Chevrolet Corvette (C7) buying guide

The Z06 was built from 2015 to 2019, and the ZR1 only for 2019, according to CorvSport. Transmissions are a Tremec seven-speed manual with Active Rev Match or, from 2015, an 8L90 eight-speed automatic. The six-speed automatic used in 2014 came before either car.

On 2015 and 2016 Z06s, VetteFacts and Squeezed both report heat soak or differential overheating in sustained track use, with fixes arriving in later years. That is why HotCars points buyers at 2017 and 2018. If an early car has had a track life, ask what was done about it.

The 2016 Z06 C7.R Edition is the special edition within the Z06 line. On the ZR1, the optional ZTK package adds a much larger wing with winglets, so check build data to see whether a car has it. Our Z06 market page and ZR1 market page show what each looks like for sale.

The Grand Sport is a different car: the Z06's wide body and chassis with the naturally aspirated LT1. Hagerty and HotCars say many enthusiasts name it as their pick of the C7 line, and Squeezed calls a 2017 Grand Sport with the manual the best of the generation. The valve spring and lifter reports below concern LT1 engines, so they apply to the Grand Sport and not to the supercharged cars.

Some reports below name the LT1 or the Grand Sport rather than the Z06 or ZR1, and the text says where.

Eight-speed shudder

Many 2015-2019 cars with the 8L90 automatic shudder when you ease onto the throttle, and Hemmings says the cure is a fluid flush using Mobil 1 Synthetic LV ATF HP. The gearbox is also the target of class action suits alleging slipping, bucking and harsh shifting.

Torque tube and driveshaft

Worn driveshaft bearings in the torque tube and failed rubber couplers have become common as C7s age. You hear scraping or rattling, or feel vibration through the driveline.

Early Z06 overheating

Heat soak or differential overheating has been reported on 2015 and 2016 Z06s during sustained track use. Later years carry fixes.

Cracking wheels

Cast-aluminum wheels on the Z06 and Grand Sport were known to develop fatigue cracks, and two class-action lawsuits followed. Wheels are also the biggest group in NHTSA's owner complaints.

LT1 valve springs and lifters

A GM service bulletin covers trouble codes on 2014-2019 LT1 engines that can mean a broken valve spring, and a spring that breaks can drop a valve and wreck the engine. Separately, LT1 Active Fuel Management lifters can collapse, causing misfires or ticking, and some bent a pushrod.

Touchscreen blackouts

The screen can glitch and go dark because of a loose connector behind the driver's kick panel, per HotCars.

Battery drain

A car left a few days can come back with a flat battery, because of a parasitic draw that AutoTrader.ca reports.

PistonHeads gives the service interval as every 7,500 miles. Squeezed puts tires at $1,200 to $2,000 per set and brake pads at $300 to $800 per axle, so a car with a track history may need both soon.

Driveline work is the larger bill. Hemmings says a complete driveshaft assembly costs about $2,000 in parts, and the Z06 torque tube is nearly $4,000. Squeezed budgets $1,000 to $1,800 for an AC compressor replacement and system flush.

Buy a 2017 or 2018 Z06. Those are the years HotCars rates best, and they are not the years named in the overheating reports. Choose a manual, which sidesteps the 8L90 shudder issue, or an automatic with a documented fluid flush. For the ZR1, which came in one model year only, condition and the ZTK aero package decide the choice. Our Z06 listings are the place to start.

AutoTrader.ca judges that few of the alarming-looking problems come up often enough to worry about. Even so, skip the 2015 Z06, and don't accept a vague answer about the torque tube: ask for the work in writing and listen for scraping on the test drive.