2005 ??
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 53,520
Likes: 77
From: Arizona
You never know with any car new or used but FWIW my (modified) 2005 has been a great car in all respects. Despite 'hard' use its been surprisingly trouble-free and reliable. Based on my experience and assuming everything else checks out OK I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 2005. Good luck.
After looking the column lock over, I do believe that it is only a matter of time/cycles for them all going bad. And like DBS not just a simple problem. Because it tends to happen irregularly at first. Reading about other people's SCL failures, it tends to happen over some months time, with a series of no start episodes and dealer visits before the fix is finally done. Just like in DBS days - 'We've never heard of that' - 'Don't believe all your read on the internet'. I had about 1/2 a dozen dead in the water episodes, and actually 3 dealer visits before it was fixed. My first quote was for $1000.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,840
Likes: 65
From: Tree City
All I can say is I bought my 05 last October. VIN #5300. I haven't driven it much and I have only put about 500 miles on it so far. It has 25,000 miles on it and no wobble on the balancer. The engine looks new. It runs perfect. It does need a rear window seal, but other than that- nothing. It does look like the top has been painted, because I noticed the texture of the paint is different. It doesn't look bad, but under a bright light it has a different texture.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 132
Likes: 1
I think the 6 speed auto is worth it's weight in gold. I would never go back to 4 speed auto. Shop around for a 2006 or newer. There are a lot of good condition, low milage, cheap, c6's out there. I searched for a long time not being in a hurry and saw many. If you have to go a few miles, pack up for a weekend with your sweetheart and have a good time.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,074
Likes: 296
From: San Francisco CA
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 53,520
Likes: 77
From: Arizona
Do a forum search as many have described it.
It could be everything from just your gauges suddenly going screwy, to sudden and drastic noises, smoke and loss of control.
If the serpentine belt flies off at speed it can make a lot of noise and do a lot of damage.
It could be everything from just your gauges suddenly going screwy, to sudden and drastic noises, smoke and loss of control.
If the serpentine belt flies off at speed it can make a lot of noise and do a lot of damage.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,295
Likes: 8
From: Issaquah WA
One other item I don't think has been covered - if you're getting a manual tranny, there was a requirement to shift into reverse when shutting the car down, otherwise electronics would stay on, and battery could be toast in just a few hours. This only applies to manual transmissions. Most owners don't have any problems doing this, but you still see the issue popping up when the car isn't parked by the owner (friend, valet, etc). System was updated in 2006 models.
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