I have noted in a recent thread or two that there are quite a few Corvette owners in the forum. This is not one of those "I'm thinking about..." threads. We ARE shopping actively, but my wife (this is most certainly a 50/50 deal) is advocating for proceeding slowly--believe it or not, I can be a bit impulsive.

We want a road car. As much as I love C2s, we want something that will eat up highway miles comfortably and the high 20s in mpg of the C6s and 7s is attractive, to say nothing of the relative trouble-free aspect of late model ownership. BTW, we're shopping used. Really like the late C6s, but my wife wants the backup camera that Chevrolet inexplicably didn't make available until 2014. I think the C7s are a bit too muscle-car looking and not as pretty as a 6, but I could live with the styling.

A few questions:
It's relatively easy to find a garaged, low mileage Corvette, but...the warranty. Check me if I'm wrong, isn't it 5/50 on the drivetrain and 3/36 on everything else? Seems like the scary thing would be something with all the gee-whiz electronics going bad. If a car has only 12,000 miles but is coming 4 years old, can you still purchase coverage for the car--even if the factory warranty has expired?

We think we want a roadster (I know Corvette people don't call them that). When we drove one my wife said, "There's not even a place to put my purse!" Is interior space a problem for you?

When a Corvette bottoms out, what gets hit?

At the latitude we live at, the car would most likely be driven about 5 months/year. I assume many of you are in the same situation. That's not an issue--is it?

So many late-model, low mileage cars have already had 2, even 3 owners! What's the biggest reason (in your opinion) that people sell a Corvette soon after acquiring one? This is where my wife's caution is probably a good thing. I am aware of a beautiful 2013 that I would be buying right now if she wasn't holding me back--and that's probably good. We talked this morning about going down to Barrett-Jackson this coming January; might see one, should be fun anyway.

Further advice? I've been lurking in the Corvette Forum for a few months, and have learned a bit there, but the breadth and depth of expertise and experience in this forum is truly remarkable.

Thanks in advance
T

We have owned a used C-3, C-5, and currently a 2011 C-6 convertible. We have not purchased a warranty on any of them. The repair costs on the C-5 and C-6 have been very minimal. The C-3 had 185 horsepower that year. I dropped in a ZZ-4 crate engine with a Holly three-barrel carburetor, headers, and dual exhausts with over 500 horsepower. It was a real sleeper.

Our current Corvette was a two owner vehicle purchased from an estate. My wife loves Corvettes and her purse goes in the trunk. In Northwest Oregon, we usually only take it out on clear days.

Join or attend a local Corvette Club. They are very knowledgeable and have lots of fun events.

I do not own a Corvette, but my mother has owned several.

quote:

If a car has only 12,000 miles but is coming 4 years old, can you still purchase coverage for the car--even if the factory warranty has expired?

Probably not a factory warranty. I believe all of the extended factory warranties must be purchased prior to the expiration of the original. I'm sure there are third party plans available.

quote:

We think we want a roadster (I know Corvette people don't call them that). When we drove one my wife said, "There's not even a place to put my purse!" Is interior space a problem for you?

My mother has hauled bagged mulch in hers before. I don't believe she has any issues with purse space.

quote:

When a Corvette bottoms out, what gets hit?

The ground!

Everything underneath it is tucked up pretty tight. I'd have to ask her, but I suspect there are side rails that will hit before the exhaust does. Outside of that, the underside is pretty flat.

quote:

What's the biggest reason (in your opinion) that people sell a Corvette soon after acquiring one?

Corvette people have the same problem that gun people have. It's a bug. They want the newest and best they can afford.

I see this a lot in her Corvette club. When one member buys this year's model, another member will buy his year old, and yet another member will buy the second member's three year old model.

I have a 2011(C6 obviously) Grand Sport. It's a really fun car. I agree with you about the styling of the C7, but I suppose we'll all get used to it. I haven't had any problems with mine, but it is low mileage. As you noted, it is a May-Oct car around here. The winter storage doesn't seem to be an issue as long as you keep the battery charged. They have really small batteries and the electronics will run them down if not kept on a trickle charge.

The thing that gets scraped most often is the front air dam. It's just a black plastic part and almost seems sacrificial. Entering a parking lot from a street will almost always generate a nice drag. No big deal. It goes with the territory.

The mileage is in the mid-20s. Not sure I'd take it cross country. It's not THAT comfortable, but a 3 hour drive is fine for me.

I'd say that most Corvettes that get sold quickly are by guys that love to have a new one every year or older buyers that have trouble getting in and out. Not sure, though.

I have 2003 with low miles. It was my wife's DD back in NJ, when we moved to Utah it just became a "go to lunch/dinner" car. I can't answer for extending warranties, best to ask a dealer.

I think a lot of Vettes are impulse buys for older folks. I have a friend that bought a C7, kept it a year and moved to a Cadillac. I know another older couple that bought a used C6 for the wife, she kept it a year or so, the novelty wore off.

I've never bottomed out mine but the shocks needed replacement at 28,000 miles. I attributed it to rough roads and going tooo fast over cattle guards.

My C5 is a Coupe, plenty of room for "stuff", we've taken it for long weekends to CA. We had a cooler, clothes and still had room for my wife to buy stuff!

I've advertised mine for sale but had it priced a little high. I think that was my way of keeping it!

I'm not currently a Vette owner, but my question or adice is that you might rent a newer one from a major Car rental company and then see what your wife and you think, especially on the roadster space question.

Best wishes to you.

I've had C3 (68 and 82) and C4 (86) that was the last one I bought because the C5 to C6 generations were IMHO just modifications aesthetically of the C4 wedge era and bland, not ugly, but the Viper came out and was edgy, cool, loud, fast, the vette just said Meh so I stopped buying, the C3 coke bottle mako shark era was my favorite.

Enter the C7 with it's edgy racy look, and performance to boot. Its on my list again...

C1 to C2, drive like crap, stink when you drive them because they have no cats, so you smell like exhaust, no power steering, underpowered (albeit the big blocks which is probably not the market you want to be in for a daily or weekend driver at $200K a car) are ok but unless you're really into corvettes I'd stay C4 and up, C5 and C6 are going to be the value of performance, tech and driveability.

As to storage, get your wife a new Louis V Clutch purse and tell her, wallet, dl, cash, lip gloss and a comb.....

I've bought mine used, and never had a problem
unless it's got racing tires and numbers most vette owners don't beat on them like Mustang and Camaro owners...

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I'm not currently a Vette owner, but my question or adice is that you might rent a newer one from a major Car rental company and then see what your wife and you think, especially on the roadster space question.

Best wishes to you.

Thanks, Gene. We are actually going over our calendars to do just that. It's not convenient, we'll have to go to Denver, but we thought we'd keep it for as much as a week and we'll probably drive up to the Black Hills or through the Sand Hills of Nebraska and put at least 1000 miles on it. Might save us making a mistake.

Time to finally add something. I have had a C5, and currently drive a 2016 3LT Z51 as a daily driver. I love the car, it is so much nicer to drive than the C5. Keep checking out corvetteforum.com as you have been - there are many threads about the improvements in the C7 over the C6. For a sports car, the mileage is fantastic. I drive in sport mode all the time, and run around 22-25mpg, combined city/highway.

You can always buy an extended factory warranty as long as the original warranty has not lapsed. I will be buying one when I get close to the 3 year mark - but I don't buy warranties for anything else. I have an A8 tranny, and they have been known to have some potential issues. (I traded in my 2012 Camaro 2SS which was a manual due to my inability to shift after shoulder surgery).

Space is not a problem with the coupe, but that's a personal thing - how much do you need to feel comfortable. I can put 2 sets of golf clubs in the back. I have not yet bottomed out on anything, but take it very slow over rumble strips.

Right now the 2016s seem to be plentiful, and prices are pretty low. People keep wanting to trade up to the 2017 Grand Sport or the Z06. I have no need for 650 horsepower (460 is plenty) and I prefer the narrower style of the Stingray over the Z06/Grand Sport anyway.

I hope you find one to suite you. Good luck.
Someday I will add a post with the belts and holsters and semi-auto things that this forum has caused me to buy.

Excuse my "apples vs oranges" reply, but my 2017 Camaro SS does share basically the same base LT-1 motor as the Corvette. I've been amazed at the mileage I can get. Actual checked MPG, not simply taking what the software tells me.

The fuel management software is phenomenal. I can get 26-28 mpg on the highway at 75-85 mph. I doubt I have EVER had a tank go under 21 mpg in 5500 miles.
Yet I have access to 450 hp any time I wish. NO idea WHEN this system came into use on the LT-1 engine. I'm sure that's easy to find out.

So I'd say that as long as you are looking at fairly recent cars, mileage shouldn't be a concern.


FN in MT

Here is a nice 1978 with 40K miles for $12K:

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...ue#listing=178354956

I purchased a 2008 C6 in May 2008 and it has been my daily driver ever since. For storage issues I would recommend getting a GM storage bin. Makes it easy to store things right behind the seats (within reach) and does not affect the ability to store the top in the rear hatch. I would also recommend getting a cargo mat as it cuts down on road noise (I have my dual mode exhaust open most of the time ).
I have had to replace the harmonic balance (I got the dreaded wobble).
Also, there are two small compartments at the rear corners of the interior that can hold small items (I have a detail kit in one and a bug-out-bag in the other).
There are back up cams that can integrate with some of the GM radio/nav systms. There are others that replace the rear view mirror. I have seen both and they work well.

Let me know if you have any specific questions or want pictures of anything to gauge space.

Edited to add:
You need to be careful when traversing steep driveways as not only can the air dam hit, but also the radiator supports.
Most people sell to either upgrade, or the car is just not for them (the fad wore off).

quote:

Originally posted by 41:
Here is a nice 1978 with 40K miles for $12K:

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...ue#listing=178354956

I had a 1978 silver anniversary over 10 years ago.....it got less than 10 mpg (had 3.73 gears and automatic) and with it's anemic 185HP, would get beat by a modern smart car.......no thanks.

I still have my 78 and I installed a Doug Nash 5-speed and changed the rear-end to 2.73.

Running on the highway, I got 26 MPG and around town usually 15 if I keep my foot out of it.

I also changed out the Rochester carb since it had leaks in the lead plugs. Also the cam was retarded and that was easy to fix since it was the old 30-30 cam. They were to lazy to design a new cam to meet emission controls. Then I added an Edelbrock and Holly which felt like the engine had been replaced....world of difference.

I have a C5 garage queen. I agree that the front end air dam is almost sacrificial.

I've had 5 Corvettes and currently own a 2012 GS convertible. If traveling I would definitely get a coupe , there's not much storage room in a convertible. There are very low cars so make sure you can get in and out of it. The front air dam does scrap quite a bit. Not a problem since it is a piece of plastic and easily replaced. Most modern Corvettes will get in mid to upper 20s MPG on the highway. All of mine have been trouble free and I typically keep them about 8 years. Lastly they will put a smile on your face every time you drive it. A motivation photo for you.

Thanks for all the replies. Right now, we are pretty well set on attending the January Barrett-Jackson auction in Phoenix--for fun if nothing else. Assume we'll pull the trigger on something next spring, unless we see something in Phoenix too good to pass up.

Sounds like, maybe next year, we should put together a caravan road trip.