Are there any "good" cars out there?

[fxstbi]

I'm new here but I have a nagging question. I keep reading about all the problems, recalls and TSBs regarding the C-5 cars. I have and '81that I have owned for almost twenty years, a '69 that I have owned for 14 years, so I am not new to Corvettes. I have a 2002 on order and I am expecting a "world class" car. My question is; are the majority of cars in this discussion forum a small lot of owners that have had some problems? Or, is the new C-5 not up tho the standards that I have been led to belive? I'm not interested in starting an argument but I would like to know if my savings will be well spent. Thanks for your imput.

[Yoda]

I don't own a C5, but wanted to welcome you to our Corvette Community.

I've driven a couple C5's and was most impressed with the Z06. I see you own an L81 just so happens there are quite a few of us here at CACC. I invite you to check out the L81VetteRegisty we are 118 strong and growing.

Good luck with your new 2002, and once again Welcome to The Corvette Action Center Community. When you can find a few minutes please check out the entire site from the Portal Project to the Members' Ride sections.

Enjoy your ride

Welcome to the forum, fxstbi. I owned a Silver 1979 Coupe for
21 years and traded it in on my 2001 White Coupe last year..and loved it. Never had any problem with it except it was a little
heavy for me to take the top off, so I traded it in on a 2002
Torch Red Convertible in August and I am very happy with it and have no problem with lowering the convertible top by myself.

Looking forward to learning about your 2002. Did you order it from Buford Ward? My son is one of the managers there. I am in Quincy too. You are in for a real driving experience when you get
your 2002. You will love it!

This is a great group..and there is alot of information here.


Patti

Hi. And welcome to the forum! There are a lot of neat folk here.

I just "un-owned" an 86 vert. And proceeded to get a 99 FRC. It has been to to the dealer, Elco Chevy, in St. Louis, twice since I owned it. Once for tire upgrade, and the second time for a water leak of unknown origin. After the rain we've had, I suspect that the seals on the right side are not set up right. It will go back. Other than that, no probs. For a non-Z06, it is a strong runner, it begs to be taken on country roads and driven like it was stolen, to coin a phrase.


I wouldn't go back to an older one, unless it was as a collector.

Take care,

[fxstbi]

Hi All,
Thanks for the warm welcome. I am looking forward to getting a new car! My last one was in 1981! To answer some of the above questions; I have ordered a black coupe with the grey interior from a dealer in Jacksonville Illinois. We expect the car around the first of the year, can't wait.
I have put over 120,000 miles on my '81, and was going to sell it to help fund the new one, but my wife insisted that I keep it and restore it for her. After a long (one second!) deliberation I told her I would fix it up for here to drive back and forth to school (teacher).
I don't intend to hold back on the miles with the new car, that is why I have a big concern about the reliability of the C-5. I really want to know if people are getting "good" cars that don't see the dealer all the time. Thanks, Pete

[Rob]

Pete,

From what I've heard from the majority of C5 owners and read in the media....you're getting one hell of a car. There is one thing to remember though: you will always hear about the bad cases before you'll hear about the good cases.

I'm going to stick my neck out on a limb and say: it's not often you'll hear a happy Corvette owner post praises over and over about his or her Vette unless asked. However, when they have a problem with it, they will most definitely post about it and several people will reply and before you know it.....you've got several threads going on that can basically make a small molehill look like a mountain.

With that said, the C5 is not perfect. No automobile is. I don't own one....in fact, sad to admit, I've never even driven one, but again, based upon what I've heard, some model years have a few quirks over others.

The way I look at it, all Vettes....all cars have particular quirks. The C4 generation has an innate tendency to flex when their roof panels are removed. This is a quirk. It becomes a major problem if you're not willing to accept it and let it go. It's a slight bother at times if you can live with it but is outshadowed by the amount of overall enjoyment you get out of the car.

The chassis will flex in my '90 when I remove the roof panel. On cold mornings, the radio rattles in it's chassis (a known problem on older C4s).....the door sills are a little high and a pain in the butt to climb over in tight parking conditions. These are all quirks that I'm willing to live with because, when I climb behind that wheel, turn the key, and take off.....I can live with the rattle, the flex and the nuisance of climbing over the sills.

Enjoy your C5....in my own unprofessional opinion, I'm willing to bet, you'll love your C5 and you'll be very happy with it.

My sister-in-law had a new 1998 C-5. When she traded it in for a new 2002 C-5 it had almost 99,000 miles on it and had almost no problems with it. Her husband tried to get her to get something besides a Vette, but she said "All those cars are just cars, but a Vette is a Vette".

I have a 1998 C-5 for two months and I love mine (I got it from a friend of mine that kept it in under cover his garage and it had only 19,000 miles on it)!!!

And I have to admit that my sister-in-law was right: "All those cars are just cars, but a Vette is a Vette"!!!

fxstbi,

I have a 98 that I have put 48,000 on. It has been driven in city commute traffic, two years worth of 200 mile trips through the Sierras Mountain range (rain, snow, heat) from the bay area to Reno NV each week (I was working there for a while), and around my small town of Martinez Ca. Except for the (seems like standard) warped rotor problem and the headlamp plug problem (also a standard on pre 2k models) it has been perfect. I have driven, worked on, or spoken with owners of at least 50 C5s and all have an over all approval rating of 99.99%. I am sure you will be happy, have fun

Regards,
C5Phil

I purchased a 97' C5 with 28k miles 2 months ago.(Got a GREAT DEAL) The car is absolutely wonderful and my enjoyment is more now then when I first bought it. This has NEVER occured with ANY car I previously owned. You know after a couple of months been there done that. Not so with this treasure. I expect this trend to continue as well. The only problem I've had was (WAS keyword) a intermittant ABS warning light. The DTC that the computer spit out was; front left sensor malfunction. I was informed that i should replace the harness for it. The problem abatted after reinstalling a wire for a Airbag cutoff switch. Other than that nothing.

The C5 has consistantly been at the top of JD POWERS owner satisfaction/ Reliablity rankings in its class. In fact, the corvette C5 represents the best that chevy puts out in terms of this. I read an article saying that the US automakers were underperforming as a whole. However, there were a couple of model exceptions ie Chevy Corvette, Chrysler Concord ETC.

Rest assured for what your buying.....ie high performance sports car you can't do better than this car. This was a concern for me as well.

Sorry for the long post.....GET EXCITED MY FRIEND THIS IS ONE BAD A** RIDE......WORLD CLASS......PERIOD!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to CAC, you found a great site.
As for buying a C5, from what I've heard, what I've read, who I've talked too, and the few I've driven, there's is nothing that's going to keep me from buying one myself, except time & money.
(What can I say, I'm saving)

Auto Week just listed the CORVETTE as CAR 0F THE YEAR.
I think it's the third or fourth consecutive year also.
That pretty much sums it up in my book.
BUY IT - DRIVE IT
Don't forget to wave at us little C3 owners.

[danl72]

I own a 1999 C5 coupe and it is just great, no problems. It has 42000 miles on it. The only time I took it to the dealer was to fix the column lock recall. You will enjoy the car as I and all C5 owner have. Welcome to the community.

My 99 FRC has been flawless for 20K mi. A tighter car than my 67 - 435 fastback was, Red Dog

[Eric]

Welcome to the CAC, fxstbi! Browse around, there's a lot more here than just the forums. Theres a ton of info in the Tech Center and links to everything Vette related in the Portal.

Enjoy

I have an 01 ZO6 and I had a 99 FRC. The only reason other than scheduled service I brought either of these into the dealer for was a seat belt problem on the 99(recall), and a recall on the ZO6 because they put the wrong decal on for hose routing. Nothing wrong with the routing, but the 10 cent decal was for a regular C5, not a ZO6. I have 18000 miles on my ZO6 in slightly less than a year, and it has been great. I know the owner of the 99, and it has about 30000 miles on it, and that one also has been no problem. No squeaks, rattles, or problems of any kind.

No car is perfect, and I've probably read all the same threads you have. My experience has been no significant problems. No oil problem, no column lock problem, no brake warping problem, etc.

[fxstbi]

Thanks everyone for responding! I have been doing my research and I keep hearing great things about the C-5. With all the positive feed back that you have been giving, my concerns are diminishing fast! Thanks everyone and it great to be part of the family. Pete