Beerski

Hello! I'm new to this forum and am looking at buying a manual coupe C5 late this summer (not interested in a vert). My budget is around 13-14k, and I'll be writing a check. The car will act as a fun daily; a sort of present to myself for paying off my college before I graduate. I've been driving a 300k mile 2001 Accord for years, and am ready to get into a C5.

So in looking at C5s, am I better off spending the 13-14k on a lower mileage car (I think that gets me into the 60-80k range), or getting something closer to 100k miles for 10-12k and using the extra two grand for fixing things up on the car?

I guess I'm not entirely familiar with what I SHOULD be paying for a 60-80k mile car vs a 100k+ car. I'm also not afraid to travel around; actually kind of looking forward to making a trip out of it with a buddy.

Pounder

if you can do a lot of the work on it yourself would be a major plus, otherwise it could get expensive !!!! read the stickies at the top of this page !!!!!

grantv

I'd buy the best car you can within your budget. Don't plan on repairs, do your best to avoid them (obviously ready for something that may arise...).

DDaaryl

Read the stickies here, check fault codes, buy 2002 or newer, beware of dated old tires, salvage or flood cars. Avoid vehicles with extensive modifications especially if they were installed by amateur mechanics because they could affect reliability and your ability to pass safety or smog inspections required in some states. Good luck!

Tsumi

Buy the best you can afford, but don't pass up a high mileage one if it's been well maintained. Proper maintenance often means a lot more than mileage.

gimp

You're gonna want at least a $2k cash reserve to take care of unanticipated smaller things.

And worn out tires are gonna be like seven hundred bucks minimum to replace, a lot more if you want more high-end tires, so budget that in. Super common.

Fcar 98

Newest, lowest mileage car you can afford. Every one will tell you too read the articles from the top of the page. Take all that with a grain of salt. Those are problems that can happen but don’t necessarily mean they will. I have a 98 with 49000 miles that I would not trade for any other model year. It’s not perfect but not nearly as bad as those stickies would want you too believe. If everyone read those before they bought their cars they would think what a pile junk the C5 must be. You will know the right car for you when you come across it.

acuevo

Well congrats on paying off college early, thats awesome. Shows you're smart with your money, too.

As for the car, personally I'd make sure I have an extra few grand for unexpected repairs and/or maintenance. Check it out as best you can before you buy, and see if they'll let you have a mechanic take a look at it. Once you have it, get it in tip top shape and you should be alright.

It may also be a good idea to keep the accord as a back up. You never know what may happen.

Chris Draper

Keep in mind, these cars are no different than any other 20 year old used car. No mater what car you buy, you are (should) going to spend about $1000-1500 on day 1 just in general maintanance items.

All new fluids:
-coolant
-oil
-brake fluid
-trans fluid
-diff fluid
-clutch fluid

All new spark plugs and wires
Check all belts & hoses

Know what the values of the cars are. A 100k mile C5 Coupe can be found for $8,000-10,000. Check KBB.

Tenshots1

I just went through this process and picked up a 2002 Yellow coupe M6 with 67K on it last month. My Budget was $15K. I spent $13.5K, with the rest of the money going into maintenance. I focused on the following: 1) few owners that seemed to take good care of it 2) minimal mods 3) clean engine bay 4) full functionality

Since owning, I have replaced all the fluids, purchased an LCM5 to fix a potential steering column defect, and replaced front brake pads. I plan to replace the fuel filter, and upgrade to a double din (found a used DD mods bezel on craigslist that i recently picked up!).

Good luck with the search! Keep in mind that manual coupes are a bit hard to come by. You will see 30 used corvettes for sale at a time, and maybe 1 will be a manual coupe. I searched for 2-3 months to find one I wanted.

Mayor111

First - download the app Corvette DNA onto your phone. That is a great tool that will give you accurate Corvette values based on the year, model, options, mileage, condition, etc. This will help you to determine if you are getting a good deal with any potential car you are looking at.

Next - start to look at Craigslist, AutoTrader, etc and get a feel for the average price range a C5 is going for.

Last - read, read, read and read some more. I cant tell you how much I learned from these forums, things to look out for, ways to fix things yourself. I have saved thousands of dollars in repairs just on the information I learned before and after buying my first Vette...and I continue to learn now that Im on my 5th Vette.

Good Luck - the C5 is an AMAZING car...but may I also suggest, that unless you live in a state where there are no "winter" weather - then a C5 is not a good winter daily driver.

ArtClassShank

I don't know where you live, but someone coming along that knows C5's would be a huge positive. I bought my car thinking I'd do enough research, but have learned so much more from this forum. Pretty sure I could look over a C5 pretty thoroughly and find any common issues.

ncali

Something that I dont see mentioned is that a 20 year old car that has been well taken care of will probably have most of the common issues repaired by now. a well maintained ls1 engine will be good for at least 100 ,000 miles

pjdbm

Its very important to read the stickies at the top of this forum and also hang around the forum and read C5 section as often as you can. this will give you enough experience under your belt to properly shop your new vette. If I knew about this forum and had the knowledge that i have now with the C5, I would have knocked $1,500.00 off the asking price of my car.
A well maintained car, look out for flood cars, get familiar with Harmonic Balancer wobble & ABS issues, learn to read the DIC codes in a Vette, Read up on battery acid that can leak under the battery and cause a lot of issues.
You have a lot of time yet so just keep reading.

Good Luck!

Tsumi

A well maintained LS1 can go over 750,000 miles.

CaliMountainSnake423

unless you find one like my C5 for sale that just had all fluids replaced less than 2000 miles ago. it is listed up under the C5 for sale section. Check her out she is a good a one. Might be just what you are looking for. But of course there will be maintance with these cars. I just reduced the price to $15k
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-16-000-a.html