SouthernSon

Let's talk fit and finish, shall we?

I bought the '03 Z a couple of weeks ago with only 19k on her. A local couple here in Nashville bought it new (it was her car). They traded it in for an SUV for family considerations. Car is pristene. A complete service search showed nothing but weatherstrip adjustment, seat pad replacement, rotor replacement and windshield washer container replaced. The car still had the factory CAGS in place! I have been impressed with the rigidity of the body, the sweet sound of the LS6 that revs so willingly, and the neutral turning (yaw) of the vehicle.

However, in the two short weeks that I have had it, I have noticed little irritations. The driver visor clip is attached at such an off angle that the visor won't flip down without jumping out of the holder, the passenger windshield header fabric is falling down, the plastic molding on the driver side pillar is loose with a huge gap between the weatherstrip and molding, the console is tight against the driver side tunnel but has a half inch gap on the passenger side, the driver kick panel has such a gap that one can see the back side of the courtesy lamp. On the outside, the hood and fenders are so ill fitting on the passenger side that the gap at the rear of the headlight is 3 times as large as the front. Of course those weatherstrips are still huge and quite unseemly as one looks closely.

As I am pondering these things while the two vettes are parked side by side in my garage last night, I became infatuated with the LT4 all over again. The body parts all line up equidistant on all sides and are close and tight. The interior pieces all fit closely and tight with no squeaks or rattles even thought she has 96k on her. Everything still works and her torch red paint won 2 first place trophies last year.

I am a little disappointed in the workmanship of the C5. I just wish the crew that assembled my C4 had done my C5 as well. I believe I would have prefered the interior and body panels came as a kit so I could have installed with a little more care and attention.

Is my C5 simply a bad example or do others have the same problems on fit and finish?

sprinter

I have two vettes... my 2001 Coupe is ok fit/finish but the 2003 Z06 is absolute crap. Maybe the corvette factory should hire some Toyota engineers...

MGorman

Hahaha…..I also had a 96 LT4. When I purchased my 2000 C5 I noticed that the sticker prices of the two vehicles were basically the same. I wondered how GM could pull this off. The C5 was so technologically advanced, and a fresh design. How could it cost the same as the 96 LT4?

Well now I know………More technology + less quality = same price.

robertpel9

I don;t know i had 2 C4's and while there were a lot more parts to them i did not notice a decrease in quality on the C5. I will say there seems to be a cheaper look to the plastics.

The C4 cost so much because there was soooooooo many parts to it. The C5 simplified the design as technology had moved on. The C4 is a great car that is under rated but the C5 is better in every respect. I don't think quality declined at all.

Also you both talk of 1996 C4's, if they could not get it write after 12 years it would be quite sad. Go drive some 84-87 models and then talk about quality. I know i owned one.

MGorman

I agree that the older C4’s were pretty bad. I also agree that performance wise the C5 is better than the C4 in every respect (although the LT4 was VERY close). I love the fact that the C5 chassis is so stiff compared to the C4. BUT the C4 had better seats, a better sound system, etc. AND it didn’t have all the little bs problems like the column lock, fuel tank sending units etc.

I know all vehicles have their problems, but the C5 I have has had way more (and more expensive) problems than my C4 did.

shurite44

I realize you seem to know the history of the vehicle, but I would almost think it has been wrecked and repaired.

Pipes

First thing I thought of when you described the damage was that it had been in a wreck.

I do, however, know how to fix your visor problem. It's pretty simple, the visor has been partially pulled off of the supporting rod. All you have to do is push it back toward the hinge.

TheHammer

Cheap interiors that is for sure, but I don't know how anyone could stand to get in a C4 all the time. I looked at a few, but could not deal with the cramped interior. The footwell area for the driver was terrible.

ChipN

My 2004 Coupe is very well assembled. The only flaw is a 1" paint drip on the drivers side door just under the body side molding. My first thought was "how do you miss something like this?" but the more I looked around the more I saw various other paint issues on Corvettes (especially orange peel). My thought is that I would rather live with the drip than have a fix that introduces some other problem.

But all-in-all I'm very happy with the car. No squeeks or rattles, everything is alighed like it should be, etc.

HP_Addict

Congrats on the new purchase. It sounds to me like someone has had the interior panels apart before. Maybe when hardwiring a radar detector or other device. All the panels basically pop on and are held in place with minimal screws. This allows for ease of assembly but gives little room for adjustment. You should start be removing all questionable pieces and checking for broken tabs/clips. I believe that you can improve the fitment, given enough time and patience. I would just rather spend my time making the car faster.