RotaryDad here, the 64 year old first time potential buyer.

As noted, the first C5 we saw was a dog. Been looking at lots of others on-line here in sunny Florida and am preparing to go take a look.

Appears that hardtops for the '99-'02 range are going from $12K to $17K and convertibles are about $4-5K more. Looking for automatics.

I see some private sellers, Ebay's, established large dealers and quite a number of "off the main drag" car dealers who have them.

I signed up for AutoCheck but I am wondering what initial checks that I could do to identify a potential spruced up dog, finely detailed but still a mechanical dog when reviewing these cars. I've been around cars forever so I have a pretty good mechanical ability.

For example, the pewter automatic dog had a clank when shifting from drive to reverse and back again. That particular car had not been detailed at all and had leaves in the engine compartment.

A dealer, who maybe picks up a car at an auction, especially the smaller guys, will detail the heck out of it and put it on his lot, without much concern about the mechanics of the car.

So, I'm looking for some instant things I can look for, under the car (ex: oil drips), soot in the pipes, unusual rattles, etc. where I could quickly eliminate a potential dog, keeping in mind that a detailed car will have been steam cleaned above and below.

Thanks...Bob

 

If I had it to do over again I would buy a 2001 or newer. There are some parts that are not available for the older cars one is the EBCM. Make sure the seats are good (air bladders hold air foam is stiff) and the climate control functions perfectly. Headlights go up and down smoothly. Look under and around the battery for signs of acid spills. Leaking of the rear end is common. Good luck in your quest and wait for your perfect car.

 

That is the best advice anybody can give you. And remember
The following motto;

Buy cheap, get cheap!

You might save a dime but it will cost you a quarter later if not more.

Please when going to look at a vette ask for the build sheet to see
What options are included.
If not get the vin# and bring it to the service area of your local
Chevrolet dealer and he will run a vin# print out that
Will include all options and what was done to it under the 36 month orig
Warranty period. Also run a car fax.

 

Look at and drive a bunch, you will be able to tell the difference pretty easily. The first one I looked at was a 2000 w/130k at a Chevy dealer, the cracked paint on the front bumper should have thrown me off. It was definitely beat on, was loose and had less power than the LS1 F-bodies I had driven before. The '02 that I ended up getting is tight and feels like a new car.

 

I bought my C5 on ebay. Was an ugly experience but got the car in the end. The problem i had was after I won the bid, i continued to ask more questions leading up to the actual sales transaction. He kept getting pissed because he was taking it as me not trusting him. My questions were valid... i.e. has the car had any recalls... Apparently that was the straw that broke the camels back and he told me that he was going to report me as a non-paying bidder so he could get his sellers fee back and refused to sell me the car. I had previously asked him if he wanted the $1K deposit now or just give him the payment in full within the week. He said he trusted me and to just give him the payment in full. Big mistake for me... He tried to use this against me later as a non-paying bidder even though we had this agreement. Get any agreement in writing or through the ebay message system. At least there will be a paper trail in the event of a dispute later...

Things to check out on the car:
- Check the under side of the nose of the car. The amount of scrapes is telling of how careful the driver was with the car. A clean front end means they cared for the car.
- really look closely at the paint for any touch-ups. My car had some major touch up areas i didn't notice at the time of sell. One of which made me speculate as to whether the whole side door panel was repainted. There was overspray in the whole left side of the car that wasn't noticeable to the untrained eye. Really look the whole car over.
- look to ensure the door gaps, hood alignment, trunk lid alignment is perfectly symmetric. Any non-symetric gaps is a sign of an accident or panel/door replacement...
- see how clean the engine looks... another sign of how well the owner cared for the car.
- take the opportunity to get the car with the mods you want when you buy the first time. People will not see most their money back on mods like headers, exhaust, cold air intake, etc... Those mods mentioned alone will cost you around $2K+. Find a car with exactly what you want. There are just too many out there not too. Don't settle for any other color than exactly what you want either.
- Expect the leather interior on the seats to show signs of cracking. The C5 leather is not the best. My car only had 7800 miles on it when i bought it 2 years ago, and the leather looked every bit of 7 years old, if not older... it's common.. if you can find leather that looks good, another sign it's been well taken care of.
- Tires can run $1600... take this into consideration... ask about the tread. Use it to negotiate the price down if the tread isn't great... not much, but every little bit helps
- When test driving the C5, take note of the wind noise around the targa top... C5's are notorious for wind noise and non-perfect seals... they all have them.. in particular when traveling in excess of 70mph

Hope this helps...

Scott

 

Spend 19k and get a nice 2002 or a higher mileage 2003......I researched my Corvette choice by checking on reliability rated by Consumer Reports.

Go view and test drive 3 cars with private owners that have title in hand. Make a decision on next step but eventually you can meet at the DMV to make the exchange after deal completion. Cash talks.......but a check at the bank with sale of the car's VIN present on the check is safer (they can go in and immediately cash the check if they wish).

The fail rates of problem components in 2003 and 2004 is a fraction of rate of earlier produced cars. 2004 being the best overall. Low mileage Corvettes are everywhere. For some reason, many owners do not drive their cars.............go figure. Great for people that drive them regularly.

 

The best thing about my vette is that it is a stock vert. IMHO all the speed BS that everyone is touting is not going to help you. An unmodded vert of any C5 year will return the most joy. Put the top up and you will be snug as a bug in a rug. Drop the top (takes about 10 seconds) and you are getting "nice ride" comments continualy. Push the loud pedal to the floor and you probably have more than you can handle. STOCK STOCK nice looking and low mileage. My 2 cents

 

If your around the Ft. Lauderdale area go see Steve @ Corvette Experience. He's a honest Corvette salesman. Everything he sells is a fair deal, he doesn't sell junk. Steve is a good guy, been in business for a long time.

 

Pull the diagnostic codes from the DIC - if you do not know how to do it, there is plenty of posts here on the forum on the procedure. If you just can't find it using the search function, PM me and I'll send you all the files I have on buying a C5, including a Corvette Buyers Checklist.

 

When we bought ours it was the first one we looked at. As soon as the seller took the cover off the car my knees were weak. An '03 torchred coupe. He immediately pointed out a small rock chip in the windshield and that the drivers seat needed some minor upholstry work. As I walked around the car I noticed the rear tires were pretty much wore out. Took it for a test ride and it was flawless. Agreed on a fair price and we bought it. Don't regret it for a minute.A little over a year later the seat and the chip in the windshield have been repaired. New tires all around (Kuhmo runflats) and changed out all fluids. It's driven everyday rain or shine. We love it.

 

No engine mods would be first on my list and low miles would be second.

 

As others have said, buy cheap and you take your chances.

Don't be afraid to pay a little more and buy from a reputable new car dealer. If the car was junk they would have auctioned or wholesaled it.

Doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a good looking over, but most reputable new car dealers will week out the crap.

Don't be afraid of low mileage. Some people here will tell you that you shouldn't trust a low mileage car. That's crazy talk. Garage queens are typically babied. Look for obvious signs of neglect, like leave in the engine compartment or so much dirt you can't see the aluminum suspension. Even in a low mileage car, this is a danger sign. The big issue I would find with a low mileage car is that it may have been drag raced, but even that is not as awful as it sounds as Corvette drive trains are very stout.

All in all, pay a little more, get a lot more.

 

Did I post too much detail?
...................................

Corvette C5 Codes

To list your codes, turn the ignition key to the ON position, but don't start the engine. Clear any present DIC messages (like Door Ajar, or Service Steering Column) by pressing the RESET button. Then hold the OPTIONS button down, while pressing the FUEL button 4 times. This will get you into the CODES section of the DIC.
The computer will automatically display all the codes your car is or has created. It will cycle through each code every 3 seconds. You can watch it display codes for every module in your car. If you want to write them down, go ahead. Any code that ends in H is a history code - something that has occurred in the past but is fine now. The computer is very sensitive and would throw a code if you turned the radio off while tuning it.
Once the computer has finished going through all of it's automatic codes, press RESET to enter Manual Configuration. It should start with a module and show "NO CODES" or "# CODES". If it shows a number of codes, press and hold RESET until it displays "NO CODES".

 

Can't beat a stock, well cared-for unit of any year!!! Also, it will pay dividends in reliability, driveability, and fun. Highly modified units often have their owners chasing driveability issues forever!! That being said, be sure you search out the one with the options you want and not the ones you don't want. My previous one had memory, Select ride, etc. which have been headaches for others. My present one has 3.15 performance gears, Z51 suspension, etc. I am much happier with this one as a result.

DSTURBD

 

I agree with everyone elses comments about paying more and getting more. I paid a premium for a low mile car. Car needed literally nothing other than gas at time of pickup.

One other thing I will mention is to be very, very, very careful with cars that spent any part of their life in the rust belt. Even cars in the south right now can be transplants. I had many people tell me their cars were never driven in the snow. Sure, but when you saw the underside you could still see rusty bolts, aluminum castings turning white, etc. They never mentioned that their cars may have been driven in early spring when salt was still on the road.

Old Joe

 

Thanks for the great tips!!! We are going to look at a couple today although we have a mini-tropical storm going on here (FL). No buying decisions in the rain...

Regarding the Codes, I was thinking that no one would let me plug in a code reader to their car but it appears that by hitting a couple of switches, the codes can be read.

Could I get the instructions for doing this? I assume that the codes are read somewhere near the speedo. I'd like to look like I know what I am doing...

Thanks again, Bob

PS: One of the cars we are going to see today is a dealer (FL) 2003 50th Anniversary with 78K milkes. Wants $21K. Seems like a good price for a car with 20K miles but not the 78K. AutoCheck is good. Comments?

 

There's a link here somewhere but I couldn't find it right off. So here ya go.

Obtaining Vehicle Codes from the DIC

The IPC display, the 20-character, vacuum florescent screen above the steering column that says "Corvette by Chevrolet" every time you turn on the key, is a powerful device. DIY Service Techs are going to be most interested in the IPC's ability to show diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) for all the modules that transmit them.
The "diagnostic display" mode is entered with the following procedure:
1. Turn on the ignition but don't start the engine.
2. Press the "reset" button to turn off any warning messages
3. Press and hold "options" and
4. While holding "options", press "fuel" four times within a 10-second period.
Inititially, the on-board diagnostics go into the "automatic" mode which shows each module's DTCs in a pre-set sequence:
• 10 PCM Powertrain Control Module page 6-357 - 6-361
• 28 TCS Traction Control system ABS on page 5-86
• ?? RTD Real Time damping page 3-136 (I do not have this option)
• 40 BCM Body Control Module page 8-405 UTD Page 8-727
• 60 IPC Instrument Panel Cluster page 8-508
• 80 radio page 8-213
• 99 HVAC Heater Vent-Air Conditioning page 1-118
• A0 LDCM Left Door Control module page 8-904 to 8-951
• A1 RDCM Right Door Control Module page 8-904 to 8-951
• AC SCM Seat Control module page 8-1064 -8-1082
• B0 RFA Remote Function Actuation page 8-676
For each module, all DTCs will be displayed. If none are present in a module, you will see "no more codes" on the ICP display.
There are two kinds of DTCs, "Current" and "History," designated with a letter suffix, "C" or "H". A current code indicates that the malfunction is present in the system whose module is displaying data. A history code indicates a problem existed in that module sometime in the last 40 or 50 ignition cycles. When not accompanied by a current code of the same number, it is possible it's evidence of a previous problem, now solved, that was not removed by clearing codes. More likely is that a history code indicates an intermittent malfunction. "Intermittents" are the most challenging DTCs. An intermittent may have happened only once, may have happened more than once but is inconsistent in its appearance or may be happening on a regular basis but not at the time the IPC is displaying codes. History codes can also be caused by a current malfunction in a system that is not operating at the time DTCs are displayed. An example is the rear window defogger which doesn¹t operate until the BCM detects engine rpm. For history codes set by a system that does not operate with the key on and engine off, a special diagnostic tool called a "scan tester" is necessary to properly diagnose the malfunction.
Once the IPC has displayed all 11 modules, the system goes into the manual mode which allows selection of each module using combinations of DIC buttons. The manual mode can also be entered at any time during the automatic sequence by pressing any button except "E/M". Once the IPC displays "manual diagnostics," you may select a particular module by pressing the "options" button to go forward or the "trip" button to go back. Once a system is selected and a DTC is displayed, if more than one are present; press "gages" to move forward or "fuel" to go back.
To exit the diagnostic mode at any time, press "E/M". If you want to erase or "clear" codes, press "reset." Clearing a code does not repair a problem. You are simply erasing the evidence of it in the module's memory.
• 10 PCM Powertrain Control Module page 6-357 - 6-361 Domestic
• A=DTC set immediately and MIL is turned on
• B=MIL turned on after 2 consecutive drive trips
• C=After one failure and stored in History MIL not turned on
To access a full list of DTCs for your Corvette, select your model year below:

 

"1. Turn on the ignition but don't start the engine.
2. Press the "reset" button to turn off any warning messages
3. Press and hold "options" and
4. While holding "options", press "fuel" four times within a 10-second period.
Inititially, the on-board diagnostics go into the "automatic" mode which shows each module's DTCs in a pre-set sequence: "
-------

Rotary Dad here:

Is the Reset button in plain sight on the display? Haven't seen many C5's yet so I am not familiar with the dash. I assume that the "Option" and "Fuel" are also buttons...

Thanks, Bob

 

RotaryDad here:

Found the Code Button proceedure on YouTube! (...and for a C5)

Thanks again, Bob

 

Just stick around here and you can learn just about anything you need to. Internet access sure makes owning one of these cars easier. Good luck with the search.