Inspection
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 111
Likes: 1
From: Jackson TN
Inspection
I have purchased a 2003 coupe on eBay, pending passing of inspection and CARFAX. The car has the grey interior which is grey and black. While looking at the pictures taken at the inspection I noticed that the passenger door panel is grey on the bottom and black on top, while the drivers door panel is solid black. I looked at some pictures of other cars and they have the grey and black door panels on both doors. I haven't talked to the owner about this yet and I am still waiting on the CARFAX. Would the difference in the door panels be normal? If not I would guess the drivers door panel would have been changed at some point. The question would remain why. Maybe the CARFAX will put some light on this. Comments/Opinions
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 111
Likes: 1
From: Jackson TN
Color
Exactly what I thought. Maybe there is an explanation for it. Its a 3 owner car with the present owner having it for 11 years. Not a big issue to me unless it was replaced due to an accident. The CARFAX shows no issues so I will ask the owner for an explanation. Where to go from here?
Race Director
Joined: May 2003
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From: Iowa
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
The driver's side panel might have been replaced due to the leather seperating on the arm rest which is common for the C5. Still, having mis-matched door panels would bug me.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 111
Likes: 1
From: Jackson TN
Issue
I agree, the panel being different is not an issue for me, I can change it. My concern is why? I have a clean CARFAX that shows no issues which is good, but repairs are not always reported, depending on who they were done by. It's just a concern for me, probably not a deal breaker, but I think I will call the dealers reported in the CARFAX and see if they can give me a history on any parts that may have been purchased. The current owner purchased the car in Iowa and said he did not notice the difference till he got it home to San Antonio. Seems like a standup guy.
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My car (an '03) has the light grey interior and both door panels are black and grey. As mentioned, perhaps the prior owner had to replace one door panel and couldn't find a correct match.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 3,534
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From: Atlantic Beach FL.
I doubt the panel would indicate a crashed door as those items are usually sold separately. The original panel may have been damaged at some point. Not a deal breaker IMO.
Even if the door was replaced, I would rather have a factory original replacement from salvage than body work. As long as everything else is in order I wouldn't sweat it.
Even if the door was replaced, I would rather have a factory original replacement from salvage than body work. As long as everything else is in order I wouldn't sweat it.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2016
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From: jefferson texas
Quoting a movie line, "Being paranoid is what keeps me alive". I've been accused of being too suspicious but anytime I see something like mis-matched parts, any kind of non addressed damage, lack of maintenance etc., it always puts me on alert and makes me very suspicious of the rest of the car. Granted, a mismatched door panel, in and of itself is very minor, but the question is why is it there and why hasn't it been corrected. If I were you I would look at this vette very, very carefully. Demand maintenance records, get a good in depth end to end check by a good, independent of the owner, C5 fluent shop. In my experience, deferred maintenance in one area frequently translates in deferred maintenance in other areas. Playing catch up with problem C5's can get pretty pricey quickly. Good luck and best wishes.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
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From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Certainly can't hurt by asking the seller why the door panels are different in color. If the seller couldn't find the correct color combination, then an all black version would be a good 2nd choice. But definitely ask why the door panel had to be replaced!
When you say "inspection", what is that going to entail?? Are you having the car taken to an independent auto repair facility for a Used Vehicle Inspection (called a UVI)? A UVI would be a complete inspection of the car and all the systems. You should get a written report of everything that was checked, good or bad. The UVI will also tell you what needs to be repaired right away and what, if anything, can wait for awhile.
These inspections will run around $125 to $150 but they are well worth the money especially if you are buying the car sight unseen.
When you say "inspection", what is that going to entail?? Are you having the car taken to an independent auto repair facility for a Used Vehicle Inspection (called a UVI)? A UVI would be a complete inspection of the car and all the systems. You should get a written report of everything that was checked, good or bad. The UVI will also tell you what needs to be repaired right away and what, if anything, can wait for awhile.
These inspections will run around $125 to $150 but they are well worth the money especially if you are buying the car sight unseen.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 3,534
Likes: 432
From: Atlantic Beach FL.
I'm a fan of the paid inspection if you are not an expert. Ideally you could demand cars that have a flawless history. Unfortunately with cars of this age a most will have a flaw of some sort. As long as it is a flaw you can have corrected you should be okay.