I am lookin to get a 95 or 96 c4 and was wondering how reliable they are over 50,000 miles so if you have had any problems let me know.
Thanks

 

My '94 has over 156K on it. The engine was rebuilt at 146K. A LOT of work was done around 110k. The opti is the only real PITA issue with the LT-1 / 4 motors. They are fairly reliable for a sports car. If you can fix them when they break, then you should be okay. Just don't get into something you can't afford to fix. If one part goes and you don't fix it then, it just seems to compound. Add that to car payments and it'll go down hill quick. There's no way I could afford this car if it wasn't for the fact it is paid for. Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.

BTW, you might find some with an extended warranty or one that's available. I know GlockLT4 got his with a warranty. Good piece of mind.

 

I have 104 K on my 91 and bought it 20K miles ago. The only thing i had to do (out of necessity that is) was rebuild the tranny. I consider that not much for all of the abuse the car takes. If that didn't go the car would be virtually maintenance free.

 

Bought my '95 with 57,000 miles, the first owner was not shy about driving it hard, she logged about 36,000 miles in the first three years. The second owner put about 21,000 miles in one year.

When I got the car it ran awesome and stil does today with 120,000 on the clock.

Ask anybody here, I beat the crap out of my car, I drive hard, to the limit and beyond and she lives to be beat on another day.

Now I have some some repairs, some due to my hard driving and some due to just normal wear and tear.

I just did the radiator two weeks ago, it was original. My power steering pump just went, but the way I was carving corners, who could blame it.
I did the clutch early on and it's stil going strong.
I broke the rear bearings in half, I think mostly from doing a lot of donuts.
Brakes have been done, but then again, those are normal wear items.

For some reason, the rear tires wear out quicker than the fronts:D

This video was done with well over 100k on the clock
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c4/mrmojo2//mojo.wmv

 

Oh and two years ago I bought a low mileage '93. Man that thing needed a hell of a lot of work, I can't even begin to list what I have done to it.

Buy one that's been driven........a lot!

 

My '87 has 183k on it and I love it. :D

 

My 88 has 125k and doesn't burn or drip a drop of oil. ... :thumbs:

The owner before me had the Tranny rebuilt. Hopefully my Tranny cooler will give longer life.

Hoping it will break, so I can have an excuse to drop in a 420ci...but it seems like that might not happen for awhile. :D

 

Hi

I bought my 92 with 92,000 about 3 years ago. I put about 3,000 miles a year on it and road race 3 to 4 events a year. Not a hard car to work on.

Good advice from other members.

Good luck

Steven

 

Bought my 87 in 1989 with 36k. I drive it everyday and it now has 186k. If the car has been maintained and is in good shape, I wouldn't be afraid of a high miles Corvette. Inspect it or have a mechanic inspect it.

 

Most of my headaches have been with electronics. I have a '96 CE with 90K miles, and the fundamental engine/trans/body stuff is great, but I have had a few little electrical gremlins that have really pissed me off and cost me some $$$. Best if you know a little about cars and have some tools and patience.
That being said, driving to work is alot more interesting in an LT4...
Jeff

 

I've got 122,000 on my '85. The old L98 isn't showing any signs of laying down. :D

 

I bought my 95 at 45k miles 3 years ago and have about 90k on it now.
I've had to replace the opti (distributer), plugs, wires, water pump, put in a clutch, have the transmission rebuilt, replace the entire clutch hydraulic system, replace the weather stripping, replace the felt in the window tracks, replace the alternator and battery, replace the horn relay, fix the door panels from coming off, put on 2 sets of expensive tires, replaced the brakes, replace the radiator and hoses, fix a vacuum leak, fix an oil leak from the water pump drive seal, replaced the rear sway bar end links, and that's all I can think of right now. Those were all required maintenance items and I don't beat on the car nearly as much as I could / should.

Still to do.....
Replace the door locks, fix the PKE system, fix the horns....AGAIN, replace the universal joints, replace the wheel bearings, and replace the shocks.

If my money tree ever decides to root I would love to modify it some day. From what I have been able to gather from this forum it seems like these are generally regarded as typical problems with these cars. I would recommend in addition to your corvette you have the following:
a daily driver, a garage, a good set of tools, patience, and like to work on cars.
Having said all of that I still love the car and would only sell it to buy another corvette. :cheers:

 

My 92 has just under 120k on it. I will pass 120k this week, for sure (about 60 miles to go!).

It runs fine.

What I have found... cars age. low mileage cars age faster. They sit. They get driven on the weekends, and that's it. Seals rot. Exhausts rust. gaskets dry out. It ain't pretty.

Frank has shown the difference. Low miles are not the end-all-be-all of Corvette ownership.

Atrophy can be a real bitch.

 

It all depends how much maintenance was done with the previus owner and how the car was driven and how much repairs were already done.

Its a wild card

 

i know mine is a bit newer than most of these guys but my LT4 has 140k miles on it! the only things that have gone bad on it are normal wear items like brakes, tires ect. otherwise it has been a perfect car. I had to replace a water temperature sensor one time but that was due to my fauly hitting it when i was cleaning the engine bay! the LT1/4 drivetrain is almost bulletproof if you take care of it. so dont be afraid of high mileage if it has been well kept. NOW. all the being said i am still on the factory clutch and opti. I am also planning in the near future to replace my plugs wires fuel filter and switch to a K&N air filter. I also want to change my rear diff fluid and tranny fluid sometime here in the near future

 

got my 87 with 105 on the speedo... wasn't well taken care of,,, but doing well with only 107 on it...

 

I'll check in with my 148K mile '93. Runs real strong with no signs of dieing any time soon. Just be prepared to replace a few suspension components to get that smooth ride back.

 

I have over 155,000 on my 93. I bought it 4 1/2 years ago with 52,000. I put roughly 23,000 miles per year on mine. It runs very strong. Maintenance is the key. I have replaced:
Water pump twice (maintenance)
Optispark twice (1 maintenance, 2nd time a hose blew, my fault I knew I should have replaced the hoses, expensive lesson)
Intake gasket (maintenance)
U-Joints (maintenance)
A/C Compressor (maintenance)
A/C Accumulator (maintenance)
A/C Condensor (maintenance)
A/C Evaporator (twice, 1st maintenance, 2nd time Firestone cracked it and paid for replacement)
P/S Pump (maintenance, wore out)
P/S Hose, both (maintenance)
Weatherstripping (maintenance)
Brakes, Rotors, Tires, Plugs, Wires, Wiper Blades, batteries, Air Filter, Oil Changes, etc. (maintenance)
The motor is still original, has never been rebuilt (intake gasket has been only major engine work done on my Vette). Same with the transmission, suspension, calipers & brake system, and electrical. The ride has deteriorated over the last couple thousand miles, so I have the parts on order to rebuild the suspension. At the same time, I am upgrading the brake hoses to SS braided hoses and upgrading the front calipers to Z06 (C5) calipers. I have been very happy with my Vette. I agree with the other statements, get one that has been driven. Vettes that have just sat in a garage are going to have all sorts of leaks. That is why I don't understand people who let the car sit for years and only drive it 3 times. They are ruining the car. When they do decide to sell the car, the amount of money they are going to need to rebuild all the bad parts is going to eat up the extra money they are going to make on a low mileage car. The Corvette was built to be driven. Enjoy it!!
:steering:

 

bought my 93 early last year with 155k. needed ball joints, intake gasket, collapsed radiator and weather stripping.

i have since upgraded some things:
13" front cross drilled/slotted rotors
12" rear cross drilled/slotted rotors
gs front calipers
slp claw
afs zr1 chrome wheels
goodridge brake lines
etc
etc

still on the original engine and tranny. recent dyno at 275 rwhp.

i'm thinking about doing the shocks. no promisses

oh, yeah! i'm currently at 170k.



[Modified by RTTN 1, 5:27 PM 11/11/2003]

 

I bought my 91 new (what a dog!), drove it hard, changed the oil a lot. I started making mods before the 12 month warranty expired.

The rear main started leaking about 150K and I started getting a head gasket leak at 170K. The motor now sits in the garage waiting to be disassembled.