My neighbor is selling his 1999 Corvette Coupe for $8000. It has 175,000 miles on it and electrical issues on the dashboard like being stuck in kilometers per hour. Also the traction control only turns on half of the time and it keeps popping up "service traction control" where the odometer should be. But other than that the engine and transmissions seem to work very good.Do you think it is worth the price?

(P.S. Should I worry about the miles on it and what is the mileage expectancy for this engine)

 

The traction control issue can be remedied fairly inexpensively. The module can be repaired through the mail for about $150 and then installed for about the same cost.

The kilometer thing; no idea how hard that would be to fix. But you could just live with it I guess?

the mileage - man, that's getting up there, even if the owner has maintenance records.

Im risk averse. I would pass at that price and find a more desirable one when you can afford another $4-5K.

 

you can always make him an offer for less

 

You never want to buy a car with known electrical problems. If the problem was an easy fix, the seller would have already done it.

 

'99 Corvette modules can not be repaired easily.

 

The OP will not be able to use the cheap method since the car is a 1999 model.

The service traction control issue is not really a big deal. The message can go away by pressing "reset" on the DIC (the issue will still be there, but you can display the other messages on the DIC and cycle through them like normal). If the car is stuck in KPH then I suspect there's likely a common button issue with the DIC panel which can also be *fairly* easily remedied.

Personally I wouldn't buy it as I wouldn't get into a C5 with +50,000 miles, but C5s have been shown to go a considerable amount of miles with little issues. I'd look for something more in the $12K-$15K range.

Make sure proper records are available and that everything has been serviced properly. As the car is a pre-'2001 I would check that PCV service and such has been performed at some point (The pre-'2001 cars use the LS1 style PCV setup which isn't that great. 2001 onwards the LS1 got the LS6 intake and PCV setup which was much better). With that mileage it's also worth noting if the bushings in the torque tube assembly has been serviced (this is very pricey to have done if you don't have the capacity to lower the exhaust and torque tube). I'd also check for fluids that aren't typically serviced, such as the rear differential (it's likely gone through "leaky butt" at some point). other than that exercise typical used car purchase with high mileage.

 

I would pass on that one. Save a few more dollars and keep looking

 

 

mileage a little high for me because repairs aren't cheap

 

You didn't mention if he was a "good" neighbor!

I would pass. Good Luck with your search!

 

Let it go by and look for another. Red flags to me when I see multiple issues that haven't been corrected. Lots of very nicely kept C5's around the country looking for a home. You can start by looking on this forums "C5's for Sale" section. Good luck!

 

With the things you describe, along with 175K miles on the car, I would look at other cars. For not much more, you can mostly likely find a C5 with a better history and a lot less miles.

 

 

C5's are bears to troubleshoot electrical issues. Electronics intensive and a lot of computer to computer stuff. I ended up with having to have a new body computer (thankfully under warranty) before the dealer could get rid of my intermittent electrical problems ('98).

 

Actually, If I was your neighbor I would not want to sell it to you just so I would not see it everyday and hear about all its problems

My neighbor is kinda hinting he wants to buy mine and I'd rather sell to someone out of state

as to the question, probably much better examples out there for just a little more $$$. And yep the traction module can't be repaired, just replaced and those are hard to find.

 

x2

Those elec problems are only the ones you can see, what is lurking beneath the surface awaiting your arrival

 

This is why I would never sell a car to someone I know, or close by. The last thing I want to do is spend time fixing the crap I ignored when it was mine.

 

Kbb says it is worth $5961, the electrical stuff in my old 2000 vette drove me crazy . I doubt the owner will like to hear the above number that his car is worth that

 

In this day in age, the truth is not something the public in general wants to hear....