racebum

i keep going back and forth on the c5 vs c6 debate and honestly, the more i think about it. i really don't drive all that much, should be paying my house off and saving. the 10k difference going to a c6 i'm starting to have second thoughts about. i've seen a couple of nice 01-02 cars with around 60k miles sell for 13-14k which is about 9-10k less than an 06 with the same mileage.

do we have a discontinued parts thread? i haven't seen one before but i have to ask.

i just started thinking of all the things i can do with what i've saved up this year and it starts making you scratch your chin.

20k in ferrelgas stock pays you 2k a year in a dividend as long as you hold it. on top of that natural gas is bullish over the longterm. that's a little better return than a c6 but a lot less fun. so, split the difference, a c5, besides that i know the c5 mechanically fairly well

the aftermarket makes a lot of the mechanical parts but where are we with body parts and interior parts? AC, dash buttons and the like?

realistically i'm only going to be driving it around 500 miles a month 8 months out of the year. spending 20something on a c6 just is sounding less and less appealing when i see 169k left on my home and investments in both my business and in stock that could be making me $$

i do want a sports car though and am looking more and more at c5's and s2000's. the biggest reason i'm leaning on the 5 is the power increase, a dash i actually like and lower theft potential. the 2000 is a slightly better drivers car and has MUCH better seats, but, it's also a vert and extremely high strung, engines don't live long if you beat on them. on top of that the cluster reminds me of a c4 and dirtbags like to steal them.

open to thoughts

Phanni

Some of the electronics of the early C-5 are no longedr manufactured by GM. Probably the most scarce item is the "V" coded early EBCM. That is the Electronic Beake control Module for early C-5s (1997-2000) with active handling. No one rebuldsthese units as yet, and the only known source is from a salvager. That does notmean these cars are not great cars, only that a failure in some electronic parts could mean a costly repair.

racebum

that's the biggie alright. was more curious about the rest. i know with c4's you have a whole host of unavailable parts ranging from interior pieces to bumper skids.

have been trying to research c5 parts availability before i step in to potentially buy one.

years ago parts were a non issue. now it's about to be a 2gen old car which has me a bit nervous.

pewter99

so far the EBCM is the big one...

CactusCat

The only hard to find part is the 97-2000 EBCM. The 01-04 EBCMs can be repaired, so if you're not looking at the older C5s, then no problem mate.

Vetteman Jack

Here's a thread that was started on the forum a while back that lists some hard to find parts. Do a search on Discontinued Parts for the C5 and you should find more links to posts on this topic.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...ontinued+parts

Txsailor

I think one year of the SWPS is unavailable but don't remember which year. There are also some body parts andsome of the wire harnesss are not available from GM as we found out when my car was hit.

MSG C5

Some interior trim components, i.e. door panels, are no longer available as well.

Hoping Corvette America or some of the other, larger vendors start producing replacement parts similar to the large of amount of parts they produce for the C4s and older generation Corvettes.

racebum

great thread! thanks

sad to read about people speaking of the c5 as a "classic car"

hum. back to my c5 vs c6 debate

i'm flipping on this mostly because i can see having a c5 for a couple years, but a c6 i may keep 6-10years since parts are everywhere and it's a newer generation.

decisions...

roadbike56

Both of those figures are way low, especially the price of an 01-02 with only 60K. If you double those miles, that would be about what they are selling for here. An 01-02 in good shape, not pristine, with 60K on it is selling at or about 20K in NC. My point is, if you can get a nice 01 for 13-14K, why wait?
The 25K for a C6 is on the low end, but realistic.

racebum

why? i remember what happened to the c4 when the c6 released. 2 years ago i would have never found the deals that i have recently. the other thing is, the main thing really, is will i be happy with the car long term. on top of that those type of deals aren't around everyday. it's a wait, find one....and if you wait more than a few days someone grabs it. i have the cash ready, just haven't seen another good deal in the past month or so. well, one 40k mile 2001 z06 went for 17k which wasn't too bad

c6 prices may have softened since you looked. one of my friends picked up a 40k mile 2006 manual car for 22k, guy was asking 27 too, there's a mint 9k mile car about 100 miles from me for 28k. lot of the 60-70k mile c6s, especially 05's are around 20 flat. some have even cracked 18-19k, typically more rock chips and you're in the 80-100k mile point to hit the teens

my big thing is that i actually like both cars. i just keep flip flopping on if the c6 is worth that extra 8-10k all else equal.

PETE O.

You didn't mention how old you are, but from the sounds of things you're too much of a worry wort to enjoy a vette right now. Maybe you should make those investments, pay off your house and buy a used C7 in about 12 or so years. Just sayin'.

Down

I was lucky enough to not be burdened with this choice as I, at least so far, just don't dig the looks of the C6s and LOVE the C5Z. As a newcomer to these cars I very well may be off base with my thought on your situation but have you thought about depreciation? I'd think that as we're nearing up on the 10th anniversary of the last C5 made, their value will not be looking at anything more than a slow and gradual slope. With the C6 being the latest body style, I could see them getting hit with a noticeable drop once the C7 hits and they're no longer the new kid on the block.
If that is true, it may be another thing to consider since you're obviously dissecting the money aspect.

fendermender

In the end we would all like to buy toys and get our money back when we are tired of playing with them. This seldom happens in the real world.

I still remember someone telling me I'd never lose money on a Harley.

K-Spaz

I'm going to have to ask, where are you seeing these cars at these prices. I got what I consider to have been about as cheap a C5 as there is to have, it was a few things I didn't want it to be, and it had work to be done. Very good cosmetically, needed some wrenching. $13k/82kmi. (now $17k...)

I looked hard at C6's, shopped for many months. Never really even considered C5's at the time. Within 500 miles of me, I didn't find a single C6 for under $28K that wasn't an R title, or had mega miles (or both). Sub 28K C6's are rare imo. I'll admit, I was looking for lower miles in a C6, but even at 50kmi, I don't remember seeing any cheap C6s. So if you find one, either look at it long and hard, or buy it really fast.

As to hard to find parts, I've run into one so far. The A/C line that holds the orifice tube wasn't available at dealerships, parts stores or aftermarket. I found one from a forum member only after making my own parts and using flare fittings to complete the job. Other stuff so far seems fairly easy to find, and surprisingly, not that expensive.

K-Spaz

For that matter, (I'm chuckling here as I remember back), I saw some C5's that were totaled, no front end, and in need of SERIOUS structural work for the numbers you're talking. Now, I understand, asking price and gett'n price are two different things. But, these people were factoring in some serious room for movement in the asking prices then.