Question: Newbie after some buying advice

[UK-Sub]

Hi Chaps
I'm looking to buy my first C5 Z06 (in fact it would be my first Corvette!), and I need some advice.
I'm thinking anything after 2002 as being the most sensible choice, but can anyone point me in the right direction for a list of things to check, known faults, what to steer clear of etc? I did some searching here and found some bits and peices, but nothing extensive. Obviously as low mileage as I can afford, but should I be considering examples with higher miles, say over 50000? In fact, will my budget of $24000 OTR be enough to get me into a Z06?? It will be used as my everyday transport and I'll be covering around 20000 a year. Is a good verifiable service history critical?
Any ideas / advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance...

 

[DRTH VTR]

I have owned a 2002 Z06 since 2003. It was my daily driver until about a year ago. I have enjoyed the car as a daily driver, but I would offer a word or two of caution. The Z06 is noisy. On rough roads, it is not possible to have a conversation at highway speed. I ended up pulling the interior out and installing some soundproofing. I see where you live, and I have to tell you that the car is almost undrivable in snow. We don't get that much snow in Boise, so it only mattered a few days each winter. It is a great car to drive, and lots of fun. The trunk is quite large. I installed an aftermarket partition to separate the cargo and passenger spaces. That also helps with the noise. As you probably know, the Z06 only comes with a manual transmission. I like that, but it could be a problem if you do lots of stop and go driving.

As far as known problems go, the main issue that I have had is endemic with C5 Corvettes. It is the dreaded column lock/battery voltage/dirty grounds issue. I have had the relay replaced a couple of times, and I still have issues with it. I have learned to live with it. You will also find that tire life is not very good. I have about 50,000 miles on mine, and it is wearing its third set of tires. Of course, I drive mine with some gusto. The tires cost around $1400 per set.

I don't mean to sound negative, as I love my Z06. I drove it to work today. But it has some limitations as a daily driver. If you are willing to live with that, then climb in and enjoy!

I think that $24,000 should buy you a nice Z06.

 

[Edmond]

The T-56 has cast aluminum 3-4 shift forks, which is a major weakness. A few will grind going into 3rd and some will even get stuck in 3rd or 4th. Replacing a trans isn't difficult, it's a lot of work though and won't come cheap.

Make sure to check the clutch fluid. It can become very dirty and that will shorten the life of the clutch hydraulics.

The stock LS6 clutch itself is actually pretty good.

Tires are quite expensive but I guess it kind of comes with the territory of having the big tires that a Corvette does.

Check to see if the column lock recall has been done. Some people like myself bypass it.

I would not think that Corvette would be practical to drive year round for you. I'm in Oklahoma and we hardly get any snow but even a little bit makes the roads dangerous to drive on with this car. Before I bought my C5 Z06, I debated getting a C6 Z06 but if I wanted to do so, that would've meant getting rid of my Toyota. I did not want to do that and I'm glad I didn't because I would've really regretted it.

 

[DRTH VTR]

Edmond-
Where are you in Oklahoma? I was born in Bartlesville.

 

[Edmond]

Edmond-
Where are you in Oklahoma? I was born in Bartlesville.

Fort Sill in southwest OK about 1-1.5 hours southwest of OKC. About 45 minutes north of Sheppard Air Force base.

 

[vett boy]

GM Junkie has a black 02 stashed in a barn .Low mileage and Its for sale

 

[UK-Sub]

Thanks for the input guys.
The weather issues here in Baltimore are not toooo bad, I've lived in the area for around 10 years now and this year was by far the worst I've experienced, if I had RWD I'd have been off the road probably 10 days, but the wife has a nice big 4wd Outlander for fun in the snow!! I may be wrong, but I'm estimating only a few days a year when the Vette would be off the road due to weather conditions.
I had heard on the forums that the Ally shift forks were only on the earlier cars (up to 02 or 03?) I'm I right? If I can afford it and find a late car I'd prefer that, but I only just started looking, so I have not much idea of whats available at what price / condition...
Are the Z06s really that noisy? Much more than the standard C5? I know they lost a lot of the soundproofing to keep the weight down.
Was there any updates / changes on the later 03 and 04 cars?
As I said before, any advice / input would be gratefully received...

 

[DRTH VTR]

I found the noise level to be difficult to live with. It is road and tire noise. It seems to mostly come from the bulkhead right behind the seats. On a worn road surface, there is a constant roar. You cannot conduct a conversation without speaking very loudly. The soundmats and partition that I put in helped quite a bit.

I think that the question to ask is whether a Z06 or a coupe would work better for you. The Z06 has more power, but it come at some cost. GM targeted the "performance enthusiast" for the Z06, so it is a less refined car than the coupe. No automatic transmission, no removeable roof panel, less soundproofing, no run flat tires (and no spare), etc. I have also owned a '97 coupe with an automatic transmission. There are some things that I miss about that car- especially the removeable roof panel. The performance was not as good as the Z06, but it is very seldom that I drive hard enough to tell the difference. I drag race and autocross, and the difference is clear there, but in the real world it is rare that you would know the difference.

Another approach would be to buy a coupe for less money and spend some money on heads/cam. Then you might have the best of both worlds.

But if you have your heart set on a Z06, go for it! I really enjoy mine, but it is not everyone's cup of tea.