I'm thinking of buying an 81. I've heard they have many maint. issues, is this true? Also, they have problems with leaks in the rain any suggestions?
R

My sister bought an 80.
She ended up spending 12k on a whole new suspension & stock engine. Plus a few other little things. The car still throws the choke code. I think here computer might be starting to go bad. I recommend if you buy it either, go all carb and ditch the computer or upgrade to a more reliable LT1, LT4 or LS1 setup.

oh yeah. Her heater core is bad and her AC went dry. She will have to & you will probably too, upgrade to the new R134 or newer AC setup if you want air conditioning.

My '80 doesn't have a computer. It was '81 when they started the computer age. Suspension and engine work can be expected on any older car. Leaks in the rain have been a problem for most C3's anyway, regardless of year. I would personally stay away from from the 81-82 models just because of the computer issues, but that's just me. If you don't mind working with it, or if you're good at it, go for it.