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I am currently looking at several C5 and C6's in preparation for purchase in the next month or so. My question is:
Do you think 193000 kms (approx. 120000 miles) is too high for an LS motor? The car (a 2001) looks otherwise top notch. I know there was a 700000 MILE
C5 that's at the Corvette museum but that is obviously the exception, not the rule. Anyone have high mileage C5's? And can you let me
know of any issues? Or is this a non issue for a well looked after car.
Thanks to anyone and everyone in advance.
I am currently looking at several C5 and C6's in preparation for purchase in the next month or so. My question is:
Do you think 193000 kms (approx. 120000 miles) is too high for an LS motor? The car (a 2001) looks otherwise top notch. I know there was a 700000 MILE
C5 that's at the Corvette museum but that is obviously the exception, not the rule. Anyone have high mileage C5's? And can you let me
know of any issues? Or is this a non issue for a well looked after car.
Thanks to anyone and everyone in advance.
From what I have heard from people that are supposed to know. Those miles won’t be a burden on an LS motor. If it is well taken care of is even better. Good luck with your search.
Mileage doesn't mean much on these cars - maintenance does. The engine itself has been proven up & down to be solid 200k+ no problem - but what else has been done in between getting there? I bought a barely used 03 C5Z about 7 years ago w/ 12xxx miles - hadn't been touched. Bushings dry rotted etc. I'd rather have a C5 or C6 w/ 120k miles that has all the records & has had bushings/brakes/sway bar links/maybe bearings/diff fluid/spark plugs/wire etc. etc. all refreshed than a 60k mile C5 or C6 that hasn't had any of that done - feel me?
Electrical quirks & any other random maintenance gremlins like leaks or creaks - they don't show up when the car is sitting under storage in a heated garage on a tender or when a car is only driven 1000 miles a year by a soft footed guy more concerned w/ the paint's reflection than anything else - BUT they do show up & are addressed when someone is really USING The car as intended on a regular basis.
My 45k mile C5Z is far superior from a maintenance/fuids/battery/wear parts standpoint than my new to me 12000 mile C5Z I tracked down all the electrical gremlins & all the grounds are good etc etc
That's great! So are you the original owner? Has it been left stock? Does it burn oil?
Are there any other issues, leaks, drips, anything like that?
This is the info I was looking for.
Thanks.
That's great! So are you the original owner? Has it been left stock? Does it burn oil?
Are there any other issues, leaks, drips, anything like that?
This is the info I was looking for.
Thanks.
Second owner, plenty of service history. Only mods are a full exhaust, and handling goodies. Actually putting a cam in it now. Motor didn't leak, smoke, or burn anything.
Lots of them out there with miles. One of the facebook groups I'm in has an original owner with 500k on his C5.
My 02 Escalade, also with an LS but unfortunately a 4L60E will cross over to 201,000 miles sometime this week too. These engines can run forever and are relatively trouble free.
Do you have an array of tools? These cars with age can become expensive to maintain properly.
Most humans today are consumers and as such aren’t capable of maintaining anything, much less an automobile.
Most guys I see claim their car is so nice and in a picture I see a pegged oil pressure gauge (easy fix) seat bolsters popped out (again easy but takes time) dim A/C display and traction control lights and CEL, etc.
Most used C5s on the market need considerable work to be 100%. If I wasn’t a gearhead my ‘01 would’ve been junk too at 70k miles. I’ve spent an insane amount on parts (alone) labor is free.
Hence I ask, do you have tools? If so then good, proceed with caution. Otherwise, pass the idea if you need to pay labor for repairs.
147K miles on my 03 coupe stock engine. Changed the plugs and wires at 120K miles. Had all the leaking gaskets and seals and pulley changed out at 146 K miles. Other than that just changed shocks and all wheel bearing last year. Average a bit over 1k miles a month in it.
I've been looking at C5s for a few years now and what I'm seeing is mileage seems to effect the cosmetics of these cars more than the mechanical stuff. The differences between a 20K mile C5 and an 80K mile C5 is usually the condition of the seats (particularly the driver's seat) and the exterior paint. Most have been in pretty good shape mechanically, but like others have said, a lot of the mechanical stuff depends on how well the car was maintained. Thankfully, most owners tend to take pretty good care of their C5s...
From: ALL governments are legalized mobsters, so doesn't matter where I live :(
Originally Posted by MEJ
I am currently looking at several C5 and C6's in preparation for purchase in the next month or so. My question is:
Do you think 193000 kms (approx. 120000 miles) is too high for an LS motor? The car (a 2001) looks otherwise top notch. I know there was a 700000 MILE
C5 that's at the Corvette museum but that is obviously the exception, not the rule. Anyone have high mileage C5's? And can you let me
know of any issues? Or is this a non issue for a well looked after car.
Thanks to anyone and everyone in advance.
Hey,
I have a 2001 I bought with 89,000miles. I've owned the car now for 11 years, and in the last 5 years the car has been tracked and see's red-line all the time on the road course. The car currently has 200,000km and the only issue I really had was the power steering pump needing to be upgraded. Other than that and regular wear and tear leading up to the current mileage such as changing the rad, and surge tank (done 8 years ago) the car has been solid! Mind you I maintain my car fairly well, but if you were to look at it you would think it had less miles then what it really has. All this to say don't be afraid to get it if the price is right. The only thing I really encounter is extra burning oil at high RPM's.
I have a 2001 I bought with 89,000miles. I've owned the car now for 11 years, and in the last 5 years the car has been tracked and see's red-line all the time on the road course. The car currently has 200,000km and the only issue I really had was the power steering pump needing to be upgraded. Other than that and regular wear and tear leading up to the current mileage such as changing the rad, and surge tank (done 8 years ago) the car has been solid! Mind you I maintain my car fairly well, but if you were to look at it you would think it had less miles then what it really has. All this to say don't be afraid to get it if the price is right. The only thing I really encounter is extra burning oil at high RPM's.
Very good info! I'm fairly knowledgeable about cars and engines etc, and I might sound like an idiot, but I've never heard of a "surge" tank. What is that exactly?
Does it go by another term?
Thanks.
From: ALL governments are legalized mobsters, so doesn't matter where I live :(
Originally Posted by MEJ
Very good info! I'm fairly knowledgeable about cars and engines etc, and I might sound like an idiot, but I've never heard of a "surge" tank. What is that exactly?
Does it go by another term?
Thanks.
lol, surge tank is sometimes used instead of coolant overflow tank. This is one of the wear and tear items that fails for everyone at the same spot.
From: Central PA. - - My AR15 identifies as a muzzleloader
I believe in the Beer Fairy
For engine 'worries', I sorta believe a guy can spot engine wear fairly easy by listening to the idle of the car. If it's dead rock solid and smooth, you'll probably see really good leak down numbers if you were to do a leak down test. If that's good, odds are the rest of the engine is equally nice, and has a ton of life left in it. If it's got good oil pressure and the oil doesn't appear to be modified to increase viscosity to hide loose part wear, that's good. If it appears really thick... run. It's probably on its last legs.
Trans and rear you can really tell in a test drive. Vibration, noise, whatever. You can tell the cars that have been rode hard and put away wet. Under normal driving conditions, I'd stack up an LS engine against any other engine on the market where longevity is concerned. And before someone chimes in about the whizbang 2L in their xyz foreign car, how many times has that one had the tach pinned doing WOT runs?
Mileage doesn't mean much on these cars - maintenance does. The engine itself has been proven up & down to be solid 200k+ no problem - but what else has been done in between getting there? I bought a barely used 03 C5Z about 7 years ago w/ 12xxx miles - hadn't been touched. Bushings dry rotted etc. I'd rather have a C5 or C6 w/ 120k miles that has all the records & has had bushings/brakes/sway bar links/maybe bearings/diff fluid/spark plugs/wire etc. etc. all refreshed than a 60k mile C5 or C6 that hasn't had any of that done - feel me?
Electrical quirks & any other random maintenance gremlins like leaks or creaks - they don't show up when the car is sitting under storage in a heated garage on a tender or when a car is only driven 1000 miles a year by a soft footed guy more concerned w/ the paint's reflection than anything else - BUT they do show up & are addressed when someone is really USING The car as intended on a regular basis.
My 45k mile C5Z is far superior from a maintenance/fuids/battery/wear parts standpoint than my new to me 12000 mile C5Z I tracked down all the electrical gremlins & all the grounds are good etc etc
With so many C5's out there with low mileage, why even look at a high mileage one? Unless of course you can't find exactly what you want in a low mileage car. I bought mine 2 1/2yrs. ago with only 21,000 on the clock. I knew what I wanted and stayed patient, and my 6mo. search paid off.
I bought mine with 174kkm, salvage after accident and rebuilt. I would say as @grampi50 and @K-Spaz , more mileage, more wear and tear on the body, stalks, seats, suspensions, brakes and potential electronic issues due to more life cycle (on/off). For the the engine, if it is running correctly, and was properly taken care of, it is pretty rock solid. I put 6kkm in the year.
i had to renew the seats, cleaned up the carpets and in one year of mainly city driving, I had to replace the drive belt (9years old), which was dry, the tensioner (which probably was good enough) and the battery which was dead, too much of a garage queen during 9y before I purchased it.
@~Josh mentioned, it can be expensive, I don't have a garage or local where I can do basic maintenance, everything goes to the workshop, it turn to be pricey....the good thing since I cannot do it myself, it refrains from making mods all over the place, I save a LOT of money . i can see proper wear on the brakes and end-links, but the car drives perfectly and I am not into shows, then it is good enough, I'll patiently wait to have to change the pads, and renew the rotor with the OEM.
correct price with relevant wear to the mileage, you should be fine.
my 2 cents
TCFS
Advice on mileage.
. i can see proper wear on the brakes and end-links, but the car drives perfectly and I am not into shows, then it is good enough, I'll patiently wait to have to change the pads, and renew the rotor with the OEM.