Hello all,

I've been driving a tame toyota corolla since getting married and am dying for a real sports car. I've had my eye on a vette for quite some time but the wife is worried about the maintenance costs.

I've tried to look around the net and while I've seen various sites with some parts I'm not really sure what to make of it.

What are the maintenance costs generally like on a C5? I'll probably pick up a used vette with relatively few miles from a local used vette dealer or from Carmax.

Also, how much more are the costs if I get in a wreck in a vette given the fiberglass body or otherwise, as opposed to getting in a wreck in a metal car?

Any advice on how to get a handle on this to figure out the costs of ownership? I mean I want to make sure I keep my vette in good shape once I buy it.

 

I have an '02 Mag Red Coupe and a '96 Collector Edition Convertible. Niether are high maintenance vehicles, but then again both are low mileage weekend drivers. No reason for costs associated with maintaining these vehicles to be higher than others overall. Of course, the harder one drives them, the greater the opportunities for wear and replacement of normal items. These LS1 and LT1 engines are relatively maintenance free provided one uses high quality synthetic oil and high quality premium gas. ( In the past, I have owned small blocks with solid lifters requiring periodic adjusting, etc. Not so with these, yet the performance is incredible. ) Just my $,02.

The other aspect of these vehicles is knowing they are in the garage waiting for the weekend. Just walking out there and looking them over every few days never hesitates to make me realize how efficient yet beautiful these vehicles are even though they represent two significantly different generations of the Corvette Legacy. Buy a good one and you won't be disappointed.

 

I think that as long as you don't thrash it, your maintenance costs will be no more than any other car. If you are mechanically inclined you can do dam near all the maintenance yourself... They really don't even need a serious tune up until 100k miles. My $.02

 

I bought mine at Carmax. It was a good experience. The car is a blast! If you have any questions ask. Hey, add some more info to your profile. Where are you etc? If you just give some general background profile info we won't be able to steal your identity

 

Are tires not maintenance? Tires for a Vette cost 4 to 5 times more then most cars.

 

OOOoooops! Minor omission I guess I was just trying to help him sell it to his wife !!

 

the sum (of having the car) is greater (or worth more) than the sum of its parts (tires etc.) There, he can tell his wife something like that nonsense.

 

I'e had my '00 C5 for over 60K miles and the tires are by far the most expensive part of maintenance. On the other hand, you can get out of the Goodyear runflats and get Firestone or Kuhmo runflats. I was getting about 24K miles on my rears and about 30K on the front...and that was with a few days of track time too. And if you want to go without runflats you can get the tires a lot cheaper.

Other than that, you can spend $30-40 and get a jack and Rhino Ramps and change your own oil for around $35. And I put in new brakes around 55K miles...again partially due to some track time...and they are fairly easy to do yourself. You can get cheap parts at GMPartsDirect.com. So if you are at all mechanically inclined and don't run the car hard, the cost can be very manageable.

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to buy the car just due to the maintenance aspect of it.

 

 

Parts cost more, and so does mechanic work. But the computer will tell you what errors are being seen and this can help narrow the cause down fast. Right from the start it's going to cost at least $30 for you to do the oil changes every 3-5k miles with a good oil filter and synthetic oil. This forum also does a great - er, fantastic - job at helping you out if you're having problems. If you follow the threads for a while, you'll start to see where the problems are and how they can be fixed. And you'll learn more on the differences between the model years - which will help you recognize what you're looking at when you do get ready to buy. Tires also cost more (~$700-$1500) but you make allowances for that and plan. There's a wide range of runflat or non-runflat options for tires, hence the price range. You'll pay more for the vette than a Toyota, but the cars do last a long time and the grin factor is always there! Another recent theme also seems to be that it's not a good idea to drive them in the snow, so you may need to consider that depending on where you are.

- Wisdom

 

tiers are big $ but some of the parts are cheaper than toyota parts

 

Mods and time spent washing/zainoing are a killer.

 

maintenance costs may well be relative to how well the car is maintained & how hard it is driven. certainly, as others have noted, things like tires, oil changes, and premium fuel will cost more on a corvette than other cars. while none of us (at least i don't) have money to burn, we usually do not buy a corvette to save money. ironically though, i believe our corvette gets better gas mileage than our new 06 honda pilot. bub

 

I also recommend Carmax. I've only had my vette a week but I've put three tanks of gas thru it already just driving around.
19 gallons of hi test aint cheap!

 

Yea, tires are probably your biggest maintenance costs from what I have seen. A lot will depend on your driving style, but if you do regular periodic maintenance (oil changes, fluids, etc), it's not bad. Repairs can get expensive depending on what is wrong, but what repairs aren't expensive if you have to take the car to a dealer. If you can do the repair yourself, all the better.

 

Cheap cars are cheap to maintain. The converse is also true. Cars worth $10K can only depreciate to that base and Toyota's never get to zero. Corvette will probably cost twice as much and depreciate to a level that may be upsetting. Its best to check the value of 10 year old cars to assess residual.

Corvette's are reliable iron, but everything will cost more to repair or replace than on that Toyota. Tires, brakes, electrical problems, etc.

That said, I have replaced tires. I have spent un-necessary money on modifications for my person pleasure. I have had zero repair problems beyond what I would call normal mainteneance. Included repairs - I have had to replace spark plug wires which I did myself and the cost was minimal = around $50. I repaired a low beam failure myself. No cost. I change the oil myself because I like to do thes things and its really cheap to buy Mobile 1 at WalMart.

Its more fun than the Toyota.

 

Tires... tires are not cheap. Oh my god, they are not cheap.

There are alternatives to purchasing Goodyear EMT's tho...


Other than that... it's your typical used car. Other than the fact it can go 170+

Some good, some bad. Always try to get one with low miles or from a reputable dealer. Not some "shady lot on the corner." First one I looked at was in my price range, and looked decent... heck even had a Borla exhaust. Then I pulled the Car Fax... THREE REPOSESSIONS in the space of two years. Not the car's fault, but usually a car in danger of reposession isn't well maintained.

Always do your leg work and feel free to ask questions here before you buy.

 

I think the biggest factor is how you drive and the second is the model year.

My 01 is a daily driver.

01s may have fuel sender issues (suposed to have been fixed in later models)

C5s may use oil if (according to GM) they are held above 3k rpm in lower gears.

I follow the computer as to when to change it - anywhere between 5 and 9k, usually. Since I have not performed the 'ring change' to eliminate oil consumption, depending on how I drive, I add 1-5 qts between oil changes.

I buy Mobil1 in 5 qt containers at walmart - about 18$ per jug - and provide my own oil/filter when the dealer changes it - for about 25$.
25+18+5+2quarts...so about 50$ for an oil change. (takes 6-7 quarts).

Tires - as stated, by far the most expensive part, but relative to how you drive. I got about 25k out of the OEMs, and 25k later, have plenty of tread left on the firestone replacements. (FS is much cheaper than GY, but also slicker in cold weater) regardless of brand, they will be at minimum, 250$ each, plus mount, balance, disposal fee (additional 35 per wheel for all that).

Gas - not cheap either....42$ to fill when prices went buggy las summer. But I only live about 5 miles from work, so it wasn't too bad, b/c one tank lasts all week.

Other than that, 2 blown DRL bulbs (10$ each), a set of wiper blades, adn a few other minor things.

State inspection here is 15$/year.
Property tax varies state to state; mine started at 500$ year, now about 300.

have not yet needed to put on brakes.
Mechanic says clutch should last upwards of 80k miles - but given what they have to do to get to the clutch, it's not going to be cheap.

But thats "normal" maintenance & expenses.

GMPP extended warranty has saved me several thousand dollars in repairs. (fuel senders 2x, one of the computers, AC head unit, mirrors, headlight motor, seat motor 2x, column lock are the biggies)

Not to say all C5s will have the same problems I have experienced, but better you read a 'been there done that' than no cautionary tales.

Body repair-wise
Unlike the Stingray, the C5 isn't all 1/2" thick fiberglass, so the body will not shatter/splinter on impact. The front/rear facia are rather pliable, and can take a hit and flex back into shape. The rear quarters also have some flex.

I think the retail on the rear hatch (unpainted) is about 400$.
Some paint colors cost more than others.
Replacement wheels are 8-1200 per.
Back glass is about 600.
No clue on other parts.



AJ
01 NBM Coupe
MN6
R8C

 

I've had my '99 since August. Total maintenance besides fluids has been one headlight gear that I did myself $35 and 2 front tires. The enjoyment I got from driving it: PRICELESS

 

I appreciate the responses so far. That's the kind of info I was looking for--costs to repair/maintain, availability, that kind of stuff.

I will probably give my corolla to my little sister when I buy the vette so the vette will be my daily driver. I live about 15 miles from work but in traffic it takes about twenty to thirty minutes.

One of the things I've heard a lot of y'all say is that I can save money by doing some of it myself. I'd love to do that. I'm fairly mechanically inclined but know very little about cars. I've done household stuff like fixing toilets, sinks, washers, that kind of thing but never worked on cars much growing up.

Where do I start? Anyone recommend any good books to read (other than the owner's manual obviously)?