I absolutely love my '04 Lemans Blue convertible. It's at the dealership right now getting a new right side window regulator.... total cost including labor is about $600. About a year ago, went through repair involving a brake part (can't think of the name of it) but spent about $2,000 including labor. Before that, door lock switch for driver's door. The list goes on and on. I grew up working on cars and still do a lot to my cars - don't mess with the vette too much but I always look at and decide if I want to try it. I love looking at the new ZR-1's and Grand Sports... but I may be done with these cars. They're a pain in the ***. Or maybe my particular car is the exception, just don't know. I've been wondering if other corvette owners go through the same things - constant little mechanical problems, parts breaking, etc., etc. My '98 Chev Silverado is almost as good as new - nothing has ever broken... but I know it's not a corvette. Why can't they build a corvette to last? So, how much have you spent on your corvette - no mods or routine preventative maintenance, I'm talking REPAIRS? I believe I've spent at least $5,000. How much have you spent on your corvette?

 

I knew before I bought my Corvette (new in 01) that these cars are not reliable, so I also bought a 5 year extended warranty. Most of the repairs (door lock module, differential gaskets, smog pump check valve (requires removal of the intake), horn ground wire, etc were performed without cost or with the $100 deductable. I did pay for another smog pump check valve replacement and soon another diff gasket out of pocket, and the ECBM was fixed at ABSFIXER for $150, so out of pocket expenses so far have been about $500 for non-maintenance work.

Some people mistakenly think that they are better off with a 6000 mile C5 vs a 50,000 mile one but in many cases, the 50,000 mile one's owner already had the expensive repairs taken care of. Other than the leaky diff seal and every-two-year-smog pump check valve ($200), my C5 (45,000 miles on it) has been fairly reliable.

However, my wife's RX400h Lexus is now 6 years old and has not had one thing go wrong with it - not one! That's superior reliability.