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I bought my '98 over 17 years ago and love it. I had the front wheel bearing issues, column lock issues, gas gauge issues, but no EBCM issues. Car is highly modified with less than 29K miles. When I am ready, I probably will switch to a C7.
Love my '99 coupe. Bought it one year ago, before I ever looked at this forum. Have learned a lot here about the "common" issues and have worked thru the ones mine had. No ebcm problems or anything major @ 68,000.
Everybody that I know hate their '97-'00! Just kidding. I only know 2 people with cars in that time frame and they both really like their cars. If I would have found a '97-'00 before I found an '03 I would have bought one know doubt.
As you well know that if you read this forum long enough you will come to realize that every part of these cars have critics. Tires, stereos, seats, brakes, head lights, etc.. I could go on forever (people think I do this all the time). I'm guilty of it myself. My pet peeve is "Wagon Wheels".
Im more than happy with my 00. I bought the car.....AND then found this website and researched the heck out of it. I did find all the advice from many to buy 01 on....and all the info regarding the EBCM worrying....
On my second '99 now and it is about to turn 100K miles. My first one was such a great and problem-free car that when I was in the market again and I saw this one with the right color and options, I jumped on it.
I put over 50K daily miles on the first one with zero problems and am about there with this one after three years of year-round daily driving duties in all weather conditions!! The key is drive smart (especially in snow) and take good care of it and it's maintenance and you will be just fine.
As one other poster said earlier, I would much rather deal with pricier key fobs. etc. than rebuild a motor for oil consumption or valve train issues.
I firmly believe that '99's are the cream of the C5 crop!!!
I think you are missing the point of this thread. Far too many like yourself use the VERY limited EBCM failures as a deciding factor a new buyer should put weight in when making decisions and it's simply not accurate = "bashing". There are more knocking/valvetrain issue 01+'s then there are EBCM failures on pre 2001 but I don't see you mentioning that when trying to talk a seller out of a good deal on an early C5. That's just **** poor advise to give a newby who doesn't know any better and as you can see from the results of this thread it's off base.
You are the only one that has claimed he had a failure (so far) but lone behold there was a solution for that so I still don't see why it's a problem worth mentioning every single time the subject comes up.
I'll take replacing "expensive" TPM sensors over rebuilding a 01+ motor for bad piston slap or valve train noise any day and twice on Sunday.
The point of this thread is NOT to argue which is the better car which you seed to miss. The point is to show through real ownership results that all the "end of day's" mentality regarding advise given to buyers about the early C5 is a joke. You perpetuate the problem and I hope this thread teaches you to moderate that advise.
Thanks for the input.
I've never heard of anyone replacing a LS engine for piston slap.
Yes engine slap does occur in some LS engines, (even 97-2000 engines), but it isn't a major problem to the engine, it's a bit annoying for those that have it, nothing more.
BTW, When I had my EBCM problem on my 2000 model, GM still made the replacement parts.
I've never said there are no fixes for that problem, I said there are now no known fixes for a broken an early EBCM unit.
Seen so many posts bashing or just plain writing off 97-00's as not worthy of purchase/not worthy of book value it got me wondering about the actual owners of these years. I am an owner of a 2000 and purchased it after doing my own research on the differences. I couldn't be happier with my choice. I've had no issues with the car and would buy a 97-00' again over a 00+ in a heartbeat (assuming the earlier car was a better mileage/condition vs. price). I've also had no EBCM issues and have engaged the active handeling on dry roads with some spirited driving. Am I alone in this experiance with my "unwanted" C5 because everytime I see someone giving "advise" to a prospective buyer looking at a pre 2001 and telling them to pass I just scratch my head?
1) Are you happy with your purchase?
2) Would you buy it again or buy 01+
3) Have you had EBCM issues and if so did you fix or leave it?
I have had my 98 C5 triple black convert 6 speed for a little over 2 years, purchased from the original owners estate the car had 78K on the clock. Probably the first car I've ever purchased that I decided to check to see if the headlight work or not and they didn't I still wanted it and got the price down to 12.5K and had to replace the turn signal/headlight stock. This C5 came with a BB route 66 exhaust that I changed out for a second hand stock system because I couldn't take the exhaust drone also the car came with BBS Lemans rims that I planing on getting rid and replace a set of gray 04 Zo6 rims that I got off of craigslist.
1) I'm pretty happy with this 98 C5, compared to the only other Corvette I have ever owned a 68 C3 convert this is by far superior all the way around.
2) I would probably buy again but like others have pointed out early C5's didn't have the HUD option and the extra 5 hp. is nice too.
3) So far so good no ECBM issue.
2) I would probably buy again but like others have pointed out early C5's didn't have the HUD option and the extra 5 hp. is nice too.
I remedied the above 2 issues as follows:
(1) installed the HUD in my 98, bought the parts from a wrecked '04.
(2) installed a magnacharger and gained 100+ HP
I've had my 98 about 20 months . Everything works except one o2 sensor , need to replace that .Normal maintenance and a few planned mods . Big smile every time I drive it .
I've had my 98 about 20 months . Everything works except one o2 sensor , need to replace that .Normal maintenance and a few planned mods . Big smile every time I drive it .
Hey do you recall what brand of foglight grills those are? I want the ones like those that are less indented.
Bought my 2000 coupe with very little attention paid to issues of that particular model year. More concerned with low mileage and overall good condition. Got them both at a reasonable price. Ended up fixing SEVERAL issues but I did them myself so the cost was low, and that's half the reason I bought the car. I have learned plenty, and have become very familiar with the car...I wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again.
07-18-2015, 11:33 PM
