Need Help From Corvette C5 owners

[jett1963]

First, join and peruse https://forums.corvetteforum.com
The C5 is a good value, especially the Z06. The LS series of engines are all but bullet proof, but just like any 20 year old car, gremlins can pop up.
A friend of mine tracks his and he's had to do extensive work on the transaxle. It seems to be the weak link when the car is pushed to the limits. If you're going to use it as a cruiser or even a daily, I doubt you'll see any issues.
If you take a look at one, operate ALL electronics and make sure they work. Radio, climate control, seat controls, every single button. If you look at a coupe, inspect the removable top and ask the owner if he experienced de-lamination or even the flying roof club.

Joined the flying roof club in a ‘95 C4 I owned. The dang thing couldn’t have just come out and hit the side of the road.....nooooo, it had to slide down the middle of the road and into oncoming traffic. Suffice it to say it was a total loss!!!

 

[UsmcVet29]

Got a buddy with a c5.... cam, intake, exhaust & tuner makes them unreal for those year models! Cant speak for the newer ones but for the price you wont beat the C5’s nowadays

 

[gyppo]

Owned a c5 z06 for 5 years. The mech issues are Specific to each year. I would only get an 02 to 04. It is an amazing deal if you can do some of the work yourself. Valve springs are a must in my opinion but all else should be fairly easy and infrequent unless you run it really hard. Mine had long tube headers and a slight exhaust leak in the middle so you could smell exhaust when sitting for a while at stop. Other than that it felt like a modern car till you went past 1/2 throttle.

 

[moosensquirrel]

Owned a c5 z06 for 5 years. The mech issues are Specific to each year. I would only get an 02 to 04. It is an amazing deal if you can do some of the work yourself. Valve springs are a must in my opinion but all else should be fairly easy and infrequent unless you run it really hard. Mine had long tube headers and a slight exhaust leak in the middle so you could smell exhaust when sitting for a while at stop. Other than that it felt like a modern car till you went past 1/2 throttle.

I am thinking the same thing. However I do not even want to change oil any more. Thanks for all the comments, observations, etc.

 

[gyppo]

I was in the same position. My shooting hobby now takes all the time my wife will allow and more. I sold the corvette and bought a sport F150. It has 450/510 hp torque and I do not miss the corvette. A younger me might miss the corvette but those years are behind me. if you get hooked on a shooting sport, fast cars and motorcycles will not usually be a distraction.
The bigger shooting matches look like a pickup sales lot.

 

[GeauxLSU]

https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/fs-ft-2003-corvette-z06.2400060/

 

[USMC033run]

https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/fs-ft-2003-corvette-z06.2400060/

Looks like I might be picking up another car again. Hmmmm. Seems tastefully done with a fresh all NA build.

 

[southernrebel20]

C5 and C6 are both a lot of fun for the money. I personally prefer the C6 but to each there own. I have a 2007 6 speed that I bought with 17k miles on it about 2 years ago that is supercharged and has fuel system upgrades, headers and full stainless exhaust, cooling system upgrades, triple disc clutch, suspension and brake upgrades etc. I paid 30k for a hardly used 700hp fun machine. It is a blast and I've taken it on some 300 mile road trips and it even gets 20+ mpg on the highway. I've had no problems out of it so far. In my humble opinion, you can't do much better for the money than a c5/c6 corvette at the moment.

 

[WhiteJEEPSmatter]

Have you bought your corvette attire yet?

 

[southernrebel20]

One more thing, check out buyavette in Atlanta. They have a ton of inventory and get new stuff in all the time. Their prices are actually reasonable and their cars are in good shape.