5 Things to do on your "new" used Corvette 

Great video!!!! I have my own top 5. 1. Get a pre purchase inspection. 2. Have at least 5k set aside for repairs. 3. Change all fluids. I mean all. Every single one. No exceptions no excuses. 4. Run a can of techron for the next 3 refills, and run it to empty each time. 5. Change bettery for non acid battery. Especially in a c5. Then enjoy, of course whatever was found in the ppi, you will do inbetween, but these are the bare minmums. Lyle doesnt steer you wrong, couple these 5 things with lyles 5 things and you should be good to go. Again, have 5k set aside, it will go fast.

Hi Lyle, and all viewers! Thax for a wonderful channel. I wonder how many countries we viewers come from, 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇸🇪. Keep on Vetteing👍

The garden hose part left me speechless 😶

I have a black manual 1978 and I love it, I live in London, England so it is a real stand out car! I really learn a lot from you and your podcasts. Thank you for your time and your enthusiasm.

Great video, as always. The owners of older Corvettes (I have a '69 that I bought new) should do the "Five Things" periodically to detect problems that have taken place slowly over the years.

Great post!

Fantastic advice! Love hearing from a trusted mechanic like yourself.

Good advice, thanks!

Hey Lyle - Great info as always, thanks. Regarding wheel alignment, I have a money-saving tip to add. Firestone offers lifetime alignment (as long as you own the car) for just $200. Its honored at their 1700 stores nationwide, so this is a great deal for those of us who keep cars for several years.

I been watching you for sometime definitely great advices from someone knows a lot about corvettes ..i have 2001 c5 its in the picture of my profile yes thats a wrap from sema show ..here in az I don’t put car for winter as no snow or rain really so drive it all year round.. yet i do always check and when i get it on lift will check these 5 things again 👍

Wise words for sure! Thankyou!

Very good advices for new owners, thanks a lot !

HI Lyle. New viewer and loved the video. Lots of great stuff for people looking for their dream car.. Look forward to seeing more of your videos..

As usual great info Lyle

Good points Lyle.

Thanks!

As always Lyle, great job....good information

Here's my story. Bought an 04 commemorative 24-hour at Lemans convertible. LS1. Automatic transmission. From a Chevy dealer in Federal Way Washington. The car looked good. Got to drive it down to my mechanic. He liked it. I bought it. Dropped by the local Les Schwab store because the manager was a friend of mine. First words out of his mouth was. These eagles are all dry rotted. Took the car back and said I didn't want it. After little dick ring around I wound up with a set of Bridgestone run flats. Once I got the car back I did everything I heard in this video. Imagine that. I love this thing. Right now I blew the water pump. Let's hope I don't have to get a second job to get a repaired. Love your videos

As usual another great pod cast. I wish y'all were in South East Texas lol

I love flambé’s…😂 but not on vettes 🙏

As an owner of a 73 that I drive daily during the season, I knew I would be dealing with all the "deferred maintenance ". I have definitely found that to be true

Great advice Lyle. I would add for C5s...to pull the battery out and correct all of the corrosion on the frame mounted battery tray. My tray was in rough shape when I got the car. After correcting it, I check it every time I'm in that area of the engine bay. The ECU, wiring harness, and the vacuum box is under/near the tray so any leaked acid can hurt other stuff.

Thanks Lyle, Great check list that I will be putting to use very shortly! I will be getting some good piece of mind when I cruise down the road knowing things beneath me are as they should be.

THX!!!!

Was at a body shop with a friend. I looked around and noticed the paint guys were young. Questioned the expertise of said youth and the answer was, The old guys are the ones that train but there knees are not so good. I need the car to look good from top to bottom.

Great advice. Did this on my 96 coupe when i first got it. One brake line was rusted out and leaking, needed a new line. Also nut on sway bar link was loose, actually unscrewed with my hand. Did all 4 shocks (had to drill out upper bolt on rear mount since it broke off trying to remove it- one that goes direct into body.) That was fun. Upper/lower ball joints (drilling out uppers was even more fun) and outer tie rods. Also swapped out the egr valve, found the original had failed. These older vettes need work for sure but satisfying getting it done yourself. Next stop replace all the suspension bushings once c&s had the Superpro kit in stock again 😉.

Hey Lyle it's may and still gettn snow and rain here in oregon, thanks for your words of wisdom my 2000 convertible is ready to go take care

A big thx for taking the time to school us newbies - I'm about to pull the trigger on a C3 - I'm resting a little easier with your knowledge - thx 🎯🤟😎

The root of all evil is the love of the money o PROFITS. Thanks a lot for your safety input. GR8 video clip. Greetings from North Texas. I checked the harmonic balancer on my 2001 C5 and was wobbling, not much but I followed your advice and got fixed it up . ( ATI harmonic balancer on it now) .

This is great advice. It’s usually a great question to see how long it’s been owned. There’s some that give lots of good love too. C6Z 5 hours front and rear brakes. Maybe the tooth brush was over kill but I don’t want the callipers to get cavity’s. (I can do normal brakes in job book time) Brake fluid flushed dot4 and clutch flushed with the same. Clutch fluid is done every year. Rear end fluid to be done and trans as well this year. But she’s not for sale lol. I love this channel I share it with my local Corvette club. Thank you for what you do.

Great advice and I did all that buying my 1980 last February! The car was delivered and in April went right to my trusted shop to go through ! 🚘🇺🇸

Great video Lyle .. Just so happens I had the alignment done on my C6Z last week and BOOM.. what a difference it made. It was slightly out both front and rear after freshening up some of my suspension components over the winter , and now it feels great and she is hooking up so much better.

Lyle you didn’t mention Wipers. Not as important as your 5 but I’m having a hard time finding the proper blades to go under the cowl on my C4. I’m 2 sets in now still not right! Ideas? Also I introduced our club to your last video. Lots of folks thanked me for the intro. I know you got some new subs! We are Classic Glass Corvette club, Marietta Ga. Home of SuperVette Saturday, TOMORROW!! Thanks again

Nailed it . Without basic auto shop in junior high and highschool and ALL these DIY hardware stores there's just way too many wannabee mechanics that rip apart the corvette , get in over their heads and bubba the car back together to sell. I know I just bought two! I didn't catch the screwups till there's a failure and sometimes unintentionally hidden . Excellent advice to have it checked on a lift . Huge warning on the lift!!. Unless a shop has lifted a corvette before or knows - doublecheck your car when you get it back !! Bubba the mechanic lifted my cars and instead of the lift pad/arm just at the jackpoints they went past and crushed the front floorbox corners which as you know sits about 2 inches lower. I need to do some fiberglassing this winter now .. Also as you've stated indirectly the older cars can be a huge moneypit .

Lyle- Finally got our C5 1998 up on a lift / knew I had a small leak - turns out the steering rack seals were leaking- had it replaced - oil and Power steering fluid changed - checked the rest of your list - by the way the seats you did for us have been awesome- great work! Next up fix those pesky blend doors

As usual, very good advice, Lyle Up here in Canada the Winters are long and can be hard. I always store my C6 Convertible and before every “Driving Season” I go through a thorough check. Don’t forget to mention the little trick on the newer cars to prime the Engine oil if the Engine hasn’t been started in months, saves wear and tear !

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Thanks for this info.....I just picked up a '90 Vette with only 66,000 original miles on it. WooHoo..... ;-)

Hi Lyle I'm a prior c2 and then c3 owner ( way back when I still had hair) and now thinking of a c5. I'm new to your site and YES! I subscribed and "liked" every episode I've watched. Thank you so much for helping to get me up to speed. I wanted to mention the "new trick" you discovered, "clear flood" As a former shop owner and a former Certified Master Teck ( who went to school continually) I can tell you that function was a GM function on all GM cars from practically the beginning of their fuel injection engines you brought back memories mentioning it. So now I'm looking for a 2002 convertible so I can avoid the cost of Mag suspension and thank you for all your tips. Sincerely, Carl Vallone, I hope a future customer of your site.

In September I bought a 2002, and have been doing the very things you are saying. One additional thing was I was chasing an "occasional non start" issue. I finally got under the car to change the starter, and found the nut holding the 3 wires going to the positive post, was finger loose. I torqued it down, and haven't had an issue since.

I would add to your list while up in the air check ball joints and steering tie rods etc. on newer C4 on up Check wheel hubs

One of the first things I had to do last year when I got my 85 was an alignment, wheel was almost halfway left to make the car go straight 🤣

God I must have seen your video before I even bought my car 7 years ago. Did all the things you mentioned in a few more. I believe I got a very good car. Accept the dealer sold it to me with dry rotted tires. After a little bit of ho ho I got a new set of Bridgestone run flats. Good video keep it up

I bought a 98 C5 . I've had to buy a new front rim/ didn't see the weld someone had to do on it, shop couldn't balance tire that's how we found it. Also had to replace the radiator support. I didn't know to look at it or even what it was until I saw one of your video's. First time I went through a car was I blew both front signal bulbs, some had poked hole into the top of the fixture, so I replace them when I had radiator support. Also the condenser had seen better days so I had that changed too.

You should make a video on the maintenance of the c4s, I've had 2, both 89s and they needed Headgaskets. Recealed the 2nd one and now it has worn rings, really bad with blowby shooting from dipstick neck.

I'm looking to buy a C5 Corvette, preferably a 2001+ targa top in good condition with a manual transmission. First place that car is going is a reputable Corvette specialist (not some mom and pop shop or a Chevy dealer) for the most thorough PPI as I have extremely high standards.

Bought a ‘65 big block convertible years ago. Most of the things Lyle mentioned were an issue but the former owner (who owned a dealership), was mostly up front with issues. One did surprise me though and that was all the wheel bearings were packed, not with bearing grease but white lithium grease, ie for lubricating door hinges etc. That was dealt with right away.

Awesome as always, my first spring with a C4, Nope I am making my EDC. 1 brakes checked, 2. lines and hoses are replaced by me… , 3. cleaned fuel issues, replaced pump. And non-ethanol 91, 4. New battery, installed correctly cables checked. ? Should I put a battery shutoff, 5. New tired, replaced two wheels (kept loosing air) and Firestone life alignment. Thanks again.

Have a 78 silver anniversary edition vette my brake pedal fell off while driving about a year ago. No joke…. Luckily didn’t destroy my car or anyone else’s lol

Lyle, I've found some new side mount batteries are not tapped/threaded deep enough to allow the battery cable to be fully tightened. This caused the lighting to dim occasionally and the positive battery connection to actually heat up !

Thanks Lyle. I did everything you mentioned on my 93 c4 when I bought it October 2021. Three thousand miles later and doing good! I would love to see you do a video on how to thoroughly flush coolant on a LT1 C4.

I have a sixth for your list. Check the tires. I bought a '99 C5 last October with 26,000 miles on it. The tires looked fine, lots of tread. They were 8 years old. Totally rotten, so immediately after buying the car I had buy a set of tires. I'm in Florida so I went with Hankook Ventus V12 evo 2 Summer Radials.

Coral Gables 🌴🇺🇸 Hehe. VERY apropos Kyle,or sorry,Lyle. Just flew up to Charleston and brought back an 2008 coupe. High milage but appears somewhat cared for. We will 👀 ? ? 🏄

Thank You! You have an avid viewer.

I agree with all of these great tips but I'd do them before you buy it

Hey Lyle! Thanks for the great info! I am about to see a 91 6speeds. If I can't put the car on a lift, what is the best way to check all that? I quite know 91 as I have one Auto. What would be the key points and détails to look for? Thanks!

Lyle, while you’re under the car, check the frame for rust, especially where the frame kicks up over the rear wheels on C2s and C3s.

Done ✅

Yes, differential. Because of Clutch plates.

Can you show a video on how to change the Mag ride front shocks on a C7 GS or Z06 ???

A few months back you posted a video about cranking a corvette to build oil pressure without actually starting the car. Just to add to that, I tried that procedure on my 2007 Corvette 2LT, my 2012 Buick LaCross Premium 2 and my 2012 Silverado Z71 and it worked on all of them. Who'da thunk it?

Several years ago I looked at an ‘86 C4 with the 4+3 tranny. Car looked great but someone apparently cracked the housing of the overdrive unit from the filler plug down along the bottom of the unit. I assume from over tightening the plug. They tried to “seal” the crack by using silicone caulk. Guess what……it didn’t work.

So I have a 1993 C4 corvette for about 2 years now and I’ve done a radiator flush to it probably twice now if I’m not mistaken but the mechanic that did it for me flushed it and replaced the coolant with green coolant Everything has been okay and I’ve read somewhere that if I did change the coolant to green it would be okay but that it would have to remain green coolant from the day it was changed.. Can I get your feedback on this situation? It it okay that we changed the coolant to green and should I change it back or leave it green

I have a 91 C4 and just found out I had holes in my floorboards could you please let your viewers know to have them checked out as well fiberglass does rot and can get stressed out Thank you

Hello Lyle, I have a 84 vette and I’m looking to get new tires and Have an alignment done. So far my Chevy corvette dealership here in Rochester, NY is the only place that will do an alignment on my vette. Is this common for the c4?

How do I adjust the emergency brake?

Watup lyle! I have an 89 corvette with the 4 speed auto. Upon normal acceleration the car will go 1 gear 2 gear 3 gear then it downshifts from 4 to 3 and stuff like that. What could be the issue. I had the shop add fluid and it fixed it for 2 weeks now its doing it again

Lyle, I have a 1995 white and a 2004 red. Looking for a clear Targa top for my 95 or a white body color targa top. what is the color code for my 2004? I saw you tube post of a young guy wet-sanding the targa top on a 95 to clean up the glass top, will that work?

I have a 2010 C6 , with 14.5 k miles , everything is original except the tires. Should I change the spark plugs ?

Great advice! I Just bought a "new to me" c4 with 92k miles on it. I want to change all the fluids, but I heard that changing the transmission fluid with high miles might damage the transmission. Do you still recommend changing the trans fluid?

For a C4 make sure the drain hose on the fuel bib is open. Run a wire down it to insure that any rain water or wash water is not sucked into the fuel cap. Spiders love to live and spin their web there.

I use Mobil one oil and filter, I drove less than 1200 miles prior to winter; do you suggest changing the oil anyway or is it ok to wait? Thank you Lyle for all your videos..

Very informative video. I had most of that done on my recently purchased 1994 C4 and continue to fix or replace items to make a good car better. I noticed even though the shocks were replaced by a previous owner (not Bilstein's) the car seems to have too much body roll through S curves. What would you suggest?

Does this all need to be done on a 93 vette c4 with only 7500 miles?

Great advice. I'm looking for a C6 Z06 2010 or newer. I'm in Jacksonville FL. I'd love to get advice on who I could take it too for upgrades. I vetted the guys from RPM in Maryland. But I'd rather have it closer in Florida. Thank you in advance.

I just bought a used c6 corvette with 133k miles on it and so far I found out its leaking fuel and oil as well also my power seat stopped working :/

Great video but all of this should be done during a PPI. The only issue I had on my C4 is older tires. What's your experience with the Nitto tire?

Can anyone tell me what the (GPH) Gallons Per Hour or (LPH) Liters Per Hour on a electric fuel pump for a 95 c4 corvette should be?

I lost my 1986 Indianapolis 500 pace car that I just rebuilt the entire engine new pistons, voodoo Cam, lifters, pushrods roller rockers, and a pair of new E-Street aluminum heads,and a crank. A teenager ran a red light and totaled it so the little bit of money I got from him I bought a 1992 LT1 Corvette this car will NOT spin the tires at all I checked all my break components but what I noticed was the light does not come on, the Traction Control button would be nice if I can smoke the tires some. What’s the use having a Corvette if you can’t smoke the tires a few times 🙄 Anyone have I idea what’s wrong with my Corvette? Thanks.

Is this more for when you're buying a used car from an individual vs a dealership?

Garden hose = BUBBA.

People are selling c4 corvettes for absurd prices a 1994 lt1 15k like really thats the same price as a C5

if you close your eyes and listen, he kinda sounds like George Carlin

“Mostly buying” season? 🤔 Regardless of the time of year, exactly 50% of transactions are buying, exactly 50% are selling.

no washer fluid cap