Hey guys & girls!!

First off, Ive read all the other relevant posts but I feel I have a different perspective..
A little bit of background: I currently own a 2012 cammed Jeep srt8 with 83k miles. It’s an amazing daily driver (when it works). I’ve owned it for 2 years & I had to replace the engine and now my transmission is going south. I planned to keep it forever but $1000+/month in repairs is insane. Damn Chrysler and their engineering flaws.

Ive come to realize I don’t need all that trunk space and Besides my gf or mom, I don’t drive anyone else. I’m okay with slapping winter tires on it and driving in light snowfall 1-3 inches. For extreme snow days, I can borrow my dad’s old rav4.

Questions:
1. Is it crazy to assume a 20 year old car will be reliable enough as a daily driver? I’m looking for an 03-04 with less than 65k miles, in good condition.

2. Is the engine and transmission reliable if I keep it stock and take care of it? My soul can’t take another rebuild anytime soon.

3. Should I just push it to the back of my mind and get a 2014 Evox GSR for the awd aspect?

4. Besides the valve springs, shifter, and sucky seats, are there any other common issues I should be aware of?

 

I had an '02 and would still have it as my DD if I didn't let myself get hysterical about suddenly needing 4 seats because of grandpa duties that hardly materialized. You get one with the stats you mentioned you will be fine. I got rid of my SRT8 Challenger after 18 months and went back to an '02, this time a coupe. You were smart to join this forum and btw, re:trunk? I used to do Costco runs with mine and yes I could get toilet paper and paper towels in the trunk at the same time !

 

I daily my cammed 02 base model and it has 273k on it.

You'll be fine.

 

On my4 th soon to be corvette c8 z51.

mod any car with internal motor crap and boost the hp and driveline will gove you trouble over time.

My c5 z06 was modded and eventually made a crappy daily too.

my 99 c5 was an excellent daily driver as is my c6 z51 m6 ...

great cars as dailys...just dont be tearing into tje motors etc with cams nlah blah...because you are stretching the design parameters.

anyways once my c8 comes in Im selling my very nice one owner c6 z51 manual for $11500 brcause thats the price I decided its worth.

great car...one owner always reliable as my daily driver...clean title...never hit...a
ways garaged...

now for the mileage since its so depemdable...i put 140k miles and in over 4 decades of owning only new cars...

this one is the best....so good I could never bring myself to sell it..

we are across the country etc and my c8 wont be in u til sept of this year...so all this talk is just to tell you...

its just to tell you corvettes are the best preowned cars to buy...

of course id tell you the better buy is the c6 z51 manual...

its the better value and actually the better performance sports car daily driver as well...plus the roof comes off.,.

always loved my c5 z06 but they are getting a little premium over the 4 year newer 2008 c6 z51 manual.

buy with confidence...these corvettes are built “ford tough”

im kidding around but the reliability durability and the ridiculously low cost of repaors when they do pop up...makes corvettes an awesome sports car to own..



good luck and think c6 z51 for less cost than a c5 z06 if you can..the c5 z06 was my favorite car in over 4 decades of owming many different sports cars...but as a daily the c6 z51 m6 is better

 

As a previous srt8 owner, did the Z still have that oomph when you accelerated? That push you back in your seat feeling? That’s the favorite part of my day. Haha Funny you mention that, toilet paper is gold nowadays!!

 

If I could go back in time I would’ve chosen a different car. I never wanted to mod it, but since my original motor failed me twice, I figured why not strengthen the internals whilst in there? Ironically it’s my 2nd Jeep with bad engine internals.

I’ll check out the 08+ c6. Thank you for the good advice. How good was driving with the targa top off vs the fixed roof?

 

I prefer objective data when comparing cars, but you asked about ‘Seat of the pants” feeling. I didn’t get rid of the 392 because I didn’t like it, I drove a C5 with 135k on it when I decided to replace the 392 and felt like I was home.
My Z was faster than the Dodge, but it was 10 years older, and was not as smooth and sophisticated feeling as the Dodge. So, to answer your question, yes, the Z had lots of OOMPH, and if you bring it up to 4000 rpm and then stand on it you will feel what I mean. The Dodge was different, the engine is big, strong and powerful. I’m not a fan of loud, so the RUMBLE at idle, especially in an enclosed space was wonderful. If I had a choice, I’d take that engine, Tremec trans and seats and drop them into the C5 and be a happy camper. My coupe is as fast as the 392.(remember the Dodge weighs 900 lbs more)

 

very reliable cars if u take care of the maintenance.

 

That’s a relief. I understand that I’ll be giving up the luxury and sophistication aspect and some see that as a downgrade. The only 2 things I’ll miss are heated seats & my side mirror blind spot detectors. Never knew how useful they were until I had it.

Heh, my truck is 5000lbs so I get the weight difference. I think I understand. Hopefully I can get a few “spirited” test drives in beforehand. Thanks!

 

I DD my C5Z with over 70k miles, and I put over 20k more before I had to let it go. Very reliable for me, and honestly a wonderful DD.

Yeah get an MGW and better headlights, maybe a cam lock for the seats, refresh the valve springs for another stint, and you're good to go.

Parts are inexpensive as well, so when (not if!) the mod bug hits, it's very cool upgrading, to improve the already good performance.

The LS6 is a beauty, really zings to redline, with the changes incorporated into the car from the LS1.

Also, these cars are light as heck!

 

If the C5 has been well taken care of and not abused, you should have no problems using it as a daily driver. These cars are very reliable overall. Have the car checked over carefully and see what that turns up.

 

i remember when mine was stock-ish, awesome fun daily, did 25k miles the first year of ownership, loved it. only thing that adds to the operation cost, is tire replacement cost, compared to other typical dailys, as snow if you live in a region like that.

 

I DD mine. My dad daily drives his C6 Z51(LS2 motor, A6, full bolt ons, P1SC Procharger).

I had cammed mine along with longtubes after getting a broken valve spring replaced, and regretted it(that was personal preference though, I think I have just been spoiled by how these cars react with boost). I soon after went back to mostly stock, and I intend to Procharge mine as well and will continue to daily drive it. Got it with 73k miles or so(can't remember exactly), and it's been reliable aside from the spring issue which is a known thing. Currently sitting on around 85k miles now, with no worries on keeping it as a daily.

 

DD C5Z06 here as well. Just rolled over 70k miles last week, bought it with 56k miles 1.5 years ago.
It's been pretty solid, mostly just maintenance and choice modifications.
The worst problem I've had is its current issue: hard shifting in 1st & reverse. It's looking like pilot bearing is the issue, not overly surprising assuming that it's the original piece and all the grease it originally had is long gone. The [stock/original?] clutch otherwise seems to work fine and I still DD it.

 

My 03 Z is a daily driver. 131K and still going. Its been very reliable, but there has been work done to keep it up. All the normal common C5 Vettes stuff has popped up on mine and had to be addressed. Search for C5 common issues to get the list.

 

i've DDed my supercharged FRC plenty of times over the years.
my normal DD GMC's cammed & got 250k. so long as it's been took care of, you should be alright.

 

I Daily Drive my 04 Z06. (Best in class at the show, and a DD) I also have an F150 that I use for Home Depot trips. The C5 is a great platform and very reliable. Find one with a clean history and maintenance records, but they are very reliable cars. There is a youtube video of a couple of guys who bought a C5 with over 500k miles and drove the damn thing home without a hick-up. I wouldn't hesitate to drive my 04 anywhere. I have had several Corvettes and many of those were C5's- I daily drove them all and they have all been super reliable. I also live in South Florida where we really have no bad times to drive a Corvette!

 

191k on the clock today, and will be closer to 192 by the end of the day.


Mark.

 

seems like 200-300k is no problem lol

 

My only concern about using it as a DD would be driving it in the snow. From my experience driving in the North for about 50 years is that wide tires are not your friend on snow or ice. I don't drive my C5 in the winter but with the low ground clearance and wide tires I would have second thoughts.
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