I'm new here and have been actively researching the purchase of my first Corvette. The forums have been a wealth of information and I have a laundry list of items to look at on any Corvette I look at buying.

That said, I have found a 2002 C5 with just under 80,000 miles that I will hopefully be going to look at on Sunday. It's one of the few in the area where the owner isn't overly optimistic in his pricing. I spoke with him at length about the Corvette and he sent me a Carfax that covers pretty much the entire service history. He's the third owner but has only had it about two years, only driving about 2,000 miles. The second owner had it the longest and Carfax shows it was regularly serviced, primarily at Chevy dealers. In going through the listings for the services done, a few things show up repeatedly. Very little detail is given by Carfax and I'm looking for some insight into whether or not these things should be of concern or if there is anything in particular I should be looking at when I look at it.

There are a number of times the vehicle was in for a computer check (once) and "electrical system checked." The electrical system check was pretty consistent from about 26,000 miles through about 41,000 miles when the starter was replaced; the clutch start switch was also replaced at 38,500 miles. There was another electrical system check at about 58,000 miles and then there started to be instances of "engine checked"; one of these also included a "no start/hard start condition checked." Based on the Carfax, there isn't a clear indicator that anything was done to fix these last items, but these issues seemed to have stopped about 74,000 miles after a tune up. There were several instance of the emissions system being checked but no reports of a failed emissions check. The current owner says he hasn't had any issues and has not had it serviced at a place that reports to Carfax.

I would appreciate any insights or recommendations.

Mark

 

Carfax is best used for evidence of major damage (wrecks, theft), or odometer discrepancies. It is NOT a useful tool for assessing service history or mechanical condition / issues. I'd suggest not stressing over those items on that report and instead be objective about assessing the car mechanically when you go to see it.

 

I would not read too much into the "computer check" it could mean anything. Dealers are looking for service work and may be looking for trouble codes as part of a complete service.
I went to my dealer for a recall, and just hearing the service people try to sell services to folks that don't know better was killing me. They tried to get me to have the brake fluid changed on a car that was not even two years old with less than 10k.

I got my 2002 C5 last August and did the car fax thing and also got no real information about maintenance. I took the car for a long test drive and made sure everything worked then went for it knowing one week latter something could go wrong. I am still in the honeymoon phase with my corvette and have had no issues so far.............every time I park it I look back and say wow.

 

99% of the time when you see "electrical system checked", it means that the dealer was checking the battery in hopes of selling the customer a new one.

 

After you look at the car, if you still have questions and are seriously interested in the vehicle, arrange to have it inspected by a Vette tech at a dealer or good repair shop. Still not a 100% guarantee, but could be some additional peace of mind.

 

also in agreement with everyone else, so with that being said, after going over the usual 'C5' gremlins known and documented in this forum if the previous owner has shown faithful service maintenance and record keeping then I'd say proceed to the next step !

 

Agree very strongly!

 

Welcome to the forum! I agree that Carfax is not the place to look for service history. Check the sticky posts at the top of the forum. There is a ton of good info. Especially read the buyers guide. You should get a pre-purchase inspection done by an independent shop that knows Corvettes. Good luck with your search. Be patient, and wait until you find the right car. Let us know how things turn out.

 

CarFax is worthless!!! Read my post from today. They entered an accident that occurred 13 years ago after I purchased it in June of this year

 

Mark, lots of good advice here already. Since you say this will be your first Corvette, I assume you are new to the car, so I might add that you may wish to find some dealers with C5s for sale and take a few cars today or tomorrow for a test drive before looking at this private sale. Look them over carefully as if you were going to buy. It is good practice and who knows...you might.

Test driving several C5s should give you a feel for the car in general and it will help you better recognize the good from the not so good. I actually ended up buying my car from a dealership after finding one that even though high (96,000) miles, drove better than many with half the miles. You should also be prepared to spend some money on the car. I ended up replacing the battery, tires and within a few months the convertible top. It is very common for these cars to need tires at time of sale; often the tires may look great, but be old, that was the case with my car. If the tires are 6 or more years old, you'll want to replace them and that's a fair thing to negotiate in terms of price. My major expenses in the last 4 years are fairly typical: tires, convertible top and replacing the rear seals- you can't get a real good look under this car because it is so low to the ground...but you can look at the ground where the car was parked. So the advice to have a qualified mechanic get it up on a lift and have a look is very good advice, but it is also a good idea to make sure you have found a car you are really interested in before spending money on this sort of check.

In my experience, Carfax isn't very reliable in terms of revealing accidents/repairs. So looking the car over carefully for any signs of repairs/paint overspray is always a good idea.

Also, the C5 has a pretty neat feature that will allow you to pull the codes. Here's a short video:


You might want to have your phone handy and you can simply record any codes (assuming the seller has not cleared them) as they scroll and you can check them at your leisure.

I look forward to hearing how this goes for you and perhaps welcoming you the joys of owning and driving a Corvette!

 

Thank you for all the replies, all good information.

Mark

 

Is the 2002 the year with the valve drop problem? Or was that 2003? You may want to research that.

I wound up buying mine from a dealer (as noted above by someone else). Like you've observed, individual owners are sometimes emotionally attached to the vehicle and have a highly inflated expectation of the value. Living in NC, I looked all around the Southeast. Wound up getting one in Florida. I flew down, checked it out and drove it home all in the same day. The C5s are definitely priced lower in Florida. The airfare was only $149, but the car was probably $2K less than what I could find in my local area. There are more on the market in Florida too. Something to consider if Florida isn't too far.

 

+1 on the video of DIC codes.

Getting a prepurchase inspection at a reputable shop was helpful to me and I highly recommend it. Just make sure to give them a list of specific items to check beyond the usual list they go by. Sometimes ruling out major items is about as good as you can do but certainly gives you some peace of mind.
Good luck!

 

I am in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia. I'd considered looking at Corvettes in adjoining states until I learned about the latest smog checks in said Republik looking for modified software as of July 19th of this year. Having already seen a couple of Kalifornia Corvettes listed for sale because they cannot now be smogged due to modified software, I'm sticking to Kalifornia where I can make a passed smog check a condition of purchase.

 

Carfax is crap. The 2 owner ZO6 I just bought has had 7 previous owners according to Carfax.

 

To the best of my knowledge it was in the later production run of the 2002's thru early 2003's. I've read that VIN #'s after 20,000 (2002) and up until VIN #9,000 (2003) are more likely to suffer. Also of concern Imo would be cars that were tracked and RPM stressed.

 

If this is your first Corvette there are two steps that you can take to assist you in your search for the right car:

1) Take as many as you can for a test drive (I mean at least 3 or 4 C5's) so that you can get the feel of the car. Used car lots are great for this. That way after a while ..... you'll be able to tell the difference in "feel" between a well maintained car and one that is not. Then when you go to test drive one that you are considering purchasing ..... you'll have a better appreciation of that car.

2) A prepurchase inspection by a trusted knowledgeable corvette mechanic is worth its weight in gold. But how do you find one of these knowledgeable mechanics in your area ...... contact local corvette clubs. Local corvette clubs are a great source of who are considered to be the good mechanics in the area. If you were up here in the Seattle area I could point you at 3 different corvette specialty shops to go to. I am sure there will be someone in your area who can do the same.

PS be patient, take your time, don't fall in love with the very first one

 

Some 2002 and 2003 Z06’s (LS6 engine) were affected with the valve drop problem. This was not a problem with the non Z06 (LS1 engine) C5’s.

 

If the car is local, you may be able to obtain a copy of the car's actual service records through your local GM dealership. You'll need the VIN number from the current owner.

 

Agreed 100%- make sure you take a LONG test drive. If the seller knows you are serious and have the funds this shouldn't be an issue- make it a final condition of the deal before money exchanges hands. Short test drives can mask a lot of issues. Also, make sure the shut the car off and re-start it 3 times during the test drive. Some codes are set to show on the 2nd cycle - if you only start it and drive once - they won't show up!.