Well my work commute is going from 5 minutes to 50 minutes(95% highway) so I want something I’m going to enjoy getting into everyday and my current DD has over 100k so I need something newer. I have till next spring until I start the drive so I’m starting to look now.
I looked at all the brands “sporty” cars and couldn’t believe the C5 gets better MPG then almost all of them and costs only slightly more, so my decision was simple.
Will probably put on about 20k mi a year, My current DD will be doing the winter duties.

I’m pretty sure I’m going with a coupe, preferably 01-04 with less then 40k mi but open to others, for $25k and under, basic mods OK

Have a few questions about what to look for when buying one, reliability, what years had which\more issues, which changes happened between years, which options are best, best time to buy, ect.


I’ve read most of the Sticky posts on some issues
-One of the main questions is how reliable is the manual 6speed? From what I have read the auto is almost bullet proof but have read about the many problems with the Z06 manual trans, same as the manual C5’s?
-Any oil consumption issues on the regular C5’s
-How do you research what dealer work has been done to the car, warranty or not.
-Can you get a warranty on a 01-04?
-Why does it seem the Z06 prices are almost at the same level as the regular C5’s?


All I can think of right now..

 

I think the manual 6 speeds are pretty tough. Obviously they are on borrowed time when you start racing the car a lot and banging gears. Same thing with the autos. Some C5's burn oil, some don't. Most depend on how you drive the car. If you spend a lot of time over 3k RPM, you are more likely to burn oil.

The clutch can also last for over 100k miles, or 5k miles depending on how you drive it. If you plan on a lot of racing it is junk. If not, it'll hold up fine.

 

You'll get better mpg with the 6 speed manual. It'll also last a long time if you don't beat on it-----and it's more fun to drive.

 

There are plenty of good, one or two owner, low miles C5s out there. Just take your time to find a good one.

Where do you live? Find a REPUTABLE Corvette mechanic and make contact. Find out how much the shop charges to assess a car you are considering. Spending $50 to avoice buying a dog is money well spent. Don't fall in love (or lust) so strongly that you cannot walk away from any car you are considering.

Beyond that, when I went looking for a C5, I focused on 2002 through mid-model year 2003. Why? Because the worthwhile running changes (GM continually updates the Corvette) were there by 2002. In mid model year 2003, the EPA forced GM and all car manufacturers to make changes to reduce evaporative emissions. For the C5, that included a downrated fuel injection system (not a big deal unless you mod for big HP later) and the fuel filter was placed inside the fuel tanks. Having changed a few clogged fuel filters through the years, the idea of dropping the tanks to do so didn't excite me. The 04 cars all are configured like that.

I quickly point out that thousands of others have the later 03 and 04 cars and are very happy with them.

There were some oil "consumption" issues that were ironed out by 2002. IIRC, it was due to ring flutter especially when the cars were held in gear and run at higher RPM but low load (as in don't my pipes sound cool.) GM fixed quite a few cars that had this issue.

As to transmissions, yes the A4 is reasonably bullet proof, but a M6 that hasn't been abused is a solid gear box, too. The key is how well the previous owner took care of and drove the car. A couple of missed shifts and lots of slam shifts (or power shifts) generally mean costly repairs to come. If it is tougher to shift into second or third gear the car may need transmission repairs soon. ($$$$$!)

Good hunting! Choose well, and you will love owning a truly remarkable car for years to come.

 

I think if you get a good 2002+ car your oil problems are not an issue. I got a 6 speed with 2002 with 50K and it now has 128k without a problem. I am not an auto guy but go with what you like.

 

Agreed.