turbobuick33

What do you guys think of this 97 vette? Does the 97 have many issues/bugs? Does anyone here own a 97? If so any major issues or problems?

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/d/joliet-1997-chevrolet-corvette/6821233359.html

73Corvette

There is a sticky on buying a c5... they all have issues... we are the lot, that fixes issues and drive the cars we appreciate

Evil-Twin

Here is my opinion. this car is 22 years old, it has 167 K miles, its the first year of this generation. The cars interior looks brand new. it has an after market exhaust after market wheels. It needs AC, chances are it needs a complete new sytem since an easy fix would be fixed . The Capital letters NOTHING is Wrong with this car, and then the next line says it need AC. this problem need 800 to 1000 dollars to fix. That may be too much for the owner. The price seems low because even after it it says OBO, or best offer.. the seller seems desperate. If you have a few thousand dollars that you could put into this car after the purchase it might be a good deal. Bragging about passing emissions is not a qualifier. I feel the seller is trying to quickly get out from under an otherwise fairly nice car.. a 22 year old car can always have problems. It would be a roll of the dice to buy this car, but you have to be prepared for problems, and if there are problems they can cost thousands.
Good Luck
Bill aka ET

My Vette Life

Lol

that statement is so 100% on point

Ahnenerbe

Personally I like it more than I don't. I would offer $7600 due to AC, and see where it goes. Car looks very good. Take it out for a ride and see if you hear and feel anything concerning.

ShagVette

It's a 97 with high miles. For a little more, 10k ,you can probably do better.

Mr. Black

I personally would not want any year C5 with 167k miles on it but that's just me.

I have a 97 and the car has been flawless. Knock on wood. Granted it only had 28k miles on when I bought it 8 months ago.

I think Evil Twin has spelled it all out for you quite well. It's up to you to decide.

4XLR8N

I've owned a '97 for over 8 years. Other than a couple of minor issues that plague all years of C5's (seat rocking, a/c leak at compressor) I have had no problems. Granted, my car only has 38k miles. I am not aware of any problems that are endemic to the '97, so I would not hesitate to buy a '97 in general. That said, I probably would not buy THIS car. Just too many miles for me. But, if you go into it eyes wide open and with the expectation of some mileage related repair expenses, go for it.

jackthelad

I have an early build '98 - day #3 of production to be exact. Lots of trouble during the warranty period but OK since - in fact very reliable, and very low maintenance costs. But, as everyone points out, these are old cars, so you can never tell. With the miles the C5 in question has though and some known issues, about $7k tops I would have thought. And be prepared to pay the "Corvette tax" to get work done on it.

p.s. As with many "Big 3" vehicles, those produced in the last year of production - not the first - are usually the best.

Vetteman Jack

Make an offer that takes into account the A/C issue (if needed, get an estimate on the repair cost) and see what happens. I do agree that for a bit more you can get a newer car, less miles and perhaps no immediate problems.

And yes, buying a car this old be prepared for things that can go wrong.

acroy

I'd save up and get an 02-04

RapidC84B

2001+ have a ton of improvements; too many to list. If it weren't for my love of certain colors I would limit my C5 shopping to the later years. Early C5s have expensive EBCMs, some unique fuel system things, '97 has a unique alternator bracket if I recall.

jackthelad

One really good thing early cars have is an inline, easy to change (and cheap) fuel filter.

67Ranger

For what it's worth on pricing, I had a quote a few years ago to replace the compressor and it came out to ~$1850 total. This was quote as a 12 hour job, and took me about that in a garage, so I'd negotiate thinking it needed ~$2k in work if you want to fix the AC.

Whipitnow

You can do better, I was willing to pay 15 or 16 cash for a mint 01 and later but then ran into a deal for 10 and it was a 1999 and a way way nicer car than that with 80 thou on it.

I have an advantage of living in FL and this is the place to get these cars that are mint for cheap....

Josephu

Easy to change Fuel Pumps,, and the ABS controler is in the back. More space up front. Nice looking car. I would worry more about the clutch than the A/C. Easier to do the Air than the clutch. That Harmonic Ballancer is a must change. Not expensive, but time consuming. Yea..... a good wrench could buy this car, possibly at 7K,, and have a nice project car. He could get in cheap, and end up with a nice vette.

Mayor111

Or you can get a late model C4 with ALOT less miles for the same budget as that car...

Josephu

Just as a point of reference....A new A/C system for a 97 Corvette,, including the condencer, on EBay,,, is $332 dollors.

knewblewkorvette

I would not let the 167K miles bother you. Even though you can get a AC kit for $332, if you can't install it yourself, expect to pay allot more than that. It also looks like it has a rip on the center console lid, no biggie. It also has the delaminating door panels but that is common on C5s. Still, if you can grab it for say $7500 or less, it sounds like a good deal.

Whipitnow

Actually that car looks pretty good, it took me 3 months of looking to find a deal with 21,000 $ in maintenence receipts to back the car up. If you can look in FL, no salt on the roads and lots of senior owned since new and a deal will come along to where they just want it out of the garage.

I paid 9900 and everything on the car has been replaced in the last 20 thousand miles, you have to be willing to drive but one will show up where a rich person just wants it gone and you have to scan the net several times a day.... Mine was only listed for maybe a hour or 2 when I got it....