Imanolg

Hello all,

I am currently looking to buy a C5, and I have some questions. I’ve never had a corvette, and I don’t know much about the car so I hope I came to the right place. Are there some specific model years I should be looking for? Any issues or red flags I should look out for? What would be a fair price for a stock C5 in good to great condition? My current daily driver is a newer Lexus, and I’ll be selling it once I buy the C5 (my intention is to daily drive the C5). My biggest worry is that the car I buy will not be reliable and that it will leave me stranded all the time. Obviously I know a 20+ year old car won’t be as reliable as a newer Lexus, my hope however is that if I buy a good one (with a PPI from a corvette mechanic) it will be a reliable daily driver. Are my expectations realistic?

I’d appreciate any tips or useful information, thank you.

btw I live in south Florida if anyone is selling

jdmvette

Start by only looking at the -01 to -04 model years due to parts availability. Good luck with you search!


Edit * I have been daily driving my 2000 for the last 21 years. Completely reliable

Vader_C5

I owned a '99 Corvette, which I sold in '23 with almost 100k miles, a previous '03 with 30k miles, and currently another '03 with 28k miles.

Overall, my experience with the C5 has been very positive. It's an excellent platform for various purposes—touring, performance, track, etc. My '99 never gave me any major issues, except for a failed clip on the fuel filter causing a leak and a malfunctioning radiator fan. In terms of maintenance, everything I did on my '99 with 100k miles, I also did on my '03s with less than 30k miles: all fluids, suspension rubber maintenance, belts, pulleys, and so on.

Bottom line: find a car you like and are comfortable paying for; drive it and enjoy!

capeokw56

I second jdmvette's advice. The later years of any model car are always the best. A mechanic's thumbs up goes a long way too. I was in your shoes three years ago and knew nothing about vettes. With some help from this forum and the internet I bought a beautiful 04' vert A4 with 43k miles. As far as reliability goes... we just drove ours from Cape Cod to Florida and back and it ran perfectly for the entire trip. I have no qualms about trusting this car.

Vetteman Jack

Start by reading through the Sticky threads in this section as well as in the C5 Tech section. Lots of very valuable info in those threads.

Missileboy

All good advice, here's some things you should check once you find the "one"

If possible, get the car lifted so you can see underneath it. That will tell you WAY more about how the car has lived-if the rockers are clean and damage free, you can assume it has been taken care of and not driven hard I mean. Start the motor and watch the Harmonic Balancer and see if it has a slight wobble to it, if it does, that will eventually need to be replaced. Do a search and learn how to pull codes off the DIC. If you can pull the codes, you can see if everything is good currently. Look at the belt and general condition under the hood.

Most of the ones I looked at were taken care of pretty good, some not so much. I ended up with a 02 A4 with 56K miles. Since I got it 1.5 years ago, I have completely flushed the brakes, rebuilt the calipers, new rotors, pads and SS flex lines on all 4 corners. Had the trans flushed/serviced and did some other performance mods to my liking. These cars are solid and if you stay on them, they are as reliable as anything else.

Midwayman

Its a reasonably reliable car. The issue is it is also a 20 year old + car. That means a lot of rubber and plastic parts have degraded. In general I'd strongly prefer a car that the owner can show me a logbook of ongoing maintenance items that have been taken care of to one that looks nicer on the surface but has no history. Some parts are getting scarce on these cars, which means used or refurbished parts. Sometimes at extortionate rates. If you don't particularly care about the OEM ness of the car there are more options. If you just want a DD and less old car issues I'd consider moving to the c6 at least. Much better availability.

That's not to discourage you too much. You could drive for years without issues, but something you should be aware of.

acroy

all this. Don't let the threads scare you. The platform is pretty darn reliable and all bugs have been found & solutions worked out. That said I would get a 02-04 in minty condition, few or no modifications, & keep it that way for a daily driver. As others said, be prepared to do a big service (all fluids, etc) when you buy it. Have a good relationship with an independent shop so they can stay on top of it. FYI I've had 2 C5's over the course of 10yrs and the majority of the issues I've had have been self-caused

hyperv6

C5 is a good car. You have all the advantages of the new engine and chassis but less of the electrical items of the C6-7. Not that they are bad just more items to have issues with as they age.
The C5 for the most is easy to work on and the prices are good on lower mile clean stock models accept for the Z06.
The sweet spot is the 2002-2003 The 01 and 04 are good just a couple other issues the others don't have.

The greatest weak spot is the seats but they are cheap and easy to fix and you really don't need to be a SAE trained mechanic to fix them. When shopping the condition of the drivers seat is a good indication of how the car was cared for. If the owner took the time to condition the leather it will have fewer cracks. If they did that you can have a better chance they did not abuse the car or not change oil or other items that were needed were ignored. This was something I noted in web sold cars and made it easier to tell what ones to go look at more than others. Many will take photos to hide the seat condition.

Check the balancer for a wobble. Most cars driven easy have no issues there but driven hard the balance may be starting to fail or has been replaced. If replaced that is a good thing.

If buying a coupe do not over look the top for cracks. On a convertible check the roof condition as it have the window falling out over time. Also please note the tops can be $1500 to replace.

Check tire age. This can be an added cost.

If looking at a modified car are all the mods documented. A good mod car and some stock cars will have a note book on just was all has been done to the car and receipts. It is a problem to buy a mod and tuned car with no info. If something goes wrong it makes it more difficult to know what it might be if you do not know what the car has. Also expect modified cars to have been driven hard. If done correctly it will not hurt but if the car was done poorly like a bigger better engine but a stock clutch you may have issue later.

If you really plan to buy get this book and it has all you need to know.


Also go to Youtube and watch the videos on the C5 by C&S Corvette. Lyle is good at covering know issues and how to address them. It is a good way to get a fast education on what you need to know.

Now when I say issues they are rare for the most and what ones we have are easy to adress. As Corvettes go the C5 is very user friendly.

I would also add if you can afford to go with a lower mile car like 20k to 40k you will get more for your money. You can save on cheaper cars but if it needs say paint you will eat up all the savings.

Same on the car if it has need of a clutch or engine work if you can’t do it yourself.

‘Buying a Corvette can be very rewarding but buying the wrong one can be the car from hell. Show wisely. If unsure have it inspected and get it on a rack to make sure nothing below is messed up.
Make sure everything works and no lights are on. Don’t buy someone else’s mistake.

rrwirsi

Every car has its gremlins and the C5 has its share, especially electrical. And unless you are electrical savvy and know how to use the various meters to sort out issues, it can be expensive for others to do. The C5 is my third Vette. The others ('64, '72) I could use basic tools to fix most of their problems for the garage DIY. I have not found that with the C5. As others have suggested, read the sticky's to get a better idea what you are getting into. Also, even if you feel you are qualified to evaluate a car, take a friend with you to help and make sure the car is pre buy inspected by a qualified mechanic that works on corvettes, especially C5's. Good luck on your search. Most importantly do not be in a rush to buy and enjoy the search. I took me almost 3 months diving to 3 States to finally find my C5.

Imanolg

Thank you all for your replies. I will look at the threads, and most of all I will be patient in trying to find the right car for me. If I find something or if I have more questions, I’ll make sure to let you all know. Thanks again

BRKLYN

With jdmvette owned mine in 2006 a 1998 coupe, very reliable. Happy C-5 hunting.

c5arlen

You are welcome... Stay here for a while and gather knowledge... C5 knowledge is your friend for a good choice.