|
5 USA
Original Poster
4,460 posts
115 months
|
Having recently said goodbye to my Corvette C5 (1999) prospective owners might be interested to see my total costs over more than 13 years and 52,000 miles of ownership. Taking account of depreciation (I bought the car brand new in 1999), maintenance at official service centres with interim oil changes DIY, road tax, MOTs and insurance the total cost comes out as follows, 76p per mile for ownership costs 20p per mile for petrol
96p per mile. I reckon that's absolutely astounding value for a sports car with Corvette performance and quality. It compares very favourable with the AA calculator which suggests £1.70 per mile! http://www.theaa.com/resources/Documents/pdf/motor...These great cars should not be overlooked, especially following the demise of so many British sports cars.
|
|
|
Scuffers
10,505 posts
144 months
|
5 USA said: 20p per mile for petrol I must be missing something? 20p per mile for petrol, that's what 7 miles per litre (at £1.40 a litre) 7 miles/litre is what almost 32Mpg? is that for real?
|
|
|
Alnassma
135 posts
11 months
|
corvettes have overdrive, humming along at 1600 rpm at M4 speeds
|
|
|
davepoth
20,194 posts
69 months
|
Scuffers said: I must be missing something?
20p per mile for petrol, that's what 7 miles per litre (at £1.40 a litre)
7 miles/litre is what almost 32Mpg? is that for real? Sounds not a million miles off if he's not trundling around town. They're set up very nicely for highway cruising. 96p a mile makes it cheaper than the bus I can take into town from my house.
|
|
|
Caulkhead
4,938 posts
27 months
|
davepoth said: Scuffers said: I must be missing something?
20p per mile for petrol, that's what 7 miles per litre (at £1.40 a litre)
7 miles/litre is what almost 32Mpg? is that for real? Sounds not a million miles off if he's not trundling around town. They're set up very nicely for highway cruising. 96p a mile makes it cheaper than the bus I can take into town from my house. Driving a Corvette 4000 miles a year so gently you get 32mpg seems to miss the point of owning a V8 sportscar to me.
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
swerni
20,100 posts
80 months
|
davepoth said: Scuffers said: I must be missing something?
20p per mile for petrol, that's what 7 miles per litre (at £1.40 a litre)
7 miles/litre is what almost 32Mpg? is that for real? Sounds not a million miles off if he's not trundling around town. They're set up very nicely for highway cruising. 96p a mile makes it cheaper than the bus I can take into town from my house. That and the fact it may be £1.40.a litre now but it wasn't in 2009 let alone 1999 when Steve got the car. And the replacement to the Vette is????.
|
|
|
Motorrad
3,971 posts
57 months
|
Caulkhead said: Driving a Corvette 4000 miles a year so gently you get 32mpg seems to miss the point of owning a V8 sportscar to me. Conversely I don't see the point in exceeding the speed limit by much on the motorway, enjoy the car to the maximum on entertaining roads and manage to average around 30mpg.
|
|
|
Scuffers
10,505 posts
144 months
|
I would be genuinely stunned if it can manage 30+mph...(as an average)
|
|
|
jbi
5,390 posts
74 months
|
surprised if it managed 30mpg as an average, but I do know that over 30mpg is very achievable on the motorway.
Light weight, tall gearing, an aerodynamic shape and a great engine design help a lot.
|
|
|
ma9mwah
21 posts
41 months
|
did you take into account inflation in those figures? as over 13 years it will alter the figures massively. I.e. £100 pounds spent in 1999 is equal to ~£140 in 2012
|
|
|
Monkeylegend
3,283 posts
101 months
|
PH never fails to deliver. Guy comes on here and provides a really interesting post about ownership/ running costs, and the idiots emerge and start to question them. I mean, who knows better, the guy who owns the car and has carefully documented running costs over 13 years, or the internet warrior who thinks petrol cost £1.40 a litre over the last 13 years. Then you get the idiot who says what a waste of a car if you are going to pootle around in it in order to average 32 mpg  Very good post OP, and I am sure there will be more sensible readers who will not want to put you down or dispute your knowledge 
|
|
|
Welshbeef
13,180 posts
68 months
|
Lol did the OP revise the costs to account for inflation.... I would say nearly everyone would only input the physical costs.
Could you honestly work out the weighted average inflation over te last 13 years for car ownership... That's a longish task vs actual costs far simpler.
Can I ask the poster who asked about inflation adjusted coatings does he/she adjust all the costs they incur so that they are always up to date reflecting in today's money???
OP have to say that is really good going and what a car lovely.
What did you replace it with or what's on the shopping list?
|
|
|
Scuffers
10,505 posts
144 months
|
cheers,
it's always nice to be appreciated...
(and yes, I do appreciate petrol was cheaper in the past, however, even taking this into account, it;s a pretty phenomenal MPG record.)
|
|
|
KMud
676 posts
26 months
|
Similar to Monaros for obvious (GM) reasons. OK, wide-open throttle is ~1 MPG, but long gearing makes for 25-35 MPG down the motorway. Also, simple mechanicals so servicing isn't too bad.
Changing cars is expensive, so if the thirsty brute is fun enough that you don't want to change cars so often that plays in your favour too. 13 years! Well done.
|
|
|
soad
16,134 posts
46 months
|
Costs seem very reasonable to me ! 
|
|
|
Fartgalen
4,413 posts
77 months
|
Also don't forget they're only LHD. Plasticky interiors. And cart springs.
|
|
|
ma9mwah
21 posts
41 months
|
Welshbeef said: Lol did the OP revise the costs to account for inflation.... I would say nearly everyone would only input the physical costs.
Could you honestly work out the weighted average inflation over te last 13 years for car ownership... That's a longish task vs actual costs far simpler.
Can I ask the poster who asked about inflation adjusted coatings does he/she adjust all the costs they incur so that they are always up to date reflecting in today's money??? its quite simple really, find any bills in 1999 and times the total by 1.45, any bills in 2000 by 1.42 etc... should only add a couple of mintues of works, even less if its all in excel already. And yes, if i'm asked to caclulate a total running cost over time then I adjust for inflation.
|
|
|
sparks_E39
6,624 posts
83 months
|
30+ mpg is a very real figure for these, and they can still average way over 20 when driving them properly.
|
|
|
5 USA
Original Poster
4,460 posts
115 months
|
Those figures are actual cash spent. Overall fuel consumption on my C5 Vette with 4-speed auto transmission was 25 mpg. (Manual cars and 6-speed auto Vettes will be between 25 and 30) Don't get too hung up about inflation because the cost of cars in UK, including Corvette, actually REDUCED quite a bit after 1999 when I bought mine. Astounding performance. Astounding value. 
|
|
|
The Nur
5,479 posts
55 months
|
Monkeylegend said: PH never fails to deliver. Guy comes on here and provides a really interesting post about ownership/ running costs, and the idiots emerge and start to question them. I mean, who knows better, the guy who owns the car and has carefully documented running costs over 13 years, or the internet warrior who thinks petrol cost £1.40 a litre over the last 13 years. Then you get the idiot who says what a waste of a car if you are going to pootle around in it in order to average 32 mpg Very good post OP, and I am sure there will be more sensible readers who will not want to put you down or dispute your knowledge This. It seems the majority of posters on here these days are only here to lampoon and criticise others for self satisfaction with no input to debate/banter/anything worthwhile
|
|
