AbqVic

Features: This car is located in Los Lunas, NM, about 20 miles south of Albuquerque. It has a clean, lien free title that is in my possession. It is a 2002 Corvette Coupe equipped with every factory option available that model year, including the dual top package, six speed manual transmission, and Selective Real Time Damping. The only option not originally ordered was the factory door protection strip. Here’s the factory MSRP Window Sticker that will come with the car.




Owner History: Purchased originally by a personal friend in November of 2001. He had it for six years and drove it about 12,000 miles. I bought the car from my friend in May of 2007, and have used it both as a daily driver and a long distance road car. Mileage to date is 137,000. Both my friend and I have always garaged the car. The only time it sits out at night is when I am travelling with it.

Car Max ran an ownership history report on the car to give me an appraisal, and the report confirmed what I have stated above about the car being accident free, and me being the second owner. I took the car to Car Max to determine if it was worth my time to sell it myself. After their inspection, which included time on a lift and a test drive, they told me they could find nothing wrong with my car, and it was apparent to them that I took good care of it. Then, hilariously, they offered me $3,500 for it! I included a picture of their offer in my Corvette Forum Album to prove I didn’t make the story up.

My objective is to find a good home for this good car. I need to sell it because my wife and I are selling our home to move closer to our son and his family as we get older. The car is one less thing to move as we downsize. Hopefully, after we get settled, I’ll be able to buy and drive another Corvette.


Originality Changes:

• As can be seen from the Window Sticker, the car was built with a cassette radio. The salesman told my friend that business executives liked the cassette radio to play educational tapes. My friend objected, so to make the sale, the dealership gave my friend a new “in box” factory CD radio. I had the CD radio installed after I became the owner. The original cassette radio comes with the car.
• The factory ignition interlock was disabled with a bypass kit. This is a problem with C5’s that has stranded many people and prevented them from towing to a repair shop because the steering wheel is locked.
• Original steel and plastic cover lug nuts were replaced by factory chrome lug nuts.
• After replacing three headlight motors, I replaced the plastic gears in the motors with brass gears. I have had no problems with the headlight motors since then.
• The factory 12 disk CD changer has been removed and replaced with an iPod adaptor kit that connects to the original CD changer wire harness. The iPod adaptor wire harness is routed to the center console where the iPod connects. The iPod has over 2,200 songs on it and is included with the car. The songs are mostly classic country, classic rock, and early blues. The original CD changer and its mounting brackets are also included with the car.

Included Parts and Accessories:

• Protective vinyl envelope for the extra top, and wall mounting bracket to store the unused top.
• Three volume factory shop manual.
• Front license bracket and protective vinyl envelope for front license cover.
• Fitted outdoor car cover.
• Original cassette radio unit and 12 disc CD changer
• Original steel factory lug nuts and plastic lug nut covers.
• Quilted hatch sill protector.
• Original User Manual and case, plus original second ignition key.
• Continental emergency tire kit with pump.

Service History: As I recall, the original owner had the car’s oil changed two or three times at his local Chevrolet dealer. I don’t remember him telling me about any repair work. However, after I got the car home to Albuquerque, I had problems with the doors not locking correctly. I took it to a local Corvette specialist: Scotty’s Southwest Corvettes. He, his mechanic Bruce, and I, are the only people who have ever wrenched on this car. No unknown dealer mechanics, hidden behind the showroom, have touched this car since I have owned it.

About two years ago, Scotty passed away, and Bruce has opened his own Corvette shop. That is where the car goes now for its regular oil service after the monitor indicates about 20% oil life remaining. These are the repairs I remember being done over the life of the car:

• As mentioned above, new door lock modules on both sides. No problems since.
• Also, as mentioned above, ignition interlock bypass kit installed. No problems encountered.
• Three headlight motors. Brass gears permanently fixed this problem.
• Replaced coil wires and spark plugs at about 75k miles.
• Re-soldered brake control module circuit board. No problems since.
• Re-soldered climate control display circuit board. No problems since.
• Replaced steering wheel position sensor.
• Replaced coolant temperature sensor.
• Replaced water pump and thermostat.
• Replaced lower radiator support. Damaged from speed bumps and deep intersection street dips.
• Replaced hood struts. Original struts were getting weak.
• Replaced front brake pads. Rear pads are original.

Current Condition: Cosmetically the car is not mint. There are road chips and scratches. None are severe. The lower right front corner has been curb scraped by me and repainted. The car still looks excellent to the casual observer. I get many compliments from people on the streets, who like the color and how it looks. One of Bruce’s customers estimated the car had 30k miles, and Bruce said it looked the same as a 60k mile car in his experience.

Mechanically the car is excellent. All major components are original. The driveline has never been apart. Even the clutch is original. The car burns little oil between changes. It averages 30 miles per gallon on long trips, indicating the engine is running efficiently. Everything works. No repairs required.

Tires are Continentals. They are not run-flats. I chose them because they are lighter, balance well, and ride better than run-flats. They have been “road force balanced” and appear to have at least 50% tread remaining. Of course, there is no spare. A Continental tire repair kit with pump is included with the car and is located in the right rear storage bin. A local well known shop did the alignment. The car tracks straight and does not pull when braking.

I would drive this car anywhere. Indeed, I have done just that: many trips out and back to CA, a trip to PA for Corvettes at Carlisle, trips to Las Vegas to play pool, and a trip to MI to visit family. All while getting 30 mpg in comfort. How good can it get?

Below is a video I made of Bruce verbalizing the underside inspection he does each time I bring the car in for regular oil service. It is a little long, but very C5 informative. If the link does not work, you can search YouTube for “C5 Vette Bottom.”


Here is the invoice for the work Bruce did while I shot the video. It shows his written condition assessment of the car.




Pictures: I’ve got 50 pictures in my Corvette Forum Albums section. I had trouble organizing and orienting them, so they are in a somewhat random order. Here is a link to them:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/g/user/568726


Contact Information:

• Corvette Forum PM: AbqVic
• Direct E-mail: victor.menashe@gmail.com

Thank you in advance to any potential owners who have taken the time to examine this long post. My intention is to provide enough information to minimize risk, and to justify the travel expense of anyone who chooses to inspect this very good car in person. Respectfully, Victor

AbqVic

Forgot to say that I had Scott, of Scotty's Southwest Corvettes, lower the car after I first bought it. He dropped it 3/4 inch all around on stock bolts. Of course, after the suspension settled, I had it re-aligned at a recommended shop. Tracking has always been straight and tires have worn evenly. I got 43k miles out of the original factory tires.

Lowering it has required me to cross speed bumps and intersections at a 45 degree angle. I also try to back in to most parking spaces to protect the front. All kind of an annoyance, but I like how it looks with the lower stance.

Vic

JerriVette

Nice. Car. Glws.

AbqVic

Thanks for the complement Jerri

AbqVic

Took out an ad in AutoTrader and included the AutoCheck history report. Like I said above, the title is clean, two owner, and no accidents. I tried to copy a link to the ad here, but couldn't do it. If you want to see the report first hand, go to AutoTrader and search for 2002 Chevrolet Corvette within 10 miles of zip code 87031. It then comes up without hassle. Vic

AbqVic

To the top!

The "miles to go" glass is still half full on this car.

AbqVic

A reminder to any member who has a friend or relative who would like to drive a Corvette, but think they can't afford one. Once a C5 has over 100k miles, the market value is essentially constant, only varying by how functional and presentable it is. In my opinion, this car can be driven for free, provided it is maintained and continues to look good. I say this because I believe the next owner could drive this car to 200k miles and still sell it for around $10,000, if it still looks nice and is fully functional. I have yet to find a C5 for sale for under $10,000 that didn't have something wrong with it.

Also remarkable to me is the number of compliments I get from strangers on the street who are driving $35,000 Honda's, or similar. Why not drive a Vette? It's cheaper, gets great mileage, and is less expensive to maintain. And did I mention it's a lot more fun!

Just saying....

Hootihooo

Car Max is a Joke. Good Luck with your sale!

tanisdwninit

I agree they are a joke, CarMax purchases cars well under their actual fair trade in value and then turns around and sells most at a premium price which they claim is fair and a "no haggle" price. The company used to be decent 15 years ago when I bought a new car from them at a true fair price which was "no haggle", not the case today. They low balled me when I was doing the same thing as the OP few years ago to get a gauge on a car I was going to sell but not this bad. I sold the car instead to my GF for $1 who needed a car.

I believe in this case, this Corvette is too old for them per their policy (over 10 years) and over their mileage limit to resell at at retail. So the ridiculous price of 3.5k they will pay is to sell it off at a wholesale auction. If the OP would trade it in for a new car, might get 9k instead where it would be offered for sale at retail ~14k and if not sold go off to auction where dealer would attempt not to take a loss.

Anyway seems like a really solid vette to me with a great history/write up at a decent private party price, all the best with your sale @AbqVic

AbqVic

Hootihooo: thank you for reinforcing my opinion about CarMax and extending GLWS to me.

tanisdwninit: also thank you for expressing your ideas about what was behind CarMax's offer for my car. I had vague ideas similar to yours, but your very specific knowledge and experience really turned the lightbulb on for me. And, thank you even more for your opinion of my car and the way I presented it. I really appreciate the feedback.

AbqVic

My ad says car has 137,000 miles. Car now has 139,000 miles. Yes, I do daily drive it.

AbqVic

Car is sold locally to a very nice young man who I am sure will give it a good home. Thanks to all who looked and expressed an interest in my car. Vic

Vetteman Jack

Car sold, thread closed.