I am interested in purchasing a Corvette and would like a suggestion
on a year or year range. I am just going to use it as a fun "driver"
and I would like it to be probably no older than 12 to 15 years old.
I have owned two others in my lifetime (a '63 gold split window and a
'78 silver anniversary) and had them for just the same reason--fun to
drive and they were very nice looking.

Importance in highest to lowest order:

1. Best year for reliability and overall general performance
2. Price
3. Low mileage

I have found in the past that there is a sweet spot where the price is
a minimum and the year is somewhere between 5 and 15 years old where
you can get a reliable car with relatively low mileage (say around
50,000 to 60,000 miles maximum). It has been around 20 years since my
last purchase, so I am out of touch with what are the ideal years. I
worked with Dave McLellan about 8 years ago and at that time he
suggested a 1996 or newer based on the technology it had.

What are your suggestions?

 

The question you've asked is somewhat of a quandary because low mileage and low price don't necessarily go together all that well. My 98 has 70K miles on it and I believe it to be worth around $12K (and that's with a moderate accident factored in). However, my 98 is also immaculate and the repair was done by one of the best high-end repair shops in the metro Atlanta area.

But you're awfully close. I think you might very well find what you're looking for in the 50K range or even lower if the car needs a little loving care.

While I think the later model C4's are certainly reliable, I also think that if you go and drive both a C4 and a C5, there won't be any question in your mind what to choose. There were so many revisions between these generations that I think anyone would be hard pressed to make a case for a C4.

As far as reliability, I'll direct you to the sticky at the top of the main C5 General forum page, "Weights, measurements, ratios, strengths, etc". It has far more information than I could possibly write here, but the gist of it is that the C5 is an extremely reliable car with a few known problems:

1) Column Lock
2) Rocking Seat
3) Fuel Guage
4) Leaking Differential

The good and the bad of those problems is that they span all year models. You're just as likely to encounter them in a 2004 as a 1997. The major differences between year models is the availability of a number of features such as the heads-up display and active handling in later year models.

Good luck in your search.

 

You have certainly started me on the way to looking in the right areas. It looks like an older C5 may be what I am looking for.

 

Another factor to think about is what model would you prefer? Coupe, FRC (ZO6) or Convertible. Expect to pay $2-3K more for a convertible over a coupe of the same year. ZO6's are holding their value very well despite the economy.

While I thoroughly enjoyed both the `93 & `96 C4's that we owned, I always felt that I had the Optispark & water-pump issues looming over my head. When the Optispark goes bad (and it will) this can be a very expensive repair. Not to say that the C5 doesn't have it's issues also, but most are covered here on the forum and are easily repairable or preventable.

 

C4s are reliable (I had four of them and always had good luck) and at this point they are very reasonable in price - plus they are fun to drive. They are however, not as ergonomic friendly as the C5 and they do not offer the room of the C5.

The C5 is still falling in price and for $15-18K, you can find a very nice 97-01 car with not too many miles (probably less than 50-60K miles).

 

I don't really care what style, price would dominate here. I always had either a coupe or a T top. What is the equivelent in a C5?

One thing I did not cover: Insurance. Being over 60 should help that there. My first '63, now get this... Cost $190 per year full coverage!! Of course I also had a '59 Rambler American and the $190 covered BOTH. I also lived in Dayton, Ohio at the time.

The '78 Silver Anniversary had a L48 engine and cost me less to insure than the Pontiac 6000 we had. (Of course the Pontiac 6000 had almost as much performance).

 

find yourself a nice c5 in the price range you are comfortable with good luck

 

The C5 coupe would be the equivalent of a coupe or t-top. It's also the most affordable and offers the most trunk space.

 

Since you indicate no preference for body style, the coupes have a removable targa top and versatile storage space. They were the largest percentage of production and generally the most reasonably priced new. Most likely that would be your target car. Much more convenient to use than the T-Tops. I have one of each.

 

And . . .you never mentioned a price range

If you are talking like 20k, you could easily get into a clean (relatively) low milage 2001 or newer coupe (I picked that year becasue there were a lot of upgrades to the model that year).

If you are talking less, you can find a bunch of clean 97 - 2000's out there.

If you are talking more, you can look at C6's (if you like the way they look) Not as big of a difference as between the C4 and C5 but they are a lot more car.

Its really a buyers market right now.

 

Pick up a copy of the latest CORVETTE Magazine. There is a great article about picking up good used Vettes for around 15K. They cover C3 thru C5's so there's a wide range to pick from and lots of great information in the article. Good luck!! Ron

 

One other thing you might consider. There are a few C4 ZR1's out there with higher (50K or so) mileage that fall into this category. If you're wanting something unique, that might be something to consider.