so, i am reading all of the 'issues' with a c5..my question is, why buy one? always owned Porsches, but want to make a change..thanks

 

Bought a 99 in January. Seat slides, horn doesn't work -- neither does the A/C. Have already had to replace the rear brakes and water pump. Seat covers arrived today, still waiting for new foam to replace the completely collapsed original on the driver's seat.
And yet...
Run first thru third at 5K or so on the tach, and every single problem is forgiven, very single time.

 

It depends what your needs and wants are out of a car.

I wanted:

- RWD
- Manual Transmission
- Targa / T-Top
- Sub-20K
- No Rust
- Reasonably fast

My list was severely limited down to only a few choices. My daily driver was totaled in a non-at-fault accident and I needed something until my new truck came. The C5 hit all those points for me. Driving around with the roof off is great fun.

Every model of car is going to have it's own list of issues, even ones that are on the surface great. Does the Vette hit enough bullet points for you is what you have to ask.

 

All issues are not experienced on all C5 Corvettes. You're looking at a comprehensive list. My 2003 Z06 has been very reliable with few issues. It has 263,000 miles. Driving it adjusts my attitude for the better almost every time I drive it.

 

The thing you have to remember is that while the C5 has it's share of issues, not every one will have them and some are pretty much problem free. I've had my C5 for coming up on 8 years now and have not had it in the shop for anything other than routine maintenance. And besides, there are not many cars out there that do not have a problem of some sort.

 

My C5 has had some issues. Certainly more than my muscle cars ever did. All of them have been related to the infernal computers manufacturers are linking to every damn system in a car today. Still, its fun to drive. All that said, I will be getting another old school muscle car in the next year and who knows what will become of the C5 after that. Maybe it will go to my son.

 

I bought an 01 corvette and have 45000 miles on mine, it's an auto and so fat I had to replace my torque tube which grenaded. On me, replaced a headlight motor and had my hvac fixed because the display went out. Knock on wood that's all so far.

 

cuz chicks dig it!!! and every time I drive it...every time...someone says "sweet ride man" or "nice vette brother"

 

Name a car that doesn't have a list of possible gremlins so don't kid yourself , they all do ! . These cars are about 20 years old now so some issues may pop up but don't forget your paying 15-20 k price for one , not 50k like when they were new ! Vettes have been proven to be reliable and easy to hop up . European cars had their share of problems and the repair bills are usually astronomical if your lucky enough to find a mechanic who can even work on them . Besides a corvette is americas sports car . Everyone loves a vette like they love their country . It's an icon

 

Owned my '02 going on my 4th year and have had only one problem which was with one of the pop up headlight gear issues. Other than that solely routine maintenance. Purchased with 50K miles and now has 65K. I have looked at other car brand's forums and found a good amount of problems talked about there. So I would say if you are looking for problems you will find them with any brand. Often touted Toyota is a good example. We bought two brand new, a Camry and Rav4. One had a blown/bad strut at 500 miles and the other an intermittent cluster/gas gauge.

 

I also drove Euro cars, along with pretty much everything else, for a pretty long time. I had my 911 for many years and thoroughly enjoyed the car and the Porsche community, a very tight group. Having said that, when I decided to go back to vettes I looked at C5's, C6's and C7's. In the end I chose to go with a low mileage, well cared for '99 6m vert. The car has been great, despite a lot of the the doom and gloom that you hear. Only real issue I have had was a fuel tank leak. Other than that, no complaints, car runs as new, and I still believe its the performance car buy of the century. If you go looking I would just tell you to be very careful. Look for a well cared for, properly maintained, no accident and non-modded C5. Hard to go wrong for the money if you buy well. I loved the Porsche but the C5 on a beautiful drop top day makes me forget all about it. No regrets at all. Good luck with your search!

 

My z06 has been bulletproof since I've owned it. Only thing I had to take care of was swapping the valve springs.

 

You're worried about the cost of maintaining a C5 compared to Porsches? That actually is surprising... Maintaining a corvette is cheaper than maintaining even an older, affordable import like an E30. Issues come up with any used car search, you can get a terrible Toyota Corolla or a pristine Mazda RX-7. The counter-intuitive problem with corvettes, is that many cars which are externally pristine have been left sitting for long periods in garages.

A C5 which has been driven regularly is a very reliable car, and refreshing one which has been sitting is cheap. People complain about replacing oil pressure sensors after 100,000 miles. And the sensor is cheap, it's just hard to reinstall yourself. That's the stuff corvette people complain about, things they can't do themselves in their home garage. C5's are some of the most worry free, work on it yourself performance cars out there! There is no mechanic who doesn't have experience working on LS engines, owning a Corvette is basically owning a miata easy,

Is this trolling? There are tons of vettes out there not throwing any codes, find one and have a mechanic you trust go over it, normal procedures!

 

Having owned two C5s the biggest problem with them is how well they have been maintained.

If the previous owner(s) took care of them, maintained them well, changed the oil, kept battery charged, and did not leave them to the elements of nature, they are darn reliable.

Of course they are 13 plus years old now, so unless they were garage kept their entire lives and driven at least a few thousand miles per year, you will have the potential for seal, gasket, fluid, and electrical issues. But what other 13 year old plus cars would you not have the same types of issues with?

The C5s biggest headaches are electrical related, as someone else mentioned. Moisture and the electrical components on the C5 do not play well together.

Like any 10 year old plus used car, you should always plan on spending about 2K after purchase, just to take care of 10 year old maintenance issues (unless you can be assured these shelf life issues have been addressed by the seller). Things like tire life, fluid changes, minor belt, hose, bulbs, etc. should be expected. If all of those have been addressed and you have a warranty/documentation about that maintenance, great. Just be thankful you can use that money for something else.

Porches would have the same issues, but you had better plan for 5K instead of 2K for incidentals. Porches are great cars too, but much higher to maintain.

If you are coming from the 911 world, I would recommend a Z06, unless you are just wanting a wind in your hair car. The Z06 stacks up well with the 911s of the same years, while the coupes and convertibles would seem under-powered and not as well balanced. Of course if you are coming from a Boxster, the Coupe and Verts would be a step up.

 

Owning an E92 M3 and two Mini Cooper S R53's outside of factory warranties got me a very well stocked tool box, turned me into a full blown mechanic, and I even learned some German curse words

The regular maintenance items, parts cost, and relative ease of a large portion of mechanical items needed on a couple (very well kept before me) C5's isn't even in the same ballpark. + they're really nice to look at and a blast to drive.

 

you will hear a broad range of issues from a select segment of owners.....overall the C5 is a very well built reliable platform that responds well to simple mods. They are a great value in terms of buying and owning. Get into one....you will enjoy it.

 

I've owned my C5 M6 vert for 3 years now. Bought it with 18k miles on the clock and it's now at 50k. Other than routine maintenance (including replacing a dead battery) I've a dead air injection pump and a couple of check valves that needed replacing. That's it.

The hidden expense is the temptation to modify the car, something I never thought I'd do but there's just too much neat stuff out there. So with a new sound system, heated seats, soundproofing, a luggage rack, mesh grilles, etc. etc. the costs can add up if you let them.

 

Very True. I get tons of compliments from random strangers. The public loves these cars. As do I.

I bought a 2000 with 45k miles. First owner had it for 14 years. Came with a huge stack of service receipts. In a little over 2 years, I've put about 30k miles on it, daily driving.

Besides routine consumables like tires and brakes, I've spent about 2 grand on replacing shocks, harmonic balancer, and the AC compressor. That's really not bad for an old sports car. Eventually it will need a clutch, but otherwise, the longer I own it, the annual repair costs will continue to drop. Insurance is my biggest expense.

 

Was asked just recently...beautiful car, where is the blonde? Well now I have a beautiful car and a gorgeous blonde riding shot-gun! Thank you CORVETTE

 

To OP pls share with us your experience with Porsche. I had a 911 many years ago and it was prohibitively expensive and over rated IMHO. That is when I got into a C3 Corvette and stayed with Corvette since. If anything Corvette is under rated. Preformed much better than I was lead to believe.