Corvette reliability
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,060
Likes: 1,165
From: N. Alabama
Have a '96 with 150K miles. No reliability problems except bad optisparks. The car is great. Optispark idea is bad. Simply a matter of design flaw in that department. Have a '03 C5Z. Been tracking it for 13 years. Fantastic car. No problems except first year of C5 had a column lock problem that was quickly addressed. Got a '19 ZR1. Great car except for bad design flaw in A8 transmission. Been a real headache and still is. I still have the rumble after THREE full fluid flushes. Again, bad design flaw. In summary: Corvette has some great engineering that is built in to run all day at high RPM on race tracks but every new model has a little item or two that needs addressing. I will not consider a C8 until it is on the road for 3 years.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 6,516
Likes: 4,840
From: One Hour From Boston!
The C8 will be my seventh Corvette. They were all reliable, but the most reliable ones were the first model year C6 (2005) and the first model year C7 (2014). Therefore, I’m grabbing a first model year C8 (2020). I think the extra attention they give to the first model year of each new generation (i.e. Quality Hold), increases the chances they’ll be more reliable.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 6,516
Likes: 4,840
From: One Hour From Boston!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 264
Likes: 85
From: Florida
So what I hear is that most of the folks here have drove Corvettes most of their lives which I like. I've never been brand specific with anything I've drove. I've owned Fords, GMC's, Nissan's, Chevy's, Acura's & as for motorcycles, Honda, Suzuki, & Victory. I love to drive/ride and usually put a ton of miles on my vehicles so. I was worried about buying a first year model at first but with all the testing that the Corvette has done I think we're good but I guess no one ever really knows.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 1,325
Likes: 701
The C8 will be my first Corvette even though I've always loved them. I have many friends who have owned them for years. However, none of them use them as daily drivers & they all are low mileage for their age.
I'm buying my C8 as a daily driver which my commute is 60+ miles round trip daily. I'm looking for thoughts from those who have high miles on their Corvettes. How's their reliability for those who drive their cars?
I'm buying my C8 as a daily driver which my commute is 60+ miles round trip daily. I'm looking for thoughts from those who have high miles on their Corvettes. How's their reliability for those who drive their cars?
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From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
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Maintain it properly and it should be very reliable. The Corvettes that I’ve owned have been pretty much trouble free.
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Pro
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 612
Likes: 424
From: Orange County
I have no major brand allegiance and I have an 18 c7 7MT. My first vette. I beat on it including drop clutch burnouts and it seems to ask for more. Just hit about 29k in 2 years and zero issues, just oil changes. I daily it in crappy SoCal traffic about 60 miles round trip.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 9,891
Likes: 1,829
From: Hot Springs AR
Check my sig for cars and miles. Autocrossed and DE'd my C5 for 8 years in street trim, main consumables were brakes and axle hubs. Drove my C5 just about daily (shared duties with my LS1 Miata) 43 miles each way to work. I've replaced the water pump, clutch (due to a broken spring in the PP, around 175K miles), and front and rear main seals, around 250K miles. C7 has made annual road trips > 5k miles each of the past 3 years; no repairs of any kind on that one. Getting ready to replace the tires before our trip this year to Niagara Falls.
All 3 are manual cars, so don't have any experience with the auto trans cars. Not that it would matter, since the C8 is DCT. That's probably the real wild card for you, as I doubt there's many here with DCT experience on a high mileage car.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
All 3 are manual cars, so don't have any experience with the auto trans cars. Not that it would matter, since the C8 is DCT. That's probably the real wild card for you, as I doubt there's many here with DCT experience on a high mileage car.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 8,515
Likes: 255
From: Rochester New York
From an article I read, the problems we may have will not be of a mechanical nature but an electronic nature. The C8 was described as a Beta computer program experience with Engineering maxing out on computer control electronics.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 6,516
Likes: 4,840
From: One Hour From Boston!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 9,891
Likes: 1,829
From: Hot Springs AR
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 1,417
Likes: 653
From: No. VA
The C8 will be my first Corvette even though I've always loved them. I have many friends who have owned them for years. However, none of them use them as daily drivers & they all are low mileage for their age.
I'm buying my C8 as a daily driver which my commute is 60+ miles round trip daily. I'm looking for thoughts from those who have high miles on their Corvettes. How's their reliability for those who drive their cars?
I'm buying my C8 as a daily driver which my commute is 60+ miles round trip daily. I'm looking for thoughts from those who have high miles on their Corvettes. How's their reliability for those who drive their cars?
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 1,966
Likes: 514
One of the things about the Corvette almost no one mentions when comparing against Porsche or other higher end sports cars is maintenance or total cost of ownership. The Corvette requires far less maintenance than my Porsche does and less frequently. The engine is, in general, a much simpler design.
Banned Scam/Spammer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 8,083
Likes: 3,869
From: Bonita Springs FL
I am yet another of the many multiple Corvette owners here who vouch for their reliability. I've owned ten Corvettes and have never had a single problem with any of them. Oil changes and tires only. Could you imagine owning ten Porsche 911s and being able to honestly make that statement.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 651
Likes: 329
I was never a Chevy fanatic or specifically what ever brand Chevy produces until I owned a brand new 1st year production 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. That was the most reliable Chevy product I have owned. It was running like new and traded it for the first production 2015 Cadillac Escalade Platinum at 195,000 miles. That hybrid was bought in less than a week. Now my 2015 platinum is at 216,000 and will keep it until it last. So, buying a first production C8 which have been hyped and tested two years before I think is good. I drive and keep my cars.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,599
Likes: 784
From: Scottsdale Arizona
My 05 C6 was a total disaster and broke down within 200 miles and was lemon lawed. But that car was not a daily driver so I could deal with it sitting at the dealer for fuel pumps for a month along with electronics problems and a transmission that had a gear in between 2nd and 3red that you could shift into and have no drive. I am getting a 1st year C8 but like my prior 1st year C6 it will not be a daily driver. But first year gremlins are not only limited to 1st year cars as my 07Z06 had roller bearing problems that should have been addressed in 2006 C6Z cars.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,599
Likes: 784
From: Scottsdale Arizona
I am yet another of the many multiple Corvette owners here who vouch for their reliability. I've owned ten Corvettes and have never had a single problem with any of them. Oil changes and tires only. Could you imagine owning ten Porsche 911s and being able to honestly make that statement.
I have owned over 2 dozen Porsches from my first a 1979 911SC to my current 2017 991.2 TTS and the only time it left me stranded was starter on my 1979sc in 1996 and fuel pump on my 2004 Cayenne in 2016. Yes there are maintenance issues and my 2004 Cayenne, 1st year was the worst with the drive shaft and coolant pipes but they have been as reliable as my dozen Corvettes, well other then my 05 C6 which was a total disaster and lemon lawed.. What is funny is the most reliable cars that I have owned are half dozen C2's, little maintenance which I can do and nothing ever broke.