GrandSportRob

I had a 99 for over 9 years of trouble free miles. It was a great car. Only reason I sold it was the discounts were huge on the 13 Corvettes & a Grand Sport was the only way to upgrade. I personally wouldn't buy an 01 since a lot burn oil. Youll get those who chime in & say their 01 doesn't but many do so why gamble.

Mike98SilVert

I've had my '99 for 11 years as of February. I bought it bone stock in Feb '06 with only 1,658 miles and aside from 2 window regulators and a clutch master cylinder, it's been trouble free. I meticulously maintain it mechanically and cosmetically and do not track or race it. I have installed an LMC5 as a precaution and have done some mods such as rims, intake, headers and exhaust. I recommend finding a well maintained, low mileage, stock or lightly modded C5 regardless of the model year however most important is choosing the following that matters most to you: manual or automatic transmission, Z06, Fixed Roof Coupe, Targa Top Coupe, Convertible and the color you prefer.

Here are some good threads: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-chime-in.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...98-1999-a.html

flyingjoey

1999 c5 love this car body shape 2nd to none. Mechanically sound I don't race ..never sell it. Lol

bravo29

If what I know now back then I would have found a 2001 or later.

Corvette#2

I bought a low mileage 2000. It had the options I wanted. 6 speed, Z51, red with black sport seats.

I've had to put some money into it. But everything that broke was stuff that happens to any old C5. Leaking shocks, ac compressor, harmonic balancer etc..

I think the EBCM issue is a bit overblown. The LS6 intake is a more tangible reason to get an 01 or up. I have driven both, and the newer C5s do have more low end torque.

Rob 02

2002 is the correct answer.

Seriously though, I would be more concerned with how well maintained the car is than what year in terms of reliability.

Not4spd

If you like dropping a fuel tank to change a fuel filter then go with a late 03-04 model.

Scylla

2001 saw the most serious improvements to the chassis. The extra 5hp and 25ft/pounds of torque, along with some drivetrain optimization result in dropping the 0-60 time of a base coupe from about 4.5 seconds to about 4.2! Corvettes are not unreliable cars, and are cheap to maintain, so don't get the impression the various reliability issues are make or break, it's not really like that.

I would suggest avoiding F45/F55 adjustable suspension, but it depends what you're planning to do with your car. The system is horrendous for performance and the shocks weigh about 5 times as much as Z06 dampers. I know this because I ripped mine out recently. The amount of unsprung weight being removed was very surprising. So the poor performance teams up with high replacement costs to make for a terrible system.

Compared to earlier models (and sports cars more generally), modern corvettes are low on worries and issues. Your priority should be finding the options and performance you want, in a well-maintained car. I got a really good deal on a fully loaded base coupe, and have been removing some extraneous features to bring the car more in line with my tastes.

acuevo

Even though I have a 99, all my research before I bought it pointed in this direction. The deal I got on the 99 was just way to good to pass up. They are all decent though, and they all need an LMC5 - except for 01 to 04 automatics I think.

jackjohnson_218

Same here! I ended up buying a babied 98 as the 01's and up in 6 spd were on average $10k more and had higher kms. I'm in canada so there seems to be more corvette tax here. Couldn't really justify the extra cost for a car I might drive a handful of times a year.

57gman

Anybody want to guess how many discontinued parts there are for C4, C3,
etc? I'm not worried yet on my cherry, low mileage, 3rd owner, 97 first year C5 model.

Okay where are all the other early C5 owners who know these cars are fantastic?

jdsaengine

Check out my 03 black convertible with 49K mi. in the for sale section. Perfect car.

grampi50

$10K more? That's ridiculous...not saying I don't believe you, but I'm saying those who were asking that much more were smoking some good chit! I could see maybe $3K or $4K more, but a $10K difference is like jumping from a C5 to a C6...

norcalace

"Best year to buy" .... This year!

acuevo

Only a handful? Its a daily struggle not to drive mine to work

Whiteonrice

As always buy the newest lowest mile car you can afford. Huge difference between a C4 and C5.

jackjohnson_218

This 01 is almost 10k more than I paid for mine.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/e...ual/1260134711

This 04 is more than double what I paid.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/e...ationFlag=true

Slo Yelo C5

I've owned my 2000 for almost a year. I've put about 3,000 miles on it. This was a low mileage car (bought with 18k miles). Other than some wear and tear stuff I was aware of when I bought it (bad water pump, bad harmonic balancer, broken headlights due to plastic gear being broken--since replaced with brass gear), and some design flaws (worst headlights ever--even my Cavalier had better headlights --so I bought a nearly complete replacement package from Radio Flyer), no issues to speak of.

Based on the way some people talk about the pre-2001 C5s, you'd think if you buy one, the car is ready to explode and your dick might fall off. That's not the case at all. If the EBCM fails, you either find a replacement or go without ABS, TC, and AH. I've driven mine 3k miles and only once did I even use any of the "safety" features (and even then--AH kicked on because I was going way to fast down a cold street). Other than EBCM, the only other issue is SPS. That could be a PITA, but again, you just find a replacement. And I've talked with some very, very knowledgeable C5 experts and they've told me EBCMs and SPS only fail on about 20% (or less) of the cars out there. I'm not even sweating it at this point.

This is a car. Maintain it and you probably won't have any issues. The odds say you have an 80% chance (or better) of no major issues. I like those odds. And if you upgrade to a 2001, you have a much better probability of having oil burning issues (not sure how much that can effect the car?). A 2003 or 2004 may require $2,500+ for fuel tank repair, and don't the fuel tanks have to be dropped to change fuel filter in 2003 and 2004? So what does that leave you with...2002 only without known PITA issues? So all potential buyers should just search endlessly for 2002 only cars?

Drive it and enjoy it. Many other cars have far more serious (and significantly more expensive) issues. Porsche 911 from 2000-2008 or so (?) require a $3k+ repair for a plastic part that can destroy the $20k motor almost instantly. A bunch of Audis have timing belt (or timing chain?) issues costing $5k+ or the car can't be driven. BMW M5 with the V-10 motor (2008-2011?) have had many catastrophic engine failures because of a known design flaw...cost is $35k+ for motor and install.

Like I said...these issues are small potatoes. Drive and enjoy.

rrwirsi

All above is true. Stuff fails for a variety of reasons regardless of engineering/design but what I have found in cars such a Honda/Subaru/ and now some S. Korean cars is their focus on quality control of the vendors that produce the parts. The American car manufacturers are focused on bottom line price, not product quality. We get a great sports car with the Vette that its performance matches those sports cars t which cost tens and maybe hundreds of thousands more. BUT, for just a few more dollars making sure the parts from suppliers have standards that meet expectations of the new and resale buyers, would enhance the brand name. But, back to reality, we are dealing with GM that looks only at the bottom line and should have been forced into bankruptcy in 2008.

bikeriderga

For Coupes and Verts best years are between 01-04

For Z06, 02-04 (405 HP verses 385, HUD, better cam, better valve springs, sodium filled valves, better rings, no pup cats, better rear shocks, better stabilizer bar links, aluminum transmission cooler case ).