New to the vette scene.
Discussion
Just spent a lovely day in a black C5 99 model. Never considered a Vette before. Are they the most under rated car ever and very reasonably priced for the performance, or am i missing something?
Seems to good to be true, in which case my sceptical brain says it probably is! but yet to see the flaw in the plan. Appart from the left hook of course but that doesnt bother me.
My man gets 26 mpg out of his C5, is that extraordinary?
Seems to good to be true, in which case my sceptical brain says it probably is! but yet to see the flaw in the plan. Appart from the left hook of course but that doesnt bother me.
My man gets 26 mpg out of his C5, is that extraordinary?
To answer your questions.....
26MPG is about normal for general driving, but you can get it much lower with "enthusiastic" use.
Value for money a C5 most definitely is, for example there was one for sale at Billing yesterday (98 or 99 secondhand info) for £14,000! Performance is brilliant, but it won't be long before you want more and then you are onto the slippery slope of modifying. 0-60 is less than 5 seconds and about 13 seconds on the 1/4 mile. Against the popular "American Car" myth C5's actually do go around corners.......
Generally there are no vices with these cars. I did 24,000 miles in the first year in mine and apart from changing the oil twice, did nothing to it.
If you have the money then go for it you won't regret it. The onwers club www.corvetteclub.org.uk have an excellent and very friendly bunch of owners.
The only downside to ownership is all the people staring at you or waving or kids saying "cool car", or "how fast does it go?"
One other drawback since that muppet Clarkson did the squidge test on the rear clip, everybody else wants to do the same as Elsie found out yesterday.
>> Edited by vetteheadracer on Monday 16th August 11:33
26MPG is about normal for general driving, but you can get it much lower with "enthusiastic" use.
Value for money a C5 most definitely is, for example there was one for sale at Billing yesterday (98 or 99 secondhand info) for £14,000! Performance is brilliant, but it won't be long before you want more and then you are onto the slippery slope of modifying. 0-60 is less than 5 seconds and about 13 seconds on the 1/4 mile. Against the popular "American Car" myth C5's actually do go around corners.......
Generally there are no vices with these cars. I did 24,000 miles in the first year in mine and apart from changing the oil twice, did nothing to it.
If you have the money then go for it you won't regret it. The onwers club www.corvetteclub.org.uk have an excellent and very friendly bunch of owners.
The only downside to ownership is all the people staring at you or waving or kids saying "cool car", or "how fast does it go?"
One other drawback since that muppet Clarkson did the squidge test on the rear clip, everybody else wants to do the same as Elsie found out yesterday.
>> Edited by vetteheadracer on Monday 16th August 11:33
Mr VHR has said it all and I agree with him.
To put the "squidge test" into context, I used my car to display outside the Embassy Racing hospitality marquee at Silverstone yesterday. It was only there for an hour as most of the time there was a crowd of people round it who seemed to think it was some sort of manufacturer's demo so it didn't matter whether they touched, poked or leant on the car (most of them did all three). The rear panel was continually pressed in a la Clarkson.
However loads of people said how much they liked Vettes which makes owning one even more special.
I say go for it ................
To put the "squidge test" into context, I used my car to display outside the Embassy Racing hospitality marquee at Silverstone yesterday. It was only there for an hour as most of the time there was a crowd of people round it who seemed to think it was some sort of manufacturer's demo so it didn't matter whether they touched, poked or leant on the car (most of them did all three). The rear panel was continually pressed in a la Clarkson.
However loads of people said how much they liked Vettes which makes owning one even more special.
I say go for it ................
Good christ, though... they aren't kidding about people taking photos and shouting stuff at you. On a trip out this weekend through London we had our picture taken 3 or 4 times that we noticed, got about 10 'nice cars' shouted at us, one 'w*nkers!' and one 'get a real car!'
Oh well!
And the people who always look hardest are the ones driving Ferraris :-)
-kenski
Oh well!
And the people who always look hardest are the ones driving Ferraris :-)
-kenski
C5 ownership isn't just about the purchase price either. After all, you can buy certain TVR's that are faster for the same money. However, having a C5 means never having to say you're sorry or have to sell because you can't afford to run it. An idiot with a half inch spanner can service one in a couple of hours. Service parts are available cheaply and very easily next day delivery. All the service parts are under £20 for the most part. It will be as reliable as a Hi-Lux Toyota and you never have to even consider joining the AA. Your insurance will be no more than a hot hatch and the car is as practical as a Ford Focus but looks like a Ferrari...no, even better, a Corvette.
humpbackmaniac said:
Just spent a lovely day in a black C5 99 model. Never considered a Vette before. Are they the most under rated car ever and very reasonably priced for the performance, or am i missing something?
Seems to good to be true, in which case my sceptical brain says it probably is! but yet to see the flaw in the plan. Appart from the left hook of course but that doesnt bother me.
My man gets 26 mpg out of his C5, is that extraordinary?
Underrated? Definately are, these cars don't get the respect they deserve from cynical, narrow minded Europeans (although I did find out that American cars like the Vette are very popular in Japan - interesting). I think these cars are the most underrated modern sports cars today (this and the Viper).
They are priced very competitively but without getting into the economical reasons as to why, it isn't too good to be true. Even though you pay a questionable price (low), there is no catch. Reliability doesn't seem to be compromised (but owner care is important like with anything).
The MPG is extraordinary and well documented amongst Vette owners and non-owners but enthusiasts of the cars. I don't think there are any other performance cars, cheaper or more expensive, which get the same or more MPG. It shows how well engineered and practical the C5 is. Even modified Vettes can still be economical.
And if all of the above weren't enough, this car - go on, say it... "Corvette" ... what a lovely name - has a pedigree quite like no other car.
The name "Corvette" is 51 years old...
It is THE ONLY car in the world to have an entire museum dedicated to it and it alone...
This car is an icon, both automotive and cultural. Songs have been written about it... Little Red 550? Nope... Little Red 911? Nope... Little Red Tuscan? Nope...
There are loads of books you can whittle away the hours reading... just about *the Corvette*
And last but not least, this is not just an excellent sports car: owning one automatically grants you membership of the global Corvette family! A welcoming, admiring crowd who are as enthusiastic about there cars as the cars deserve to be!
The name "Corvette" is 51 years old...
It is THE ONLY car in the world to have an entire museum dedicated to it and it alone...
This car is an icon, both automotive and cultural. Songs have been written about it... Little Red 550? Nope... Little Red 911? Nope... Little Red Tuscan? Nope...
There are loads of books you can whittle away the hours reading... just about *the Corvette*
And last but not least, this is not just an excellent sports car: owning one automatically grants you membership of the global Corvette family! A welcoming, admiring crowd who are as enthusiastic about there cars as the cars deserve to be!
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