After years of dreaming about owning a Corvette I have to say that after I bought one (95 LT1) I have been disappointed in a lot of things. Just to name a few.....

1. Ridiculous (roof off) body flex. If a simple camber brace can fix or put a huge dent in the problem then why aren't they standard from the factory?

2. Obviously inferior weatherstripping. I have never seen, owned, or heard of another car that has such poor quality weatherstrip. It would probably work fine as long as it was never exposed to sunlight or water.

3. Removable roof removal. Having to sit on the side of the road removing bolts with a wrench to get the roof off is not my idea of a good design.

4. Optispark / crap distributor. I could go on for an hour about this one. I have NEVER had to replace a distributor on any car I have ever owned. Including my camaro on which I have logged over 180k miles. I should also mention it's placement on the engine and inability to withstand water (note it is directly under the water pump and cooling system bleed valve).

5. Water pump. My issue here is with the short lifetime. My experience is that most cars go well over 100k miles before needing replacement.

6. Manual transmission. The cost of repair is ENORMOUS and should only be done by a handfull of certified people in the country.

7. Plastic interior pieces. I'm not sure if anybody else has this problem but the rubber like paint on my console is just bubbling off. It also is unbelievable that this piece of plastic is $250 to replace. That must be one hell of an expensive paint (which peels).

8. After market radio glitch. Why does changing the factory radio cause your "sys" light to go crazy? Having to diagnose and fix this is extremely annoying.

9. Dual mass flywheel. According to the service manual this should not be resurfaced. Technically (I am guessing) you should buy a new flywheel with clutch replacement. This has caused many owners to convert to a single mass like the ones on the F-Body. This also makes for one hell of an expensive clutch replacement.

10. Normal operating temperature. I hate how the high side of normal operating temperature isn't that far from total meltdown.

There are also other things which I'm sure there is a good reason for doing but still annoy me.........

1. an almost silent whimpy exhaust note (factory exhaust)
2. CAGS
3. Traction control automatically on

There are also a ton of good things but I'm taking this oppurtunity to voice the bad. How about listing some others and then we'll send this thread to the Corvette engineers.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but......you gotta take the bad with the good. Any car with the 'off the showroom floor' performance of a Corvette is going to have some quirks, and or design flaws that make you :crazy: . It's kinda like having a total babe girlfriend--she is going to have some quirks that make you :crazy: too. It's all part of the love. :yesnod:

 

"She's got issues" Offspring! The song says it all. The cool part is when each issue is solved you get that I made my girlfriend better feeling all over again.

I f you don't want the pbolems I'm sur TOyota will sell you a nice Corolla. :D

 

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It's kinda like having a total babe girlfriend--she is going to have some quirks
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the day I bought my vette the alternator crapped out, 3 weeks later the dual mass flywheel self destructed taking out the clutch, sometimes the radio just SCREECHES at me when I turn it on, its a bitch to get in and out of and kills my back on long drives...but Ill always have a vette as a fun car I now know. Yeah....the more *normal* and *middle of the road* you stay whether its ladies or sports cars the less grief youll usually have...but less fun also. How are 20 yr old mistresses and vettes alike? theye both fast, sexy and fun to play with but always remember the vette (usually) wont get you divorced....

 

All I can say is sell it or be happy.

Take the good with the bad.

Body flex, yes, well the car was originally designed as a T-top. The one piece deal was last minute. How much do you really drive it with the top out?

Weatherstrip - my car is 10 years old and none of it leaks. I want to replace the rear hatch because it is floppy, but no leaks. 10 years isn't bad.

Roof is bolted in? Maybe so but it doesn't leak. I've never known a T-top camaro that didn't leak. Yeah, it's a hassle but since it is structurally part of the car I want something a little more healthy than a clip.

Optispark. Not as bad as everybody thinks. So long as you don't drive through huge puddles at a 100 miles per hour it's fine.

Water pump - most people who actually drive their cars dont' have this issue. It's the ones that sit in storage for years at a time that puke.

Manual transmission - yeah it's expensive, but I dare you to find a better tranny for less money. That ZF-6 is an EXCELLENT piece of engineering.

Plastic - yeah, that kinda sucks

Radio - that's all about BOSE, not gm. Any car with a Bose stereo has the same issues. Blame GM for adding the bose if you want, but even this glitch is EASILY fixed.

Flywheel - needed to dampen the ZF-6 tranny. If you want your tranny to sound like a box of rocks only because it is built for strength go with a single mass, otherwise accept GM's very good solution. It allows you to use an otherwise very loud and strong tranny in a quiet application. BTW, at 60k miles my flywheel was in PERFECT condition, it didn't need resurfacing.

Operating temperature - in the name of emmisions EVERY car built after like 1972 operates very warm. The vette just happens to have a digital gauge so you can see what it means.

Not trying to flame you, just put it in perspective. I've dreamed of owning a vette for years as well. I just can't let things like this get in the way of my love. It's a passion, and it's crazy fast. If you want a perfect car go buy a Honda, but you'll also have a slow car. In my book slow is not perfect, so thus the Vette is more perfect than the Honda. :cheers:

 

There are problems with all cars. I wish I had the link to this Ferrari owner that documented all of the problems that he has had and how long he has it on the road before it will break again, it was pretty funny :D. Quit your crying and sell the car if you hate most of the problems that are "Know corvette problems" and buy a NEON.

 

Sorry but...what other car out there do you get the performance for the $$???

My car pulls like a bat out of hell, and I can take it around corners so fast I can scare my passengers.

If you want a car with top interior fit/finish...buy a BMW for $50K...and then whine on the BMW forum that it doesn't have enough acceleration or you can't corner it as fast as you want.

 

Did anybody read this part? I think some people need a lesson in comprehension. We all know the good parts of a Corvette. Why don't you mention some of the bad. Or are they just some dirty little secrets that aren't allowed to mentioned on this forum?

 

Actually BMW's are poopie as well. I work with a guy who's wife just had to have a BMW. They bought one and are now ready to trade to for a Honda Accord. It leaks every fluid it has, the alarm doesn't work properly, and it keeps getting SES lights. It's back at the dealership at least once a week.

 

:confused:

Oh come on, all the issues you named have long been talked about on the forum.

Wanna see the results of all the complaints from C4 owners, look at the C5. It solved most of them.

 

sounds like an 8 year old car to me. all cars with removable tops have wearter stripping problems, even new cars. i love everything about a corvette. had you bought a camaro, trans am, mustang, or any other kind of performance car you would hate the same things about them.

 

In response to your responses......

Ok, so the car was designed as a t-top. Well cutting out that support introduced problems. In all the years of that design they couldn't add a damn camber brace or another support? Is it that they can't fix errors or just don't want to admit them? Your right I don't take it off because it takes too much time to do it and the car rides like hell with it off.

One car with decent weatherstrip isn't a majority. It is a very frequently addressed issue on this forum.

Your saying they can send a man to the moon but can't design a better roof removal design? If it is a REMOVEABLE roof then you shouldn't NEED it for stiffness. Again the camber brace would help solve this.

Optispark. Driving through puddles is driver controlled. A blown water pump is out of your control. Also explain the placement of the bleed valve right above the unit.

Water pump. Most people do have problems with their water pump, it's not confined to only garage queens.

Bose doesn't build the affected "sys" light in the dash.

Anyway, my point is the car has some flaws (not necessarily all the ones listed above) that could have been easily redesigned in all the years of production. My line of work is engineering and new product development so I may be more sensitive to this stuff than others. I think as consumers we should be able to voice our opinions to the designers so some of the minor issues can be addressed and easily fixed in the later years.

And another thing......

I NEVER SAID I WANTED ANOTHER CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Kdrhpe:
I agree 100% with you. I went from a C-3 to a C-4 and I thought the C-3 drove a lot better. Then I stepped up to a LT-1. Much better, a very nice fast car. I still like the C-3 but I could never go back. The top leaked on the C-3 also.
The C-4 should have been a T-top. I keep thinking that every time I take the top off. Then I read it was designed as a T-top.
A distributor is a relic, a thing of the past. So are carbs.
The C-5 has some real issues also.
If you step back and think about all the quirks that Corvettes have you'll never really appreciated just how good a car they really are.

Once behind the wheel all the problems are gone you're to busy holding on.

 

I know these issues have been long talked about on the forum, that is my point. I just don't understand why some things weren't fixed as the new models were introduced. (Before the C5). I know some were but there were also many that weren't. The C5 solved a ton of the problems from C4's. So their fixing strategy seems close to being all or nothing.

 

I think most people are missing my point.

Let me just emphasize for the record. I LOVE THE CAR. I DON'T WANT ANOTHER CAR. I AM NOT HUNG UP ON THESE THINGS. I am just discussing them. I'll talk all day about the great things about the car. I just thought it would be interesting to mention some of the not so great things and why they were never addressed.

 

I'm on my second C-4 and yes, I've changed a few parts here and there, but the good times far outnumber the bad times. I own other cars and they all have their quirks also. Performance wise, I'll stay the Vette cause I know I CAN get parts for it. :smash: :smash: :smash:

 

I completely agree with this post. There are some things that I don't care for in the design of my Corvette. But like he said at the bottom, the good qualities easily make up for these minor annoyances. :yesnod:

 

Kdrhpe, Your point is well taken, especially by new C4 owners such as myself :D My advice to you is to ignore negative criticism from individuals that don't comprehend while reading. Thanks for all the heads up advice that I should beware of :cheers:

 

I had a '75 Corvette. I called it a two seater Buick. It was slow, didn't handle particularly well and the fit and finish were nothing to write home about. It was a pretty car, though. And it was easy to repair, until the u joints locked!

After that I had years of Toyota Supras. First a non turbo then a turbo. The weather stripping lasted forever and looked new. It too needed a strut tower brace. The doors were heavy and sagged after a while although generally, the fit and finish were excellent. Typical Toyota quality. Nothing felt cheap about the car. Off the line it was slower than a comparable year Vette, because of the Turbo, but once it spooled up it was faster. The head gasket was a known problem and they all failed at around 110K miles.

Now I have a C4 auto vert, a former garage queen with 25k miles. The weather stripping had to be replaced, the drivers seat shows some wear. Fit and finish are better than the 75 but still not great. Most of the body seams around the deck lid are poor.

The car rides a lot better than I expected, its reasonably fast, handles reasonably well and, if it had a little more room in the cockpit, it would be a lot more comfortable.

The bottom line, some good things some bad things, depends on what's important to you. GM makes a lot of money off Corvettes and the loyal following means they don't need to initiate much improvement to keep selling them.

But, to sell them for $50K they needed to really improve the C4 and that's the C5.

My 2 cents.

 

I can't say I agree with all your "issues" but I was a bit unprepared for the cost of repairs. I have learned to live with it. After all is said and done, the positives of Corvette ownership greatly outweigh the negatives.

Love that car...... :cheers: