Covina
Lindsay and Tiffany, the C6 and C5 Z06, were both too much for me. Surely there must be a Corvette for the beginner…
It’s back to the hot eastern fringe of LA again this morning to one of the most unique used car lots I have yet seen. Unlike most car dealers, the owner runs this one out of the enclosed parking lot of an office building.
Over the course of this series, I have found that a dealer’s inventory varies in direct proportion to how much of an enthusiast the dealer is. This particular gent is a hard-core enthusiast with a Porsche Boxster, an e39 BMW 5-Series, and a new Mustang among his wares. However, this is a Corvette story, and as Vettes go this one is actually special.
American cars are unique in that they often have many obscure models that function like real-life cheat codes for a great deal on all the horsepower you could want. For example, the early ‘70s Buick Skylark is, minus the badges, the exact same car as the equivalent Chevelle. And yet, Skylarks sell for far less than the Chevelles while providing all the same muscle car thrills.
The fixed roof coupe (FRC) C5 is the Skylark of the Corvette family. Originally conceived as an affordable entry-level option package, the FRC didn’t sell well but went on to provide the platform for the Z06. What the FRC lacked in aerodynamics and style it made up with refreshing simplicity.
I’ve come to know that C5 gen. These Corvettes have ugly, chintzy interiors. Yet, despite this, the FRC is pretty gimmick-free, it only came with manual seats, and the six-speed manual. All this adds up to fewer pieces to break and fewer distractions from the drive. What this Vette does have is the most headroom in any Corvette (with the roof on) and the quietest interior of any C5. Better still, the FRCs offer the most torsional rigidity of any C5. Today’s car is trimmed in grandma spec champagne with black five-point double prong star Z06 wheels, and the usual black interior, with a nice aftermarket radio.
I’ve decided to call her Chloe, and much like the detective from my favorite Netflix series Lucifer, this car is an irresistible mix of fun and quiet badassery. Unlike any of the previous Corvettes, the FRC is soothingly quiet. Its V8 sounds great and the sound level is enjoyable without droning. Better still, unlike Christy the throttle in this Corvette feels smooth and progressive without Tiffany’s alarming savagery.
Chloe is just right. She feels like the perfect introduction to American horsepower. Fast enough to be a thrilling daily driver that you can actually enjoy. I like it. I am tempted to make an offer. Here is a Corvette that is largely devoid of the obnoxious driving characteristics and quality problems. Unfortunately, as is common, the previous owner of this car saw fit to adorn it with fake Z06 badges and aftermarket Corvette badge trunk carpets. Not a deal-breaker, though.
So, it’s got its quirks! While it’s listed at a reasonable $12,995 there are a few caveats. For reasons, Carfax would probably clarify – Chloe has a metric speedo (ED: there’s a switch to toggle between metric and English; the speedometer just sweeps the gauge differently and the odometer reading changes) which prompts repeated double-takes and fast calculations. And in 120,000 kilometers (about 74k miles) the car’s changed hands five times which feels like a lot. Worse still, this small dealership means that the owner wouldn’t be able to help me finance the car. Why is it that my favorite Corvette so far has to be the weirdly packaged, five-owner?
What, a little mystery isn’t good with a new car? 🙂
Yes, 5 owners would raise my eyebrows, but I guess it kind of depends on how long each of the 5 owned it.
Is that an optical illusion, or has the bezel fallen off the gas gauge in the last photo?
That’s a bad sign. What else has fallen off and had to be crazy glued back on?
the skies the limit here. Beancounter penny pinching galore, even on their star vehicle.
The gauge trim rings are aftermarket, not stock.
@notinuse
Well that sure is a red flag!
Buy the base model and badge it up?
Shoot I’d be more likely to debadge a performance model so I wasn’t get challenged at every stoplight.
Sounds like a nice one but the 5 owner thing is eyebrow raising.
5 owners in 75,000 miles (15,000 miles per owner) screams ‘persistent mechanical malady’ to me. The first owner likely kept it until 3 years or 36,000 miles was up, then traded the lemon off to the second owner who didn’t keep it long either.
Something expensive keeps breaking and throwing $$$ at it only solves it for a short time. After the 2nd or 3rd $$$ fix, it gets sold or traded before it breaks again.
Unless I missed it, you didn’t specify the model year. The FRC was introduced in 1999, so we could be talking about 15 to 20 year old vehicle. Five owners, who each realized the ‘Vette wasn’t their cup of tea isn’t necessarily out of the question. Don’t forget the impact of gas prices in 2008, we were paying $4.00/gal in Massachusetts, I’m sure California was much higher. Per Wiki, the valve springs are an issue on these, breaking and allowing the valve to drop into the cylinder. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c5-general/3069497-build-date-vin-analysis-of-ls6-valve-spring-failures.html
The FRC has a LS1, not a LS6. Valve springs are not an issue.
Oh, dear-those might as well be Chevrolet Cavalier HVAC controls. I see what everyone means by that interior. But you have found a version you like, hope you keep looking!
Close! They’re essentially identical to those used for the 1997-2005 Malibu/Classic, except the ‘Vette’s mounting is slightly different… and, thus, commands nearly 3x the price.
A twenty year old car with five owners doesn’t seem that out of the ordinary to me. Especially with a Corvette. Most cars of this type are bought as a reward or a toy. Needs change and the Vette gets used less and less. It becomes a burden, instead of a joy. Money spent on the car for registration, insurance, and maintenance could be better used elsewhere. One owner cars are out there, but you probably not going to find them at a third tier used car lot. For a car this old and used I wouldn’t expect to have many (or any) service records, but a thorough pre purchase inspection would be a good idea. I’m enjoying the series.
Try http://www.buyavette.net I got mine there and am very very satisfied
Did you drive it?
I’d suspect that oil pressure gauge isn’t working correctly either.
What does the editor note “sweeps the gauge differently” mean? Is 100 indicated not 100? Or does the kph only work up to 120 mph/200kph?
Or does the kph only work up to 120 mph/200kph?
Yes. But a 300km/h scale was also available and I believe installed on the ones exported.
Thanks for the clarification.
It means that my brain works in standard measurements and 100 on that cars gauges isn’t as fast as I was used to.
David: This is the one and only Corvette that I would like to own. You did not include what I consider to be the beauty shot – straight on from the side showing the notchback roofline. There are some (maybe) discreet colors available on the FRC; this pewter is one of them. There is also Nassau blue and Arctic white, but those two are rare (6.5% and 10.8% of the five FRC colors).
If you like the FRC I believe you can find a much better, stock, lower mileage one for not much more money than this pretty well used one. Flights to where cars are may not be too costly now. Good luck; I am anxious to read the report on the one you buy.