Since I was 18 (I'm forty-mumble now) I have admired the Corvette.

I'm finally at a place in my life where I can afford to keep a couple of vehicles.

I'm currently looking at a '98 coupe. It has 66,000 miles on it, automatic, red with oak interior.

My first question is, if cared for how long can one reasonably expect these things to last? Is 100,000 miles really high for a Corvette?

I've heard and read about a few common problems and was looking for any info about those and any other issues that I should look for.

Apparently the lexan top will peel. The seller has replaced the top with a new one. I'm wondering how long before it might need replacing again.

The outside bolster on the drivers seat seems to be a pretty common wear point. This one shows some signs of wear, but is not torn at this point. It looks like options for getting it fixed are not cheap.

The seller mentioned something about a seal that tends to leak at the rear wheels (sorry, forgot specifically the term). He's replaced these seals on both sides at the rear.

He also replaced the power seat control 'pod' on both sides, as many of the vehicles I've seen seem to have them pulling away from the seat slightly.

Overall the car looks to be in pretty good shape. I've seen many worse examples in the time I've been looking. There is some spider-web cracking in the paint on the driver's side rear area. It looks like someone may have bumped it with a shopping cart or something like that at some point. Many years ago I had a similar thing happen on my Iroc on the plastic nose and it was never any problem.

Any feedback/advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

My translucent top is in perfect condition after 4+ years. Perhaps it is because I keep my car covered from the damaging rays of the sun... Here's a list of things to look out for. (Keep in mind that not all occur to every C5)

1. Differential leak: My dealership installed a vent tube to prevent pressure buildup and resulting leakage of diff fluid. It's been close to one year now and there have been no leaks.

2. Door lock modules: I have had the driver's side replaced and it looks like the passenger side's is gone now. These are easily replaced, fortunately.

3. Fuel fuel sender: My sender has been fine, although many C5 owners have had theirs replaced.

4. Horn: My steering wheel horn button is not functioning (the alarm-activated horn works fine).

5. Pulsating brakes: Happens to many vehicles; I'm not sure if there is a sure-fire way to prevent this. The dealership turned my rotors once already (at 6000 miles) and the pulsations are returning (at 22,000 miles).

That's all I can think of for now. BTW, you can add an easy 10-12 RWHP by swapping out the stock intake box with a Halltech Stinger (filter, airbridge, and smooth TB coupler) or a Blackwing (filter only). Each setup runs about $250.

 

How much is the car selling for, because you can find cars with lower miles on them. I purchased my car last month (Oct 7th) and it only had 22,225 miles on it and I paid $22,700. It took me about 3 months to find the perfect car because I wanted a 6 speed, but I came across a lot of low mileage, good priced automatics in my search. If you haven't already done so might want to hop on AutoTrader.com and take a look at what is out there.

 

Well cared for and not abused a 'vette will last well over 150k miles without any major mechanical issues. Even if abused but well cared for they can last a long time: I know of one car that was well cared for but drive hard on the street anddrag raced, very hard, every weekend for three years. It finally gave up at 162000.

Ecklers has good seat covers/re-upholstery kits in almost endless varieties to handle the seat bolster problems you mentioned.

The other stuff sounds kind of minor. I wouldn't worry about stuff like that. The bigger issues are if the car has been abused and how the owner took care of it. Sounds like he replaced leaking seals and other minor things so its likely that he took care of it. But I've seen real problem children for sale, too, cars that were driven hard or abused or fed nitrous or some other life-shortening mod. I'd be more worried about that.

 

He's asking $19,500 and is willing to negotiate. Seems like a reasonable price given what I've been comparing it to. It's actually one of the lower mileage cars I've found, and works out to 8250 miles per year on average, which is about average.

It probably depends a lot on your region. I'm not willing to go across the country for a car (plus it makes it very difficult to view it in person). I've been using AutoTrader.com, AutoMart.com, AutoExtra.com, and Cars.com, looking for something to $25k within 75 miles of my zip (97224). So far this is the best specimen I've found. I located one with lower miles (~17k) but the guy is asking $5000 more for it, it's not a color combination I'm crazy about, and it's a 6-speed (I've already got a manual in my Miata, I'd prefer an automatic in the 'vette).

 

Thanks for the info.

I got the feeling from the guy that he was pretty **** about looking after the car, which is good in my book. To me it's a good sign when someone takes the time and energy to fix those little things as soon as they wrong because it usually indicates that if they're willing to do that with the little stuff they generally take good care of the car all around. Usually if a car is let go the little stuff is the first stuff that is ignored.

 

Sounds like you should get it then. Good luck.

 

Well with all that said, it sounds like your getting a good deal, and as I often have to say to customers "Buy the Car"