Wow! That hasn't been my experience. I've owned two C5's. A 1999 coupe which I purchased new, and the 2000 convertible that I currently drive. I probably have a total of 12 years of ownership between the two. Besides regular maintenance the only issue that I have ever had was a dead battery. (winter) The dependability factor has always been one of the best features of owning a corvette for me.:) And the LS1 is bulletproof. I hope things work out for you. I don't think that the issues you are having are very common but I have to say.. You seem to be handling it much better than I would. Enjoy the ride!
You should make a short video of the roof coming off and label it, C5 flying roof club. Many people lose their roof that way and could use your video to see what it looked like from outside the car. I read a lot about it happening, but never see it. A roof panel for these cars is expensive, even ones that need repaired. I've had no problems at all with my 04 coupe after 3 years of ownership. I bought a high mileage car because it checked all the boxes. I had expected to have things fail because of the miles on it, but after 8,000 miles and some high speed runs, all I've had to do is upgrade for fun. Most of the parts on the car seem to be original. Even the harmonic balancer. I almost wish it would wobble, so I can get it out of the way. I think they get grumpy from sitting, once you get it on a regular schedule it will be more comfy with what you do. It still looks beautiful, and I hope you keep it. If you trade it for another Corvette that would be okay. But Im afraid you will not be complete after owning one. I dont think I could be.
I’m glad I saw your video. Great review and an honest one. I am thinking of buying a corvette, but I don’t want a money pit. Once you lose confidence to drive your car and worry it won’t start, then it’s time to move on. Besides corvette prices are coming down. You can get a C6 for 20k, a C7 for 40k and even the C8 can be found for as low as 50k. I was thinking of buying a C5 but now I’m leaning more towards a C7. Thanks for your video. It is really helping me to decide what Vette to buy.
Buy one if you are thinking about it, way less money than a therapist. Buy a 2002 and up, they have the least problems and most improvements. Dont buy active suspension, the magnetic shocks are 1k a piece and only last 120k miles. Other than that, the interior plastic creaks and crunches with every touch. Turn the radio up. Oh yeah, its cheapest fastest most reliable sports car you can buy. Its got a GM truck engine and they made multi millions of them, parts are plenty. Theres a racing league with C5's , so there will be parts made forever. Its got a GM truck engine so any tom dick and harry mechanic shop can work on it for cheap. The one in the corvette museum has over 700k miles on same engine.
Your roof flew off why? Because you didn't latch it properly? I've owned myC5 for 3 years with almost zero issues. Thank you for posting. I enjoyed the video.
Very honest report, Sir. People should be understand, EVERY Car has its own gremmlins or Problems. Doesn´t matter if you buy a Ferrari, BMW, Corvette or an Alfa Romeo. Thing is, you should afford the costs to maintain the vehicle and (of course) you need a big love for your car :) To avoid as much electrical problems I´d act like this: 1. Go and install a Gel-Battery, 2. clean all Grounding-Points and tighten them correctly, 3. Remove each fuse in the fuse box and then put it back in its correct place. This way, you can quickly fix oxidation issues. Be sure to do this with the battery disconnected and in a power-off state. 4. As an additional preventive measure, you can replace all the spark plugs and the ignition coil. 5. as last step: reconnect the Battery, activate ignition, wait for about a minute, the connect an OBD-2 codereader and read/erase alle trouble-codes or faults. 6. your car is ready to go and no more electrical gremmlins. :)
Sucks man, electrical issues are probably from bad grounds on these. I would clean all of them. I went from a C5 to a C6 and it's definitely a step up in refinement. Not sure about the reliability but I would trust it to go cross country after all the maintenance I have done to mine.
Love the C5 will be in the hunt for one next year but the auto tranny is a big no-no for me, not that its a bad transmission but it definitely takes away from the driving experience and shifts slow. The manual transmission C5’s by me here in NJ are about the same price as the auto’s because the autos are owned by older men so they are in better shape most of the time. Unfortunately i never realized just how many auto C5’s there are, like 80% of the ones for sale are auto.
I couldn’t believe he was astonished that the roof came off like that. As soon as I saw it happen I already knew he forgot to lock it down. That was negligence on his part. Lesson learned hoping he always check locks before driving off moving forward.
Man this is the most honest and real review of the c5 Corvette I've seen on YT, I'm in the LA area as well and have been thinking of getting a 98 - o2 vett as a second car for wknds but am so hesitant bc I don't want another money drain fix this fix that situation. Still thinking about it but thanks a lot man for this c5 review 🤙🙌
Off the top of my head, I think there are 9 ground points. Get the car up and deep clean all of them and I would bet your electrical issues would be solved solved. solved.
Wow! That hasn't been my experience. I've owned two C5's. A 1999 coupe which I purchased new, and the 2000 convertible that I currently drive. I probably have a total
of 12 years of ownership between the two. Besides regular maintenance the only issue
that I have ever had was a dead battery. (winter) The dependability factor has always been
one of the best features of owning a corvette for me.:) And the LS1 is bulletproof. I hope things work out for you. I don't think that the issues you are having are very common but I
have to say.. You seem to be handling it much better than I would. Enjoy the ride!
You should make a short video of the roof coming off and label it, C5 flying roof club. Many people lose their roof that way and could use your video to see what it looked like from outside the car. I read a lot about it happening, but never see it. A roof panel for these cars is expensive, even ones that need repaired. I've had no problems at all with my 04 coupe after 3 years of ownership. I bought a high mileage car because it checked all the boxes. I had expected to have things fail because of the miles on it, but after 8,000 miles and some high speed runs, all I've had to do is upgrade for fun. Most of the parts on the car seem to be original. Even the harmonic balancer. I almost wish it would wobble, so I can get it out of the way.
I think they get grumpy from sitting, once you get it on a regular schedule it will be more comfy with what you do. It still looks beautiful, and I hope you keep it. If you trade it for another Corvette that would be okay. But Im afraid you will not be complete after owning one. I dont think I could be.
Thanks for the info!
I’m glad I saw your video. Great review and an honest one. I am thinking of buying a corvette, but I don’t want a money pit. Once you lose confidence to drive your car and worry it won’t start, then it’s time to move on. Besides corvette prices are coming down. You can get a C6 for 20k, a C7 for 40k and even the C8 can be found for as low as 50k. I was thinking of buying a C5 but now I’m leaning more towards a C7. Thanks for your video. It is really helping me to decide what Vette to buy.
Electrical issues? You have to check the grounding points.
Buy one if you are thinking about it, way less money than a therapist. Buy a 2002 and up, they have the least problems and most improvements. Dont buy active suspension, the magnetic shocks are 1k a piece and only last 120k miles. Other than that, the interior plastic creaks and crunches with every touch. Turn the radio up. Oh yeah, its cheapest fastest most reliable sports car you can buy. Its got a GM truck engine and they made multi millions of them, parts are plenty. Theres a racing league with C5's , so there will be parts made forever. Its got a GM truck engine so any tom dick and harry mechanic shop can work on it for cheap. The one in the corvette museum has over 700k miles on same engine.
Your roof flew off why? Because you didn't latch it properly? I've owned myC5 for 3 years with almost zero issues.
Thank you for posting. I enjoyed the video.
Very honest report, Sir. People should be understand, EVERY Car has its own gremmlins or Problems. Doesn´t matter if you buy a Ferrari, BMW, Corvette or an Alfa Romeo. Thing is, you should afford the costs to maintain the vehicle and (of course) you need a big love for your car :) To avoid as much electrical problems I´d act like this: 1. Go and install a Gel-Battery, 2. clean all Grounding-Points and tighten them correctly, 3. Remove each fuse in the fuse box and then put it back in its correct place. This way, you can quickly fix oxidation issues. Be sure to do this with the battery disconnected and in a power-off state. 4. As an additional preventive measure, you can replace all the spark plugs and the ignition coil. 5. as last step: reconnect the Battery, activate ignition, wait for about a minute, the connect an OBD-2 codereader and read/erase alle trouble-codes or faults. 6. your car is ready to go and no more electrical gremmlins. :)
This will hold up better than any ferrari made or Lamborghini. An i love the styling of the C5 ite one of the best looking corvettes.
Hmmm, I don’t want a love hate relationship with a second car. Thanks for sharing your experience.
It’s crazy when a car has problems you lose all trust no matter what. You are always worried. I had this problem with a Lotus Esprit.
It’s a 25 model year old car. wtf. Cmon man.
On my car it was the DIC 2 years of hassles and all i had to do was tap the dash
My c5 had starting problems I switched out the spark plugs, boots. Maybe it’s your battery dying. Yes c5 are expensive to maintain lol 😂
Sucks man, electrical issues are probably from bad grounds on these. I would clean all of them. I went from a C5 to a C6 and it's definitely a step up in refinement. Not sure about the reliability but I would trust it to go cross country after all the maintenance I have done to mine.
Love the C5 will be in the hunt for one next year but the auto tranny is a big no-no for me, not that its a bad transmission but it definitely takes away from the driving experience and shifts slow. The manual transmission C5’s by me here in NJ are about the same price as the auto’s because the autos are owned by older men so they are in better shape most of the time. Unfortunately i never realized just how many auto C5’s there are, like 80% of the ones for sale are auto.
thanks for your insight brotha. i’m still gonna get one , maybe i just like pain idk. switching from bmws so im pre conditioned
There's three lock down's you forgot to lock it down
I couldn’t believe he was astonished that the roof came off like that. As soon as I saw it happen I already knew he forgot to lock it down. That was negligence on his part. Lesson learned hoping he always check locks before driving off moving forward.
Hey, I have had the roof coming off but other than that I have had no problems! Good video! I subbed!
Man this is the most honest and real review of the c5 Corvette I've seen on YT, I'm in the LA area as well and have been thinking of getting a 98 - o2 vett as a second car for wknds but am so hesitant bc I don't want another money drain fix this fix that situation. Still thinking about it but thanks a lot man for this c5 review 🤙🙌
Thanks 🙏🏽
Try using a optima red top battery, my truck SS Silverado was draining my battery, it stopped once I switched to those batteries, good luck 🤛🏽
Thanks for the tip!
Check your grounds/replace bro
Good information thanks. You mentioned a miata, Would you rather have the miata or the corvette?
I got back and fourth. The Miata was fun for sure but you can’t beat the power of the c5. If I had to choose I would say the C5 is all a bit better
Ive been thinking more C6 over C5 as they are close in price ranges
it's wild how much the C6 came down in price. I would get the C6 over the C5 now if you can find one in your price range
Off the top of my head, I think there are 9 ground points. Get the car up and deep clean all of them and I would bet your electrical issues would be solved solved. solved.
Thanks for the advice!
It's your ground wire's need them all cleaned it show's in your manual then you will not have anymore electric problems