So you bought a used car from someone (I'm assuming) that you don't know how they treated the car for the first 48K and you were expecting brand new reliability.

Newsflash, even new cars have problems, that's why they come with a warranty.

 

I was going to ask you what other sports car you have owned and driven the same way that you are comparing the vette to. You already answered the question when you said you bought it when you were 20. All cars require maintenance especially one you may drive hard. The most important thing you can do with any car is keep the air filter clean and change the engine oil regularly. That is the first thing. If it is a used car you have to take into consideration what the previous owner may have done to it. All spirited cars require a little more attention to keep them at their peak performance. Now let me tell you a real story about some experience I have had in the past with new cars right off the show room floor. I owned a 1993 Ford Tarus and drove it until my wife totaled it at 190,000 miles. I do all our mechanical work myself including oil changes except when there is warranty work that needs to be done. I decided to replace the Tarus with a brand new one in 2000. The car started leaking oil at about 1,100 miles so I took it back the dealership. After 8 trips (replaced all kinds of seals, oil pan, rear main) over about a 6 month period of time and the dealer giving me all kinds of excuses they finally tried to tell me it was a casting defect and they wanted to replace the engine. Nadaa! I took it in to their shop pulled the tag, handed the service manager the keys, told them the car was theirs, carried the registration, plate and information from the Attorney Generals office on Lemon laws right onto the show room floor infront of several customers and told the sales manager I was pissed and wanted a new car. They couldn't get me out of that show room fast enough. I got a new replacement car with more options and a 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Guess what this isn't the end of the story. I drove off the lot satisfied they did me right. 6,000 miles later while going to visit my parents the transmission shelled at 60mph. I don't mean a little I mean parts blown apart. Now I was really pissed. When they got the car back to the dealership and I showed up they were already working on what they could do to keep me happy. I gave up on the Taurus idea and worked with them on a good deal for a 02 Explorer. Everyone told me I would have problems with it. We drove it until last year with 245,000 miles. When the clunker program came out we decided to take advantage of it and pick up a new Ford Fusion. Think the story is over yet? NaDaaa We drove the Fusion to 16,000 miles and the transmission completely exploded. (This is my wifes car. No hard driving) That was probably the most pissed I have ever been with a car. I took it back to the dealership. (A lot of guys know me there because I work on cars in my spare time so I buy a lot of parts and look around in the show room) the same sales guys are there but there was a new sales manager. I told the new sales manager about the problem and my previous experience. (The service writer, service manager and sales guy backed me up) and that I could kick myself in the *** for ever buying another Ford Car. He tried to tell me he had never heard of this happening to a Fusion. I had already Googled it and had about 5 pages of complaints about the transmission going out on them. I gave that to him and told him the only way I would settle for a new transmission and keep the car is if they would give me a full 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. They replaced the Tranny with upgraded parts and I have driven it every since. Moral of this story. New cars can be a piece of crap also. I don't think Vettes are anywhere near as unreliable as other cars. Especially if you drove them the way I drive mine.

 

I have had other sports cars. I had a BMW M3 before and I drove the CRAP out of it, I made many more drag racing passes in the M3 and mountain runs and all kinds of things and never had a mechanical problem. I had the M3 from 88k miles to 126k miles and it always ran strong. I had that car for about the same amount of time as I have had this Z06. I always do as much of my own work to the car as I can, oil changes, fluid changes, etc... The only things I have not done myself on the corvette are the A/C system replacement, valve spring failure fix, and now motor rebuild...

 

Originally Posted by swollix
I bought this car under the assumption that they were pretty reliable but lately it's just been one headache after another... I bought the car with 48k and it was flawless till about 80k when it started falling apart. Since 80k I have gone through:
2 radiators - orginal got two cracks, replacement blew a hole in the bottom
3 oil pressure senders - I'll try the brass
A/C system - compressor went out, also replaced other things
windshield washer pump - I know, but wondering why it failed
valve spring failure - Spring broke at 30mph and 2000 RPM
coolant overflow tank - Cracked in multiple spots
leaf spring bolt failure - broke in half while driving over a speedbump
Interior vinyl splitting on doorpanels and center console - Never use cleaners, just water usually while washing my car
front emblem falling apart - flags blew off while driving
HVAC control lights out - Still sucks that this happens, NONE of the lights on the buttons or display are on, I have to turn the interior lights on at night to control HVAC
coolant temperature sensor - again seems like crap quality

 

Guys what other things an I expect to replace soon? My main concern is that after this engine rebuild, something else will break and I will be due for another $2,000+ repair...

 

Are you doing anything else to the motor? Perhaps the clutch?

Honestly, I haven't had any of the issues you've had, but I know that there are some common issues like the pressure sending unit. But that's also a common issue on F-bodies too. That and the column lock issue you can chock up to GM's engineering and quality control.

However, you've had issues that aren't really build quality issues.

2 radiators wouldn't be a GM issue.
The A/C systems usually go bad if they're not used every week due to seals getting dried out. I keep my A/C on at all times no matter what.
The valve spring failure on the late 02 Zs wasn't very common, but you may have found the needle in the hey stack. There was indeed a bad batch of springs that GM got.

Some of the odd ones though are the coolant tank and the spring bolt... The front emblem falling apart? Interior splitting...

To me this sounds like the car is sitting under a magnifying glass directly under the sun. As far as I know, these things don't usually happen. Your interior will stay in as good shape as you keep it, but the plastic stuff breaking is not common at all. And I wouldn't even venture a guess as to how it's breaking other than if it were extreme heat.

Honestly, most of the issues you're having sound like they're environmental issues.

 

you answered your question in post 23 i bet the guy that bought your bmw thinks "unreliable" since you "ran the crap out of it"! you might have bought this c5 from someone who "ran the crap out of it"

 

The car is daily driven so it would spend more time in the sun than a weekend warrior. I park it in the carport at home though.

 

Bet those borla's sound good!

Try not to be too frustrated. Things will get better. As I said, it sounds like you're repairing the things that needed addressed.

The one thing people don't realize is the biggest enemy of a vette is not driving it. Sounds like the PO didn't drive it a whole lot and now you're the lucky one who gets to pay for that very common lack of maintenance issue. But then again at 45K, depending on when you bought it, was adequate.

The valve springs on the early Z06 was the very reason I didn't buy a Z06 and bought my FRC.

But if you feel you need to unload it and it's scaring you off, I couldn't blame you. We all need a car we have confidence in.

 

My C5 is now 11 years old & 117,xxx miles on it. Inside the interior is immaculate, outside the paint is immaculate. It is completely bone stock except for two things: ACA Hid headlights and console cover. There are only 2 people that have ever driven this car; my wife & me. It has never been horsed, raced, tracked. The rear wheels have never broken free, never a wheel spin, has never seen over 75 mph (interstate) unless my wife didn't tell me she had. All the running gear, (motor, trans, rear end) is original and have never been worked on. All the sensors are original, never had but 1 code and that was the AC (replaced a fuse). The car is serviced religiously by me. My dual AC leds went out but fixed them myself (easy fix).
Now I did pull the intake off last week because I was getting a drop or two of oil on the garage floor. Thinking it may be the EOP (oil pressure sensor), I got a set of intake & throttle body gaskets, pulled the intake off, My God, it was a mess. And this is where the oil was coming from (the intake maifold). Look at my latest post & there are pics of it. Cleaned it spottlessly and now oil leak completely gone. I've had 7 vettes since '63 & I can't remember one I didn't have a problem with. But I was a wild young azz & ran the hell (or crap) out of 'em.
Personally, I agree with the others guys on here. You either got a lemon or the previous owner ran the crap out of it and didn't maintain it. Look on the bright side, after all the repairs, you'll have a good car & you'll know whats been done to it. Best of luck & hang in there.


Gregg

 

Oh yeah,

Going forward on the AC, run your defroster on occassion. Modern day cars all use the AC for the defroster and it will cycle your AC for you and keep the seals from drying ot.

 

paragraphs are your friend.

 

I like the car a lot, it's just been a real hassle lately. I am trying to keep it for as long as I can.

 

What it sounds like to me are two things happened. You bought a Corvette from someone else who beat the hell out of it and didn't know because you don't work on cars and number two because you dont work on cars your mechanics are getting rich off your ignorance. Many parts can be fixed for free like the HVAC.

 

Not sure what you mean by being driven like one. There is a huge difference between driving a car hard & taking corners at very high speeds and abusing a car. Two radiators is very unusual because there is very little to fail in a radiator. Most radiators fail due to poor maintenance. If maintained properly they will outlast the rest of the car. I suspect the coolant wasn't changed properly when it was due to be changed and maybe the replacement was damaged when it was installed.

Bill

 

How can the HVAC be fixed for free? I do as much work as I can myself, but messing with engine internals is something I don't want to touch and I don't have the time and tools to do.

 

You guys still haven't answered my other question. What else could I expect to break soon? Transmission? Differential? Torque Tube? Bushings? Leaf springs?

 

If I or anybody else could tell you that, we would own wall street, not just read about it. And yes, if you're referring to the dual AC leds, they can be fixed for free. The search button is your friend.

BTW, nice looking Z

 

Do a search on dim HVAC I fixed mine for free. My 02 vert is at 92k and nada has broken yet. I had some small stuff like the HVAC but I fixed them for less than $200. In answer to your question all of those things could potentially break. The Z06 has more lift in the valvetrain than an M3 and the valvetrain can be super sensitive to cold reving. You fire that baby up dead cold and go slam gear and the valvetrain isn't going to last. Not saying you did that but it is entirely likely the old owner did. Z06s tend to attract different buyers than other Corvettes. Also you have put almost double the number of miles on the car in the last 8 months. GM does make crap...my Sierra Denali was a $50,000 piece of garbage...but my Corvettes have generally been reliable. My C4 was blown up in one night because I lent it to someone. Driver has a lot to do with how a car holds up. My interior looks almost brand new at 9 years old and almost 100k miles and yours ripped before that. I drove cars a lot differently at 20 than I do at 29. I bought my Z at 23. I had a Firebird before that I broke several times. I learned how to drive fast without breaking things. Just because BMW let you thrash on the car without breaking doesn't mean much with another vehicle.

I am guessing if you dont change how you are driving many more things will break.

 

Originally Posted by jrose7004
I've had 3 C5's and both have been trouble free.