Originally Posted by JohnRogers

Hence my desire to purchase a one or two owner max car, with stacks of paper showing proper pampering.

Originally Posted by ErikwithAK01

When I bought my C5, I was given 3 manilla envelopes. One had all the factory, and financing paperwork, window stickers, and the build sheet. Another one had all the maintenance records and receipts. But the final one was 3" thick, and filled with every single gas station receipt all the way back to 2001 No everyday Ford car owner is gonna do THAT

Originally Posted by socal_Dad

Sometimes it helps to take a break from looking every day and come back to it in a few weeks when there is fresh inventory to look at. When buying something used, it's all about timing.

Originally Posted by friou

Try increasing your search radius, preferably to nation wide. Excellent C5's are definitely out there. Check this forums "for sale" section or go to cargurus.com, plug in all your parameters and it will pull up dozens, if not in the 100+ count of C5's of every description and option. Don't give up, be patient, its worth the search and wait. Good luck! By the way, I had a '93 red LX, 5.0, 5 spd, procharged and intercooled. Terrific and fun little car that was for all purposes and intentions seemed to be bulletproof. Absolutely reliable and pretty damned quick!

Originally Posted by dbgoodwin

No sane person in the world is going to do that. Might be a deal breaker for me honestly, an owner like that might hunt you down for, say, cutting holes in your hood or drawing on your car with a sharpie.

That's about like ET saving every oil filter box from every oil change.

Originally Posted by cuisinartvette

I see where the OP is coming from...any yr vette ive had was way high maintenance compared to any othe rcar Ive had. To say gee ive had 10k miles and no problems thats like only a few mos.Thing is op many guys that own these rarely drive them so putting 10k can take years and they may think "its been yrs since Ive fixed anything so its reliable"

These overall are just high maintenance in their own way theres no way it will be trouble free as an old 5.0 I know had em also. More electronics, more problems. some of the mid 80s-early 90s cars were pretty bulleproof all the way around
It will pizz the fanboys off but these arent the types of cars you hop in and drive mindlessly for years on end ya really gotta like em. Hell my 02 truck has 180k and many hard miles I have never touched anything on that engine...dont know why the vettes have so many problems with leaks, valvesprings, heads lifters good gawd.
BUt..they look cool. lol

Originally Posted by Corpsman

After months of looking at every C5 within a 75 mile diameter of Houston; I have discovered one certain thing. The only good Corvette is a new Corvette under warranty. Every single one with 80k+ leaks either at the rear main seal, oil pan, other places, and sometimes all over. This would not be an issue to me if it was not so ridiculously time consuming to fix these issues. I suppose the Corvette with high miles is a mechanical tinker toy for those inclined to do such. I enjoy working on my cars however when the typical issues take one or two hours to simply get to is simply not worth the frustration. So have I simply been exposed to 20+ lemons?
I owned a 91 5.0 Mustang and purchased it with 48k miles. I beat the ever living daylights out of that car. I jumped railroad tracks, raced it on the 1/4 mile on weekends quite a bit, and when she was all ugly and I purchased a new car; I started using her as an ATV out in my back field literally stopping every once in awhile to put the fire out from the grass getting caught by the exhaust. I put her to rest at 286 Thousand miles and she still ran great, looked like she been to hell and back cause she had. Never leaked, changed water pump 1 time, went through 2 transmission rebuilds that only cost 500 bucks and change each time. What happened to good, sturdy, cars that all should expect. Ironically I still think FORD is garbage. Have I missed something? Have people neglected to do something to cause these Corvettes to leak?

I am thinking I need to outfit my garage with a lift so I can simply remove the body from the car and do all I need to whenever i need to prior to owning one. What thoughts might anyone have on my feelings here. Am I off base? Have I missed something? The Corvette is a gorgeous car, however she seems like a gold digger, consuming not only your money but your time for little return.

Originally Posted by t1fudd

Last Year for my 60th Birthday, my wife bought me a '00 FRC, M6. My "ideal" corvette was a triple black convertible. She looked at a few. One in particular was a '02 Triple black convertible, 49K, M6. When she went to the dealership to look at it, it wouldn't start. Needed a new starter. She went back the next week and took it for a test drive. Check engine light comes on. She takes it to work (she drives a school bus) and the mechanic there put it on a diagnostic machine, tells her what the problems are. She takes it back to the dealer, tells them she'll give them 16,500 for it (they wanted 19,900). They told her it was 19,900 or nothing. She told them she'd think about it. Called them back a few weeks later and told them "If I give you 19,900, will you fix the problems and not just reset the lights" They told her no. She told them to kiss her a$$. They were just trying to unload it on some unsuspecting sod. My '00 has 67K on it. No leaks. Last time I took it in for inspection the mechanic said it looked like a new car under there. They ARE out there. Take your time, do your due diligence and get the right one.

Originally Posted by Route99

Cool and smart wife!!

Originally Posted by STALION

I'm not sure what the issue is here. The vette is no different from any other car when it gets high in miles it will need maintenance. Prior to the vette I owned several fox bodies, and they were all synonymous to leak at the oil pan at around 45K, and the heater core. Ever see the work involved to fix one of these leaks? $$$$

I can only draw from my experience with the vette, but it has to be one of the most reliable cars I've owned. I've owned mine for a better part of 8 years and I bought it with a relatively high 75K. In the past 4 years I got involved heavily with HPDE events and the car gets beaten on more the most! Despite all this I only really started having leaks at the end of last season and this season. My rear seal only recently went and will change it next year.

At the end of the day rest easy since once it is fixed, it's fixed! Good luck!

Originally Posted by Omaha Flash

God bless America, not the NFL.

Originally Posted by rrwirsi