"Is 60k a lot of miles on a C5?"

[Johnnykretentiv]

I have been shopping around a great deal lately for my 1st vette. I have my eye set on a C5 of some sort. I see TONS of them with about 60,000 miles on them for about 18 grand. Am I getting myself into some trouble buy going for a car with that sort of mileage. I realize it depends on how that car was treated.

My question is, "Is 60k a lot of miles on a C5?" It would be a weekend driver for 8 months a year.

Buying a corvette makes me feel like I have never bought a car before. So many questions!!!

 

[6 Shooter]

60K is really not that many miles for a C5.

They are made to drive!

Later . . . . . .
6 Shooter

 

[Vettefan87]

No, 60k is just breaking in a C5. They were designed to run 300k miles.

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

That's what I was thinking. I'll have to look at what is req in terms of scheduled maintanence at that mileage. There are TONS of cars at that mileage and price. It must be cause' everyone is trading in for a new corvette.

THanks again

 

[BarryK]

really, it's not so much the milage as much as how well it was maintained and cared for during the milage the car has. This is really for any car.
I've seen cars with 12,000 miles that looked like they were in a war and ran bad but my wifes Lexus LS400 now has 195,000 miles on it and it runs as well as the day it left the showroom.

I'd concentrate more on looking at items on the car that typical "crap-out" within the milage range of cars you are looking at. I don't know C5 issues but as an example, I'm starting to look around for a C4 for my wife and on the LT-1's the seal on the waterpumps typically started to fail around 60k-70k taking the opti-spark out. Knowing this, I factor it in with the condition of the car figuring if this was already fixed by the owner than great but if it wasn't I know i'll have to get the work done myself at somepoint costing me the repair bill. I figure that in on my offering price on the car.
Find as great of a condition car in your budget range as you can. Obviously the better the condition usually indicates it was a well maintained garage kept car. See if the seller may even have copies of the service records. For even better peace of mind see if you can get the car looked at by an independent mechanic first before you have to commit to the car. My mechanic will look at a car over thoughly for me including up on the lift and looking everything over completely for about $75.00. Not all sellers may be willing to allow this on their car though. I insist on this myself as a condition of the sale on cars i'm interested in.

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

I will most certainly have it looked at by a 3rd party. There is a place about an our from here that has a large selection of cars and is within a fair distance of the GM dealer that I trust. A pre-buy inspection is WELL worth the $75 - 120.

Now I have to get a list of things to look for on the particular years I am looking at. I'll look at the links I have been given in another thread from 6 Shooter.

CAC's Corvette Model Center

CAC's 1997 Production and Performance

CAC's 1998 Production and Performance

Originally my wife said we should wait till next spring to make this buy. Some dealers have told me that now is the time to buy a used Corvette. I know, of course now is the time to buy one (sarcasticlly) but when is the best time (seasonally)? I would assume April and May are the worst times. Would November and October be better? Thanks

 

[Mickey]

Actually "now" is not the time to buy a vette. Spring though summer is when there's a seller's market. Especially if it's a convertible. Mid winter is probably the best time to find a hungery corvette seller.
60K is 60K, as has been mention it may not be a big deal if the vehicle was taken care. Still, even then you have to expect that things like brakes, battery, tires, upholstery, clutch, light bulbs, alternator, water pump, serpentine belt are all going to have to be watched and inspected a little more closely. Good luck

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

I will probably make my purchase in Sept or October then. IF I can find the right car. Thanks for the advise on the water pump etc...

Side note - Listen to what happend this weekend. I got my daily driver's (99 Taurus) brakes replaced on all four corners and ended up with a 1 egg shaped drum in the rear and two warped rotors in the front 1 week after replacing all that stuff!!!! Needless to say I was not happy. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES! Jeeez. Anyway I just had to say something about it to get it off of my chest.

 

[Mickey]

Sounds like something may have fit too tight and things overheated enough to warp the rotors and a drum. I'd be complaining to who ever did the work. There is no reason for that to have happened. The only other possibility is that they used really cheap parts.

 

[Daryllawman]

Corvettes are made to drive........go for it..

 

[jrose7004]

Mine just topped 60K and I've had nothing major!

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

Sounds like something may have fit too tight and things overheated enough to warp the rotors and a drum. I'd be complaining to who ever did the work. There is no reason for that to have happened. The only other possibility is that they used really cheap parts.

Yeah, I guess a caliper was dragging for the front right rotor. But the rest is up for discussionm. Needless to say I will be getting everything replaced with no many out of pocket this time.

The parts, all offiicial Ford Parts. They were really suprised when I pulled back in on Friday afternoon.

 

[rwpeders]

I will probably make my purchase in Sept or October then. IF I can find the right car. Thanks for the advise on the water pump etc...

Actually, the time to buy is when you find the "right" car. The perfect car for you is not always available when you think the best deals are available.

Another thought is that 60,000 miles is nothing if the car is otherwise well maintained. But the older the car is, the more general wear and tear it goes through. Even simple things like weather strips and carpeting are very expensive to replace.

You can predict that your early good feelings in buying the car will be slowly modified by wanting to improve various features of the car to make it look better. The lesson here is to try to be more critical in the beginning and there will be less of these improvement opportunities.

No matter what year of car you want to buy, you can plan on there being many low mileage, perfect condition cars available. Especially if you are willing to travel to make the purchase. It will be well worth your while to examine the many places that specialize in Corvette sales for these low mileage gems.

Good luck in your search and remember the wisdom of Yoda - patience in your search will be rewarded.

 

[bluecoupe]

If you buy a higher mileage C5 with a 6 speed manual be sure to set a few dollars aside for the eventual clutch replacement. A clutch replacement costs a lot for labor compared to a convetional car's setup. Tires are another high cost replacement. Aside from those you should not have any big surprises.

Happy hunting.
Frank

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

I have heard that it's like 8 hours to replace the clutch in a C5. That seems crazy but crazier things have happend. I also so that quite a few C5s have had their A/C Compressors replaced in less than 50k.

 

[04cmnthru]

Check out the site for common C5 problem areas - check the Vette for common problems and try to find out what warranty and recall issues have been taken care of. This is in addition to having a good Vette technician go over the car. Plus many Vette owners take great care of their cars and have documented service records.

 

[DJ's LT1]

As far as the mileage issue, I also think it matters whether you are looking at an early (97-99) C5 or later model. 60,000 miles on a 2004 model is a bit steep in my opinion compared to 60k on a 1998. Just my 2c

 

[larry5868]

I've got a little over 120,000 on my 2000 vert. The only non -normal maintenance has been the oil pressure sensor (but from what I hear that's pretty normal). It all depends on how it's been taken care of. Good luck

 

[VETTEX2]

No, 60k is just breaking in a C5. They were designed to run 300k miles.

well I'm 1/2 way there

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

Wow that's impressive!!!!

Well as some of you know from one of my other threads. I have had to put my Vette purchase on hold for a few years. My daily driver died on me and I needed to get a good daily driver before springing for a 2 door 2 seat sports car in Illinois. I bought a 2005 Jaguar S-Type R to hold me over for a while. Not quite a family car but it does have 390 hp, 4 doors, 85K mile bumper to bumper and looks GOOD.

Time to go sit in it untill I have to go to work.