Hi Guys,

I'm looking at purchasing a C6 corvette. I don't know much about them but a mechanic suggested that I stay away from the 2005 and go with at 2006 or later. I'm looking for comments on this from the forum. I see a lot of 2005s forsale at decent prices so is there really something wrong with them? I appreciate getting your comments.

I guess I'm really looking for advise on what to look out for on these cars. What are the most common items that fail and what gets replaced most often. Tell me your purchase experiences. Thanks.

 

I have a 2005 C6 that has 46,000 on it. I think it has been a very reliable, fun to drive vehicle. I had to replace a water pump at 31,000 miles and a oil pressure gauge sending switch about 33,000. Other than that it has been trouble free.

 

There is nothing at all wrong with 05's. Any problems that it may have it would almost certainly be fixed by now. Every year can have problems. In the 2-1/2 years I've had mine I had the balancer replaced and that's it. 50K miles.

 

Nothing wrong with the 2005. The issues they had in the beginning should all be taken care of by now. I had one. Traded it on the Z with 78k absolutely trouble free miles. Loved it. If its a manual, just park it in reverse.

 

I have an 05...no issues that haven't already been addressed. You should do a thread search above, because there has been a mountain of stuff written by and for the Forum on this topic.

 

Thanks for the comments. Why would I have to park it in reverse?

 

I just bought an 05 - I have read all the comments and threads I could find...some good, some bad... make sure you look for the common issues all used cars may have (accidents, paint work and maintenance records are kept)

Mine is a 6 speed - the parking in reverse is a must as the electrical system won't shut down properly due to some Government regulation about needing to park a car in the least likely gear to I guess roll down a hill or something like that...if you don't at least turn the car off in reverse, the battery will drain due to powering some things in the car...once you shut down in R, you can move it to any gear afterward...

The other issue on 05's was the Harmonic Balancer bolt coming loose and the pully walking off the crank snout. the fixed this after VIN # 11000 from what I read...also harmonic balancer wobble is a C6 "feature" look for worn belt edges or belt squeak...also look at motor while running and see what the big bottom pulley looks like...they are not 100% true, but if its way out of round (like when you see it and say, $hit, that don't look right) it could need to be replaced...its not a cheap job as the steering rack (in most cases) needs to come out...

Mine is below 11000 but was tight and no wobble... I am keeping my eye on it though (only 33K miles on her)

The rear end differentials were beefed up in 06, some people have blown up their stock dif's by launching the car hard or adding HP - others have done the same on the stock dif and its still fine...I looked at mine (from what I could see, no oil leaks or past oil deposits and it was clean) some say look for hairline cracks, but without a lift...that's hard to do...

All in all (so far) my 05 is a great Vette...I also to happen to have an 05\06 only color which makes it more special for me!

If you look over the car very well, and you have a complete history and feel comfortable the the previous owner was not flogging it daily at the track - buy it and enjoy the Heck out of it! Like I said earlier, my 05 only has 33K miles on it... heck, its not even broken in yet and still smells like a new car!

I am a happy 05 owner!

oh- and there is also a column lock option on the 6 speeds that as with the C5, could get stuck in the locked position...a forum vendor will have the bypass module for $89 to bypass this...none of these reasons made me overlook an 05 - just look at them from a different perspective to make sure they were taken care of...

 

the 05 automatic shifter switch has issues, needs to be replaced or deleted

 

The issues people talk about are........

DBS - dead battery syndrome. For some reason the 2005 gets singled out but I believe other years were affected. I wonder looking back if lots of 2005's got flat batteries because of the shift to reverse thing? The fix was to have the computer flashed to upload new code which ensured the car goes to sleep after 20 mins or so. The 2005 requires you put the shifter in reverse when you switch it off. I don't know how people miss this because if you don't the car chimes and the message comes on the dic. Not an issue.

Weaker diff. - it is a fact that the 2006 upwards diff is stronger ( 5 rib versus 3?) but this should only matter if you upgrade to big power and drag the car? Day to day use and street/auto x should in my opinion not matter. You can switch out for a later diff if you change the tail housing on the tranny. Tail housing 250 to 400 ish and then whatever the diff is?

Steering wheel - 06 up got a smaller three spoke wheel vice the 4 on the 05. It's personal opinion but most people think the newer one is nicer.

The big one - steering column lock - there were a lot of instances of people getting stranded because the car wouldn't start due to "service column lock" message. Easy instant fix was to remove the positive battery connection for 30 seconds then reconnect which would get you going. For ages the only remedy was to replace the lock and module setting owners back about 1k. Because of the massive bill and common fault the 05 became the ugly sister. However, guess what, lots of cars have no issues and just recently a company has produced a work around bypass solution for 100 bucks. My opinion is the fault isn't as prevalent as some on here think but it is there and it must have been frustrating for those that had it. Gm offered no solutions or help.

I think they're the main ones which have caused this anti 05 thing. I think it's BS but it means there are bargains for the canny buyer.

LA - a very happy owner (2 years, 32k miles DD) of an immensely reliable 2005 lightly modded, big steering wheeled, always starts first time, tracked 4 weekends a year silver C6.

That been said, if you had identical cars next to each other for the same price I'd take the 06

 

PS - I just turned 93k miles and the car is tight.

 

Thanks for all the great comments and the insightful information. I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to look for an 2006 or newer but I'm going to keep open mind for a clean 05.

 

Things to look for:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...w-morning.html

 

Read all the wonderful experiences from the 2005 car owners, but I owned one of them too. Bought it new and then after 14 months I put 6 batteries in it in 9 months. Had to get the GM territory manager to come to this party and I was able to trade out of it at a great trade value and I bought another new '07 vert vette which was trouble free. Now own a 2010 which has been great too. I suspect my car was put out to pasture as the GM rep said there is a short in there somewhere which could be almost impossible to find.

 

I know they are a few bucks more, but the 08 and newer will get you the 6.2 ls3 engine. Not to mention if it comes from a GM dealer, you might be able to get it with a certified preowned warranty at no extra cost.

 

I bought my 05 in 2007 .... at the time it had 5500 miles on it... It Now has 45,000 miles & about 500 1/4 miles passes so far I've had to replace my Drag Radials... it has a Vararam intake, FTI 2800 converter, Kooks Headers etc... etc.. & runs 11.6 @ 118 in the 1/4 mile...

I still get 24 MPG on the 100 mile drive home from the race track..

OH YES I HAD ! PROBLIM....the button to open the drivers door cracked, (Got a new one for $36.00) fixed in 10 min....

Now if I could only figure out how to make my Drag Radials last longer without giving up racing..

 

Your problem was not ordinary, 6 batteries in 9 months clearly means you had a servicing dealer that had no clue how to properly diagnose and repair malfunction while under warranty.

 

I just purchased my 88k miles, 2005, C6 two months ago. My fixes are due to previous owner neglect. Harmonic balancer replaced, radiator support cage replaced. After-market exhaust pipes too loud...replaced with OEM pipes. But, I still love the car....THE only thing I hate....The past owner was a SMOKER....I clean the interior every time the smoke odor returns. He got me. He had the car detailed before I purchased it to mask the smell. With FRE-BREEZE.... I still love the car.

 

I bought a 2005 with 50k miles an put about 40k miles in the last year. I have NO issues whatsoever.

 

I have a 05 and have loved every minute of it so far. I did have to put a battery in it but the heat here is hard on batteries anyway.

 

I have an '05 and have loved every minute of it so far. 75,000+ happy miles and still going strong!