trooper

I've been looking at C5's for about 6 months (and watching the prices drop) and found a relatively local 2000 A4 coupe with 100,000 miles on it. They are asking $15k. I usually look at condition more than miles and pricewise my budget has limited me to the 1997-1998 model years with most of them being in the 50k to 70k mile range. The car is 100% bone stock, typical options and looks more like a 1998 with 60k on it, nothing major needs to be fixed at this time.

Are there any specific problems with buying a C5 with this many miles on it, except maybe the even lower resale it will have after I'm done? What maintenance should have already been done at this time (trans fluid, coolant, brake fluid etc)? Thanks for all your help, this site is a great source of info on all vettes, I've owned a few in the past and am looking foward to stepping up to newer one.

Rick

madeouttaglass

Obviously higher mileage means some things are closer to needing replacement or breaking which costs $$, but at an asking price of $15K, how much depreciation is left? An older one at this price or slightly higher with less miles should cost a bit less in repairs but will cost more in depreciation. Your choice or should I say gamble? I assume it has a clean title?

trooper

I checked the title with Autocheck, it is a one owner car with nothing showing in terms of accidents or problems. However, just because no accident data shows up on a Carfax type search doesn't mean the car hasn't been in one. I have run several friends cars that have been in major accidents, one with over $10,000 damage just two years ago, and they all showed a clean record in all three services I have used. Just be careful, these services are only as good as the databases they are using. I only use the search as another tool in determining if the miles, condition and any other history data I have on a certain vehicle add up to what I see in person.

madeouttaglass

Not a problem here unless Stanford Chevy wrecked it when they took it off the truck.
Check it out closely and ask for service / maintenance records.

2K Vette

Too high for me. I would keep searching if I was you.

trooper

Will a local dealer Chevy dealer run a service history if you give them a VIN of a car you don't own? I bought a used Porsche 928S in Florida once and a local Porsche dealer ran a service history on the car before I bought it to verify the owners claims. It ended up being like 5 pages worth of history, everything from oil changes to timing belt replacements. I wasn't sure a Chevy dealer would do this, but I guess it can't hurt to ask. Thanks for the input.

jrose7004

I just have trouble buying a car with 100K on it!

Fastguy

Seems pretty decent price for A 2000. If the car was maintained, don't let the mileage scare you. These cars are so overbuilt 100k is nothing for a C5. Mine has 15k and I drag race it, autocross it and road race it.

JACKAL0PE

I'd be looking for a 97-98 with less miles on it.

a LOT less miles.

Vetteman Jack

The price is right, but I too get worried about such high mileage. Does the owner have maintenance records and has he followed the recommended schedule? You could probably get a '97-'99 for a few thousand more with much less miles on the car.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

100,000 miles is way to many miles to consider purchasing any mass produced car.

HummelS

Well, there's nothing really exotic about it - at the heart of it all, it's a Chevy V8, so if it's had good care, it should last a long time. Some guys buy 'em to drive - sounds like this owner enjoyed it! (I have a friend with a 2002 that's already pushing 80K, and it looks like it just came off the showroom floor.)

The Chevy dealer should be able to pull the maintenance history if you have the VIN - it will at least show any warranty work done.

screw991le

I got my 00' with 7400 miles on it.

leaftye

Replace the common wear items like valve springs and rockers ($1K), pads ($200), rotors ($100), wheel bearings ($300), headlight gear ($80), battery ($80), clutch ($400), fuel filter ($40), alternator and front crash bar ($250) and you'll have a Vette that'll be nearly good as new. Inside you may also want to replace the seat skins ($600??) and center console and repair the seat bracket to eliminate rocking seat probs. The only hard jobs here are the wheel bearings and clutch, but the clutch swap is much harder, and will aggravate you with a sticky clutch pedal if you don't torque things down properly while doing the job.

2 LOW 4 YOU

i bought my 2000 cp 6m with 15k miles for double that mint condition

MyBlueC5

Yes but how much did you pay?

Mark

MyBlueC5

I don't know if they will but if not, let me know, I'll get it run for you.

BTW, I recently bought a '98 convertible with 39K miles for 25K, though it's a convertible (a little more money) I would think you should be able to find something with a little less miles for maybe a grand or two more.

When I was looking, I was finding '99's with 70-80K miles for 16-18K.

If I can help you with the VIN history, send me an email.

Mark

David426

I know you will pay a little extra at a reputable dealership, however they will offer a GM backed extended warranty on cars with less than 50000 miles for up to 3 years at an extra 1100 dollars. something to consider

ecook

I bought an 01 C5 for 26k with 27,500 miles. That was 6 weeks ago, I now have 34,000 miles. Worth every penny. 15k for a 2000 C5 sounds like a good deal to me. If your worried about the miles offer the guy 13k and see what he say's maybe you will get it for 14k. It's not easy to sell a high mileage car. I would assume the car is not going to fall apart because it has alot of miles on it. But what do I know this is my first Vette.

goldlifter

if you are looking at driving your vette a lot, go for it(provided it has been taken care of). once a car goes over 100k, most of the depreciation for mileage has already been taken. case and point, go to kelleybluebook.com and compare putting 20k miles on one with 50k original miles vs putting 20k miles on one with 100k miles....for resale, there is always someone looking to get into a vette at a cheap price....just some food for thought