Hello, one of my friends recently told me to check out Corvettes.... and I did. Ever since, all I want is a manual 2002 C5.
The only vehicles I've ever had are the VW Touareg and currently the 2015 VW Golf, so a C5 would be a completely new experience for me.

I'm thinking about selling my car and buying a C5; however, It's difficult as the prices seem to be all over the place from $8,500-20k+

Is it possible to find a good C5 for <$10k?
If not, what is the entry price for a C5?
Also, after buying the car, how much should I expect to spend on fixing things / common issues?

Thank You!

 

Mileage is the first one, the higher the miles the cheaper the car. Carfax-clean title with no accidents increases the price. Even a minor accident will affect the price. To me the closer to stock, the higher the price. I look at speed options as being grounds that the car was driven hard and put away wet. Overall condition, clean body with few dings and chips, clean underside, good rubber on doors and top. I think buying from a private owner will give you a perspective of how the car was treated unless the car has had 3 or more owners, then it's a crap shoot.

 

I just bought mine. spent 14k. my original budget was 10k.. then I moved it to 12k.. it was hard for me to find someone that would even entertain 12k.. the ones I did look at you could tell were ran down a little bit. which is why I moved my budget again to 14k. now with that being said cash does talk. when I put that 14k down and said take it or leave it (I had to go to work the day I bought mine so I was pressed for time) they hurried up with the paperwork. also I have found that dealing with private sellers tells you more about the car but also you may be able to wheel and deal more.

 

also make sure to look at the links at the top of the C5 page for all of the info you should be aware of when looking at C5s. Since you are new to Corvettes you'll need a crash course to get up to speed so you know what to look for.
See stickies at the top here: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c5-general-103/

There are lots of places to find C5s but I would recommend looking at all of them (autotrader, cars.com, craigslist, ebay, etc) so you have a broad perspective. IMO the best place to find and verify a "loved" Corvette is right here in the for sale section of this forum. You get to look at not only the car, but depending on the longevity of the seller on the forum you also get a perspective of the owner. i.e. has he been complaining for 5 years about the piece of junk always breaking? Bragging about rally crossing his C5? you get the idea....

Also, don't be afraid to travel. I drove 6 hours to buy mine from a long time forum member. I couldn't be any happier with the car I bought. I've put more miles on the C5 since February than my "daily driver"

 

Not really.
About $15K. Sure, you can find them cheaper but they usually are in rough shape.

 

Very good advice!

 

Good advice above. Find a car that has all the features you want, an acceptable mileage amount and in the condition you want and chances are you'll be happy. I'd say $14-18K will get you a very nice car with well under 100K miles. Be patient and look at a number of examples - and as mentioned don't be afraid to travel for one. I flew from mid-Missouri to Atlantic City, NJ to buy my current one. Got it from a member right here on the forum.

 

Get started with the stickies at the top of the page. Just my opinion but your target 10K will not get you the C5 experience you are looking for. You want to minimize potential problems by looking at lower mileage, maintenance documented, accident free, and non-modded cars. Those requirements narrows the field quite and bit and also brings the prices up. Keep in mind that C5's are getting old, and getting older by the day, but are still really a pretty complicated machines, both electronically and mechanically. Repairs on those systems can get very expensive in a hurry so you want to look at cars who have been fussed over and as perfectly maintained as you can get. As pointed out by other members above, patience and a wide search area are your friends. If you do get serious about a particular c5 make sure to have the car inspected by a C5 knowledgeable tech/shop. Said inspection by someone who really knows these cars is worth its weight in gold. Trying to buy into a C5 on the low end will probably come around and bite you in the butt unless you just really luck out, but thats probably not going to happen. If need be, try to arrange for enough funds to move you up to looking at pristine cars, they are definitely out there. If you find a possible buy you can put the particulars on this forum and I guarantee that members will pitch in with guidance and opinions to try to help you make a good decision. Good luck with your hunt. C5's are great cars and a genuine performance bargain, but you have to choose wisely. Good luck with your search.