Elizabeth City Vette

I'm considering buying an 05 I found for a decent price but wanted to check what the reliability for that year has been. I have an 04 that's been great and I love it but was thinking I might like to move up to a C6. My C5 has been solid and I would hate to go to a model year that has been troublesome. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks

RicK T

Automatic trans or manual?

Coupe or convertible?

Makes a difference.

1bdvet

I have 05 now with 44,000 miles and one issue was shifter, it was done years ago, other then that great car, just came off trip of 1,400 miles getting 30 MPG, great car and love the driving the car.

EVRose

05 is as reliable as any other year. Mine has been near perfect in the 4 years I've had it.

JoesC5

2005's had a weak rear end and weak CV joints. If you're not going to flog the car, it should be okay. But, if you ever plan to up the horsepower, you could see driveline breakage. GM redesigned the differential and half shafts in later years.

Elizabeth City Vette

Yeah I suppose it would. It's a manual coupe with 87k on it. Garage kept, very clean and looks well maintained. Loaded with options which is not always good. Has NAV, HUD, heated seats, selective ride shocks to name a few. My 04 had selective ride shocks and I had to replace them but went with standard Z06 shocks due to the high cost of replacement. Replaced all 4 shocks and had the F55 optioned tuned out to clear the codes for less than the cost of one replacement magnetic ride shock. $800 a piece. I hope the 05's are more reliable than mine were.

RicK T

I know you asked about reliability. Overall the '05's are reliable but they did have their "first year" issues you should know about. I strongly suggest you do your due diligence and take the VIN to any GM dealer and get a GMVIS printout showing all warranty and recall work that has been done on the car. Only then can you reach conclusions on what you "might face in the future.

Harmonic balancer: all cars up to VIN 11039
Roof panel separation -recall
Service Active Handling - recall ('05-'07)
DBS (dead battery syndrome) - no recall but a TSB to reflash the computer. The '05 manual trans have to be parked in Rev to shut down the computer.

'05 manual trans cars still had the same steering column lock as the C5's and all the same problems, that most face at some point. There is a column lock eliminator available now.

The C6's F55 system is 2nd generation version but the shocks themselves are similar to C5. They have been generally very reliable but there have been failures reported and discussed here. Kind of a crap shoot.

Some reading material for you. Be sure to ask questions about anything:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1583458943

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...2-2006-c6.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s-reflash.html

Xtac6

Honestly, I would avoid the 05 and 06 model years. Anything after that is good to go.

EVRose

Yeah, you read about 05's blowing up here every day. I'm surprised there are any left on the road.

Mr.Nubain

I have an 05 and in the year I had it I already had to have the oil changed twice! Next, I had a nail in each back tire, surprisingly that got fixed. Not to mention the time one of the turn signals burned out. Only on "the 05 death machine" as I say.
If that doesn't scream problems I don't know what does. Did I mention a car payment too, yeah my 05 has one of those too! The list goes on! I think my 05 is partially responsible for getting me addicted to heroin, that piece of junk is nothing but problems like having to refuel when the gas tank is empty. Here is a pic of it before it when I picked it up from the dealer, it could have blown up or fallen apart nearly killed me! None of that happened, but it's an 05 they are full of problems


Just looking at that pile of **** you can tell it's an 05, I'm surprised it didn't blow up after it started up. I cant believe it hasn't fallen apart yet. You should check out my post on this forum after I clayed my 05! I'm surprised the clay didn't make the paint come off or better yet the panels fall off! These 05's tend to need washing too if you drive them! Can you believe it! What a pain in the a$$! No other vettes have had the problems I've stated only the 05's! Beware!
Oh yeah they are f*ckin slow, 400HP is like riding a turtle compared to 430. Trust me. I've ridden a turtle.
All the reasons I gave you should steer you in the direction of an 07-13. If you buy an 05 and have to do all the things that I listed that I had to do in just one year, don't say I didn't warn you!

vettekid05

lol!!

Elizabeth City Vette

Mr. Nubain, thanks so much for the warning. I had no idea! You really had to do TWO oil changes AND refill the gas tank every time it gets empty. Lol. Btw, your 05 looks beautiful. Matter of fact it looks just like the one I plan to go look at. Well, maybe not NOW. LOL

tennblkc6

yeah..us 05 owners are a little bias lol. wonder if the first year c7 will face the same scrutiny. only time will tell. right now it is a must have just like the first year c6 was when it was introduced...go figure.

hotmotorsports

Just fantastic!!!

Chuck M

360Rocket

absolutely a clueless statement.

M A4 vert. just clicked off 82,000 miles and I see looking at my GM service report that someone replaced the harmonic balancer in the early stages of the cars life and I had to replace the shifter cable. My car has many performance modifications and no issues with the diff or CV joints.

You'll likely not have any more issues than any other C6 vette out there.

EVRose

Hell, the 05 is the only C6 that really needs a warranty. After the 05 no C6 has EVER needed warranty work of any kind. GM actually didn't even need to include a warranty with those. That's how much better and reliable they are.

Mr.Nubain

I'm appreciate your sympathy. Thanks for the compliment about it. I have a lot of time on my hands as you can tell

dennis50nj

wayback

Everyone knows the 05 unreliable. I even heard of one person who only got 15,000 miles out of his front tires. We all know the newer GS Corvettes get more miles than this!!

Mr.Nubain

What a piece of junk! Get this, the owner before me had to replace the battery! It's ten years old, and it has been stored every winter and it is on it's second battery!!!!!!!! What a lemon. I trust this car as mush as I trust my wh@re of a girlfriend!