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Buying a C6 opinions

Nate

New member
Joined
Feb 8, 2020
Messages
4
Location
Ft. Myers, Fl
Ok, so I owned a ‘99 C5 for just one year. I went thru a puddle after a hard rain and hydro locked the engine.
(I bought it used and learned the hard way it had an after market air intake. Insurance did cover it) But I LOVED it for that year

Anyway, time is coming soon that I want another vet. I’m sure I’ll be happy with another C5 but I’m really liking the C6 too. I do have some reservations though. It has been suggested that the C5 is the same car as the C6 but without all the electronics. Such as ignition or door locks. This has been implied as a concern- “The C6 is less reliable without actually improving anything significant.”

If you own a C6 I’m sure the attitude is forthcoming, but I’m not trying to trash talk anybody’s ride. I just want to make a solid purchase. I’ll spend my budget purchasing the newest car I can afford, so I’d obviously prefer not to buy a model with “likely mechanical flaws”...

My research seems to say to avoid ‘05-07”?
But the prices for a 05-07 are really tempting. So, please advise how you would go forward and why. Thanks for ALL opinions. I’m not offended with opposing ideas.
 
The C6 is a great car....and I'm not sure why you would want to avoid 06-07 (05 automatic cars have the 4 speed auto vs 6 speed on 06 up). I had a a C5 before my C6, but I like the C6 way better. More room, more power, better fuel economy. Don't count a C6 out (as a matter of fact, it would be my first choice), but if you find a C5 that suits your needs, go for it.

Good luck with your search/purchase.
 
My wife and I have owned 3 C6s - still have one.
An '06 auto coupe, an '08 manual vert, a '13 manual vert.

I liked the idea of the paddle shift car, so I sold my manual C4 to get one. The early paddle shift C6s are good if not great daily drivers. My wife ended up with it and put it in Sport Mode every day. She never used the paddles. The '06 paddle shift cars are a little slow to shift. I didn't like it for performance driving on a road course or auto-cross drive. The programming for the '08 and later C6s make the paddle shift more responsive.

The '08 replaced our C5 manual. The clutch gave us a problem once, and only once. Kept it for over 4 years.

Then we got the '13. It's a 427 60th Anny convertible. We love this car. We're planning to keep it for a long time.
 
I appreciate the honest thoughts. You know, anything you buy can have issues and it doesn’t make it a bad product. I certainly wouldn’t hold it against the C6 for someone to remember some issue. I’m just trying to weed out an ongoing problem with say, the electronics. YouTube videos keep mentioning the battery. I don’t take any one thing to heart, but certainly there can be ongoing issues in certain years/models.
 
My 007 sits weeks at a time...I keep it on a Battery Tender when not in regular use. Like many cars today, the Corvette has a little draw on the electrical system even when it is "off". Batteries are very important to Corvettes and many "issues" that pop up can be attributed to weak/not "up to snuff" batteries and electrical systems.
 
Parasitic battery drain seems to be an issue across lots of models/types of modern automobiles. Cars that are "daily drivers" don't seem to be affected as much because they get their batteries topped off all the time. If the C6 will be your daily driver, I doubt you will ever have a problem. Cars that sit for long periods just have too many computer systems that never shut off, ie: alarm systems, digital clocks, OnStar, etc. Even with the car shut down, these all draw power that after a week or so will put a drain on your system. Pre computer cars didn't suffer from this, once the door was closed, everything shut down. Battery maintainers are your friend, if you buy a C6, get one, well worth the $25 dollar investment. My current convertible goes to sleep in November and doesn't wake up until April. He sits there dreaming about top down weather happily plugged in to his battery tender.
 
I reiterate I would be completely satisfied with the C5, but I’ll definitely continue taking a very close look at a C6. Honestly, I already know I want one. My next step will be to test drive both a convertible (1st choice?) & coupe. Also manual vs auto. I can’t go wrong & the learning experience will be Awesome to share later.
 
The 05 -07 c6 has the LS2 motor with 400 hp. 08 and up has the LS3 with 430 hp. The LS1 in the C5 has 345hp as you know. Any idea on how much it costs to upgrade the LS1 to 400 or 430 horsepower? $1000's of dollars. New heads are a couple of grand plus cam, lifters, springs plus full exhaust (including long tube headers) and don't forget the $500 custom dyno tune your gonna need to make everything work right.430 hp will cost you at least $4000 if you do the work yourself. If you shop around and are a good price grinder you can find a C6 for a couple grand more than a C5. private Partys are your best bet because dealers seldom go more than few hundred under full tilt retail book. And just think about this...$4000 worth of motor mods to a c6 will buy you almost 500 rwhp. The cost of having someone build a LS1 that makes 500rwhp is the same as buying a C6.
 
The C6 is a great car....and I'm not sure why you would want to avoid 06-07 (05 automatic cars have the 4 speed auto vs 6 speed on 06 up). I had a a C5 before my C6, but I like the C6 way better. More room, more power, better fuel economy. Don't count a C6 out (as a matter of fact, it would be my first choice), but if you find a C5 that suits your needs, go for it.

Good luck with your search/purchase.

Very sage advice Tom. From another C6 owner.
 

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