I am currently looking into joining the Corvette community and purchasing a C5 Corvette. There is one in my town (2003, convertible A4) listed at $18k. It has 39k miles on it and appears to be in good condition. I really love the car, but I have a few questions that need answers before I pull the trigger.

1. How often do the pop-up headlights fail on these cars? Is it something I should worry about?

2. How durable is the convertible top? Are rear window leaks a common issue? (I had problems with my 07 convertible Mustang leaking!)

3. Will the gauge lights in the instrument panel need to be replaced? If a bulb burns out, I've heard its difficult to remove the entire panel.

Thank you guys. I really want this car, but it is 13 years old and I know that the C5 is not a perfect car. I don't wanna be dumping $$$ to get this car fixed all of the time. I would prefer to spend it on mods

 

the price is in the ball park,you should read the sticky on the top forum page. The headlights have some issues but directions are here on the forum to fix them(I have not had any with mine) I don't have a vert, all in all I think they are great cars. I bought a 99 with 50,000 in May of 2014 and have had very little go wrong(and I love it)

 

Thank you! Like I said, the car was only used in car shows and weekend drives. The owner barely took it out after dark. I'm assuming the headlight motors and lights should be in good shape.

 

The C5 Corvette uses a headlight motor design that dates itself back to the 80s when it first saw usage on the 3rd Gen F Body and later model Fiero. It was then improved on and utilized in the C5. The earlier C5 headlight motors utilize a metal housing. Mid-way through production, a plastic less-durable housing was used until the end of production.

If the car has not had it's headlight gears serviced prior then it's ultimately a matter of how often the headlights are used that will dictate their wear. On a C5 that has seen considerable night driver or similar usage as a frequent driver it would not be uncommon for there to be headlight motor issues at the mileage specified for the vehicle.

If the car does need a gear replacement it's not an incredibly difficult job and many vendors offer quality replacement gears. I personally recommend Rodney Dickman as I have purchased a lot of parts from him over the years for other GM models he offers parts for. Cost is approximately $45-$50 and an afternoon's worth of time should be set aside to service one motor.

The convertible top is entirely manually operated (to save weight of using a mechanical mechanism). It's condition will be entirely dependent on the prior owner's ability to properly operate and care for the top. If such is followed the top should be in relatively good condition.

Leaks are often an issue with both the targa fastback and convertible models. If you are dealing with a car that would require weather seal replacement I would advise you to go ahead now and price them out. The relative high price of OEM replacement weather stripping lead to aftermarket suppliers coming up with more affordable alternatives.

The main gauge pod doesn't utilize individual bulbs. It utilizes two large light sources on each side that serve to illuminate the entire panel for even light distribution. The DIC lights however are separate. Removing the cluster does require removal of most of the cluster shrouding but the job is not incredibly difficult.

 

I have a 02 Vert...had 38K on it...Paid more for it in My area...so it's right where it needs to be...I have had no Issues with the headlights either..most likely will be a upgrade for me down the road..but no issues here at all...I love mine...put about 150 miles on it today running around town...My top was replaced by the dealer before I bought it..so not sure about it...

 

The plastic headlight gear will need replacing in time. Inexpensive and a DIY project.

Convertible top is like any other one and the variable is weather and care...where are you? Put your location in your profile.

Dashlights shouldn't bean issue. Relatively challenging DIY in my view but shouldn't be an issue.

Post a photo of the car and ask for a member to join you for an inspection if your feel unsure.

 

You can extend the life of the headlight gear. You can disable the headlight auto-on feature. This will stop the headlights from turning on when you pull in your garage or start up in your garage. The only downside is you have to remember to turn them on at night or when needed.

 

That's how mine are Set....Does Help

 

Good advice here. I've had my C5 for 6.5 years and not had a problem with either the headlight gears or the lights on the instrument cluster. Don't have a convertible so can't address that.

 

I don't think there's ever been a perfect car manufactured, but for me the C5 has been flawless to this point.

The C5 had a couple of issues that are easy DIY, inexpensive fixes.
The column lock issue primarily, which is easily eliminated with the LMC5 module, and the skip shift, 1st to 4th eliminator, if you have a manual transmission.

I wouldn't be very concerned about the headlights or dash lights either, particularly at that mileage. I'd be willing to bet it has spent its life in a garage and is good as new if it was a local show car.

39k miles is pretty low mileage making the age irrelevant, IMO.
3k miles per year average.

 

To prolong the plastic gears in C-5 headlight doors, open them when stopped or very low speeds. This will limit the shock against those gears when the air catches the headlight doors at highway speed.

Enjoy your Vette, and don't forget to wave!

 

I have wondered countless times whether the headlight gears were changed in my car before I bought it as they work flawlessly every time without any errant noises or hesitations or stutters, etc. As my car was very well maintained prior to my ownership, I have to assume that it is still factory stock. As has been said on here many times, you have to realize that in this age of global instant communication, the problems we hear about are just a fraction of the many, many cars that are out there that experience no problems at all. I think that mine must be one of those and I love it! It has performed flawlessly for me in all weather conditions including blizzards and snow days from school. It's my only car and as such has performed better than any other I have owned with the possible exception of a 4X4 truck in the aforementioned blizzard.

DSTURBD

 

My 03 has 48K. Never had headlight gear issue, and we do not use the auto up option, and don't do a lot of night driving with it.

as far as my list of issues over the years:

passenger door auto lock quit working. I Live with it.
HVAC module read out was dim, fixed that using forum instructions
gas gauge quit working, fixed it with Techron gas additive once/yr
rear deck lid would not pop up very high, fixed with spring per forum

thats it in about 9yr of ownership which is pretty good I'd say. I have not done anything to the brakes/rotors yet, still good.

about twice in last year, I've gotten "active handling fail" readout, but it goes away and I don't see it for another 6mo. so I guess the ECBM module might need the "ABS Fixer" (do a search) to look at it and refurbish sometime in the future.

I think you will be just fine with an 03, enjoy.

 

My Wife actually purchased our 1999 C5 2 months ago from a 80 year old lady who acted like this car was her Baby! All maintenance was timely done and with 22,000 documented miles, and $16,000, it was no brainer. With the help of this forum you can tackle most aspects of maintaining your C5. There is so many Threads on buying, read up, and become educated on what to look at when you test drive the car. I really like this car, great looks and get the second looks from the Lady's too!

 

'01 with 135,000 miles here and have had it for almost 8yrs. It was my DD for all but the last 8 months...driven day and night. No problems with the headlight gears but changed them to the Rodney Dickman kit just for preventative maintenance.

Did some interior enhancements a while back and tore the entire interior, minus the dash pad, out of the car in an afternoon, found out that the gauges are actually lit by two black light tubes, which don't ever seem to burn out.

I still have the original convertible top on mine but will be looking to get it replaced at some point in the near future due to wear but have had no issues with it.

As stated previously, you can find instructions to do just about anything to your Corvette that you want to, the knowledge base on this forum is second to none.