I know Scotty mentions GM quality has gone down over the decades, but what about the 2014-2019 C7 generation of Corvettes? I was looking into getting one, a naturally aspirated V8 engine (LT1 engine) with a 7-speed manual. Is this generation of Corvette fairly reliable or a money pit?
I had a 2004 C5 generation Corvette which now has 43,000 total miles on it (as of 12/2020) with no issues other than door window regulator failing and leaking magnetic ride control shocks (wear and tear item).
Thank you!
The transmission is the weakest point if you don't beat it too much it should be fine. The corvette has a little bit better quality control over the other regular cars gm makes. It will likely last to at least 150k miles with no issue.
@cjbman
For the 2014-2019 C7, Is the automatic transmission or the manual transmission the weak point or are both of them weak?
The manual will be more reliable always if it is driven well. (Not riding the clutch) the auto is only weaker because it is much more intricate... the valves inside open and close after they meet a certain pressure and such... same for any automatic. Worse case for the manual you change the clutch in 100k miles.
Besides such be sure they were not beaten to crap by some kid before being offhanded to a dealer.
Also also, GM quality has gone down. There is essentially a lottery with the C7 gen in particular with major engine issues. So you could get lucky with not having any issues with your buy but at the same time the engine issues seem to be common place enough that if you do get the car you would want to get it check out right away pretty much. Also paint and panel gap apparently are also a problem. Not worth a 30k plus car I think. Fun to drive for sure though lol. I would keep rocking the c5, that has really low miles haha my friends c5 is coming up at 140k xD
@bruceree
What kind of engine issues?
@bruceree
Thank you for the link. I went through it and all of them (except final 2) are dated 2015, which would be near the beginning of the generation.
Haha yeah sorry I forgot to mention it was more early c5 gen
There is no such thing as a reliable Corvette.
All Corvettes are finicky and it's one of those situations where if everything is working fine right now, something will happen soon. If any other car had the same issues, people would go nuts and say its crap don't buy it. But because it is a Corvette, it becomes like a Harley Davidson where the problems are just "part of the ownership experience".
I've owned my share of Corvettes. Fun to drive when they work, but nowadays if I have to sort out any of the stupid electrical gremlins, well, I'm going to be paid handsomely for it. Column lock errors (C5), electrical gremlins (every Corvette ever made), etc. I've had my share.
@mod_man
What are some issues in the C7 generation?
Rims cracking (GM will NOT warranty), transmission problems, electrical issues, paint peel...to name a few.