Guess what
- My 2003 Z06 that I bought used was trouble-free for two years and 15K miles (over 30K miles total when I traded it in)
- My 2006 A6 ran flawlessly (bought it brand new with the 2003 as a trade-in) for three years and 29,000 miles. Traded that for...
- My 2008 Z06 was most definitely my problem child, but most of the issues were brought on myself through modding and taking it to the 1/4 mile (or showing off for my nephews).
- In six years of ownership, I busted:
- Rear end spider gears doing a burnout on dry pavement - replaced with RPM Stage III with ZR1 Spider Gears
- Clutch master cylinder - clutch pedal sinking and stuck to the floor, total hydraulic failure at one point because the remote bleeder got caught up in the tunnel insulation and broke the fitting at the slave, assist spring kept popping off
- Complete tear down and rebuild of the LS7 because a lifter ate a lobe off the aftermarket camshaft and got metal shavings throughout (installed forged SAE internals, making it roughly a 429)
- Stock motor mounts cracked in half - replaced with Hinson urethane mounts
- A/C system - lines kept overheating and running the pressure up - uncoated headers with the lines too close in 115 degrees (with the heat index) summer months
- Replaced Vararam with Calloway Honker, ceramic coated the headers - problem solved
- Fan connector - melted, then hard wired
- Sketchy ignition coils, cracked spark plug - random misfires (replaced both with aftermarket)
- Probably a few things I've forgotten to list
- In six years of ownership, I busted:
- My 2010 ZR1 came to me with 12K miles, and I put another 5K miles on it while I owned it
- Clutch master cylinder (again) - pedal stuck to the floor on more than one occasion - installed the updated GM one
- No other issues after having replaced all fluids front to rear
- My 2011 Grand Sport is new to me (about four weeks), but I checked the previous owner's post history (he's on here) and saw a couple of instances where he was dealing with electrical issues related to a loose spark plug cable
- I already replaced the known-problematic clutch master cylinder the first week I had it and swapped all fluids front to rear.
- I've only put about 300 miles on it since I've owned it, so nothing else to report (knock on wood, I won't have anything anytime soon)
- My 2001 Corvette has been with us for over 20 years and 54K miles, and so far:
- I've repaired / replaced the E-Brake twice so it would pass inspection
- Fixed the driver's-side Window motor that siezed from lack of use - it sat for almost 15 years with minimal driving other than getting it inspected until my wife took ownership of it
- New TPMS sensors because the batteries in the original ones died (not surprising being 20 years old)
- Battery (three times) until I got a maintainer for it about six years ago
- Last year, I changed all fluids front to rear, put new tires (and wheels since it had the wagon wheels from a 1999 Vette - replaced with OEM from a 2001), new wiper blades
- Replaced the washer motor that just stopped working all of a sudden - very easy fix with an Autozone replacement
- Replaced a broken shift linkage (A4) when we got stranded on a dinner date





Everything else just works.
- My 2003 Z06 that I bought used was trouble-free for two years and 15K miles (over 30K miles total when I traded it in)
- My 2006 A6 ran flawlessly (bought it brand new with the 2003 as a trade-in) for three years and 29,000 miles. Traded that for...
- My 2008 Z06 was most definitely my problem child, but most of the issues were brought on myself through modding and taking it to the 1/4 mile (or showing off for my nephews).
- In six years of ownership, I busted:
- Rear end spider gears doing a burnout on dry pavement - replaced with RPM Stage III with ZR1 Spider Gears
- Clutch master cylinder - clutch pedal sinking and stuck to the floor, total hydraulic failure at one point because the remote bleeder got caught up in the tunnel insulation and broke the fitting at the slave, assist spring kept popping off
- Complete tear down and rebuild of the LS7 because a lifter ate a lobe off the aftermarket camshaft and got metal shavings throughout (installed forged SAE internals, making it roughly a 429)
- Stock motor mounts cracked in half - replaced with Hinson urethane mounts
- A/C system - lines kept overheating and running the pressure up - uncoated headers with the lines too close in 115 degrees (with the heat index) summer months
- Replaced Vararam with Calloway Honker, ceramic coated the headers - problem solved
- Fan connector - melted, then hard wired
- Sketchy ignition coils, cracked spark plug - random misfires (replaced both with aftermarket)
- Probably a few things I've forgotten to list
- In six years of ownership, I busted:
- My 2010 ZR1 came to me with 12K miles, and I put another 5K miles on it while I owned it
- Clutch master cylinder (again) - pedal stuck to the floor on more than one occasion - installed the updated GM one
- No other issues after having replaced all fluids front to rear
- My 2011 Grand Sport is new to me (about four weeks), but I checked the previous owner's post history (he's on here) and saw a couple of instances where he was dealing with electrical issues related to a loose spark plug cable
- I already replaced the known-problematic clutch master cylinder the first week I had it and swapped all fluids front to rear.
- I've only put about 300 miles on it since I've owned it, so nothing else to report (knock on wood, I won't have anything anytime soon)
- My 2001 Corvette has been with us for over 20 years and 54K miles, and so far:
- I've repaired / replaced the E-Brake twice so it would pass inspection
- Fixed the driver's-side Window motor that siezed from lack of use - it sat for almost 15 years with minimal driving other than getting it inspected until my wife took ownership of it
- New TPMS sensors because the batteries in the original ones died (not surprising being 20 years old)
- Battery (three times) until I got a maintainer for it about six years ago
- Last year, I changed all fluids front to rear, put new tires (and wheels since it had the wagon wheels from a 1999 Vette - replaced with OEM from a 2001), new wiper blades
- Replaced the washer motor that just stopped working all of a sudden - very easy fix with an Autozone replacement
- Replaced a broken shift linkage (A4) when we got stranded on a dinner date

loved that truck. #2 new car i still have ( '03 Honda Accord ). 167k miles and ( knock on wood ), still running fine. with the V6 ( 240hp ), it has sufficient power for what i need. #3 new car ( '04 Mazda 6 Sport Wagon ). even though it was a wagon,
it was fun to drive with 220hp & being a Mazda, the handling was actually pretty good. i only sold it to but my Dad's car ( '98 Z/28 ) when passed away. this car has its own history on the LS/1 forum. mostly good but, enough issues to keep you on edge.
this one was a short bit from being stock ( at one point running nitrous, it ran 11.92 @ 121mph ). it had a lot work done to it but, was still a daily driver ( after 15 yrs, it had 344k miles ) and looked pretty good.
the used cars, are story all by themselves. with several issues not found in your Chilton's manual. it's been a ride, good & bad but, it's got me this far, so theirs that.
From Barrons:
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 35% of cars for sale in the U.S. had manual transmissions in 1980, but by 2021 it was down to approximately 1%. And only 18% of American drivers can even handle a stick, says U.S. News and Report.
i know that these cars have the potential to be fairly reliable cars. being that they are on the higher end of, the performance scale and, were priced somewhat economically ( when compared to foreign exotics ), they can only offer so much.
maybe it's just a case of mine having been built on the wrong day of the week. I'll give it a bit more rope and see what happens.
if i hadn't bought it, i would always be wondering about been wondering, about maybe owning one. i do have pretty good memories. so far, it seems, the good ones have surpassed the bad ones.
loved that truck. #2 new car i still have ( '03 Honda Accord ). 167k miles and ( knock on wood ), still running fine. with the V6 ( 240hp ), it has sufficient power for what i need. #3 new car ( '04 Mazda 6 Sport Wagon ). even though it was a wagon,
it was fun to drive with 220hp & being a Mazda, the handling was actually pretty good. i only sold it to but my Dad's car ( '98 Z/28 ) when passed away. this car has its own history on the LS/1 forum. mostly good but, enough issues to keep you on edge.
this one was a short bit from being stock ( at one point running nitrous, it ran 11.92 @ 121mph ). it had a lot work done to it but, was still a daily driver ( after 15 yrs, it had 344k miles ) and looked pretty good.
the used cars, are story all by themselves. with several issues not found in your Chilton's manual. it's been a ride, good & bad but, it's got me this far, so theirs that.
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts












