Basically bought a lemon and would like input
Pro
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 553
Likes: 0
From: Cape Coral Florida
not a lemon at all. great cars
So a year and a half ago I bought my first Corvette, a yellow 4-speed that I fell in love with and just last month started modding which has been great and fun. I bought a two year extended warranty which will run up in July and it has saved my butt so much but i'm really worried when it runs up, here is a run down of the issues so far.
Bought the car in July, only issue with it was TPMS which I had the dealer fix and its been good.
July 2011 purchased.
September transmission tanked, required rebuild.
December 2011 catalytic convertor failed.
2012
Fuel door failed
Steering wheel sensor was bad had to be fixed.
Fuel door failed again.
Now the Harmonic balancer went bad and serpentine belt is getting replaced too.
The reason I hold on to this car is because it had everything I wanted when I bought it, I wasn't gonna settle for another color or body style, it's also not paid off yet. I love the car it just pisses me off a lot and granted there are a lot of exceptions C5's don't seem to be as bulletproof as everyone makes it seem, lots of gremlins.
Thank goodness my little 99 Cavalier is so damn bulletproof and a great daily driver, as far as reliability. It's a 2004 with 78K on it(put 10K on it).
Bought the car in July, only issue with it was TPMS which I had the dealer fix and its been good.
July 2011 purchased.
September transmission tanked, required rebuild.
December 2011 catalytic convertor failed.
2012
Fuel door failed
Steering wheel sensor was bad had to be fixed.
Fuel door failed again.
Now the Harmonic balancer went bad and serpentine belt is getting replaced too.
The reason I hold on to this car is because it had everything I wanted when I bought it, I wasn't gonna settle for another color or body style, it's also not paid off yet. I love the car it just pisses me off a lot and granted there are a lot of exceptions C5's don't seem to be as bulletproof as everyone makes it seem, lots of gremlins.
Thank goodness my little 99 Cavalier is so damn bulletproof and a great daily driver, as far as reliability. It's a 2004 with 78K on it(put 10K on it).
thats nothing for repairs there are more common failures to come. but for the money you caint get a better preforming car. its a love hate relationship, deal with it or bail. buy a c4 there worse.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 376
Likes: 21
From: Coos Bay Oregon
Every used car has some sort of issue with it. I've bought a lot of them so I know from experience.
Some of those items are really non-issues. The serpentine belt takes about ten minutes to change. That would include the AC belt too. So it's a non issue. You could save more money and hassle by learning to fix a few things yourself.There's a ton of tutorials both here in this forum and on the web.
Good luck with your car. I know that my C5 puts a huge smile on my face everytime I drive it. I even enjoy just sitting in it. I have some issues with my car, but it's still the most favorite car I've ever owned. I may change my mind later, but I doubt it.
Some of those items are really non-issues. The serpentine belt takes about ten minutes to change. That would include the AC belt too. So it's a non issue. You could save more money and hassle by learning to fix a few things yourself.There's a ton of tutorials both here in this forum and on the web.
Good luck with your car. I know that my C5 puts a huge smile on my face everytime I drive it. I even enjoy just sitting in it. I have some issues with my car, but it's still the most favorite car I've ever owned. I may change my mind later, but I doubt it.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 800
Likes: 2
Really? 
Other than the optispark on the 92-96 cars what else is there outside of being an older car?
Your issues from what I have seen are all common to the C5, the trans thing does indeed suck, but at least now you know that is freshened up, and as long as the fluid is changed regularly you shouldn't have much issue. The balancer issue will happen to all C5's if it hasn't already.
Other than the optispark on the 92-96 cars what else is there outside of being an older car?Your issues from what I have seen are all common to the C5, the trans thing does indeed suck, but at least now you know that is freshened up, and as long as the fluid is changed regularly you shouldn't have much issue. The balancer issue will happen to all C5's if it hasn't already.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 19,304
Likes: 85
From: San Diego CA
Yes, some thingswill fail, regardless of the quality and frequency of maintenance. However, a transmission failure at 7XK miles probably means that the previous owner(s) never changed the fluid.
