Hello I am a new member and I am a current corvette owner. I am in the process of selling my 92 corvette and wanting to buy a c6. I have located one that is owned by a senior who has owned the car for about 7 years. I like the car but he was honest with me in telling me he has not been using the synthiec oil when he gets his yearly oil changes.

The car has 23000 miles on it. If I purchased the car the first thing I would get done would be to put in the correct oil. He is not wanting to sell the car to just anyone as he wants to make sure the car is taken car of..... but he did not put the proper oil in over the years. I am wanting to get some opinions as to whether this is something to be concerned with. It is a 1999 coupe and it is going to sell for 20,000.

I am not that smart when it comes to mechanics so I need opinions. Thanks so much for your help. Rich

 

Welcome to the Forum!!!!! Hope you enjoy it.

Just FYI, a 1999 is a C5 Corvette (1997-2004). This Forum is for C6 Corvettes (2005-current). While there are similarities that would allow owners here to help you I suggest you just head over to the C5 Forums and ask the current C5 owners there for help. Good luck.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-tech-1/

or

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-general-103/

 

Plain ole oil lubricates just as well as a synthetic oil. GM started using a synthetic oil because it was cheaper then installing a oil cooler in every Corvette. As long as the car has had regular(at least annually, or every 3,000 miles) oil changes, and not driven hard enough to see high oil temps, you should be okay.

 

Plain olde oil, aka mineral oil, conventional, or "dinosaur squeezings" DOES NOT lubricate as well as synthetic.


Synthetic maintains viscostiy under harsh conditions better than conventional, has less evaporation than conventional motor oils and lasts longer between oil changes.

In a cold dry start, synthetic engine oils crank easier, and engines start easier and have oil circulating sooner thus preventing wear. Because of their capacity to reduce friction, synthetic engine oils offer a slight % increase in fuel mileage.

 

While that is true, most cars do not operate near the extremes that require a synthetic oil.

Look how many SUV's, loaded to the hilt, drive through Death Valley(or even Phoenix) every day. Same goes for Minot, ND in January.
Plain ole oil does lubricate and millions of new vehicles roll out of the assembly plants every year with plain ole oil. As I said, if the 99 has had regular oil changes and not driven to the extremes, the use of plain ole oil will not hurt it.

By the low mileage and the condition of the car, I doubt if it was driven hours on end on a race track, or left out in the cold every night, to experience cold starts every morning and then only driven 1 mile to work, never able to get up to operating temp. I bet the car has spent 80% of it's live in a garage, and only taken out for a drive during perfect cruising afternoons.

I don't think that the original owner of the 99 C5 getting .001MPG less gas mileage while he owned it, really hurt the car(maybe $20 more in gas money in the past 12 years hurt his wallet) .

It wasn't until the 2011 model year that GM finally required an oil that would meet the extended mileage requirements between oil changes. It's called Dexos, and a synthetic blend will meet the Dexos specs. In fact, even the 2011 & 2012 C6 including the Z06 and the ZR1 now requires the Dexos oil. That's right, even the Corvette now only requires a synthetic blend. GM does recommend using a full synthetic oil in the Corvette, but it is not required, and will not void the warranty if the synthetic blend oil meets the Dexos spec. The ACDelco Dexos oil that will be used by your GM dealer when you take your car in for an oil change is made by EXXON-MOBIL and is a synthetic blend.

 

Let me first say I am so glad to have run on to this site and to have had discussion on this topic. I really want to buy this car and may be paying a tad more than I want but it is really a (like new car) and this was my only concern.

Thanks for the pros and the cons. The decussion was great! I know this person has babied this car and I am thinking by next week it will be in my garage. I will put the synthetic oil once I own it. Once again I appreicate the help.
rich

 

flush out the old crap with an oil change then do a second one after a bit of decent driving.

I would use a flush additive along with oil with the first oil change, then just oil for the second. Use new filters for each change - cheapo factory filters are just fine.

Dino oil can cause sludge deposits. If this guys babied the car though, it might still be worth buying.

 

Here's how I would look at it. The current owner didn't use the correct oil, however if he had it changed regularly (has records) and appears to baby the car you are probably a lot better off then getting a car with the correct oil that was beat on for 20K miles.

I would judge the car on how it was taken care of and not worry about the oil. It is not an issue if he didn't beat on it. From your description, sounds like he babied the car.

 

Just a FYI this is the C5 forum............. Your in the wrong forum

 

thread was moved to c5

 

Why don't they tell me these things....my bad

 

I would think this is a VERY high price for a 1999 coupe.

2 Years ago I got a 02 Z for 17K. You should at least get an 02 or newer. It is increasingly dificult to get parts for these cars. ALL the computer modules can be a bitch to find and will get worse I am sure.

 

Just start using the correct oil and don't worry about it. I think trying to flush what little of the non synthetic oil that was used is unnecessary. It's not like the previous owner put brake fluid in the crank case.

I also think it's priced on the salty side.

 

Thanks so much for all the feedback. I am going to take a good look at it tomorrow and may just wait and see what else is out there. rich m.

 

I wouldnt worry at all what type of oil was used in the car. It wouldnt hurt anything either way if the car was taken care of. You can always change it for your piece of mind but $20k for a 99 is way high. My '02 was appraised at $21k last year and that was high. 2002-2004 C5s will have less bugs and better parts such as LS6 blocks and intakes for example..and a better ecu. Just my $0.02 but bring him down on the price.

 

Kelley Blue Book says $17-18K for a 99 auto coupe with 23000mi. Eevn thats high IMO.
http://www.kbb.com/chevrolet/corvett...condition=good

 

man. You guys are great. He has some chrome items on the car and a new borja exhaust which cost about 1700.00 dollars. I just kinda thought if I bought the car and then put the exhaust on I would add to the 18,000 dollar price. He also is giving me orginial wheels that came with the car as he bought Corvette Chrome/staiinless wheels. So I would be getting two sets of rims.

I will take advice and not purchase the car but let him know I have the cash. When I decided to take the offer on my vette the other night I realized that I was building a wall because it was 'my car' and I just thought it was worth so much more. My friends all told me I was extremely lucky to get what I got out of my excellent red 92 coupe with glass top. It had 50,000 miles on it and today it is going to sell for 12,200.

I am convinced that if I can not get him down in price I will walk. The kelly price you bookmarked... if you go to excellent it puts the valuue pretty close to what he is asking. I also have a friend who is telling me I ought to be able to get 2002 for that money. SO, I am going to slow down cause he has had this for sale for some time and I don't think many people have looked at the car. Knowing the information I just provided... do you think if I hold hard on 19,000 or 19,500... I would be ok. Thanks a million for the information.... I am loving it and so appreciate everyone. rich

 

Not a good idea..the flush additives release the sludge too quickly and can contaminate the oil to the point where you can spin a bearing. If you end up buying the car, throw auto-rx in it for 1000 miles to clean it out. Stuff is amazing.

 

Can't go wrong with german castrol . Expensive, but makes teh noisy ls1 very quiet.

 

Welcome to the forum.You will meet a lot nice knowledgeable people.
I've bought and sold more then 50 collectable/muscle cars.6 years ago I bought and sold 6 cars in one summer and made a profit of over 45K.I'm not a dealer.I've found some killer deals and I've also paid too much for a few just because I wanted them.
I would never walk from a car that I loved and had to have over
1 or 2K.In a month or so the extra money you spent will mean nothing but you will be driving the car you love instead of a lesser car that you got a good deal on.
I don't think the seller will be selling real soon but if he does you may be sorry.On the other hand there are a lot of nice low mileage C5s for sale.The problem is they may not be near your home.The more cars you look at the more educated you will get.Even if the car for sale is not exactly what you want go and see it just for the experience.
If you really love this car.Buy it.Tell all your friends you paid 12K and enjoy your new ride .Don't worry about the oil.Synthetic or regular oil will both work as long as it is a name brand and you change it on regular intervals.If you go FI then synthetic is the way to go.
GOOD LUCK.