2008 Corvette buyer's guide: the first LS3, the fuel module leak and 2026 prices

GM’s August 1, 2007 release (opens in new tab) lists what changed: the bore grew from 4.00 to 4.06 inches on the same 3.62-inch stroke (376 cu in), the heads got high-flow ports in the style of the LS7 and the L92 truck engine, intake valves went from 2.00 to 2.16 inches with hollow stems so the engine could rev to 6,600 rpm, and the injectors came from the LS7. The power figures are SAE certified.

The result is a 6.2-liter LS3 V8, 430 hp (436 with the dual-mode exhaust). The owner’s manual puts the peaks at 5,900 rpm, with 424 lb-ft at 4,600 rpm, or 428 lb-ft with the exhaust option. Against the LS2’s 400 hp and 400 lb-ft, GM Powertrain called it the most powerful Corvette base engine yet. The dual-mode pipes are 2.5 inches across, against the Z06’s 3.

GM called the base car “true supercar, capable of 190 mph,” and the 2008 automatic “the fastest automatic-equipped Corvette ever”: 0–60 mph in 4.3 seconds with the paddle-shift automatic. Road & Track’s January 2008 test of a six-speed coupe matched it, at 4.3 seconds, with a 12.6-second quarter mile at 115.7 mph. The head-up shift light comes on just before fuel cut-off: about 6,500 rpm on the LS3, 7,000 on the LS7.

The Z06 kept its 7.0-liter LS7 V8, 505 hp, six-speed manual only, and the 8-quart dry-sump tank of the 2006–2008 cars; the C6 Z06 guide covers it in full. There was no 2008 ZR1 or Grand Sport: the ZR1 was a 2009 model and the Grand Sport arrived for 2010.

The rest of GM’s 2008 list, with the owner’s manual where it adds detail:

• A new manual gearbox. GM Powertrain’s November 2007 summary says the T56 “evolved into the TR6060” for 2008, in base cars and the Z06 alike (MM6; MZ6 with Z51). Wider gears in first through third, a stiffer case and fine-pitch synchronizers cut shift effort, for what GM called a “more positive and direct feel.”
• A quicker automatic. The six-speed paddle-shift automatic got “new hardware and a new controller calibration” for quicker shifts. In S it shifts itself until a paddle is pulled; from then on a stopped car pulls away in second unless the driver picks first (manual, PDF page 92).
• A new axle choice. Automatics got a 2.56 axle, or a 2.73 (RPO GU2, included with Z51). Every manual car has the 3.42.
• Steering. New machining inside the gear, a stiffer intermediate shaft and a new calibration, for better feel.
• The fob. The key now lives inside the Keyless Access transmitter: press the button near its bottom and pull it out (manual, page 2-4). It opens the glove box, and the hatch if the battery dies.
• Wheels and paint. New split-spoke standard wheels in Sparkle Silver (first seen on the 2007 Indy pace car replicas), with Competition Gray optional. Jetstream Blue Metallic and Crystal Red Metallic, both tintcoats, replaced LeMans Blue and Monterey Red.
• Inside. A Custom Leather-Wrapped Interior Package in Linen or Sienna (the 4LT and 3LZ groups), new trim plates and an audio input jack. OnStar, XM radio and auto-dimming mirrors became standard.

Owners noticed: in a 2020 CorvetteForum thread on LS2 against LS3 cars, most replies favor the 2008-on cars for the engine, steering and shift feel.

What 2009 added. GM’s June 2008 release gives the 2009 Bluetooth, steering-wheel audio controls and variable-ratio steering as standard, a 1LT convertible, a bright surround on the crossed-flags emblems, a 10.5-quart dry sump on the Z06, and the ZR1. Owners name the variable ratio and Bluetooth as the easy tells.

Bowling Green built 35,310 (20,030 coupes, 7,549 convertibles, 7,731 Z06s) for 2008, by the plant’s figures on Corvette Action Center’s production page (opens in new tab). The same page says the plant’s figures leave out the 500 Hertz ZHZ cars (see Pace car, 427 and Hertz editions), though its table gives them a row. No GM figure settles whether the true total is 500 higher, so every count and share here uses the 35,310.

No GM price release turned up either; prices here come from a dealer’s price list Corvette Blogger published in June 2007: $45,170 coupe, $53,510 convertible, $70,175 Z06, plus $825 destination. Each car was built around an equipment group. A 1LT coupe has base seats and frontal air bags only; every other group adds side air bags. On that list the coupe’s 2LT cost $1,495, 3LT $4,505 and 4LT $8,005; the convertible’s 3LT $5,100 and 4LT $8,600, with no 1LT convertible until 2009. The Z06 came as 1LZ, 2LZ ($3,045) or 3LZ ($6,545).

Counts are Corvette Action Center’s; shares are this site’s arithmetic. Z51 and F55 couldn’t be combined. The 3LT was the usual car (about 15,080), and 6,789 convertibles (89.9 percent) have its power top.

The rare one is the LS3 manual. Only 8,443 coupes and convertibles had three pedals, 30.6 percent: 4,029 with the standard TR6060 and 4,414 with the Z51 version.

Colors. Eight, all counted: Black 9,380, Victory Red 5,638, Crystal Red 5,420, Jetstream Blue 3,728, Machine Silver 3,660, Velocity Yellow 3,264, Atomic Orange 2,246 and Arctic White 1,974. Arctic White was the rarest and never went on a Z06, and the only Crystal Red Z06s are the 505 427 Limited Editions. Velocity Yellow, Jetstream Blue and Crystal Red listed at $750, Atomic Orange at $300.

Three special 2008s were built in batches of about 500, and a fourth car was never sold at all.

Indy 500 pace car replica (RPO Z4Z), 500 built. For the 92nd Indianapolis 500, on May 25, 2008, GM sent two pace cars (opens in new tab). Emerson Fittipaldi drove the race in a Z06 E85 concept in Gold Rush Green, “not a production FlexFuel vehicle.” Buyers got the other one: black and silver, marking 30 years since the 1978 pace car, with checkered-flag graphics, Indy 500 fender badges and the Z06’s rear spoiler. Each replica is a 3LT with Z51 and the 436 hp exhaust, manual or automatic, signed by Fittipaldi: 234 coupes and 266 convertibles, by Corvette Action Center’s VIN list.

427 Limited Edition Z06 (RPO Z44), 505 built. GM’s February 2008 release made it the first Z06 in a red metallic tintcoat, Crystal Red, with stinger-style hood graphics, “427” hood badges, chrome wheels and a 3LZ interior in dark titanium leather. Each is numbered and signed by Wil Cooksey, the retiring Bowling Green plant manager. GM’s price was $84,195, with navigation the only option, and GM split the 505 as 427 for the US and Canada and 78 exported.

Hertz ZHZ, 500 cars. A Hertz-only edition, announced on June 9, 2008, for the Fun Collection rental fleet at Hertz airport locations in 24 cities: yellow with a painted black hood stripe, the 436 hp LS3 with the paddle-shift automatic, Magnetic Selective Ride, ZHZ on the console and floor mats, and a Hertz emblem on each front fender. Treat any yellow 2008 with a hood stripe as an ordinary car until its paperwork says otherwise.

This put the 2008 at the top of the C6 complaint table. GM’s Special Coverage 15682 (opens in new tab) describes it for 2007–2013 Corvettes: a fuel smell, fuel drops under the left-hand (driver’s side) tank when the gauge reads above half, or a check engine light, all from a leak path at the flange of the left-hand fuel pump module. Dealers replaced the module. Because parts were short, GM ran the work in phases, and “The first phase includes all 2008 model year vehicles.”

GM’s warranty table shows where the money goes: 0.3 hour for the evaporative smoke and flow test, then 2.5 hours to replace the module on a Corvette with the manual transmission and 7.5 hours on one with the automatic. Those are GM’s allowances, not a shop’s quote, but the automatic’s job is three times the manual’s. The kits are GM 19354664, 19354670 and 19354676 (OEM).

The coverage ran 10 years or 120,000 miles from the date the car went into service (revision 03, January 2017). By this site’s arithmetic that ran out by about 2018–2019 on practically every 2008, so any repair now is the owner’s to pay for.

Of the 2008’s 589 complaints, about 305 describe fuel smell or leaks by the C6 guide’s keyword count, and NHTSA’s own fuel-system tags sit on 389. On a broader keyword count that finds 349 fuel complaints, 179 mention a garage, 78 mention the tank at half or above, and 91 name the driver’s or left side against 6 for the passenger side. A 78-page CorvetteForum thread, begun in November 2014, adds smell after filling, a leak at the top of the tank and a garage that reeks by morning.

None of it showed up when the cars were new. No 2008 complaint describing fuel smell or a leak was filed before 2012, and filings peaked at 66 in 2015, the year after that thread started. It’s an aging part, and a 2008 still on its original module is carrying one at least 18 years old.

The cure is known. A new left-hand module ends it. Ask for the repair order. Without one, fill the tank well above half, let the car sit, and check for smell at the rear and wetness under the driver’s side tank before handing over money.

Safety recalls for the 2008: none, by NHTSA’s count (opens in new tab), as the hub’s table says. GM still ran four campaigns that reach some 2008s:

1. Keyless access, program 07260 (October 1, 2007). On certain early cars, VINs ending 85105302 through 85106987, the car may not lock, unlock or start, and the dash reads “NO FOBS DETECTED.” The fix was a new keyless access module, GM 25882862 (OEM).
2. Low beams, program 14203 (December 2014). On certain 2008–2013 cars, heat makes the underhood fuse and relay box expand and bend the low-beam relay wire until it breaks; the low beams die warm and may come back as the car cools. Dealers added a jumper wire. About 43 of the 2008’s complaints mention headlamps or low beams, 21 of them filed in 2014.
3. Emissions, recall 14523A (September 2015). GM’s Product Emission Recall (opens in new tab) covers certain 2008–2009 LS3 cars built to California emission rules (RPO NU5): the engine computer is reprogrammed and both catalytic converters and the underbody pipe replaced. It’s an emissions recall, not a safety one, so NHTSA’s safety list doesn’t carry it; California also requires a proof-of-correction certificate.
4. Convertible top, campaign PB-08312. On certain 2008–2009 convertibles, manual or power top, the fabric may separate from the retainer bracket at the top of the windshield; the fix is a new bracket.

The complaint record. The 2008 drew 589 complaints (opens in new tab), against 386 for the 2007 and 152 for the 2009. That’s 16.7 per 1,000 built, the highest rate of any Corvette model year in the best Corvette years guide. Without the 349 on the broader fuel count, 240 remain, about 6.8 per 1,000 (this site’s arithmetic). Where the VIN can be read, LS3 cars drew 17.4 complaints per 1,000 built and Z06s 8.7, and fuel makes nearly all of the difference: 309 fuel complaints on LS3 cars, 24 on Z06s.

The rest of the file, by this site’s approximate keyword counts:

• Automatic stuck in Park or a balky shifter: about 25 complaints, every one with a readable VIN an LS3 car. No GM bulletin for the 2008 shifter turned up. GM’s 2008-only bulletin 4292 covers torque converter shudder and harsh shifts in the six-speed automatic, and PIP4304A slips in first to fourth or slow engagement into Drive.
• “Service Active Handling”: 21 mention it. Bulletin 060235002B (2005–2008) deals with a C0710 steering wheel position sensor code.
• Airbag light: 23 mention air bags. GM’s seat connector coverage, 15643, has expired, as the C6 guide explains.
• Clutch and axle: the clutch hydraulics coverage 14717 (expired) and the axle-chatter fluid bulletin 07-04-20-002A reach the 2008 too.

Valve guides (Z06 only). About 20 complaints mention valve guides or dropped valves (the C6 guide’s count), and every one with a readable VIN is a Z06. GM’s two dates don’t line up, as the C6 Z06 guide sets out: Chevrolet’s October 2012 statement named a small number of 2008–2011 Z06s, while in 2015 GM Powertrain gave Hib Halverson a suspect build period of July 2008 to March 2009 for oversize guide bores, and none for guides machined off-center. Treat a 2008 Z06 the way that guide treats every LS7: unproven until measured.

The VIN plate sits at the top left of the instrument panel. On a 2008:

• Position 10 is 8 (the model year) and position 11 is 5 (Bowling Green).
• Position 8 is the engine: W for the LS3, E for the LS7 (manual, page 5-95). An E in a car sold as anything but a Z06 needs explaining.
• Position 6 is the body: 2 for a coupe or Z06, 3 for a convertible.
• Position 7 is the air bags: 5 for frontal bags only, 6 with side bags. A YY25W is a 1LT coupe, and a YY25E a 1LZ Z06.

The Service Parts Identification label inside the glove box lists the VIN, paint and options: look for NPP, Z51, F55 and MX0, and Z4Z on a pace car or Z44 on a 427 Limited Edition. Corvette Action Center publishes every VIN for both: the 427s are all YY26E Z06s with sequence numbers (the last six digits) from 121429 to 130674, and the pace cars are YY26W coupes and YY36W convertibles numbered 124268 to 133836. A car whose VIN isn’t on the list needs a very good explanation.

Against a 2007: LS3 engine covers, split-spoke standard wheels, a fob with a fold-out key, and Crystal Red or Jetstream Blue paint, which a 2007 never wore. Against a 2009: no Bluetooth, no variable-ratio steering and no 1LT convertible. GM’s 2009 release lists the bright crossed-flags surround as new, but one owner’s new 2008 already had it, so don’t lean on that one.

1. The fuel module. A repair order for the left-hand module, or the above-half test described in Fuel at the left-hand module. On an automatic, remember the labor clock.
2. Low beams, warm. After a proper drive, with the engine hot, the low beams should still work. If not, the 14203 jumper wire was never fitted.
3. The fob. The car should start with the fob in a pocket. With a weak fob battery, GM’s Getting to Know guide says to set the transmitter in the glove box pocket, buttons toward the passenger side, then press the brake or clutch and Start (page 6). The battery lasts about three years.
4. Shifter or clutch. An automatic’s lever should leave Park cleanly every time and shift without shudder in D, in S and on every paddle; a manual’s clutch pedal should come all the way back.
5. Warning lights. No airbag, Service Active Handling or check engine light. A check engine light on a 2008 can be the fuel leak itself.
6. California cars. If the label shows NU5, ask for proof of the 14523A emissions work.
7. Convertibles. Look at where the top meets the windshield header for fabric pulling away from its bracket.
8. The Z06’s heads. Receipts for head work or a heads-off inspection priced into the deal, and the 8-quart dry-sump level checked the way the manual describes.
9. Run-flat tires. Every 2008 came on run-flats with no spare. A car now on ordinary tires needs a plan for a flat.
10. A pre-purchase inspection by a shop that knows C6s, with the car on a lift to see the tank area.

The battery guide covers the 2008’s battery and jump-starting, and the C6 guide’s checklist covers what every C6 shares.

On Bring a Trailer (opens in new tab) from January 1 to October 23, 2026, three unmodified base 2008s sold out of five listed, for $25,000 to $30,500: a median of $30,250, from a sample too small for that median to mean much. Over the 12 months to October 23, six base cars sold out of ten, median $24,500.

The three Z06s made a median of $58,500, pulled up by the 427 Limited Edition and the 418-mile car; add a track car sold at $35,750 and the median of four is $51,875. A 2008 pace car coupe with 10,000 miles was bid to $26,250 in November 2025 and didn’t sell. Auction cars skew clean and low-mile, so treat these as a ceiling for an ordinary car.

Archived copies of Hagerty’s valuation tool (opens in new tab) put a 2008 coupe in #3 (“good”) condition at $29,300 in October 2025, up from $26,800 a year earlier, and a convertible at $24,800 in July 2025. The specials sit within about $5,000 of the ordinary cars in Hagerty’s #3 figures: a pace car coupe at $34,100 (October 2025) and convertible at $29,000 (January 2026), and a 427 Limited Edition at $35,900 against $35,400 for an ordinary 2008 Z06 (both April 2025).

For the Z06, Hagerty’s December 2025 figures, as the C6 guide quotes them, run from $75,300 in #1 condition to $53,500 in #2, $37,200 in #3 and about $26,000 in #4. classic.com’s archived 2008 Z06 page averaged $51,857 over 54 sales (May 2025). These are what values did, dated, not a forecast. The C5 vs C6 guide weighs the 2008 against the generation before.

Buy a 2008 coupe with the six-speed manual, the dual-mode exhaust and a repair order for the left-hand fuel module. The manual is the less common car (30.6 percent of the LS3s), it has the TR6060 that 2008 brought, and if the module still needs doing, GM’s own clock puts the job at 2.5 hours against 7.5 for an automatic. The exhaust is the 6 hp and the sound. Add Z51 if the car will see a track; it’s on four in ten LS3 cars, so there’s a choice.

An automatic is fine, and seven in ten are, so it’s the easier car to find: buy one with the module receipt, or knock the bigger repair off the price.

The Z06 is a different purchase: 505 hp, the TR6060 and a median of $58,500 at auction this year, bought with head receipts or money set aside for a heads-off check. Buy a pace car or a 427 Limited Edition for the story, not for a premium Hagerty doesn’t show.

The 2008 is America’s sports car with 430 hp, the shifting and steering GM sorted out, and one known fault with a known part number. Fix the module, fill it up, and let the valves open on an empty on-ramp. The 2005 and 2006 guides cover the LS2 years before it.