C5 vs C4 help....
Discussion
Hi all potential newbie here so be gentle!! I’ve got a few (maybe) stupid questions as it really would be nice to know what’s what
I guess I should start out by giving a partial car history as this might be a little relevant… soooo here goes! Six 3rd gen Camaros (mostly IROC-Zs), a Y2K SS Camaro, an F150 Lightning, 2 Crossfires and a Dodge Rumble-bee.
The major question I have regards the LT1 powered C4 vs a 99+ C5. At first they may not seem like obvious rivals and indeed to all logical viewpoints they are not. The reason they are for me is if I get a C4 I’d be selling my Crossfire to finance it (with the added advantage that I’ve driven a C4 for about a week in Florida about 12 years ago, and liked it!), the C5 would be financed by selling my Rumble-Bee and I guess the issue here is that it is truly one of the best (if not the best) in the country – not to mention rarer than hens teeth over here and I wonder if I would regret going from the best to a good (or even average) example.
Both the Bee and the XF have their positives and negatives but at the end of the day they both put a smile on my face (which is all I need TBH as I commute by train). I guess that both ‘Vettes will have better performance (and fuel economy) than my 2 and ride comfort would be similar to the XF.
What should I look out for, what’s acceptable as an age related issue and what’s likely to be expensive? I saw an externally nice looking C5 on the bay but the interior looked (very) tired, which I assume is the expensive stuff, and the 115k did tend to mitigate against it (though to be fair it did seem to be accordingly priced). IMO the SS was a far better car than the IROC but the price differential didn’t seem to be as high as the difference between the C4 and the C5 – is the C5 really that much better?
I suspect that my “ideal ‘Vette” would make it a slightly harder to find beasty but here goes….
Colours - yellow, bright blue, green, purple and on the C5 pewter or metallic red (I saw that Adrian Dromey had a gorgeous looking met-red one a month or 2 ago)
Interior – prefer tan could live with black or grey.
Mileage – as low as possible I guess, but condition is more important (that being said trying to sell a 100+k mileage to SWMBO might be a step too far!)
Toys – auto is a must, electric seats preferred, heated seats(?) and if a C5 HUD would be a must. What other options are there (for me the ‘Vette would be more of a GT than an out and out sports car).
Condition – I’d rather pay more for a better condition one, but by the same token I have noticed some (what appear to be) ‘optimistic’ price levels out there
History – I appreciate that FSH is likely not going to happen but some signs that the owners has lavished some sort of care would be essential!!
Dealers to avoid – I do appreciate the rules of the forum do not allow public ‘name and shame’ but any negative experiences please pm me (if that’s not too much to ask for a newbie Willy )
Location is not really an issue for the right car (though I’ve been to Scotland to buy a car before it would not be my preferred choice TBH) so nearer to Essex would be better <smile>
Ok – enough rambling now I’m sure I’ll be asking more questions later lol
I guess I should start out by giving a partial car history as this might be a little relevant… soooo here goes! Six 3rd gen Camaros (mostly IROC-Zs), a Y2K SS Camaro, an F150 Lightning, 2 Crossfires and a Dodge Rumble-bee.
The major question I have regards the LT1 powered C4 vs a 99+ C5. At first they may not seem like obvious rivals and indeed to all logical viewpoints they are not. The reason they are for me is if I get a C4 I’d be selling my Crossfire to finance it (with the added advantage that I’ve driven a C4 for about a week in Florida about 12 years ago, and liked it!), the C5 would be financed by selling my Rumble-Bee and I guess the issue here is that it is truly one of the best (if not the best) in the country – not to mention rarer than hens teeth over here and I wonder if I would regret going from the best to a good (or even average) example.
Both the Bee and the XF have their positives and negatives but at the end of the day they both put a smile on my face (which is all I need TBH as I commute by train). I guess that both ‘Vettes will have better performance (and fuel economy) than my 2 and ride comfort would be similar to the XF.
What should I look out for, what’s acceptable as an age related issue and what’s likely to be expensive? I saw an externally nice looking C5 on the bay but the interior looked (very) tired, which I assume is the expensive stuff, and the 115k did tend to mitigate against it (though to be fair it did seem to be accordingly priced). IMO the SS was a far better car than the IROC but the price differential didn’t seem to be as high as the difference between the C4 and the C5 – is the C5 really that much better?
I suspect that my “ideal ‘Vette” would make it a slightly harder to find beasty but here goes….
Colours - yellow, bright blue, green, purple and on the C5 pewter or metallic red (I saw that Adrian Dromey had a gorgeous looking met-red one a month or 2 ago)
Interior – prefer tan could live with black or grey.
Mileage – as low as possible I guess, but condition is more important (that being said trying to sell a 100+k mileage to SWMBO might be a step too far!)
Toys – auto is a must, electric seats preferred, heated seats(?) and if a C5 HUD would be a must. What other options are there (for me the ‘Vette would be more of a GT than an out and out sports car).
Condition – I’d rather pay more for a better condition one, but by the same token I have noticed some (what appear to be) ‘optimistic’ price levels out there
History – I appreciate that FSH is likely not going to happen but some signs that the owners has lavished some sort of care would be essential!!
Dealers to avoid – I do appreciate the rules of the forum do not allow public ‘name and shame’ but any negative experiences please pm me (if that’s not too much to ask for a newbie Willy )
Location is not really an issue for the right car (though I’ve been to Scotland to buy a car before it would not be my preferred choice TBH) so nearer to Essex would be better <smile>
Ok – enough rambling now I’m sure I’ll be asking more questions later lol
irocfan said:
Gixer said:
Replied on CCCUK
cheers dude - CCC seems a little quiet so I thought I'd spread myself out a little (bit like my waistline TBH lol)1) Can C4s get any cheaper? 2) Like buying any car, be prepared to wait for the right one/don't settle for one you are not completely happy with 3) Good/known cars come up for sale by members on the CCCUK website. 4) Mr Dromey appears to be the the most frequent trade/specialist seller of C5s, judging by the adverts and they sell quick. If I was looking for a C5, I would have a word with him (and others?) to tell him/them that you were looking.
I have owned a 1985 C4 TPi Targa and a 2002 C5 Z06.
The first thing I'll say is that I had the C4 in 1992 and it was my first V8 so it excited me more and I used it as a daily driver for 3 years and it was 7 years old and a less than pristine example with 54k on the clock. The Z06 was a weekend toy, was much newer, had only 2k on the clock and by that time, I had had the C4 and a 3rd and 4th gen Camaro so I was accustomed to V8s.
Right, I loved the C4. It was loud, raucous, poorly built, had a lot of wind roar and tyre roar but it was never anything but great fun, great to drive and be seen in and a bit of a hooligan car. Despite "only" 235hp plus a "chip" and automatic, it was a great car and would run up to 140mph plus with relative rock steadiness and in my eyes, they look fantastic. The targa was brilliant though I had the clear roof, not the painted one. In terms of what went wrong, the instrument pack had to be replaced when it failed, the heater core failed, it had a running fault (cured by an O2 sensor) and the headlamp motors liked to strip their cogs occasionally. However, when I had to sell (CSA), it was a real wrench to my stomach. Even in 2008 when a friend turned up in a similar black car and I drove it, I still loved it for all it's rough and ready long bonnet and low seated ruffian nature so not entirely rose-tints.
The C5 was streets ahead on build quality and, in being far more competent, was actually less fun, high speed being required for any sort of drama. I had it about 8 months before I realised that I really needed 4 seats and I sold it and I have to say, without too much regret. I think part of that was the infrequent use, the manual transaxle gearbox (not good) and the fact it was less identifiable by most people as a Corvette (you get fed up with people asking if its a Ferrari and mine was blue!).
In an ideal world, I would have liked the LS6 in my 4th gen modded Camaro (also a daily and much loved). I can't say whether I would have bonded more with a "cooking" C5 with an auto. I do slightly prefer the looks of the C5 for it's smoothness and better headlight mechanism method though dislike the smaller hood aperture.
Looking at the LT1 C4s, I was never keen on the dash and interior and was never a fan of the LT1. My ideal C4 would be the facelift 1991 with the old L98 250hp V8 though I prefer the earlier dash (though it's unreliable).
The first thing I'll say is that I had the C4 in 1992 and it was my first V8 so it excited me more and I used it as a daily driver for 3 years and it was 7 years old and a less than pristine example with 54k on the clock. The Z06 was a weekend toy, was much newer, had only 2k on the clock and by that time, I had had the C4 and a 3rd and 4th gen Camaro so I was accustomed to V8s.
Right, I loved the C4. It was loud, raucous, poorly built, had a lot of wind roar and tyre roar but it was never anything but great fun, great to drive and be seen in and a bit of a hooligan car. Despite "only" 235hp plus a "chip" and automatic, it was a great car and would run up to 140mph plus with relative rock steadiness and in my eyes, they look fantastic. The targa was brilliant though I had the clear roof, not the painted one. In terms of what went wrong, the instrument pack had to be replaced when it failed, the heater core failed, it had a running fault (cured by an O2 sensor) and the headlamp motors liked to strip their cogs occasionally. However, when I had to sell (CSA), it was a real wrench to my stomach. Even in 2008 when a friend turned up in a similar black car and I drove it, I still loved it for all it's rough and ready long bonnet and low seated ruffian nature so not entirely rose-tints.
The C5 was streets ahead on build quality and, in being far more competent, was actually less fun, high speed being required for any sort of drama. I had it about 8 months before I realised that I really needed 4 seats and I sold it and I have to say, without too much regret. I think part of that was the infrequent use, the manual transaxle gearbox (not good) and the fact it was less identifiable by most people as a Corvette (you get fed up with people asking if its a Ferrari and mine was blue!).
In an ideal world, I would have liked the LS6 in my 4th gen modded Camaro (also a daily and much loved). I can't say whether I would have bonded more with a "cooking" C5 with an auto. I do slightly prefer the looks of the C5 for it's smoothness and better headlight mechanism method though dislike the smaller hood aperture.
Looking at the LT1 C4s, I was never keen on the dash and interior and was never a fan of the LT1. My ideal C4 would be the facelift 1991 with the old L98 250hp V8 though I prefer the earlier dash (though it's unreliable).
Edited by LuS1fer on Thursday 7th March 15:32
Theres actually 3 dashes in the C4. The early digital dash of the original that Lusifer has just mentioned, then the 90 face lift and then at some point they cut the wrap around at the cntr console back slightly so you lost that sitting in a cockpit effect. Have to say I'm glad to see they're bringing it back in the C7 although I'm not sure if I like the rest of it yet.
If you could stretch to a late LT4 car that would be the way to go although they're hens teeth over here. Oddly a friend sold his very clean LT4 last week. From an investment point of view go for a Grand Sport although I know of none over here for sale. As for the LT1 just be aware of the optispark issue.
If I were to buy another C4 it would have to be another one with a ZF manual box. The ZF in the ZR1 is a lovely gear box. I've driven 2 other ZR1's, a TT Callaway C4 and an LT4 with ZF's in they are always a pleasure.
Personally I'd keep the rumble bee but then I really like Rams.
There was a time when this forum was really really busy but it died off somewhat year ago.
If you could stretch to a late LT4 car that would be the way to go although they're hens teeth over here. Oddly a friend sold his very clean LT4 last week. From an investment point of view go for a Grand Sport although I know of none over here for sale. As for the LT1 just be aware of the optispark issue.
If I were to buy another C4 it would have to be another one with a ZF manual box. The ZF in the ZR1 is a lovely gear box. I've driven 2 other ZR1's, a TT Callaway C4 and an LT4 with ZF's in they are always a pleasure.
Personally I'd keep the rumble bee but then I really like Rams.
There was a time when this forum was really really busy but it died off somewhat year ago.
Edited by Gixer on Thursday 7th March 15:19
I've got to decide on loosing the Rumbler which really will be a wrentch but I can just feel a vette calling (especially for a couple of European roadtrips we've got planned)Gassing Station | Corvettes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff