM vehicles in the last 9 years and the ONLY time I ever hand engine/trans issues was once. And that was with a brand-new 1500 Silverado. The transmission died the first week we owned the truck. Turns out metal shavings fell into the trans-case and they swapped out the transmission over night. So I will admit that their trans/engines are pretty good and reliable.

However, that truck had under 14,000 miles on it when we sold it 2 years later, and the problems we had with it were so annoying in that time. We had panel-warping problems, gauges went out twice, horn stopped working 3 times, and the list just goes on. GM quality lacks everything except the obvious feel of cheapness.

Skaterbasist · 01-22-2009, 08:06 PM

I love both cars. The 370Z is more of my type of car (unless you were speaking of the C6 Z06, which would be a no brainer

).

The LS3 equipped 'Vette with the Z51 package should far outperform the 370Z in almost every performance category possible.

brisk · 01-23-2009, 12:02 AM

i would prefer to buy new...
i had this same dilemna...

BMW Killa · 01-23-2009, 08:50 PM

Surprising list, it doesn't seem to agree with what I have experienced.

01-21-2009, 10:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Crash A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,853 Drives: 02 Corvette Z06 Rep Power: 590	^^^ Bowling Green plant is in danger of closing, although I doubt that GM is going to shed a tear since they want their manufacturing done out of country anyway. I not only owned a LOT of GM cars and trucks, but I've also owned a Corvette. Made here or made anywhere else doesn't mean crap about the build quality in all honesty. The fact is that their quality control is horrible. Our hood-release sticker was upside down! No kidding! GM cuts corners. Weld points are sloppy, components are made with cheap plastic when they should be made with metals, interior components are built like snap-together toys to make configuration changes a "snap" although after a few miles over rough road, those parts become looser than a 80 year old hooker. That's why everything rattles at every little bump. They blame their cheapness on American standards policies, health care, OSHA, etc, but the fact is that hardly ANYTHING is built in the US, and even more so, there's almost nobody in any GM plant. My high school had more people in it than a GM plant! Subjective, yes. But correct, yes. Their build quality isn't an opinion, but it is a problem. I agree, Corvette's interiors lack big time. The C5's interior felt less cheap, actually. The C6 uses a LOT more plastic on everything. For a 50K car (when loaded with the features you WANT), you're not getting much. GM's trying to make their money back for the retardedly stupid amount of money they spent developing the Vette. __________________ 2002 Corvette Z06 - Totaled 2003 Corvette Z06 50th Anniversary Last edited by Crash; 01-21-2009 at 10:57 PM.

01-23-2009, 02:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
Crash A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,853 Drives: 02 Corvette Z06 Rep Power: 590	Interestingly enough, Chevy is below average. That I believe, but my friends Cadillac has been in the shop 36 times for completely unrelated problems in 3 years. That's 1 visit per month! My sisters finances BRAND NEW CTS was in the shop for failed power steering and poor paint quality. I don't care what J.D. says, experience speaks louder than words. __________________ 2002 Corvette Z06 - Totaled 2003 Corvette Z06 50th Anniversary

01-22-2009, 11:07 AM	#10 (permalink)
Lug A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 1,926 Drives: 2006 350Z Rep Power: 20	The C6's (and the C5's as well) best feature is the incredibly lightweight body. Reducing weight is the best thing you can do for every aspect of a sports car. It's why the Lotus Elise and Exige operate at such high levels with minimal HP and torque. The C6 is a 1/2 step between the two. The cost is......the cost. Last edited by Lug; 01-22-2009 at 05:50 PM.

01-22-2009, 12:15 AM	#2 (permalink)
Lug A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 1,926 Drives: 2006 350Z Rep Power: 20	Reliability ratings 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Reliability - MSN Autos 2005 Cadillac XLR Reliability - MSN Autos

01-22-2009, 01:53 AM	#7 (permalink)
Pushing_Tin A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 2,875 Drives: E63 AMG Rep Power: 228	I drove an new 08 C6 in December. I really liked it, but couldn't justify the huge one year depreciation on them. While it is a fantastic driving car, I couldn't get over the super mega crap interior for a $50k car. People then say, well you don't buy it for the interior. Well for me it's not the only thing, but IMO a $50k car shouldn't look like a POS Neon inside!

01-22-2009, 02:17 AM	#8 (permalink)
bossman Banned Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Hawaii Posts: 169 Drives: 04 Xterra SE 4X4 S/C Rep Power: 0	vettes are badass whips, the 370 is still a step above when it comes to refinement and curb appeal

01-22-2009, 05:20 AM	#9 (permalink)
TerribleONE A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Socal Posts: 10,203 Drives: WOT Rep Power: 5851	370 imo

01-22-2009, 08:06 PM	#13 (permalink)
Skaterbasist Base Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 99 Drives: 06 G35 Coupe 6MT Rep Power: 268	I love both cars. The 370Z is more of my type of car (unless you were speaking of the C6 Z06, which would be a no brainer ). The LS3 equipped 'Vette with the Z51 package should far outperform the 370Z in almost every performance category possible.

01-23-2009, 12:02 AM	#14 (permalink)
brisk Base Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 132 Drives: 370z? Rep Power: 17	i would prefer to buy new... i had this same dilemna...

01-23-2009, 08:50 PM	#15 (permalink)
BMW Killa Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: FL Posts: 287 Drives: neezmo Rep Power: 189	Surprising list, it doesn't seem to agree with what I have experienced.