I am considering a C5 purchase.. really want this car for many reasons... low mileage one owner car and some mods i like... i will post the add below and it is over in the C5 for sale section to view pics.

Okay so i called the owner tonight.. seemed like a very nice guy but he was up front saying it had one problem...when the car is cold a dash light comes on and it runs rough due to needing some sort of adjustment to the tune again..

So i'm scared if i purchase the car up in the cold country where he lives and start to drive it back to Dallas, TX what if i have these problems driving home? I mean i will stop a couple of nights on the way back, is this a common issue, he spoke about hooking something up to the car computer when it happens and it makes the problem go away.. again i know nothing about aftermarket mods.. I have owned two new C5 Z06 models and never modded either of my cars so i had no problems besides tight shifting forks.

I didn't know who else to ask.. so thanks for any help


Add is below
02 Mag Red coupe Lingenfelter garage queenFor sale is my 2002 Chevrolet Corvette. I am the original owner. It has ~9300 miles on it and over $10,000 in upgrades. It was basically a garage queen, that is why I am selling it. It just sits most of the time so it needs to find a better home. It has never been abused while driven. Options include: dual pool panels(forgot to put the other one in the pictures), 3.15 performance axle, perf handling package, preferred equipment pkg 2. It has had a LOT of performance upgrades done to it: Michelin run-flat tires, Lingenfelter heads, Lingenfelter cam, Lingenfelter ECM reprogramming, Lingenefleter mass-airflow sensor, GHL cat-back exhaust, Stainless works headers and high flow cats, Blackwing air intake. Also modifications bring it just shy of 500hp. There were also a lot of electronics upgrades done to it. Pioneer double-din head unit with Apple CarPlay (and custom trim to get the double-din headunit to fit and look proper, Soundstream 5.1 amplifier, a/d/s/ speakers including custom center channel, Elemental Design subwoofer in custom enclosure, backup camera. The entire stereo was designed to be as factory looking as possible. All the upgrade work was done by myself and a friend who restores older Corvettes. There are no issues with this car. I have all the original documentation. 22K

 

If it was an easy fix the seller would have fixed it. After all he has some ability since he and a friend did all the mods. 3.15 axle sounds undesirable. "Never been abused"? The seller needed 500 HP to sit in the garage? You didn't indicate the price but I would pay less for a car with $10,000 in upgrades than I would for a stock unmolested car. Then there is always concern about emission testing if required in your area. I'd keep looking.





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One known and admitted problem that is unresolved is one too many. Since it is a tell tail problem ( light on the dash ). there is always a concern of other non tell tail problems.. A self built heavily modded C5 with known problems is not something I would want to inherit. While the car may look nice, I would pass.

Bill aka ET

 

Don't walk...RUN.

Vettes can be problematic when they are untouched...now your adding a "did it myself" modded Vette that is showing problems??? No way... I also dont like how he stated "there are no issues with this car"...which you know is untruthful. What else is he hiding?

Buy a clean, untouched C5 and first enjoy it as it is...they are amazing cars. Then do the mods that YOU want done... To me there are so many C5s out there for sale - there is no need to buy one with issues. Good luck!!

 

All good comments you posted and i appreciate it.. I've slept on it and have decided to pass on the car wondering why no corrected tune completed after building what sounds like a wonderful set up.

He wants $22,000 for it.

Thank you again sir

 

If you are looking for a stock unmolested car I am selling my black on black '04 Z51 coupe. Have the service history and comes with both tops. Asking 18k. If interested PM me for details and pics. Have a great Thanksgiving.

 

This should be quoted more often in most every sale ad.

If a car has a problem and it's an "easy fix" then why isn't it fixed? What it should read is "Yeah it's likely an easy fix, but if I touch it I'll probably make it worse, and if I make it worse I would have to likely spend more money, instead I'm not going to deal with it because it only happens once every blue moon, and now I'll go binge a series on Netflix for the afternoon and blow money on dinner this evening." Now repeat that with the other likely three "easy fixes" that popped up prior to this one and they all start to pile up.

I too always love that bit about adding power and then "never abusing" the car. You can't tell me an individual spends money on power adders to not then actually put them to intended use. I literally know NO ONE that does that.

 

I sometimes wonder about these big-name builds. Was the car ever actually tuned or did they add a bunch of parts and upload a tune from another similar car and call it close enough. This is what it sounds like to me. I've tuned a few vehicles and I cannot imagine how tuners make any money if they actually do hook up a wideband, truly tune the car and drive it enough to datalog it so the driveability is addressed. Also, 500HP from an LS1 without FI is a stretch imo, unless it's so wild it's not streetable.

It wouldn't too much scare me to buy the car, but to drive it long distances home, knowing full well it has never been driven long distance (to find issues in the tune), is crazy. There are things in the tune, like O2 Sensor messages that are triggered by extended periods of steady throttle. You're gonna have boatloads of them in several days of highway driving.

If I were buying that car, I'd have a delivery service ship it. Not only that, but it sounds like it's far enough away you could go to work those days you'd be driving, and pay for the delivery without any hassle.

Good choice deciding to find another car. However, for those miles it does seem a fair price.

 

Good call on passing. I've had my share of inheriting somebody else's project(s), and they always tend to turn into more nightmares than what they are worth.

Plenty of untouched and unmolested C5s out there for you to mod it right from the get-go. Good time to buy as well around this time. Good luck on your searching!

 

Good call on passing on this one! A lot of us have modified cars with over 500 hp...no lights, no codes, no issues. Don't be afraid of modifications, be afraid of Bubba the mechanic. I am always shocked by the comments to find unmodified cars. From a financial standpoint, no one is ever going to give someone what they have "invested", so you're getting modifications for pennies on the dollar!

 

I agree somewhat. Had mine not come with a Corsa, I would have not spent the $1000+ for one, but I lucked out on it having one.

Things like wheels, exhaust, intake and such are one thing, but turbos, superchargers, N02 and tunes are a different story. The latter stuff, if not done correctly, can have catastrophic impact to to the engine and drivetrain, and even when done right, can have a negative impact to longevity, reliability and drivablilty.

I steer clear of anything "heavily" modded, but totally agree on the bolt on stuff.

 

It sounds like he's never had it properly tuned on a dyno by a professional; alas a mail-order tune.
It's probably not a big deal to tune the issue out of it with a day on the dyno and someone who knows what they are doing. Mail order tunes often suck.

And FWIW, I have a 2000 C5 Coupe M6 with 21K miles that sits in the garage sans maybe 10-15 voyages a year, with 513CSHP/459RWHP.
It does not get abused, as that's what I have a race car for.

You may want to re-think and see if you can get it to a reputable tuner with the owner and get the tune right.

 

Thank you, very nice of everyone to chime in.. and i don't want to cut down the owner not really knowing him besides one phone call so i don't think he's up to no good maybe a rookie like me but he had help from a long time Corvette guy who builds his own cars.

The tune was a mail order sort of deal.. he sent the ECM/car computer to Lingenfelter for the initial tune.

 

Thanks for the offer on your car but i can't do black cars anymore.. had a series of them from Grand Nationals, IROC Camaro's and one black Corvette when i was younger...............I can't keep them dust free and clean enough to keep me happy PLUS the Black cars are HOT to the touch everywhere in our heated up state. but thanks anyways
good luck on the sale

 

You nailed it, the car needs a in person tune because the mail order tune didn't work it sounds like... i did ask if he was going to take it to some Corvette shop to get it tuned. He said if he could get it up to Lingenfelter they would tune it for free. But he wasn't going to do that and just sell the car as is plus some ice on roadways already up that way. Got me

 

You're advice is about as useless as dipstickdaril. I have a almost 700 HP Z I bought new and have NEVER raced it, or even done a burnout. I loved building the car in my garage, and enjoy the results driving normally. Sure, a rare run up to near redline for a cheap (not really) thrill, but not abuse. It angers me when people repeat stupid generalisms without any basis in facts.

 

[QUOTE=K-Spaz;1598372493]I sometimes wonder about these big-name builds. Was the car ever actually tuned or did they add a bunch of parts and upload a tune from another similar car and call it close enough. This is what it sounds like to me. I've tuned a few vehicles and I cannot imagine how tuners make any money if they actually do hook up a wideband, truly tune the car and drive it enough to datalog it so the driveability is addressed. Also, 500HP from an LS1 without FI is a stretch imo, unless it's so wild it's not streetable.

More disinformation. It's fairly easy to reach 500 crank HP and still leave it NA. I only had a 228-232/,600 cam when I was NA, and with all the other mods (TFS 215 heads, EWP, UD pulley, home ported FAST90) and a great Tom Wong tune I reached 464 RW on his Mustang dyno, and 483 RW on a Dynojet at a much higher altitude.

 

I am going to ask him to get it tuned before selling it .. it sounds good running in this cold weather start up

 

Besides the "easy fix" ads I love the ones where it needs this $40 part but fail to mention the $700 labor to install said part. Or, I don't have the time to repair it. There was a 78 Camaro with quarter panel damage that was being sold for 4 years straight. Same ad every summer.

 

Looks like a beautiful car, at least what I can see in those videos. Good Luck with your decision and your search. My wife hated the thought of the Corvette thing and the astigmatism that can go with them, after 2 years with our C5 she wanted her own.