Here's the story. I've had my 97 C5 for a little over 6 years now. It has about 110K miles (70K of them my own) and it's been an absolute blast! It still turns heads (thanks to the torch red), and gets positive comments as well as the all the time - not to mention it's fun to drive, as well .

However, in the last year and a bit it has become more of a stress source than a stress reliever. These cars are truly electrical nightmares!

Here are the list of problems to date:

The infamous "pull the key wait 10 seconds" comes on every other start-up. Yes, I've had the recall done, and yes I will order the CLB one of these days.

Once every 2 weeks the "service engine soon, traction control" etc comes on. I reset the battery and codes and it goes away for another 2 weeks. I've taken it in to the dealership twice for this and each time they can't find anything wrong. Mainly because it doesn't happen when it is in their hands. Go figure!

The auto climate control has a mind of its own. The temperature constantly resets itself back to the stock setting - frustrating as hell! The A/C doesn't work either. Only blows hot air. Not to mention the display is dim (again!). I fixed it once before.

The driver side mirror doesn't stay in my set position when I push the memory button. It goes all over the place, requiring me to set it almost every other time I get in the car.

One of the tire gauge sensors is broken and so I have to reset the nice little message everytime I start the car.

The suspension squeaks and rattles over any bump I drive over. (not electrical, but still annoying).

Both the driver and passenger seat-backs are broken. They don't hold on one side and the bolster ends up breaking away a few notches to one side. Really really annoying when driving and want to rest my weight against the seat back. Again, not electrical, but also not safe.

I know there are probably many, if not all, fixes for these problems, but I don't have the tools, time, money, or even patience for that matter to start pulling my car apart to try and address these issues. I'm considering selling the car or trading it in on something more "practical" and non-sporty for the time being. My issue is, I love my car so much but I don't know if it's worth the time and $$ to get all these issues addressed so that I can keep the car for another few years or if I should cut my losses and go the "logical route", as my girlfriend wants me to do? Financially, I cannot upgrade to a newer vette (a C5 Z06 would be my goal). And if I sell the vette now then I know it will be a long time till I can replace it with another one - which is a very hard pill for me to swallow.

So, with all that being said what would you guys/gals do? Any input would be much appreciated!

 

Sell

 

and get a later model C5

 

 

Sell and buy a newer one.

 

Keep the car and get a new girlfriend LOL

 

Damn you people and your common sense! I'll probably sell it at the end of the summer, but I can't get a newer one until my financial situation changes.

 

Here's my suggestions:

 

I won't lie to you, it's crossed my mind...

 

every corvette that has been made is a nighmare. a corvette is not a dependable car. i know most will blast me about this because they are in denial about their vette. i have had my 04 since new and it will not go 3 months without something going wrong. 50k for this type of BS is no fun. i would not buy it again if i had know what i know now....

 

 

After reading your reply it makes me think that the problems are not as big as they appear to be. I'll post the codes next time the "service vehicle soon" appears. I put in a new battery two weeks ago and the other issues still occur.

I guess I'll try to address each issue one step at a time. Thanks again for your tips!

 

These cars can be a little tempramental but there's plenty of help here and most of those can be fixed if you work through them slowly. Fix the easy ones first. The EBCM and the AC are the harder ones.

The memory can be a bit flaky. Dont forget it only sets when you use the fob to unlock or when you press the door recall. You can set up o 3 settings on 1,2 and 1+2.

Best of luck

 

I agree with DeeGee... just take a deep breath and look at the issues one at a time. If you run into something you can't fix, post a request for help in the appropriate regional forum, buy a case of beer, and wait for the cavalry.

 

If your financial situation precludes replacing your C5 with a newer C5 or a C6 then this is a good solution. Good luck

 

Sorry you've had so much trouble. I've had my '01 Vert (bought with 22K miles) for over two years; 15K miles and no problems except for the column lock issue which was an easy fix and the rear window separation which again was an easy fix (thanks to forum members advice). Total both problems cost less than $300. I'm definetly not in denial. I've owned Porsches and BMW's and they had as many if not more problems and much costlier to fix.
Have you posted problems here? Maybe you just got a lemon. Again, sorry for your pain, but I'm amazed at how dependable the C5 is.

 

It is your decision...not your girlfriends.

 

God I hate girlfriends...they ruin everything and cost a fortune!

 

DeeGee is spot on with his advice. Take a deep breath and tackle em one at a time. Good luck.



Edit: pics of girlfriend would be nice also.

 

Most problems people have with Vettes or any other car are induced by the owner or caused by neglect.

I bought my 04 CLE new and have had ZERO problems. I also have H/C, headers, a Supercharger etc and still NO problem.

But then again I take car of my cars and don't have problems with any of them.