hi folks. Just purchased 2001 convertible in great shape. One owner, dealer maintained, 72000 miles and a women owned it. She took real good care of it. My question is, at this mileage and age, what should I do/look out for right off the bat? Maintenance and stuff?

 

Not much regular maintenance required for the first 100,000 miles.. oil changes when the oil life monitor says so or once a year, which ever comes first. If the car was dealer maintained then they have a bunch of maintenance records.. brakes, fluid changes, battery, coolant etc.. did you get the maintenance records... dealer has them.. tell us what they did to maintain the car? What oil and filter, date and mileage when changed. Trans fluid change differential change date and mileage. Tire changes ( brand and type )mileage and date.. tire pressure sensors etc? All of the recalls, their date of repair etc. All of this stuff should be part of the maintenance record, the dealer has it all. Should have been part of the paper work when you bought it.

 

Hi sir and thanks. Didnt get much records in the way of maintenance. I am a service advisor in a Chry jeep dealership so any fluid changes needed, I can get done. I just changed the oil yesterday. Penzoil 530 full synth. Should i do the coolant, trans , and the diff? Really? Oil changes once a year? How reliable is the oil change monitor? What about shocks? Needs front tires soon and they are not run flats. Brakes are good. What recalls? I could possibly call in a favor and run the vin at chevy

 

The service manager at you local chevy dealer most likely will run you the report with no problem. Maybe get your oil changed and establish a relationship with them and he will do things like that based on my experience with local dealer. Congrats! btw...time for a pic of your new car. Jim

 

Thanks Jim! Changed the oil yesterday. I work at a chry jeep dealer so I can get things done cheaper here. Ill get some pics together

 

I didn't say oil changes once a year.. I said follow the oil life monitor or one year which ever comes first... not the same as once a year..
Next I suspect you got the " It was owned by a little old lady speech...
because if it was dealer maintained which I can tell you now that it wasn't... maintenance records are part of getting a good sale when the dealer takes care of it and makes sure the porential owner knows of all the reconrds.. if they didn't offer any, they did little to keep the car in good shape... a few hours at the detailer is not dealer maintenance... MY C5 is 16 years old I have ever piece of paper receipt oil change date recall . filter coolant and every part I put on the car since the day I bought it..



About 30 pages of maintenance records... my car is in perfect shape not one thing wrong with any of its systems, it has no nicks or scratches..

The oil you use should be a GM spec for a C5 which has a very special heat additive, to make sure the additive package does not degrade due to heat or by shear., The C5 is a bottom feeder.. with poor heat transfer profile.. the oil needs to be very specific for the car.

what kind of tires are on the car.. do the tire pressure sensors work>? are the tires within a safe date stamp under 8 years... date stamp of manufacture on the side wall.
of course you should change all of the fluids... the dealer did not provide you with any evidence it was ever done..... EVER...

LIke when every person who has an operation... they tell people all the time the doctor doing the job is the" Chief of Surgery "... Ive met very few people that had surgery performed by someone other then the chief of surgery...

There arnt that many women in the world to be the owner of a used car, if you believed all the salesman and dealerships that offer up this information. One owner, Dealer maintained, owned by a woman.

 

Good points. I purchased the car from a wholesaler who deals with our dealership. One condition was that my master tech look at the car. Even though he works for Chrysler he is GM guy. Everything works. Coolant is red and looks new. Tpms reads the same as the shop gauge. I haven't looked at the dot on the tires. Leather is good. No warning lights on the dash. The last service is from the same dealer on the car fax. I took off a delco oil filter when I changed the oil. Wiper blades are delco as well. In the glove box I found 2011 vette brochure addressed to a "Donna" as well as some ponytail holders on the floor. The dealer in the car fax is in the same NY town as the address to the owner. Her name was also on the title. I'll get a buddy to run the Vin at the Chevy dealer down here. He owes me a favor. Belts and hoses are good. All lighting works, AC works. CD changer works. Carpet is in great shape, so is the paint. I'll do the fluids at my shop with GM parts. Not much to report with this one. Much cleaner than my last vette.

 

I know I gave you a litany of worst case scenarios.. I would rather do that then just bless the purchase..
From what you are telling me.. things are better then I originally thought.. I would rather be wrong with skepticism, then sugar coat a new purchase..
Good luck with the car.. you came to the right place to get advice.. there are lots of knowledgeable people on this forum.. but there is one caveat..." Be careful who you listen too here..." Not everyone has an actual grasp of this car and the Technology designed into it, and many will offer very bad advice...from 40 year old automotive technology which has no place in this car.
Find out who knows their stuff, and who is living in the 60's
I have a little knowledge of the C5 and its technology, you can always private message me for advice...I don't know it all, but I do know a fair amount.
Bill aka ET

 

Because I bought a 2002 C5 coupe with 71,000 miles back in September. Here is what I did:

Took it to a highly recommended mechanic that I found out about here on the forum.

Had a thorough visual inspection done, including putting the car up on a lift.

Went and bought all Delco fluids and spark plugs at Chevy dealer ($300 in supplies) per mechanic's suggestion

He Flushed cooling system, replaced rear differential, transmission, brake fluid, plugs, removed all debris from up inside radiator space, cleaned and reconnected all grounds, put in a new interstate battery, and at the end of it all, for about $700 total, my car was ready to be enjoyed. Let me tell you, it was a Smart investment. The voltage is running around 14 volts, the headlights at dash lights are no longer flickering, the car is running cooler and entirely smoother, and yes, the previous owner ( original ) took pretty good but not meticulous care of the car. However, he was a senior citizen who clearly wouldn't have even known how to race or abuse the car, the undercarriage was spotless, no oil leaks, no cracks of any kind, just a fantastic sports car that was waiting for me to find her.

Also, I paid $14,500 for the car, in case you're interested.

 

If you do not have the maintenance records and/or do not have access to them, I would change all fluids, check tires, brakes, etc.

Other than that, should be all good.

 

Have you checked all the codes?

 

Guys thanks for the info. I appreciate the concern for me and my purchase. Not much to do now except drive and enjoy!!!

 

You are still in violation of rule # 1 unless I missed it...you must post a pic of your new ride.

 

I will try and post some pics soon. The weather has been crappy here in Myrtle Beach!

 

Congrats on the purchase. After almost one full year of ownership I still get excited to turn the key as much as I did on day one. I hope your ownership will be as enjoyable as mine has been.

 

Congrats on the new ride and welcome! Based on all your comments it sounds like driving it is what you should be doing!

Tires - Run flats vs non run flats. There are many threads on this topic. I replaced 11 year old run flats with non run flats and the ride improved dramatically. You say you need two, swap all four and you'll be happier.

The gas gauge on these can get finicky so adding a bottle of Techron to a couple tanks of gas will help clean that up as well.

There's plenty here to read and plenty of good advice.

Enjoy!

 

Welcome to the family!! A couple of items based on my personal experience:

Column Lock issues - copious info in this site's Tech Forum. Consensus seems to be installation of LMC-5. $40 and its a DIY with world-class support if needed.

Alternator - Electrical systems on these cars are sometimes pretty finicky about replacement alternators, should the need arise. Check with Evil Twin.

CKP - If your car suddenly craps out on you and does not throw a code, its a strong possibility its the crank position sensor. Cheap part but requires starter removal to replace. A bit of a pita for a DIY.

Enjoy and remember to wave at other Corvettes.