would anyone drive a 25th anniversary vette daily?

[vette25anniv]

I am considering buying a 25th anniverdary vette from my friend. The only problems wrong with the car is the electrical in the dash works intermitently and there is no radio. Other than that, the car is in nice condition. I question that I have is that since I am a college student, I need to get a car that is reliable. I would have to use the car as my daily driver for the next 4 years at least. Has anyone had experience(s) with driving a corvette like the one I would get daily? How was the reliablilty and what maintenance was required on the car? Does anyone recommend that I drive the vette daily for get something newer (but not a vette unfortunately)? Any feedback would be very helpful. Thanks for responding.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

This 25th IS a daily driver!

...and has been for the 12 years we've had her!

Do keep in mind (if you're a college student on a budget) that this vette is 25 years old, and probably has 25 year old parts or similarly aged items, that will need to be replaced.

I would not consider this vette as a reliable daily driver for a college student UNLESS...it had been meticulously cared for.(proper upkeep)

Some of the major $-fixes we have done to our 78 are:

New:
rear end, yokes and u-joints
bushings & bearings
engine
AC
power steering system
paint

Coming up:
seatbelts
transmission rebuild
brakes overhaul / upgrade
interior
exhaust

I don't mean to say that you will have to do all of this to the one you are considering...but by replacing and upgrading these items, you maintain a reliable vehicle.
My main purpose with this vette is to enjoy it, and for me to enjoy it, that means she needs to be safe and dependable.

I do drive the 78 everyday, even in the rain (taking special care with driving speeds, large puddles and wide tires!) and I have found her to be very reliable. But we have worked hard and spent $ to make her that way.
Silver aka:Heidi

 

[page62]

How many miles does the car have? "Good shape" means a lot of different things, after all!

If you buy this car, there will be a period I call "shaking the bugs out." In my case, it's been the A/C, some front end components, and a dozen little things. But my car only has 56K miles, so it was otherwise in pretty darn good shape mechanically.

With regards to reliability, you have two major advantages: parts are cheap (except for some specific items), and you can get stuff like ignition parts, etc. from your neighborhood parts store. The other thing is that darn near any mechanic can fix it -- 'cuz it's a Chevy!

 

[jsimpson]

We bought ours for $4000. Thirteen thousand later, she's a daily driver!

 

[Dave L.]

In your situation I would buy a good practical car and save my money for the day when I can afford an older corvette to drive and play around with.These cars are always on ongoing,but loving restoration in progress.I personally waited many years until I had the the means and the money to have my car.I am glad I waited.I paid $9000 for my 81 several years ago,probably another $4000 into it to make it a very reliable driver today.I don't regret one penny spent on the car.However,I have 3 other vehicles I use for my daily transportation.Just my $.02

 

[vette25anniv]

I realize now that my post was kind of vague. Here is more information on the car. The car is owned right now by a good friend of mine and he has to sell the car because he will not be getting a scholarship for college next year. He has put a lot of work into the car. It has 114,000 miles and he is selling it for $5000. I saw that it seemed like a good deal but wanted some feedback before I offered to make a bid. The car is mechanically sound - he redid most of the mechanical parts on the car because the car did not work when he picked it up 2 years ago. He drove it daily for about 3 months last year and said that it did not hiccup on him. The interior is in what I would say ok condition. It would probably need a new steering wheel, but the dash, seats, and interior pieces are all pretty good. The electrical under the dash works intermittently as noted before. It may need a new carpet kit if that was an issue as well as a radio and a couple of speakers. That mostly sums up the interior. For the exterior, the car still has the 2-tone silver paint. It does need a new clear coat sprayed on, but the exterior of the car is not a bog issue for me since I plan to drive it daily or almost daily. I may decide to repaint the car if it gets really bad but not until then or until I decide to restore the car. The engine is original and runs well. It does not smoke but needs new valve seals. Compression is good also. The transmission runs well. The car has a custom exhaust system but no headers. The rear suspension was rebuilt by my friend and the entire frame was sand-blasted and painted. The wheels were polished again and are very nice. From about 5 feet, the car looks good. The interior is still very comfortable. It has the t-tops and they do not leak unless sprayed by a hose directly at the seam for about a minute or so. The power windows do go up and down but the driver's side is a little bit slower than the passenger side. The passenger side needs to be pulled up about half to one inch becuase it is a little off track. Other than that, the windows still work. The headlogiths probably need new seals for the vacuum motor but still go up halfway. That is I think all that is wrong with the car. To me it seems pretty minor stuff unlike engine and transmission problems. I would still like feedback on the car and to see if it could become a good daily driver with a little bit of work (about 1-2 thousand dollars?) Thanks for responding again. I hope all the information that I gave helps.

 

[Yoda]

Originally posted by vette25anniv
I am considering buying a 25th anniverdary vette from my friend. … . ..I'm not sure what else is most important.

• It handles pretty good, but the rear tires lean in slightly which tells me that it needs a new spring? right?
  Not necessarily, it could be alignment. The Spring has more to do with the ride height and control of the rear end. Also consider the trailing arms, shocks and rubber or neoprene bushings in the suspension and the bolt length used for the rear spring.
  
• no other major problems that I can tell except for a little oil leakage
  minor oil leaks are a pita and can lead to major ones, esp the rear main seal. Valve cover leaks over time cause the engine to run hotter than normal and make a mess of everything. Oil tends to flow downward (gravity) and then when driving tends to travel from the engine back on EVERYTHING on the undercarriage, then dust and dirt collect, also you increase your chance of engine fire with oil leaks, gas is more common the problem but once a fire starts in an engine compartment, leaked oil contributes to the BLAZE.
  
• all the bushings are pretty much pancaked and cracking..
  While this is mostly an easy fix, some of the bushings are a pita to change. Decision time… poly bushings or rubber? Both camps are strong in their belief.
  
• The power steering pump seems to leak pretty good. Chances are it is the power steering control valve and slave cylinder leaking. After market rebuilt units with core exchange cost about $150 or so, if the pump is leaking they are about $45 from local parts house with core exchange. Sometimes and easy change sometimes a mother to get apart and replaced.
  
• The left headlight mechanism has an air leak but pushes the light up eventually - can that be fixed or do I have to replace it? Sounds like new vacuum hoses are in order, and a cleaning and lube of the headlight assy.
  
• It has rear speakers, but they're not working and sometimes the radio has an annoying whine. Rear speakers… depends on how much $$$ you want to spend lots of good after market speakers to replace the old 24 year old ones, match to stereo amp output, or add and amp $$$ (personal preference).. The annoying whine can be caused by a lot of things. A.M. or F.M. or both? Check grounds and make sure you have a filter capacitor across the turn signal flasher unit (.47 mfd) also open the hood on a pitch black night and start the engiine and watch the light show.. probably plug wire breakdown, also could be alternator, air condition motor or a host of other things..
  
• The wipers don't work - is it usually the switch or motor? Need to check for voltage at the wiper motor, then from the fuse block then the switch. Probably the switch, just my guess

Electrical problems in the dash,, intermittent is a real pita, and can be a real PITA to find, AND can be the cause of a fire.. Priority should be given to the intermittent Electrical problems first, then the headlights (night driving is a whole lot easier) then the wipers then the rest of the items.

Also what was or is the present owners plan of attack, where was he headed next, what was on his fix next list?


Everyone has good points and good advise, good luck

 

[acmsal]

do yourself a favor

Do yourself a favor and buy a reliable daily driver for $5k, not a vette. I drive a 78 SA every day to work. I bought it from the original owner who is a friend STILL for $10K, 3 years ago. It had 56K miles, so it's pretty cherry. But for $5K you'll be buying a car that's going to need some attention and I doubt the every day reliablity of a $5k vette. I know I just sold one for $4K a 75 vette and the new owner knows ALL the work that needs to be done.

 

[cscarlson]

Rare 81 i sure enjoy your info.. by the way i am looking at a 1998 white corvette, it is at the chevrolet dealorship and he wants 29,900 for it, good or too high , need imput?