My buddy is thinking of buying a C5 2003 and we were wondering what to look for in this used car. I'm not much into the newer units or for that matter know to much about them, I like to hang out in the C3 forum where I belong, owner of a 1970 vette. Anything you all can toss out there for us would be appreciated.

 

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ion-files.html

This is a good start!!

 

Lots of good reading here . . .

 

Just be patient and carefully check any car over - a trusted mechanic giving it a look would be a good idea.

 

As a C5 owner and from my own experience, check the DIC for codes and if there are any active find out what they are. You can save yourself a lot of trouble here. Break Control Modules (BCM) are notorious for going bad and they are expensive to replace (about $1K). If there are any warning lights they should be fully checked out. The dual control temperature control module (below the radio) is notorious for going dim or completely dark. If you are a do-it-yourself'er it's an easy fix or you can pull it and have it rebuilt for about $100.00 but if you take it to a dealer you are looking at about a grand. If the car came with magnetic shocks (F45 in the older ones, F55 in the later ones) make sure they've either been replaced already (They're about $5K for a set of four) or the code has been deleted from the BCM and the magnetic shocks have been replaced with base corvette shocks. Mine went at about 80K miles but I've heard of 'em going bad at 17K. A set of Bilstein shocks will cost approximately $150.00 per wheel if you do it yourself and up to a grand for a set of four if a shop does it for you.

The C5's are great cars and a lot of fun to drive. My first vette was a C2, the second was a C3, neither of which were high tech. The C5 is my favorite (so far) but you really have to educate yourself to all the on board systems. They do require maintenance.