I am looking at buying a C5. I recall seeing a post on here a while back, that indicated what to look for when looking at a C5 and problem areas to be aware of. I also remember a post listing common C5 problems, their causes and how to fix them. Any help on finding a post like this would be greatly appreciated.

 

Take your time before buying. You have many choices.
Make sure to have the car inspected by someone knowledgeable about C5.
Remember to pull the codes.

These links should keep you busy for a while.

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

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...must-read.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SviR...ature=youtu.be

 

GLWP... don't use the CF search ... it SUCKS

Use GOOGLE just put C5 Corvette... then whatever your searching for, this gives you CF threads and LS1 tech thread, Digital Corvette, and much more...

 

The C5 section - and most all of the other forum sections - have what are called "stickies". You will see the stickies at the top of the forum thread list. So when you click on "General" here you will see vendor ads, the stickies list, and then the various threads. One of the stickies is a "buyer's guide"; a rather detailed list of items a potential buyer should look for. It should be your starting point.

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

There are some quick and dirty things that you can keep in mind though. They are;

- Try to immediately figure out exactly what it is you want to buy. Read up on the various C5 body styles and option sets. Knowing exactly what you want can allow you to see the market better and determine what you want to spend, rather than be clouded by what you don't want. The C5 market is hitting a very low floor and it's a good time to buy one.

- Read up on all the serviceable items that should be looked at regardless of mileage or owner history. The ability to check the stored and current codes via the DIC is a good piece of knowledge to have as you can apply it to any C5 you look at.

- Read up on the column lock issues (it's a stickie in the Tech section) as column lock issues really plague C5 owners. It's important because a lot of GM dealers are not going to be able to help you with this or will charge you astronomical amounts of money for a "fix" that is anything but that. It can be a confusing aspect of ownership but it's an important piece of information to have.

 

with all the above and would add just be patient in your search. There are plenty of C5s out there for sale, many of which have been pampered and are in excellent shape. Decide on exactly what you want on a car and then seek it out. Don't be afraid to travel a distance to find the right one either. Good luck - hope you find one that's right for you.

 

The hunt is half the fun. (Well, not really, but it can be fun.)

 

I made if fun by (as others have opined) 1) deciding on a budget, 2) learning from this forum about C5's, decide on a style/year(s)/color(s)-mileage, my importance considering paint appearance, mechanical wear condition, interior wear, and finally any modifications. Wrote them down as must haves and then started my search. I was surprised by the number of corvettes I looked at over 6 months that did not meet most of my must haves. Just as I was about to give up and start looking the following year, I found a car that was advertised on Auto Trader at a GM dealer 140 miles away. After seeing it and inspection, it met almost all of my must haves except price and my number 1 color preference. I gave in on the color (wanted #1 yellow and bought #2 black) and caught up $1000 over my budget. After 2 years of ownership, still feels brand new to me.

 

I agree with all of the above. First, read the stickies carefully. Once you've got a pretty good handle on that info, get back to the forum for great info and opinions from some really knowledgeable folks who are always willing to give of their time and experience. C5's are fairly complicated cars, a good C5 is a delight. Purchase of a problem/trouble C5 can be an expensive and frustrating nightmare. If its any help to you I'll give you my guidelines: #1 Accident history (meaning none) #2 Maintenance History (don't buy without) #3 Full bumper to bumper check by C5 fluent shop/tech #4 Make the car prove itself to you. Check each car like it has a fatal flaw and its your job to find that flaw. If no flaw then you can think of going further. #5 Always be prepared to walk away from any car for any reason, if you remotely think something is not right, walk. #6 Don't settle, be patient, insist on getting exactly what you want, its out there, lots of pristine C5's out there. #7 Almost forgot, avoid highly modified cars, very dangerous and iffy purchase. Just my opinions, but its worked for me for a long time. Good luck and best wishes!

 

IMHO the chase was fun... I learned more as I went through the process.

Patience is a virtue though! Good Luck!!

 

Mine had near perfect CF maintenance records but the work was real shoddy. The dealer half assed everything. There are too many things CF cant tell you. There is some good info that Cf can tell you (like where and when certain events happened, how many owners etc...). It is not a necessarily good accurate health record IMO.

 

Lots of good info guys. Thanks for all the pointers. I am in no hurry to buy and I have no trouble walking away if it doesn't look or feel right. I will study all the info given and go from there. I kind of felt that C5 were probably approaching the bottom of their pricing and have already seen what appears to be some good examples. I originally started looking for a C6, but seeing some of the prices and thinking about depreciation, I decided to look at the 5s. Maybe that's not the way to approach a Corvette purchase, but I do have to keep budget in mind and maybe I'll move up later. Again thanks.