I purchased my 1998 (MN6) C5 3-1/2" years ago. It had 23,500 miles on it. I love my vette but rarely drive it; it now only has 24,500 miles. I usually take it to corvette shows in and around my area. I even remodeled my garage for my baby. The car is in A-1 condition and I would like to keep it that way until I will the car to my daughter. My question is outside of the yearly oil change what else should I be doing? What have I neglected doing? Keep in mind I drive less than 350 miles per year. I am not mechanically able to do any routine maintenance but I do have a mechanic at a Mobil station that I trust (he does my oil changes on the vette) and works on my daily driver for the last 20 years. He even let's me buy the oil and filter. I am sure he will let me buy what is needed for my vette. I am very leary of taking it to a dealer for repair. My experiences with dealerships is they charge you for things not needed. I purchased new tires last fall. Please advise

 

Do yourself a HUGE favor and drive it!

 

I agree with PryOpen. As Jason Aldean sings, "I take the cover off and let them horses sing".

 

Actually...not much.

Have any idea if the brake fluid or coolant has been touched since 1998? I think the coolant is five years and not sure on the brake fluid (but that absorbs water...a minuscule amount in your case but something to think about) and its easy to flush.

Id recommend that you keep the tank full at all times (with 93) and a can of Techron in the tank every once in a while wouldn't hurt. Its also a gas stabilizer and keeps sediment from building on the gas gages in the tanks. Hard to say how often because you don't really use the car, its no problem putting it in every time but thats over kill for a driven car but in your case may be worth it as a stabilizer.

Should think about the tires also. You don't sound like a "drive it like you stole it" type but tires will harden over the years so they aren't going to perform as well after five or so years. If it just sits, theres no sense in putting new tires on it just to let it sit another five years, but if you're driving on ten year old tires.....Id probably avoid speeds approaching 100 mph ) just a thought.

Plugs, wires, belts, tranny fluid, rear end fluid are all on miles....which you're not doing. Its possible the belts may develop small cracks and that would make sense to change....but I doubt it, they seem to be very durable these days.

You deserve some Ice Cream. Find a place thats ten miles away and treat yourself to some every Sunday.

Happy motoring

 

I also don't drive a heck of a lot in my 2003 Corvette. I've owned it for 7 years now and have only put 7K miles on it. But it's never ignored for any amount of time. Even if I'm just backing it out of the garage to fiddle with a new light mod. Presently I'm working on the rear console.

But as mentioned, I need to drive it a lot more which is in my future plans, so long as I can get my health back. But I do Have almost 16K miles on the clock so I need to get her out and stretch her lags. As many other performance cars I've drove, it still is the best car I ever owned. Last month it was washed, clay barred, and then a really fantastic "Carnubu" wax job and she looks fantastic.

The one thing that constantly worries me is getting rear-ended by a teenager 'Texting' while driving. The average driver out on the roads today have almost no logic and concern about smashing your baby and in general could care less about what means a lot to you. Yes, a very selfless attitude, but one that is shared in general by the motoring public. I just am always very cautious when on the streets. I'm even taking a "Defensive drive" course from AAA.

But I'm happy do little lighting mods or something else but I'm really starting to log down more and more miles. These vettes need to be run, otherwise they get "barn-sour" !

 

I purchased a "show car", and now drive it 50 miles a day, 7 days a week. As said before, do yourself a favor and drive it.

 

You will not regret it. As was said in an earlier thread, enjoy it while you have it, dont "save" it for the next owner. The difference between 24K miles and 80K miles is maybe a grand or so in a sale... Maintain and Drive!!

 

Very well said

 

I'd agree with Jistari - if the brake and coolant fluids haven't been changed, do that. Since you have a manual tranny car, change the clutch fluid. Check all hoses and belts for signs of deterioration. Probably no need to do the differential or tranny, but if you wanted to you could do so.

And by all means, get the car out every now and then - it helps keep all the seals lubricated and puts a smile on your face at the same time.

 

After I purchased my low milage C5 I did the following over the next year for peace of mind:

Changed Coolant.
Changed belts and tensioner. (dry rot and 11 years old)
Replaced Tranny and Diff fluids.(11 years old)
Changed brake and clutch fluid. (11 years old)

Now I drive it every sunny weekend.

 

I would make sure that all your fluids and filters are fresh. Check for dry rot.

I wouldn't keep a car that I don't drive though. Its actually worse to store it then to put some miles on it.

 

I had but cancelled my appointment with the dealership today. The were going to look at the car and tell me what I needed to have done. I found a place (Vette Restoration) close to where I live (Southfield MI) that works on corvettes only. Has anyone ever heard of or done business with them? They told me for $120.00 they would go over the vette with a fine tooth comb and tell me what needs to be done. My concern is they want me to drop the car off and come back in a couple hours and they will then go over a checklist of what needs to be done. I have a little problem with trusting some place that I never been to. Am I just being paranoid? They told me I could not stay while they were inspecting the vette because of insurance reasons. How do I know if I am not there (they do something) just to get more cash from me. I do not belong to any corvette clubs but maybe I should contact a few to see if anyone there has done business with them.

 

Yes... Drive it! The worst thing for these cars are to sit.

Coolant- change every 5 years
Brake and Clutch- every 3 years

Check all rubber... hoses, belts, tires, bushings... when sitting they can dry rot/crack depending on what the environment is like.

Treat the leather and seals with conditioner.

Wash and clay bar the paint and get a good coat of sealant on the paint.

Then drive it some more.

 

it really just hurts my heart to hear about people not driving a car.

 

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

 

I thought they were a little kookie over on the C6 forum and the C5 forum was the place for sensible vette owners.

 

 

You have every right to be paranoid. The way I see it, it's your money and your car, if you want to be there while they do the inspection then they should accommodate you. Other than that, like almost everyone else has said, drive the dang thing. If you want a cruising buddy, let me know. I live just up the road in Wixom. I have probably the only Corvette in Michigan with Texas Tech stickers.

 

Gee, one tank of gas per year. Thats pretty amazing. Wouldn't work for me though...