Good morning everyone! I have always had a soft spot for Corvettes, especially the C5 which in my mind is the best style of them all!

Now, I have never before contemplated buying a car more than three years old, but the other day, I stumbled across a C5 cabriolet auto, 2003, with only 47000kms (less than 30000 miles) that has only travelled the length of France once a year to visit the Cannes film festival, the rest of the time, sitting under cover and given a run every week by the owner's chauffeur! Price is not cheap but the condition is like new and I thought to myself, this is a must-have!

My thinking, and my reason for registering here is to get confirmation, is that this car is barely run in and should be good for many years to come, yes? Are there any items of known weakness I should be looking for (all marques have their idiosyncrasies, so I guess the C5 is no different..?)

I have two questions if anyone would care to help please:
1. Fuel consumption. To date I have been running Mercedes V8 cars, so I am realistic. What should I expect? - bearing in mind that there are strict limits in France that are well policed, so the car will be driven conservatively.
2. Did the C5 have a built in sat nav option? If so, is it possible to get an original module, or maybe best fitting a modern after market one?

Help is appreciated, and I look forward to being a regular if the sale goes ahead!

 

Welcome to the forum. The C5 is a very good, and reliable car, that should give you many years of enjoyment provided it has been well maintained. There is a sticky at the top of this section about buying a C5 - it has lots of information on what to look for, a checklist for buying, and information on common problem areas. Reading that is highly recommended.

As to your questions, if the car is a manual transmission, highway mileage can be up to 29-30 mpg or so. If it has an automatic transmission, the mpg will be less, say in the 25-27 range. Of course there are many factors that can change those numbers, but they are certainly realistic when the car is driven conservatively.

The C5 did not come from the factory with a sat Nav system, but there are plenty of aftermarket options out there to put a Nav system in the car. A number of owners modify their radio bezel to accept a double DIN unit and then install the Nav. A good place to get information on options is from forum vendor Dennis at Double D Mods. He can answer all your questions.

Good luck with your search for a C5 - sounds like you may have found a really nice, low mileage one.

 

Thanks for the encouragement Jack! Yes, I saw the sticky after I posted, so apologies not being more methodical.
Encouraging though on your prediction on mileage. I had in mind nearer 21mpg and that on a good day! I fear that reputation on American Muscle over here has not left the heady days of the 80s!
I will study what Dennis has once I have the car - hopefully in a week or so.

 

Sounds like the perfect used car, well kept with little or no rough use.

I have a stock six speed convertible, and get around 15 miles per gallon around town, but would touch 18 if I drove more carefully. When you get it into overdrive, 6th, the big torque will turn a high gear in a light car and get the milage suggested in the earlier post. Unless you are on the open road, it's tough to find a place for sixth gear or much above third for that matter, street speed limits come into play quickly for me.

 

Jacks advice, as always, is spot on. On the MPG question; while that kind of mileage is in possible I wouldn't really count on it a whole lot unless you do primarily highway driving with CC set. It's pretty tough to keep your foot in check when driving a C5.

Have I gotten 30+ in my 2003 M6? Sure, but not for too awfully long.

Good luck

 

When you study the threads that discuss everything that can go wrong with this car you can end up with the wrong impression. It is basically a very durable car that was engineered to go 200,000 miles. The car you have found is now 12 years old so, over time, there will be items (especially those made of rubber) that wear out from mere age rather than wear and tear. But you should have better results with the car you have identified than you have a right to expect from a true sports car. And has anyone yet mentioned how much fun it is to drive? You are definitely on to something.

 

Congrats on your new C5!

Post up some pics when you can...and welcome to the asylum!

 

Sounds like a good buy, a low mileage Vette that was used weekly to keep all the parts lubricated.
OP, if you buy it, that chauffeur is really going to miss those weekly "exercise" rides.

 

Are you able to get 91 octane fuel? Anything less can be problematic.

 

My wife and I spent six weeks in France last year. Your motorway speed limit of 130kph is more fun than the 110kph limit here in Australia. Driving in Paris was exciting, to say the least. As for fuel economy, you can expect 8-9L/100k on the motorway and 12-13L/100k in the city.

In dash Sat-Nav is possible after modification to the radio bezel. I prefer to use my Garmin, which I can transfer from one vehicle to another.




Stu

 

Last time I checked, France wasn't considered a Third World country.

 

Never been to France ... don't get to far from Oklahoma, so I was curious.

 

No offense intended mate. It's just that some of you never seem to venture very far from your home turf. There's a lot to see and do out there.

Premium unleaded fuel is available just about everywhere. We use a different formula to obtain our octane rating in Australia. Regular unleaded is 91, mid-range is 95 and premium is 98 (Corvette fuel). We also have regular unleaded with 10% ethanol rated at 89.

One of the largest and most active Corvette Clubs outside the USA is in Norway. They just love hosting Corvette owners from overseas, so if any of you get the chance, look them up. They own some of the nicest Vettes I've ever seen.

 

Thanks Stu... heck your octane ratings are higher than they are here in the heart of some of the biggest oil and gas fields in the USA! But, I live in a pretty rural area. Would love to do more travel but, can't afford it. Not complaining just the way it's worked out... wife had breast cancer and chewed up a good bit of what we had stashed away for retirement... She's good now in remission... but it's still a fight. Not exactly how we planned it. Thanks again very nice of you to clarify. Your welcome at my campfire anytime mate.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies - especially on mileage. I was expecting a lot worse. Yes I can get 91 fuel, and will experiment.

However, all depends on my getting the car now - there is an infectious enthusiasm here on the car that kind of makes me looking forward to the day! I could not raise the dealer on the phone yesterday, but when it all pans oiut, I will post a picture!

 

Well, a bit of a set-back. The dealer where I saw the car has come back from holiday today telling me that the car is in fact reserved for a previous customer who is collecting next week!

Pity as it was cabriolet and yellow - a perfect combination of 'in your face' 'vette!

Now, all is not lost as there is another one with even less mileage, 29000kms - but it is a Targa and Spiral Grey, a bit boring in comparison but I will take a look at it!

 

Keep up the search. The right one is out there for ya. Spiral Grey is actually my first choice when I was looking. I think you'll like it.

Did not know you were going through that, sorry to hear. We went through it a few years ago and things do get better. Hope and pray things go well for you both. Glad she is in remission.

 

 

Thank you guys...