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05 Corvette paint cracking

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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 04:12 PM
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Default 05 Corvette paint cracking

Hey guys I'm looking to buy my first Corvette and I found this 05 at a dealer 1 state over and the guy said the paint is cracking all over. I think he meant spider cracking. Doing a search the only thing I could find is cracking on the bumpers which sounds normal. But this is all over from what the guy told me.
Has a clean title not that means a whole lot.
What you guys think?
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 04:47 PM
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depending on the price i would go for it. its not that big of a deal its more than a decade old car so paint imperfections can be expected. i would do a vinyl wrap or maybe touch up paint

Last edited by gayvettelover; Oct 19, 2019 at 04:48 PM.
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 04:56 PM
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I think the guy should send you some pictures, sounds kinda made up tbh.
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 05:18 PM
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There are many corvettes for sale, IMHO I would pass on
this. A paint job is expensive!
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 05:55 PM
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I might be able to pick it up for 7k. I think the guy is being up front with me. He also said it had a power steering leak and something draining the battery which isn't to uncommon from what I have read on here.
Has 168k Just never seen paint cracking all over a vehicle.
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Ditcher
I might be able to pick it up for 7k. I think the guy is being up front with me. He also said it had a power steering leak and something draining the battery which isn't to uncommon from what I have read on here.
Has 168k Just never seen paint cracking all over a vehicle.
i wouldnt nvm.get a better one. at 168k everythings probably really worn anyway
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 06:07 PM
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Sounds like a piece of ****, keep looking.
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 06:24 PM
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Yeah the smart thing would probably be to keep looking. Thanks
Still would like to know what would cause the crack all over the body.
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Ditcher
Yeah the smart thing would probably be to keep looking. Thanks
Still would like to know what would cause the crack all over the body.
probably damaged paint at 168k. at that time its definitely worth a vinyl wrap or paint job
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 07:12 PM
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My guess is clear coat failure. At 7k I'd buy it, you're not getting close to a decent car for double that. It'd be over triple that money for a passable one.
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Old Oct 19, 2019 | 09:24 PM
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Originally Posted by FAUEE
My guess is clear coat failure. At 7k I'd buy it, you're not getting close to a decent car for double that. It'd be over triple that money for a passable one.
Whaaat? Over $21,000 for an '05 that is passable? Put down the crack pipe.

It's an '05 with a DBS (perhaps) issue, leaking power steering (???), crazed paint, 168,000 miles. Other than that she's cherry.

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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 08:19 AM
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Originally Posted by ruxvette
Whaaat? Over $21,000 for an '05 that is passable? Put down the crack pipe.

It's an '05 with a DBS (perhaps) issue, leaking power steering (???), crazed paint, 168,000 miles. Other than that she's cherry.
I agree, you can get some nice 05s for $14,000 to $17,000. Hell, I only paid $17,000 for my C6 Z51 M6. 3LT (4 years ago) with 76, 000 miles on it, and this car almost looks new.. When I sell it next year I will probably ask 14k to15k for it... My suggestion is to look around more , there are good deals out there on some nice cars.....WW

Last edited by WW7; Oct 20, 2019 at 08:33 AM.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 08:31 AM
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I'd pass on that car, paintwork is expensive & there are too many well kept cars for sale out there to settle on this one
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 08:39 AM
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No one can answer your question without seeing the damage. Could he be talking about swirls in the paint or actual cracks? If it is actual cracks my bet is a bad repaint and you should keep looking. Even a wrap will take quite a bit of body work to look good.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 09:30 AM
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He said its cracking in the paint and not swirls. Unfortunately they are closed and can't get me better pics until Monday. The current photos he has you really can't see anything. Its black so i'm not sure if that's helping to hide the crack at a distance or if its just the angle and distance of the pics.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 11:05 AM
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My last Maaco base/clear paint job was $1100 - and looks like complete ****, took over a month and had to be re-painted 2-3 times as they screwed the silver metallic up (in their defense silver metallic is a nightmare to paint - I've done it before, but still...); my local Maaco is much better with solid non-metallic colors in single stage, but with overspray on everything of course... - but either way your still getting a half-*** paint job that isn't prepped right and that will fade or peel off within years - and nowhere near stock durability, I haven't priced any but have to imagine a "decent" paint job from a painter that has some skill and is prepped right will be AT LEAST $3000 and up nowadays.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Ditcher
He said its cracking in the paint and not swirls. Unfortunately they are closed and can't get me better pics until Monday. The current photos he has you really can't see anything. Its black so i'm not sure if that's helping to hide the crack at a distance or if its just the angle and distance of the pics.
Ditcher, honestly if your budget is under 10K - I would just buy a C5 as you could get one in great condition with low mileage for the price of this trashed C6 your talking about. As a new C6 owner, I love the car its super fun, but I am personally not sure I made the right decision, I have driven a C5 briefly before and it just felt much more raw, less automated electronic crap, etc.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 11:18 AM
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Originally Posted by ruxvette
Whaaat? Over $21,000 for an '05 that is passable? Put down the crack pipe.

It's an '05 with a DBS (perhaps) issue, leaking power steering (???), crazed paint, 168,000 miles. Other than that she's cherry.
My definition of passable and yours may not be the same. Either way, even if you bought a crackhead car at 15k, you're double the price of this, admittedly needy car.

The leak is likely a simple fix, new seal or hoses. Paint, even if it was a total loss, you could spend 3k on paint or a wrap or whatever and have 10k into it. Still thousands less than a "keep looking" car.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by lstoys
Ditcher, honestly if your budget is under 10K - I would just buy a C5 as you could get one in great condition with low mileage for the price of this trashed C6 your talking about. As a new C6 owner, I love the car its super fun, but I am personally not sure I made the right decision, I have driven a C5 briefly before and it just felt much more raw, less automated electronic crap, etc.
10k doesn't get a low Imile, great condition c5, lol. You get an ok condition high miles car for that.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by FAUEE
10k doesn't get a low Imile, great condition c5, lol. You get an ok condition high miles car for that.
My definition of low mileage is like 60 or 70K, I forgot in the Corvette world thats probably called high mileage right? I've seen several C5's sell for $9000 or less with 70K or less miles in great condition - not mint or garage queen's, but very good condition. It's basically a $5000 savings to go with a similar condition C5 over a C6.
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