Ask them where is the auction and what time. Frankly were it me, I'd walk, you will find the leaking rear main just the start of ongoing issues....

 

Walk away. Keep looking until you find "the one". You won't regret the wait when you do. Trust your gut which seems to be telling you no but your brain is saying yes.

Corvettes are cars you want. You don't NEED one. Don't settle or you will regret it. I looked at over 30 Vettes before landing on the one I bought.

 

I wouldnt buy a car that already had a leak. There are plent of C5's out there with the particulars that you are interested in

My 0.02 cents

Good luck in what you decide

 

Yea - seems like the thing to do, except i haven't found one with that low of mileage. Colors and options are fairly easy..miles on a 14 yr old car..not so much. There's a nice C6, but it has a front plate bracket (who the hell does that?!) and it's an auto. Fail. Other one is about an hr away. Red convertable w/6 spd. Liked targa and black better..but mileage on that one is relatively low.

 

Sir, unless I'm mistaken, your willing to spend about 20K. Let that car go and start looking nationwide. There is no reason to get into a C5 at the 20K mark that has any issues. Look at this forums "C5's for Sale" or another site. I like "CarGurus.com" for some nationwide armchair shopping. Plug in your parameters such as years, models, price range, mileage, tranny type, color, and the list goes on. Hit the search button and a plethora of C5's will pop up from both private and dealer sellers. Great way to get familiar with whats out there within your dollar range. Take your time, be fussy and demanding! There are too many really good C5's out there to settle on a problem car. Believe me when I tell you that at 20k you can find something really nice. You've got to have the patience of an oyster when you are car hunting. Being in a hurry leads to mistakes that you will regret. As mentioned by one of the other members, read the stickies at the top of this page for very important C5 info for the potential new C5 buyer or new owner. I looked for a year before I found what I wanted, I'm very fussy, but its paid off by being absolutely trouble free, 30K on the clock, and the exact car I wanted. Had to go 1300 miles to get it, but well worth it.
Take your time, be careful, ask for advice and make sure you do your due diligence on any car you are considering. Good luck and best wishes!

 

I bought the first one I looked at. It was 25 miles away and after looking it over, checking the Carfax and test driving it, it was mine. Absolutely no regrets. I am glad I didn't waste a year looking for one.

 

Very happy that it worked out great for you so fast. Sometimes things just fall into place right at your feet. Its like the car gods were watching over you. I was never that lucky, always had to work at it. But its a task that I relish! The hunt is half the fun! Take care and best wishes!

 

Realistically 100 or so mi is my limit. I'm not willing to do a country wide search, go, inspect it, if there's an issue figure out how to deal with it, etc. It's just easier closer to home, especially for a 'luxury item'.

 

Well, there is no doubt about the "easier" part within 100 miles. I would still check the C5 for Sale page in this forum. I just looked and it looked like some promising possibles at or under your price range. I don't know where you are located, but try cargurus.com and then plug in a 100 mile search radius from your home and see what pops up. Just an add to on my earlier post, a long time ago I had a very astute buyer tell me to treat every car like it has a fatal disease or flaw. Go inspect the car prepared to find that flaw and walk away. Make the car prove itself to you. If you get the slightest idea something is wrong, walk away, there are always others. Some folks disagree with that philosophy but its done pretty good by me. Take care!

 

I disagree about walking if you find a flaw, unless you absolutely have to have a perfect car. Very few cars are perfect and you will pay more for them.. Find the flaws and adjust your offer accordingly and plan on fixing those problems.. For example I determined that I would soon need tires so I offered him $1000 less. He took the offer.

 

Hi! Not talking about little bitty issues, talking about things I would consider expensive to have repaired or fix yourself, or compromises the integrity or value of the car. Of course, everything is always negotiable if you do find something, as you demonstrated with your tire issue. I've already said that I'm very fussy and demanding and try to get the absolute best example I can get for my hard earned dollar. My method works for me and has for a very long time. I'm sure others, as yourself, have a different take on things and thats fine. That is what makes the world go round. Offering different views, methods, techniques and practices to accomplish a goal is what a forum is all about. Mine works for me and I offer it simply as a possible solution, or technique, if you will, for consideration by others who may not have my fifty years of buying/selling experience. Anyone is free to disregard it if it appears it would not work for them. My motives are always good and if someone else can benefit from my successes, and failures too, I consider this time well spent. Take Care and Best Wishes!

 

Well my opinion says that with the dealer you now have bargaining power, Bring up that oil leak issue with them and negotiate a better price, Trust me, They will sell it to you cheaper rather than have to transport it to an auction and take a way bigger loss on it. Offer them 15K and tell them that's your final offer and you will take care of the oil leak yourself., That's still probably more than they would get at an auction. If they say 'No" then you could just walk away and start looking for "the one" that's perfect for you. Just my 2 cents...CorvetteBob

 

Good morning! Suggest you go to the "C5 For Sale" section. Check the post by 1FUNC5, absolutely beautiful Z51 vette for sale for just shy of 17k. Looks like a pretty nice vette for well shy of your budget of 20K. Well worth the look! Best wishes!

 

I would walk, they are not supposed to leak, especially with those miles. There's plenty C5's out there. Be patient and wait for the right one.

 

Is it reasonable to think I'll find a sub 25k mi car at sub $21k prices? I'm seeing a lot of nice cars, but they seem to be closer to $23k in price, at 40k miles. Was the one i stumbled upon an oddity? Starting to wonder if I have unrealistic expectations of price, miles, and distance from my house (in the Buffalo NY area btw if anyone is selling). Just looking for a black or blue targa C5, under 25000 mi, under $21000. Must have a 6spd. Past that, I'm pretty open to interpretation. Seems there's a lot of 40-50k mil cars, and a handful of verts, with a surprising quantity of automatics.

 

More than likely it's leaking because of the lack of miles. It had been sitting too long. If the car is perfect except for the oil seeping out of the rear seal, offering the dealer less money is not a bad option. There might not be a better one for the price in his vicinity. Someone will end up with that car and may never even realize that it does leak. I have driven my truck for 10 years with a small oil drip with no problem.

 

Hey! In this auto world, thats what most cars are, autos, 6m C5's, in my experience, tend to add a bit of a premium. If you hang in there long enough you might find that under 25,000 vette, they are out there, along with the other items you are looking for, but unless you luck out, keeping your buying range so tight makes it more difficult. Could take a good bit longer. On the mileage issue, and once again this just my opinion, quality of maintenance trumps mileage. If you can get both, low miles and great maintenance, then thats great. Please keep in mind that 40k to 50k on a well maintained C5 is really pretty low mileage considering the age of these cars. C5's can go a pretty fair ways in like new condition if they get quality maintenance, which is why I alerted you to the C5 in the For Sale page at 16,900 and with over 50K, but still looks great. Just an example of what I'm talking about. But just because its fairly low miles doesn't mean its been properly taken care of. Thats why you take care of your due diligence. On your 21K budget, I've said this before, that with that budget you should be getting a no issue C5. Don't be in a hurry, make the hunt a fun project for the perfect vette for you. Take care and good luck with your hunt.