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Mark75

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I am looking to buy my 1st Corvette. I am looking at 1998's and 1999's, but I have been trying to find information on what to be on the lookout for, as far as how to tell if the cars been in a accident or other problem signs. If anyone can help shed some light on this it would be greatly appreciated.
 
HI, and welcome

Hi there,
Thanks for the vote of confidence, 78, so lets do this.
First, you didnt mention if you wanted a convertible, or a coupe, or maybe a hardtop???
Anyway, 98 was the first year for convertible, so windnoise and waterleaks were there. Coupe, and vert had a few things, first throttle actuation modules were updated a couple of times, and could set a 1518 code. All of the 99 model year are under the 01044 recall notice, as are some late production 98s, which is the infamous recall for the column lock.
Six speed or auto??? Autos had issues with the tranmission selector switches, which would vulcanize themselve to the connectors. There would not be a problem, unless you have to unplug it. Six speeds were ok, however, they were in the midst of syncronizer updates. You should be able to shift the stick with one finger, and I mean 1 finger. You clutch should engage about 1 to 2 inches off the floor, and it should not chatter in any way.
Look for fluid leaks around the rear differential, as side cover leaks were prevelant. You should see NO leaks, in any way, unless you AC is on, then you may see water puddling under the car, just inside the passenger side front tire.
My final recommendation is to have your car looked over by a dedicated Corvette mechanic, who is unbiased to give you a real time analysis of your car.
And please, if we can help further, do not hesitate to ask, Best wishes in your search, c4c5
 
Thank you very much. I'm looking for an automatic, coupe, with some extras. Mostly I still want it covered by the factory warranty. I just don't want a lease that was beat on. I'm in no big hurry, and by me (N.E. Ohio)it's the off season for these cars so there is some better prices available out there.

Thank you all for any imput.
 
Mark,

Welcome to the Corvette Action Center. If you're in Ohio, I strongly recommend Bud's Chevrolet in St. Marys. I'm not sure where that is in relation to you, but I bought my own Vette from them back when I lived in NH...site unseen. I worked with Tom Hendricks who I strongly recommend.

Bud's was very good to me and they have a fantastic reputation within the Corvette community. I have yet to hear anyone speak a bad word about them.

If you contact them, ask for Tom Hendricks and tell him I referred you to him. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
Great advise c4c5specialist,
My girlfriend is in the process of looking at a '99 Convt 6 speed right now. In fact we took it out tonite and everything seemed perfect on it, but we were running out of daylight and I'm going to go check it out this Sat........I'll be referring to your post before I go :)
Thanks,

Jay
 
Mark75, good luck with your search. I'm sure you will find what you are looking for. Remember you can always get an extended warranty and I highly recommend it. Good luck.
 
tryhttp://www.thevettenet.com// they do good work and hunt for what you want
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