Safety First - 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Safety First - 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Long-Term Road Test

Before we enlisted our 1966 Chevrolet Corvette as a daily driver, we first took it to a trusted shop for a safety check.

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kirkhilles1

Looking online it appears that there is a drum to disc brake conversion kit that'd likely be well worth the money. The car will never be "safe" in terms of modern crash/air bags/ABS/stability standards, but getting a quality set of brakes and tires (plus probably a new battery) would likely make large gains in drivability.

texases

? It has 4-wheels disc brakes. But I would add power brakes to it.

jpk112

Clean underside-Nice!

opfreak

safety first would mean replacing the tires with radials.

goaterguy

Cost?

saulster

So, all of these repairs and fixes were apparently no big deal but the selling dealer, Mershons, didn't do them. Did they inspect the car before selling it off for big dollars to you? Or just sell it even if they knew about the mostly pretty darned obvious items. Gotta wonder about their business practices one way or another. We are not talking about "mechanical" checkup, we are talking about a SAFETY checkup. And just plain noticing the obvious and either dealing with it or at least disclosing it to the buyer.

Let's see, no speedo ( and therefore no odometer as well, which isn't safety but is a critical function for condition and value ), no horns, no parking brake, all of which you found on delivery, and, then, the inspection ( you did the right thing and found a knowledgeable specialist ) finds a fuel line issue from a prior repair that requires a correct fix.

Have you talked with Mershons about this mess and, if so, what do they say for themselves? Do you have any more thoughts about you not getting a check up done pre purchase?

ebeaudoin

A lot of people are crying wolf about Mershon's not doing a safety check and certain things going unaddressed. What we must understand is that this isn't a modern-day dealer franchise. They're selling antique/classic/vintage automobiles. I agree, they should give the vehicle a thorough once-over. But at the end of the day, if the vehicle runs and drives well for the 1,000 miles/year most car collectors do, that's enough for them.

fordson1

If I had a lift and tools like you guys do, there is no WAY I would be PAYING somebody else to have the fun of working on it.

Everyone is always moaning about how back in the day, you could work on cars yourself. So...

texases

I'm fine with this first substitute pre-purchase inspection being done by a Vette expert. There are enough unique parts on one that it's a VERY good idea to have an expert look over it. Kind of like when they took their old 911 to the Porsche whisperer a couple of years ago.

saulster

Sorry ebeaudoin but I have to disagree with you.

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"ebeaudoin Posts: 249

June 3

A lot of people are crying wolf about Mershon's not doing a safety check and certain things going unaddressed. What we must understand is that this isn't a modern-day dealer franchise. They're selling antique/classic/vintage automobiles. I agree, they should give the vehicle a thorough once-over. But at the end of the day, if the vehicle runs and drives well for the 1,000 miles/year most car collectors do, that's enough for them."
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I do not give a )(*&&*^%$ that this is not a new car franchise dealer but a specialist selling "classic" vehicles. They are still selling vehicles for large sums of money with obvious and harmful inattention to safety and disclosure ( ie the broken odometer ) basics. If buyers continue to not do pre purchase due diligence and make excuses for these poor practices, they ratify and support these poor practices.

And, by the way, it doesn't matter to me if the buyer plans to drive 1,000 or 10,000 miles per year, why should that make any difference on safety and disclosure items like the odometer? The vehicle was still unsafe to drive ANY miles and still had a broken odometer which could lead to questions about actual miles and value.

So, would you buy a "classic" Corvette ( or any other "classic" used car or for that matter most any used car ) with no pre purchase inspection? Of course, if the car was local and you test drove it, you would notice most of these items for yourself but that's not the case buying long distance sight unseen like Edmunds did. How would you feel if your "classic" car was delivered to you in this condition? Both from a safety and value point of view?

texases

It's Edmunds' fault that a PPI wasn't done, not the dealer's.