Hey guys im looking getting my first corvette. Im going to
look at a 00 Frc with 70K on Sat. Is there anything in
particular that a should look at or check for problems?
Just nervous missing something that could cost big
bucks to fix in the future.

Thanks
Wes

 

Im in the same boat as you, but check out the Corvette FAQ sticky at the top it gave me a lot of tips to look for. Id love to hear more in this thread though.

 

Check all the DIC codes. That's the #1 thing to check right away. Look for any codes that show the "C" flag. That means that there are currently electrical issues. If there's anything with an "H" flag, it has happened recently. If you have a phone that can get the internet, check all the codes here: http://www.stengel.net/diccodes.htm

Some codes will prevent the car from smogging, so transferring the title may be a bitch.

Check the A/C and make sure it blows cold. (Most people forget to do that.)

If it matters to you, check the sound system. Make sure there's no blown speakers.

Find out when the last time the Diff and Trans was serviced. Drive the car with the radio off. You should be able to hear the syncros during down shifts but if you hear whining while accelerating, you may have a diff problem.

Remember, the trans is in the back. So if the windows are down, you'll hear the shifter loudly, that's normal.

When turning the car off, if you don't keep your foot in the clutch the car will make a weird rattle noise. That's normal.

Look under the car and check to see if there's any leaks coming from the differential. If there's anything leaking and it's red, the transaxle seal needs to be replaced. If it's dark grey, it's the differential fluid.

Find out what kind of fluids have been put in. The motor oil should always be synthetic. Mobil1 is OK, but hopefully they've used something better like Amsoil or German Castrol. In 2000 and down transmissions, they had paper blockers, so no synthetic transmission fluid should be used. I have a friend that has a 2000 and uses synthetic with no problems, but it's just asking for problems.

If the car has any codes pertaining to TCS or Active Handling, you may want to bring the car into a Corvette specialist to make sure that those codes aren't any of the deal-killer ones. There are a couple.

For the most part, if you're not 100% sure what you're looking for, you should definitely take the car to someone who knows Vettes... It took me a while to know exactly what to look for while I was vette searching.

One more thing, check to see if the Column Lock Blocker was installed or if any of the Column Lock recalls have been done. Hopefully, if a recall has been done, it's only the first recall and not the second or third. There's a sticker they put under the hood on one of the fenders that tells you which recall was done. I can't recall the number off hand, but it'll have a letter behind the number. If no letter is behind the number, you're good to go and should still install the CLB.

 

Wow awesome thank you, now I have plenty of stuff to search for and research!

 

I agree with Crash check the DIC codes.....did this first thing when I was looking at my first Vette.....most the dealerships were like wtf is he doing.

 

Yeah... I got that a few times. The lady I bought my 03 Z from was like "Oh! You really know what you're looking for, huh? What'cha looking at?"


Most of the time, people don't know to clear the codes before selling their car. In fact, I've never seen a single one where they'd cleared them because they usually don't know they can or know to do it at all.

 

I'm new to Vettes. How do you check the DIC codes and what are they?

Never mind, read the stickies.

 

hey hey there ya go......lol well the guys above damn near nailed it. Bc at one point or another if said items were not done its only a matter of time before they start to have problems. I had the dreaded "pull key wait 10 sec"....recall completed only to have it fail again in 8months...CLB FTW!!!!!!!

you may want to research absfixer for the dreaded C1214 code.....for IF and WHEN it happens

 

Yep... ABSFixer is the greatest. Saves a HELL of a lot money.

Yeah, all 3 recalls that GM does for the column lock fails. I had the problem on my 02Z and after getting it unstuck (luckily) I ordered the CLB. The day before the CLB arrived, it locked up on me again. I learned a trick to unlock it, but I installed the CLB anyway. You can only be lucky so many times with the column lock before you have to spend $2K to get it unlocked.

The worst part is that it isn't hit and miss. It's absolutely going to happen if you drive a 6-speed C5. $50 saves you $1950. /story

Aside from that, the Corvette will treat you well as long as you treat it well.

One more thing. If while you're test driving the car, if the shifter feels "crunchy" or is hard to get into gear OR if the clutch feels like it isn't coming up all the way, check the clutch fluid reservoir to see if the fluid is all black or purple. If it isn't clear, that's the problem so don't pass on the car just because of that. It's an easy and CHEAP fix that will make the car drive like new. Some people pass on this because they don't know any better. And the sellers, just like with the DIC codes, don't know to clean this out before selling the car.