jkulysses

I want a C6 and I've been reading everything I can find about them. This would be my first Vette but not my first sports car. It would be my daily driver so I'm thinking more about an automatic plus the autos seem to go for cheaper. The best one I've found so far is about 5 hours from me and is a 2005 Victory Red coupe with the F55 suspension and navigation, HUD display, power everything, memory it's pretty loaded lol. It has 24,000 miles on it and is a one owner car. Has the Cashmire interior which isn't my favorite but it's not horrible I could live with it.

Are there any issues with this particular year since it is a first model year or did they do a good job the first time around? They are asking for $31k & so far I've got them down to $28k so far and they are giving me $4k more for my trade in than Kelly Blue Book says it's trade in value is worth.

I've read some people claim to like the 05' auto tranny better than the newer one if they are drag racing but havent found out why. Is it just as dependable for a daily driver and going cruising? Open to any and all advice suggestions don't wanna get screwed!

Jake

jkulysses

I also found this 08', but it's just a base model and has twice the mileage that the red one has. Thats where I'm not sure what the smart thing to do is with Corvettes. Fully loaded low mileage 05' or base 08' with twice the mileage. As long as the 05' is every bit as reliable and still fun to drive I don't care if the 6 speed shifts a little bit better. This will be a daily driver and I mostly care about reliability and wont be doing much more than wheels and intake/exhaust.

RoadkingC6

I have a 2005 and haven't had any of the problems I read about here, mine is a 6 speed manual, if I was buying an automatic transmission I think i would look into a newer year though, as my understanding is the 2005 autos are a 4 speed and the newer models went to a 5 or 6 speed automatic, I'm sure there are plenty here that will know the specifics.

EDinPA

Is the 05 a 4 speed? The newer ones are 6 speed autos.

The 05 also had a weaker rear housing that is more prone to crack.

05 had an issue with a steering wheel lock solenoid. Some of the auto shift selector sticks had issues with a lock solenoid as well. Do a search for more info on these. I recall replacement cost is about 1K each and will disable the car when they fail.

z51vett

Get 06 and up, 6 speed auto, and up grades from 05 model some of the up grades you will not see.
z51vett

boraxman

Buy the newest you can afford.

drclaw

Hey Jake! I hope you find your perfect Vette!

Auto manufacturers usually take a year or two to get some of the bugs out of a new model. One thing that might be valuable for you is to search for TSBs for the 2005 model and compare it to other model years.

It's all about what you can afford versus what you may spend on repairs.

That said, 28K for an 05, even with all those options and low miles, sounds pretty high to me. Take out the additional 4K for the trade, and maybe you're in the sweet spot.

FWIW, I found my perfect car (for me) using the Cars.com app on my mobile. It helped me set some average asking prices.

kctay

Avoid curbs....

ohmy

getting your car serviced at the dealership...

jkulysses

I always prefer to do my own maintenence lol and avoid curbs with all cars I've owned . Anyway well I was all ready to head up to Portland and test drive that 05' but now I'm thinking about looking a little closer at that Silver 08' I linked to. What do you guys think about that car?? I'm going to call now and request the carfax be faxed to me and I'm going to run down to the local Chevy dealer and get a build sheet print out.

Thanks for such fast replies by the way!! I was suprised at how many replies I got that fast. I posted on another forum first and got like one reply that didn't answer anything lol. I think I found my favorite Vette forum already!

Res1cue

good choice, things get better with the newer the model year.

Never-Enough

If you want auto, buy 2006+. The 2005s had A4. 2006+ got A6

ejbarre

I really wanted a C6 as soon as they came out. I forced myself to wait for the 2006 just because of the 6 speed auto. I have been very happy with my Corvette (ECSTATIC)!!! It was a daily driver until I retired a few years ago, 69K miles of happy motoring. Zero major problems, knock on wood.
IMHO major differences:
2005 4speed auto W/LS2 engine.
2006 6speed auto W/LS2 engine.
2008 6speed auto W/LS3 engine.
Good Luck with your purchase, there are alot of used C6s around.

azc62006

Not driving your car! Drive it! If it sits the tires will rot,seals will go bad,battery will die,read vette magazines they will help you with some of the problems

Thomasmoto

I would also go with the 08. It's a much improved car than the 05. JMHO
Especially with an auto trans.

jkulysses

Here is another one I found so far using that cars.com site. Thanks you drclaw for sending me to that site! I guess my link to this one got deleted but it's an 07' base with 21,000 miles on it for the same price as the loaded 05'.

Vette_DD

Your link got deleted because it was a link to a non-supporting vendor. Okay to mention the names of non-supporting vendors, but posting other information, including URL is a

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/foru...l-posting.html

jkulysses

Ya thats what I figured notice I didn't try to do it again . I try to follow the rules but every forum is different. I assure you it wont happen again and I'll even go back and delete the one at the top of the page second post down that I some how snuck by you lol.

Vette_DD

That's okay, it happens. We all have a temporary lapse of some kind once in awhile. No harm done.

jkulysses

Oh ya that wont be a problem as it would be my daily driver and I live right on the coast of Oregon about 1 minute from the 101 highway that runs up the pacific coast from southern Cali all the way up. It's such an awesome drive if you guys have never done it before!!