I have dreamed of owning a vette since I could walk and talk, however my dreams didn't happen to mention how much they cost! I'm a local truck driver so I make a decent living here 45k a year but thats not nearly enough to pick up an 07 right off the show room floor.

I was wondering what to look out for if I was looking at say a 1998 with relatively high miles (48,000) or so? There are quite a few in my area for sale in this category but I am a little afraid to make the leap and end up with a problem car.

Purchased a 95 trans am a few years ago with an LS1 it had 65k on the motor and I happily dropped the $7,000 for it only to end up with a shot tranny and a list of repairs 3 pages long a week after it was inspected by a mechanic and said to be in mint condition, ha! Not wanting to make that mistake with my first go at a vette are there any obvious problems to inspect when buying used? Thanks for any tips.

 

first off try to get one from the original owner, they usually have taken better care and the car hasnt been through 87 hands. 2nd definately bring it to a reputable CORVETTE mechanic to take a look at it. That will cost you tops 100$. I would stay away from anything with non original paint and obviosly try to get it with as few miles as possible, as there should be less wear and tear.... Goodluck

 

Good advice above... don't let miles scare yo so long as the car has been maintained. Yes, they have some common glitches but most are very minor. The LS1/LS6 motor were designed by GM to go 200,000 miles when the indsutry standard at the time was 100,000. Soot, weve got people doing heads/cam and adding blowers on cars w/ over 100k w/o issue!

Run a carfax just to check owner history etc... then see if you can make friends w/ a service writer at a GM dealer and get a service history report pulled off the VIN.

Then lastly inspect the car for paint work... I was an insurance adjuster so a properly repaired car doesn't phase me, but I know what to look for. If an owner was honest about how it was wrecked, where, where it was fixed, and who did the work I'd have no problem paying normal price.

I agree w/ the mechanic thing, but they must be a vette mechanic... look for leaking rear difs (from the driver's side 1/2 shaft cover), seeping transmission seals, etc... LSX motors are very solid. They can be very noisy (esp the LS6) and the cars make lots of fun drivline noises... so to a newb (not saying you are), esp newbs that come from luxury cars they have a hard time telling what's normal and you get lots of posts on here about odd noises... fact is that you can just hear more normal drive train noise in these cars.

Good luck in your hunt... there are lots of nice C5s out there right now.

 

Good tips guys thanks, I have a good carfax story actually. Ran a carfax on my trans am, sadly I ran it after already purchasing it! Stupid! Turned out my car was a 1 owner as advertised, however thats just one owner not one driver.

Original owner had it for 23k of the 65k. It had been through 2 dealer auctions and driven as a dealer car (abused) for the rest of its life. If I had known that I wouldn't of ever looked twice at it.

 

car fax is good but its not always correct, trust your gut and a good mechanic. If you dont know about paint/bodywork bring it to a good shop and have it checked for both, most cars that were hit are not repaired properly

 

I wouldn't consider 48,000 high mileage for a 98!

 

Don't forget to read the "Weights and measurements" sticky on the top of C5 General. Good luck with your search. If you have a specific questions be sure to post them....and some one will have an answer for you.

 

Great sticky post i'd missed that one thanks.

 

As long as you check the car out thoroughly, buying used should be OK. Lots of well maintained used C5s out there at good prices.

I have a checklist that I'd be happy to share with you on buying a used C5. It was developed by several forum members and contains some very useful information. Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll get it right out to you.