firefighter1

Well, i'm Corvette shopping at the moment! I've got a bit of a dillema though. I can only afford a certain type. It's either a 94/95 C4 with low miles ( for example 40,000miles) OR a 97 C5 with about 90,000 to 95,000 miles. I'm going to test drive both of them for sure, but i was just wondering if i could get some feedback from you guys. I know the C4's have got the LT1 and the C5's have the LS1 and most will probebly say LS1. All I really need is something for the spring/summer/ and a bit of the fall to cruise around in. I'm not interested in street racing or being the baddest car on the street. Just something to have fun in.It must be a 6 speed and i know there hard to find with C4's. Either body style i woul dbe happy with. Thanks guys. Cheers!

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

What's wrong with keeping what you have until you can afford a nicer C5? Since you already have a LT1, I think you'd be wasting your time going to a C4.

steveb

C5 its that much better of a car. It would be a down grade to go from a SS to a C4. What the money limit.

STEVE

firefighter1

Great, thanks for the replies guys! I'm looking at spending around $20,000 to about $23,000. Mind you though, that's Canadian, since im located in Toronto. With that much cash i could get a 97/98 C5 with about 140,000 to about 150,000 km's on it. Another thing to is i can get a REALLY nice Ram Air T/A or 2000+ SS with about 70,000 to 80,000 km's on it for about $18,000 to about $20,000. Ahhh, choices!! I know the vette is awsome, but an LS1 with a 6 speed would be pur evil! Thanks again guys!

steveb

Keep looking you should find a 99-2000 C5 with 80k for under 20k. I paid 18K for a 2000 FRC with 75k last year and i look a 5 similar car but i wanted red so i held out for one. Good luck. You should be looking in the corvetteforum.com for a Vette.

STEVE

usd2sing

iTrader: (15)

DocT

Ever thought of buying a car in the US? Plenty of great deals here to be had. C4's were cool cars, no doubt; but the C5 is a different animal. Better built, equipted, and faster. Good luck with your purchase.

Patman

I would say to go for the higher mileage C5, of course I'm biased.

My C5 now has 103,000 km on it, but yet it still looks like new. So you can find higher mileage examples that are still in great shape, but with the higher miles you save more money. These things are very reliable, so don't worry about finding one with over 100,000 km on it, that's still pretty fresh. There are a lot of good deals to be had in Toronto lately, I've seen a number of C5s selling in the mid 20s lately.

DocT

I agree; the deals are out there, just be PATIENT.

~JOSHUA

iTrader: (92)

If I was buying a "Vette I'd still take a car with 110k MILES (not km) and I wouldn't worry.

The engines themselves are good for 180k+ miles without issues.

The problems come with the electronics. I'd try to stay away from the '97-'98 model years though.

DocT

PurpleHaze98

just paid 15k for mine w/100k no probs

93Polo

iTrader: (5)

I agree and there are C5s with less than 100k going for under 20g.

Having owned a Z28, C4, and C5 the C4 is better than the f-body but I value handling more than many people. The C4 handled better with just a set of shocks than my Z28 did with 1LE bars, STB, Forgeline wheels, and panard rod. I did not see the light year jump between a C4 and C5 many post about. The Ls1 cars are easier to make power with but that wasn't your concern. There are some very nice deals on C4s floating around.

Opti sparks like to fail at 80k in LT1s and tq tubes like to fail at 80k in C5s.

Drive a C4 and a C5 then see what you like

Patman

I don't agree with the thought of avoiding the 97s and 98s, they are not any less reliable than the newer ones, in fact there seem to be less problems with oil consumption and piston slap on the 97s and 98s. The price difference between the early models and later models is quite significant too, and in this case the original poster is on a budget. So finding a 99 or newer in his price range would be impossible.

~JOSHUA

iTrader: (92)

It's not an "all points bulletin" about the 97-98, but my buddy works in the largest reseller of 'Vettes in the southeast cars from '53-'05.

I've done work for them, and I'm at that dealership all the time hanging out. There are some items like the climate control system and some other tidbits that do cost more than the 99+ years and given similar milage people spend more money repairing the 97-98 years compared to identical milage 99+ cars.

Just an observation I and my buddy agree on.

fastbasser

iTrader: (1)

100,000 on a C5 is nothing..

JMHO

usd2sing

iTrader: (15)

interesting read: pertaining to the high mileage c5's.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...t=trans+filter

Xtreme57

iTrader: (6)

94 turbo Supra?










j/k

just cruise around various forums and find a car around the US and drive it home! that be a great road trip! If not, then i'd say just hold out for a C5 w/decent mileage. you won't regret it.

Nautilus

iTrader: (15)

I'm prob in the minority here, but if you can't quite afford the C5 you would want... For the price range I'd look for a good low mile '00-'01 f-body... There are cars out there that are still in great shape with low miles. It may not be a vette, but you can get one with real low miles that will feel almost brand new... Honestly, if I didn't have the money to buy my Z06 last year... I would have bought an '01-02 SS or Ws6 with less than 7,500 miles before I would have bought a Vette with 60-70k miles...

firefighter1

Thanks for the replies guys! Yeah, i was thinking about that. I love the Formula. Don't ask why, i just have a soft spot, i guess. I like the V6 body style, with a V8 under the hood