c5 - ride height
Discussion
Thanks.
mark387mw said:
Auto with a fancy aftermarket gaiter?
Get a car with the heads up, it’s a nice extra.
Yup, I'd like HUD, but few cars for sale and at 12k, this one could be good value? Or would 16k for a 2004 with similar mileage be better value (i.e. the Eurovettes car). I prefer the blue of this car to the silver of the Eurovettes one (which I've noticed isn't for sale on their website, so might be an attempt to sell it as a private sale?). Get a car with the heads up, it’s a nice extra.
daniel-5zjw7 said:
Good honest write up & video and looks a decent spec car, in fact it has pretty much every option for the year i think including the magnesium wheels which were a an expensive option.
It's clearly spent some money on it, gearbox overhaul/lcm5 module/dunlop tyres/exhaust, aircon working, brake fluid, coolant and engine oil changed, silicone rad hoses etc. but it looks a bit rough round the edges, sunvisors broken, no remote fob, seat motor broken, no mention of harmonic balancer replaced, seat covers and foams dead, random black wheel centres and huge spacers, HVAC issue etc
Other points to note;
Steering wheel adjustment only up and down, not telescopic don't think it was an option on the early cars
I *think* this car has the rear mounted EBCM, as far as i know this cannot be retrofitted with a 01-04 EBCM so if it was to fail your only option is a second hand like for like, though supposedly the earlier EBCM's are less prone to failure in the first place.
The exhaust has no rear silencers at all.. which iprobably sounds pretty good but I'd be amazed if it isn't drone city at higher speeds.
I don't see any handbooks/owners wallet in the docs pics.
What I'd like to see is a photo of the the inside of the glovebox lid as this shows the option codes, we want to see if it has Z51 suspension and also the Performance axle ratio (3.15 is the performance ratio, 2.73 is standard)
HUD is tricky, I love it on mine, however it can have its issues and its a full on dash out repair generally to fix, also it needs a particular windscreen, finding a replacement windscreen for a HUD car in the UK may not be that easy.. so it depends on the individual but certainly pros and cons to each!
In reality it needs a few grand spending on it to really tidy it up, but has potential to be a pretty nice car. I saw on the website that it looked like the company selling it was advising 12,995 inclusive? so guess that includes their fee?
Thanks for that information, super useful. It's clearly spent some money on it, gearbox overhaul/lcm5 module/dunlop tyres/exhaust, aircon working, brake fluid, coolant and engine oil changed, silicone rad hoses etc. but it looks a bit rough round the edges, sunvisors broken, no remote fob, seat motor broken, no mention of harmonic balancer replaced, seat covers and foams dead, random black wheel centres and huge spacers, HVAC issue etc
Other points to note;
Steering wheel adjustment only up and down, not telescopic don't think it was an option on the early cars
I *think* this car has the rear mounted EBCM, as far as i know this cannot be retrofitted with a 01-04 EBCM so if it was to fail your only option is a second hand like for like, though supposedly the earlier EBCM's are less prone to failure in the first place.
The exhaust has no rear silencers at all.. which iprobably sounds pretty good but I'd be amazed if it isn't drone city at higher speeds.
I don't see any handbooks/owners wallet in the docs pics.
What I'd like to see is a photo of the the inside of the glovebox lid as this shows the option codes, we want to see if it has Z51 suspension and also the Performance axle ratio (3.15 is the performance ratio, 2.73 is standard)
HUD is tricky, I love it on mine, however it can have its issues and its a full on dash out repair generally to fix, also it needs a particular windscreen, finding a replacement windscreen for a HUD car in the UK may not be that easy.. so it depends on the individual but certainly pros and cons to each!
In reality it needs a few grand spending on it to really tidy it up, but has potential to be a pretty nice car. I saw on the website that it looked like the company selling it was advising 12,995 inclusive? so guess that includes their fee?
Yes agreed on the slightly rough around the edges, it isn't concourse, which is why I wonder at what price would it represent good value. Perhaps 11-12k might be the sweet spot? I think 13k is steep as for a few grand more i could get a much later car. These cars don't seem likely to get much lower than 10k in the UK even for rough examples, and this one doesn't seem rough mechanically at least - the seats are probably the worst bit. I haven't seen anything out there that looks half decent any cheaper that's for sure ...
I posted a thread on CCUK, the chap turned up to comment. Apparently both UK owners have been CCUK members. The 129995 includes their fee. Given they failed to sell his car and advertised it as 150k miles rather than km i do wonder whether he would be willing to / can make a deal without involving them and avoid their fee... given it seems it is still a private sale in his possession than a dealer car.
Edited by PrinceRupert on Tuesday 12th January 22:59
Edited by PrinceRupert on Tuesday 12th January 23:06
Thanks, useful input, I suppose the thing with this one is the level of detail in the advert means the warts are known, the other cars on the market will still have their warts, just hidden. The 16k Eurovettes one has the standard "minor cosmetic marks expected of a car of this age" disclaimer ie it certainly isn't concourse either. 20 year old cars won't be perfect. If I knew the 16k car was concourse, I'd probably buy that, i have experience of cars costing more than you think to get right, and told myself I won't buy the cheapest again as its a false economy, but not sure there's an immaculate car out there....
One to ponder, until lockdown restrictions lift i can't realistically go and see it anyway...
One to ponder, until lockdown restrictions lift i can't realistically go and see it anyway...
Edited by PrinceRupert on Wednesday 13th January 00:25
Having looked at the ad in a bit more detail and watched the video, the most off putting bits are (i) the broken driver seat adjuster. It's claimed it is "just a motor" but in the video you can see that some cables etc are show which suggests he has tried to fix it and failed. He is using a seatbelt extender for some reason as well ... and (ii) the seats look very tired. Mightn't be the right car for me.
JONSCZ said:
Not sure if it's a new listing or one that you may have seen elsewhere, but this has just popped up on the 'American Cars UK' page on F/Book - nothing to do with me.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanCarsUK/per...
Thanks, saw it pop up on ebay as well. The ebay description is a straight copy and paste from another advert for a different car i've read im sure. Not clear whether it is 130k miles or km so I've asked. It seems miles, which would possibly be a bit high for me (main concern being resale). It also had an advisory for a hydraulic leak from its mot last week which would need investigating, not sure what it would be from, transmission? Unless that's the reason it was rebuilthttps://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanCarsUK/per...
..
Also went a year without getting a couple of advisories seen to...
daniel-5zjw7 said:
Yea thats pretty much all my ad with a few details of his own car at the bottom. The cheek of it lol
Looks OK, obviously a few miles on it and not going to be perfect, he also could of cleaned it.. but then its cheap.
Note its missing the top radiator cover by the looks of it.
Hah, yes I thought it might have been your ad. I agree, he could of cleaned it, seems a bit rough around the edges again, and the high mileage probably puts me off.Looks OK, obviously a few miles on it and not going to be perfect, he also could of cleaned it.. but then its cheap.
Note its missing the top radiator cover by the looks of it.
PrinceRupert said:
JONSCZ said:
Not sure if it's a new listing or one that you may have seen elsewhere, but this has just popped up on the 'American Cars UK' page on F/Book - nothing to do with me.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanCarsUK/per...
Thanks, saw it pop up on ebay as well. The ebay description is a straight copy and paste from another advert for a different car i've read im sure. Not clear whether it is 130k miles or km so I've asked. It seems miles, which would possibly be a bit high for me (main concern being resale). It also had an advisory for a hydraulic leak from its mot last week which would need investigating, not sure what it would be from, transmission? Unless that's the reason it was rebuilthttps://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanCarsUK/per...
..
Also went a year without getting a couple of advisories seen to...
It does have a few "minor" issues flagged and it does slightly scream "I found a big issue, let's get rid at any price". Perhaps I am being cynical.
Edited by PrinceRupert on Wednesday 27th January 23:35
I'm not going to lie, with the dearth of decent Corvettes out there I am now seriously considering a TVR. There is a much larger number of cars, including from well known specialists, so the likelihood of getting a good one seems higher.
Something like this:
https://shmooautomotive.co.uk/product/tvr-chimaera...
Something like this:
https://shmooautomotive.co.uk/product/tvr-chimaera...
300bhp/ton said:
I like both brands, so won't knock either.
That said, I think if you are expecting a perfect example for the money and age of vehicles you are looking at. You will always be disappointed. Regardless of what you buy.
Yes, agreed, will never find perfection, and that's okay. If I went the TVR route, I'd probably buy from a specialist dealer, and/or pay for Phil Phedonos' full finding service at £950 - http://www.sportscarinspections.co.uk/full-finding... He inspected a car for me before, good guy, and I think the £950 could save me a lot of money in the long run if I bought a bad one. That said, I think if you are expecting a perfect example for the money and age of vehicles you are looking at. You will always be disappointed. Regardless of what you buy.
It should, in theory, be easier to buy a good Corvette, with them not having being hand built in a shed in Blackpool, and I would be more confident in buying one from a private sale - there just aren't many out there with the spec/mileage/condition/price combination I am looking for. I'd prefer to avoid one that is particularly high mileage, or with existing issues (i never quite believe they are easy fixes ...), unless it was a bargain.
Edited by PrinceRupert on Thursday 28th January 10:43
300bhp/ton said:
I've not owned a TVR. But the era of the Chims and Griffs are not complex cars. They use a Rover V8 engine (I have two of these, one in a TR7 and one in a Range Rover).
Depending on year they either use a Rover or Ford gearbox. And lots of other off the shelf items. Really there isn't a whole lot that can go wrong with them. I don't think you need to pay over the odds specialists on these to maintain them. 90%+ of the jobs are likely to be things you could even do at home.
Very simple cars really, using mass market proven parts.
That said, I would expect owning a TVR would be like owning a classic car. Probably mechanically very rugged, but likely always having some niggle of some sort needing attention.
I think this is correct, the big one being chassis corrosion - big bill if you buy one that is rotten. And yes, would anticipate a more involved ownership experience - one of the reasons the Corvette appeals. Depending on year they either use a Rover or Ford gearbox. And lots of other off the shelf items. Really there isn't a whole lot that can go wrong with them. I don't think you need to pay over the odds specialists on these to maintain them. 90%+ of the jobs are likely to be things you could even do at home.
Very simple cars really, using mass market proven parts.
That said, I would expect owning a TVR would be like owning a classic car. Probably mechanically very rugged, but likely always having some niggle of some sort needing attention.
300bhp/ton said:
As for Corvettes, I've just had a look on ebay and can't believe the number of them for sale under £20k. Must be more now than there has been in the past 5 years. I admit they are all autos, but you do have a choice of C5 or C6 (or maybe even a couple of C4's). I haven't kept up with all of your posts in this thread. But I wonder how you have managed to rule them all out? 
There are three C5s on eBay. The one we were speaking about at £12k - high mileage, couple of marked faults, not even washed in advert. The white one at £16.5k - too expensive (plus a poor advert). The black one at £18k - too expensive (plus a fresh import with a poor advert). There are four C6s. These don't appeal as much, so haven't been looking as closely at these. There's a blue 2005 at 22k - had ruled out 2005 cars as they apparently have a poor 4 speed autobox. Theres a silver 2006 at 16k - almost suspiciously cheap, unregistered Dubai import, trade sale advert. There's a high mileage 2007 at 20k - probably a decent price, but would prefer lower miles for resale purposes. And one that just appeared at 24k, too expensive.
I haven't looked at C4s, it seems they were pretty low on power and don't seem sufficiently cheap to make this appealing, plus older cars so presumably will be a bit more needy.
300bhp/ton said:
As for the one with a rebuilt auto box. In the USA this is pretty common. The 4L60e was really a bit under specced for the LS1 engines.
The rebuilt autobox doesn't put me off, but the leaking power steering and traction control light might - fine, if it is just a pump and a sensor, no problem, but I never really trust ads that say "it's just a minor problem, cheap to fix" - if this was true, why haven't you fixed it ... a very precursory google suggests power steering faults can sometimes be expensive fixes.Plus, the advert is a copy and paste from another advert and the car wasn't even washed for the pictures. Doesn't scream carefully owned to me. So combined with high miles would need to be cheap.
300bhp/ton said:
I will be honest and say, I don't own a Corvette. But I do own one of its 'sister' cars. A Chevy Camaro, which uses the same engine/gearbox and other components. I'm actually on my 2nd and have owned such cars for 15 years or so. Age related issues are starting to show (window motors etc.) But overall they have been super cheap to run and own. The Corvette does have the 'Corvette tax' on some unique parts. But I struggle to believe they wouldn't be comparable in running costs.
Yes, the anticipated reasonable running costs relative to performance is one of the big appeals of the C5 (plus the rarity, good looks, pop up headlights). The TVRs have much cooler interiors, better availability of cars (especially convertibles and of course all are manuals), and is RHD; but likely more expensive to run, and don't like the exterior styling as much. I don't like the exterior styling of the C6 as much as the C5, and so would prefer to spend 12-14k on a C5 than 19-21k on a C6. Problem is, a lot of C5 sellers seem to be asking for C6 prices, and I am not willing to spend 16-18k on a C5 if that would almost get me into a C6, unless it was a very good car. There was a decent enthusiast owned C6 sold recently on CCUK for 18k. There are very few other options in the v8, two seater, rwd sports car mould. The other option I would consider is an SLK55 AMG, but suspect it wouldn't be quite exciting enough.
I have looked at 4th gen camaros, seem a bit expensive for what you get, plus not quite as exciting / weekend car as the Corvette / TVR.
Edited by PrinceRupert on Thursday 28th January 11:56
On the C4, I just wonder whether it would stray too close to the "needy classic" over the "reliable modern". Obviously a C5 is not a modern car, but its just that bit newer and probably a bit easier to run. Maybe if they were a lot cheaper I'd be more interested, but they're not.
This Camaro has been up for sale for some time:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-Chevrolet-Camaro-Z...
I do quite like it. At 4/5k I'd be quite tempted. I just think at 8k, it's pretty expensive.
This Camaro has been up for sale for some time:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-Chevrolet-Camaro-Z...
I do quite like it. At 4/5k I'd be quite tempted. I just think at 8k, it's pretty expensive.
Thanks 300bhp, really interesting insight as always. I'm in no rush to buy, so just keeping an eye out for the right car at the right time. If a tidy late Z28 Camaro appeared at the right price, I would consider it. As you say, few cars appear at any one point, so it seems its either a case of compromising on something that is available when you want it or wait for the right car to appear. From browsing on the CCUK forums, and keeping an eye on cars for sale, it doesn't appear that Corvettes and the ilk are easy cars to sell - they hang around for some time - so there should be no real reason to overpay.
There is this car which was up for 12k and claims to have sold but it seems VERY expensive ...
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10680226?c...
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10680226?c...
daniel-5zjw7 said:
Fair bit of good going on here if it suits your taste op.. still has the wrong gearbox mind! :-)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-UNIQUE-CHEVROLET-CORV...
Need a little more info on the spec to understand how its nigh 500 ponies though.
Earlier on in the thread I talked about a 600hp supercharged c5 that I simply could not get insured on at a reasonable price, so suspect this would be the same!https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-UNIQUE-CHEVROLET-CORV...
Need a little more info on the spec to understand how its nigh 500 ponies though.
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