CARMINEVETTE

98 107,000 miles
water pump
idler pulley
rear axle seal
usual consumables

That's it. I have been extremely satisfied with the car. Drive it on trips in all kinds of weather.

vettemanZ06eb

03 Z06 55,000 both rear rims cracked at 30,000 no other problems GREAT car.

JanCorvette

having owned a MKIV Supra and Rx7, I am used to reliable sports cars. These cars were modded, driven, raced, daily driven, etc....Keep in mind, these were old cars 97 and 93.

I recenlty bought my Corvette 2000, with only 16,000 miles. The best condition vette out there. Never painted or wrecked. Not modd, not raced, not abused. So far i have

- Replace front 02 sensors
- column lock bypass (installed)
- clutch pedal keeps sticking to the floor. Already ordered a tick master slave cylinder cuz replacing the liquid didn't work. This is really annoying since vettes are suppose to be driven hard!
- Rocking seats
- Headlights take a few tries to go up (Need Viagra
- every now and again, a ABS, tire monitoring system or active handling system message will turn up.

This car was mostly garaged and I am guessing mosts of these problems are due to the lack of use. I love my Vette. I never had a car that gets more looks. I love my car. Would love to mod my vette, but am afraid of reliabity issues. Never thought it would be like this

VetteDrmr

I wouild disagree with that assessment. You have a car with awesome potential, but it's close to 12 years old and never even got through it's break-in period.

I'm not sure why the O2 sensors needed replacing (mine are original with 220,xxx miles), but the CLB is a well accepted "mod", the slave cylinder is one of those hydraulic systems that may well cause you problems. Likewise anything associated with the braking system (ABS, for example).

Hang in there, it'll be worth it!
Mike

timritchieblue

2001 coupe, bought with 24k on the clock, 6k later new tranny time......

$2500 in 6k miles not bad.

fsuforever

QUOTE]Only issues I have are the one's I created when I started modding the car. [/QUOTE].
, this the dilema that has happened to me,probably to a lot of other members as well!

The Boy Racer

I've had a few electrical gremlins, including both o2 sensors going kaput, blinker works most of the time, and right door speaker decided to play bass, when the stereo wasnt on.

Mechanically, she is a race car, so its really unfair to judge her. When the 02 sensors went, it took all 8 plugs with it, and caused a couple wires to melt as well.

The reason it cost so much is that we (mechanic and I) thought it was a burnt valve, as the car has a NOS system. But hey, I did find out my built engine is at 90% compression at 100K with a 200 shot.

Repairs aside, I am very impressed with how well she has held up after many, many abusive days at the racetracks. BTW, 10.7@128mph. I also track it in the rain (came in 2nd out of 11th at a rainy event)

JanCorvette

.
, this the dilema that has happened to me,probably to a lot of other members as well![/QUOTE]



So if you had to do it all over again...you would not mod the car? Not even bolt ons like intake and cams? I was debating on putting cams but though with a 16,000 miles engine, putting cams would only bring trouble to the only thing that is working. (The engine)

thefazio

Electrical. Car DD and left out in the elements.

I bought it with last year, an '02, with 36k on the odo. Everything WAS fine when I bought it. Since then...

*rear window started disconnecting (ok, this one's more mechanical, I suppose)
*steering wheel horn diaphragm went out - horn goes off incessantly (pulled the fuse)
*OEM ACDelco battery replaced with a Kirkland Signature
*oil pressure sender went out - now/still reads max psi
*tire monitoring system pops up occasionally
*MAF sensor went out (and was replaced)
*passenger side window stuck yesterday - going to pull the door apart in the morning

Dare I say it? My Acura Integra (that I got rid of with 145xxx miles) was far more reliable...maybe had half the horsepower hitting the wrong two wheels, but less issues in the 4 years I owned it than the c5 has been in the 4 MONTHS I've owned this one.

JustinStrife

Between the two vettes, door modules(both sides), column lock, hvac dim, HUD disappearing on the '01, leaky rear transmission seal, abs/traction control is all out of wack on the '01 again, power seat memory gone, only blows hot air on the passenger side(again on the 01), TPMS failure on left rear wheel, front turn signals always go out if i watch the cars, rear hatch won't open on the '01, i'm sure there are other things i can't think of right now.

VetteDrmr

As a way of encouragement, most of the things you mentioned should stay fixed once you get them taken care of.

Another item: you bought a 9 year old car that had been driven an average of 4000 miles a year, and I bet not many were put on in the past several years.

Cars don't like non-use. You properly used your Integra (and Honda is world-reknown for their reliability) and had few problems. I've got 220K+ miles on my '00 Vette, and while things wear out on it (just replaced the left rear wheel bearing), it's been pretty durn reliable.

These cars do have more electrical gremlins than I think they should, but I think that's more common across the industry than many realize. BMWs re-sale value are beginning to take huge hits because of the complex systems they've put in place that, frankly, aren't needed.

Hang in there, use your baby regularly and wisely (that doesn't mean babying her, check my sig), and she'll reward you for a long time.

Have a good one,
Mike

JanCorvette

Sad we have to compares corvettes to Integras . But i will compare my corvette to my Supra, and the difference in reliabilty is night and day. Guess is the price to pay...for a car with alot of technology.

Best thing about the corvette is the LS1

primus

My 2000 lemon vette...
leaky diff, driver headlight motor, passenger window motor, oil pressure sensor, battery (on 4th), hvac driver side (still not fixed), cruise control turns off on slightest bump (thats why I'm online now), a/c replaced twice, turn signal issue (replaced hazard switch to fix), and whatever the cheap plastic pieces under the seat to stop it going back and forth 1/8" (at least that only cost $2 and 2 hours to fix). 55k and always garage kept.
I am very jealous of all the "no problem quotes"

nextime

Somebody bought my 2001 Lemon Vette from Sorens Ford, boy she loved oil, 1 quart every 1000 miles!

JanCorvette

Is this only a C5 situation? What about C6? Mustangs? Is this a general "american made car problem"?

lucky131969

Yes, problems are completely isolated to American made cars. Foreign auto dealerships only do tire rotations and oil changes in their service department. That's why there is no demand for ASE certified mechanics, with foreign car experience....they just never have problems.

Chris Arnold

Old thread, but I felt like chiming in, because it's been pretty bad in my case:

Bought a '97 in '06 with 22k miles on it. It's at 75k miles now. Since then I've
- replaced the condenser, compressor, and evacuator in the A/C after the original compressor took a dump and sent metal throughout the system ~$3k
- Rebuilt the transmission (was popping out of reverse. I replaced synchros, and pads) ~4k (prices in Germany are steeper than in the states)
- Replaced the horn diaphragm (maybe $50 for the part... don't remember)
- Replaced the rear differential after a day at the nurburgring (only time I've tracked this car) where a leaky seal trashed the bearings ($1000 including $650 for a junkyard diff and 300-400 for the labor)
- TPMS for 1 wheel ($80)
- replaced 1 magnesium wheel due to a crack bad enough that air was leaking ($600)
- hazard switch ($40)
- both window motors/regulators - would be nice if these were seperate because the cables were frayed, but the motors still worked ($500 - something like $250ish each)
- running lights/fog lights/blinkers (not much)
- seats still rock but the fix is in the mail to me now
- CEL came on for an EGR component that I also have in the back of the car but don't want to pull the intake off to replace
- getting some metal on metal clanking sound from the driver's side rear suspension
- Replaced both key fobs because for some reason batteries were only lasting 2-3 weeks
- external temp sensor has gone wacky in the last month or so
- ABS/traction control light comes on over bumps occasionally, but I'm not ready to invest in the EBCS repair, yet
- Fuel gauge sending unit ($110)

I don't hold these against the car itself. They're issues of preventative, or regular maintenance:
- column lock bypass is in the back of the car because I've been too lazy to install
- replaced the clutch while the trans was rebuilt. Put a C6Z clutch in for peace of mind if I ever do some minor mods.
- replaced 2 batteries the first was to go to a optima gel type to reduce the chance of tearing up the computer the second was after the 1st optima died ($400 - optimas aren't cheap)
- run-flat tires are expensive as sin. I think I was quote something like $1,800 for 4 new GY run-craps. They handle worse, reduce mileage (heavy), and are only needed that 1 or 2 times every 100k miles when you tear up the tire badly enough that pumping air in isn't enough to get you to a service station or back home. The toyo non run-flats I used were good but not great tires for ~$6-700, the GY DS-G3 were excellent in dry and wet conditions and cost marginally more... maybe $8-900.

So, not including regular maintenance stuff, I'm pretty close to $10k invested in the car in roughly 50k miles and 5 years of ownership.

04blackice

Had my 04z for 2 yrs 75,000 so far battery and oil sending unit $40.00 plus my time.tires and more tires

wrmiles

2002 Coupe with 117K bought new:

LDCM replaced under warrenty

Differential Output Shaft Seal replaced

EBCM repaired by ABSfixer, now inop again

Transmssion rebuilt due to grinding in reverse (was bearings, not shift fork, don't understand why, since not beat on or tracked)

RH fuel sender and jet pump replaced due to clogged pump

kalayaan12

No real drama on my 1998 convertible w/ 36,000 miles:

1) Left rear TPMS sensor replaced

2) Steering column lock left me stranded

3) Accessory drive belt "squeal" drove me insane - it took a Gatorback belt to fix it finally after exhausting everything else...

4) Replaced car battery a few times (it sits alot between deployments!)

5) Poor top fit - driver window closes on the canvas and has worn and frayed the corner

6) Fuel gage jumps to empty unexpectedly more and more often

7) Excessive wear on driver seat bolster

8) Seat track has too much freeplay

9) Side window / roof weatherseal leaks like a sieve on driver's side

Other than that - not bad!