Just traded an 81 for a 2000. Very nice but 84000 miles. Have no history of car. After reading issues of the 2000 on this forum I am wondering if I should have got 2001 or later. Chime in please.

 

Hard to say - just remember that not all cars have all of the problems that are mentioned on the forum. Yes, there are certain things that if they do go wrong, can be very expensive or next to impossible to get parts for.

It's a little late now to wonder if you made a mistake though. Would have been great if you had a maintenance history on the car. One thing you can do is pull all the codes off the DIC and post them up here. You could get some good info from them.

 

Congrats...and your nearby dealer may be able to get you a report for at least some of the history. My 2000 was an awesome and fairly trouble free machine even at over 120k miles.

 

well I did a lot of reading and learned how to read the codes on this forum. Did not have any major codes but history codes. Cleared the codes and have driven car around 50 miles and no new codes. Was worried about the column lock issue but I can turn the wheel with key out so I guess recall has been done. Car runs great but shifts strong between 1st and 2nd. It is an automatic. Maybe shift kit!!!!!!! Anyway crossing my fingers. Car bought from dealer

 

Ive had a 2000 for 3 years thus far with zero issues related to pre 2001 models *touch wood*. I just drive it with out worrying what may happen..

 

You right. Just like life. Live it and quit worrying

 

I don't give the fact my Vette is 16 years old with 88K a second thought. It is a great car and if anything happens I will fix it and keep on keeping on. Love my 2000. Mike

 

.....what the rest said.

 

I have a 2000 with 20,000 miles I bought a few months ago. A suspension issue (too many PA potholes) and a trans. fluid minor leak issue...but nothing else really. Best advice I can give you...if it has a traditional acid battery, get it out and get yourself an AGM battery. Well worth the $150-$250. If that battery acid leaks, big $$$$ to fix the electronics around the battery.

Somebody posted a link recently showing 2000 model year C5s had the least amount of reported problems of C5s. The "hard to find" parts people are referring to are the EBCM and SWPS. I had a minor period of "regret" after purchasing my 2000 and reading the forums, but after talking with 2 Corvette specialty repair shops I've gotten well-informed opinions that the EBCM and SWPS only break on about 10-15% of the total units out there. There is a very good chance it will never break on you. Good luck with it and enjoy it.

 

I just noticed your C5 is Millenium Yellow...the best color Corvette! Also, I forgot to mention in a previous post, check the balancer. They seem to fail on almost every LS1 Corvette out there. Replace before it completely falls apart on you. Others on here know a ton more than I do about it, but I know if you wait until it completely falls apart, it can do some real engine damage. Replace it with an ATI brand balancer. I just posted a thread about balancers a week or two ago in the "C5 General" section...some good information in there from some great and super knowledgeable forum members.

 

It's millennium yellow, whatever breaks is worth fixing.

 

Love my 2000. Bought it with 104K on the clock, it was dealer maintained its whole life. No major issues - never left me stranded. Only had to replace a window regulator, wheel bearing. Of course the thousands in go-fast goodies do not count

116k now. I don't even look at the odometer anymore, it's not worth worrying about. Drives even better now than when I bought it!

 

Every year could have it's own share of issues, my 99 is not supposed to be a good year, I would say I have a great car with maybe less issues than any other 17 year old car !! Mine is a one owner from a Dealer with all the records, was very well taken care of !! The history can help a lot. Welcome and Good Luck !!!!

 

Do yourself a favor buy a LMC 5 column lock bypass and install it because you never know when thats going to rear it's ugly head and leave you stranded . It only costs $40 and takes 1 hr to install . I bought a 00 FRC last year and love it , Enjoy !

 

That's pretty much the only thing you should be thinking about right now; getting a good Column Lock Bypass (or at the least confirming that one isn't already there). Even if you don't install it now you will want to have a CLB on hand.

Remember that regardless of what year C5 you own they're pretty old now; the youngest is going to be over 13 years old next year, in an era when most individuals don't own a car older than 5-10 years old. A 2004 model could potentially have the same issues - if not more - than a 1997 model.

 

Welcome to the family. You have a great car. And it's a vette.

 

I got my 2000 3 1/2 years ago, have put 21,000 miles on it since then (now has 97,500), and have only had to replace the OPS which wasn't functioning when I bought it, put in a new hazard/flasher switch, main serpentine belt, tensioner and idler pulley to stop a squeal, replaced a high pressure steering hose because of a slow leak, put in new headlight bump stops, and a battery. I also resoldered a key fob and installed the LMC5 as a precaution. I regard most of these as wear and tear items and they are not specific to the 2000 or earlier years, they happen to all the C5's. Computers and TPMS may be a problem for the earlier years, but they are not frequent and all are fixable. Stop worrying about the car, go and enjoy it. I have taken extended road trips of thousands of miles as well as using this as my DD, and it is one of the most reliable, and fun, cars to own. I get 24-26 mpg around town and 30 on the road at 75-80 mph. I haven't done any powertrain mods to my car but I have upgraded the headlights to HID lows and HIR highs and have bright LED reverse lights, and have installed front and rear cameras so I don't ride over concrete stoppers anymore or park too far away from another car or a wall. This one is my second C5 and I would not hesitate to buy another one. Just drive it and enjoy.
This forum is a wealth of knowledge and will solve any problems you may have and we are all really nice people. Right, guys?
So welcome to our club.

 

After buying my 2000 6yrs ago and immediately joining this great forum, I too, panicked after reading all the posts of potential problems.

However, after having my car serviced by a recommended mechanic, he put me at ease. He said that these are great cars and except for the EBCM, very little else can't be fixed or replaced. His confidence gave me hope...

I just bought a 2016 Dodge Challenger R/T Plus Shaker, which I just love. Thought about selling the Vette, but every time I looked at it I realized it still puts a smile on my face. Keeping it!

 

Trading an 81 for a 2000 with 184k miles is a ******* deal and a half.

lol

 

The 2001 and up had a few advantages like the intake but that is something you can bolt on later. The 2000 had a better cam and freer flowing exhaust (no pre-cats).
They all look the same.

I wouldn't worry too much about year. Enjoy your new car.