RE: Chevrolet Corvette C6: PH Used Buying Guide

RE: Chevrolet Corvette C6: PH Used Buying Guide

Author
Discussion

Shnozz

27,417 posts

270 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
K50 DEL said:
Shnozz said:
K50 DEL said:
I ran a C6 as my daily driver in the UAE for a couple of years and found it incredibly easy to live with... a couple of extra points I'd add though.

The targa roof panel is not brilliant, removal and refitment are 2 person jobs and stowing the panel in the car will massively reduce the luggage space - best to either accept the car as a coupe or buy the convertible version in the first place.
Worth noting ta! Perhaps I rethink that one then... do fancy wind in the hair if I am in Southern Europe.

You may in fact know the one I was blasting around in then. Posts as Ron Fellows on here (Craig).
Indeed, I had a coffee with Craig (and a spin in the Bentley) last week in fact - he was first to the plate to offer assistance both before I bought the C6 and after, I spent a fair few hours with it plugged in to all his diagnostics.... yet to have a ride in his Testa though lol
Ha ha - good stuff. He knows his car stuff inside out so the perfect person to consult on such matters! Was shocked at how well the Vette drove. The Bentley drives like a sofa on wheels ha ha ha - glad I got an Aston as my GT bruiser wink

The Testa just makes me feel like we are in a real life Outrun, especially on those roads.

20 seconds of a little play down to the autodrome last year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_0iQuEq4no


K50 DEL

9,227 posts

227 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
Shnozz said:
K50 DEL said:
Shnozz said:
K50 DEL said:
I ran a C6 as my daily driver in the UAE for a couple of years and found it incredibly easy to live with... a couple of extra points I'd add though.

The targa roof panel is not brilliant, removal and refitment are 2 person jobs and stowing the panel in the car will massively reduce the luggage space - best to either accept the car as a coupe or buy the convertible version in the first place.
Worth noting ta! Perhaps I rethink that one then... do fancy wind in the hair if I am in Southern Europe.

You may in fact know the one I was blasting around in then. Posts as Ron Fellows on here (Craig).
Indeed, I had a coffee with Craig (and a spin in the Bentley) last week in fact - he was first to the plate to offer assistance both before I bought the C6 and after, I spent a fair few hours with it plugged in to all his diagnostics.... yet to have a ride in his Testa though lol
Ha ha - good stuff. He knows his car stuff inside out so the perfect person to consult on such matters! Was shocked at how well the Vette drove. The Bentley drives like a sofa on wheels ha ha ha - glad I got an Aston as my GT bruiser wink

The Testa just makes me feel like we are in a real life Outrun, especially on those roads.

20 seconds of a little play down to the autodrome last year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_0iQuEq4no
I test drove a Vantage before buying the 360, lovely car but the guy wouldn't budge on the price and there were no other decent manual gearbox cars for sale at the time so a Ferrari it was.

Which Tesla have you got - I've been seriously tempted a number of times, but have no real-world experience of them, if you're free next time I'm over maybe we can all get together (as I'll be in a hire car, I'll hold the camera lol)

Scottie - NW

1,284 posts

232 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
Amanitin said:
Scottie - NW said:
over there the Corvette is referred to as a "Hairdressers Car" and the subject of petrol head ridicule.
what do the genuine petrol heads drive then over there?
It surprised me as I like the Corvette.

Petrol heads over there seem to go for two categories, either saloon based V8's, Dodge chargers, Camaro SS, Hellcats etc or for more SUV/Pick up based v8's.

This is in the Ohio/Michigan/Illinois state areas though that I work, where it can be very cold and unforgiving weather, and sports cars are a rare site.

When I see friends in LA the Corvette seems more popular there, as do European style coupes and sports cars, I guess the weather swing of 30C to 40C accounts for different tastes.

Not sure on the other states preferences, only really spend any time in those four.

Scottie - NW

1,284 posts

232 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
AdeTuono said:
Scottie - NW said:
I'd suggest looking at a Camaro SS, from 2010 onwards. Half the price, arguably better looking, independent rear suspension, the LS engines and maybe the better car.
That's hardly a valid comparison. Having had both, they're totally different animals. And 'better' is subjective.
To me they are both cars I would consider owning in the UK though if I wanted an LS engined car so for me they are fair to compare.

Re "better" that's why I said maybe smile Depends on your preferences. Both have a lot to recommend them.

If you have owned both I'd love to hear your opinions on them though please.

markclow

118 posts

130 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
Scottie - NW said:
To me they are both cars I would consider owning in the UK though if I wanted an LS engined car so for me they are fair to compare.

Re "better" that's why I said maybe smile Depends on your preferences. Both have a lot to recommend them.

If you have owned both I'd love to hear your opinions on them though please.
Vettes have independent rear suspension as well as Camaros.

I live in the States and petrolheads here respect the C5 onwards as they know these cars have gone a long way.

I have had a few Vettes and enjoyed every one.

Shnozz

27,417 posts

270 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
K50 DEL said:
I test drove a Vantage before buying the 360, lovely car but the guy wouldn't budge on the price and there were no other decent manual gearbox cars for sale at the time so a Ferrari it was.

Which Tesla have you got - I've been seriously tempted a number of times, but have no real-world experience of them, if you're free next time I'm over maybe we can all get together (as I'll be in a hire car, I'll hold the camera lol)
Sorry mate - "Testa" was in reference to Craig's Testarossa! And I am not based out there but am over semi-regularly and often will either stay at Craig's pad or Simon's in the marina (another PH'er that you probably know through the DXB scene..).

AdeTuono

7,240 posts

226 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
swerni said:
Scottie - NW said:
I'd suggest looking at a Camaro SS, from 2010 onwards. Half the price, arguably better looking, independent rear suspension, the LS engines and maybe the better car.

Having just returned from working in the States a few days ago was surprised to find out that over there the Corvette is referred to as a "Hairdressers Car" and the subject of petrol head ridicule.
Thats rather subjective.
The LS3 in the Camaro was okay, but carrying was dragging around a lot more weight than the Vette with the same engine, the LS7 on the other hand in the Vette is a whole other league
The visibility was shocking
It was nice as a cruiser but never a sports cart.




I owned both, the Camaro sits between toy and everyday car, but the visibility does let it down.
The Vette on the other hand was 100% toy and epic


ETA Scottie Ade sold me the Vette so he could buy a supercharged Camaro......
Silly old sod!

Edited by swerni on Thursday 25th January 15:51
And then sold to buy another Z06. Because you wouldn't sell me 'mine' back. Which you then sold.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
markclow said:
I live in the States and petrolheads here respect the C5 onwards as they know these cars have gone a long way.
I have had a few Vettes and enjoyed every one.
Yup, I bought a C5 nearly 20 years ago and enjoyed it for more than a decade. Now I'm in a C7 Stingray and it's just brilliant!

AdeTuono

7,240 posts

226 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
Scottie - NW said:
AdeTuono said:
Scottie - NW said:
I'd suggest looking at a Camaro SS, from 2010 onwards. Half the price, arguably better looking, independent rear suspension, the LS engines and maybe the better car.
That's hardly a valid comparison. Having had both, they're totally different animals. And 'better' is subjective.
To me they are both cars I would consider owning in the UK though if I wanted an LS engined car so for me they are fair to compare.

Re "better" that's why I said maybe smile Depends on your preferences. Both have a lot to recommend them.

If you have owned both I'd love to hear your opinions on them though please.
I'd echo what Swerni wrote earlier; we're both of a mind.

I generally suffer from a short attention span when it comes to cars. I sold my first C6 Z06 (markedly better than the C5 Z06, which is, in isolation, a cracking little car) to Swerni after only a few months and regretted it afterwards, much as I loved my Hennessey 660 Camaro.

I've had my current Z06 for nearly three years, and can't see me getting rid. It just feels 'complete', with none of the issues found on other marques with a comparable performance. LHD is never an issue, and I don't really care what 'image' it projects.

Note that the Vette that Swerni & I shared ownership of is now on PH classifieds. I can't justify two of them, sadly. Though if the Hennessey ever turns up for sale, I'd have that again!

Timeline...











e46m3c

874 posts

154 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
Yes she is on PH Classified currently.

This thread isn't helping my (advert) withdrawal symptoms though. Might take it down.


mko9

2,327 posts

211 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
For the record, I have never owned or even driven a Corvette.

996GT3_Matt said:
You’re getting a huge slice of presence at this price point, but the combination of a large footprint and LHD would deter me.
I drove LHD cars for 6 years over there in the UK, it is really not an issue. The only real difficulty arises when trying to execute an overtake on a single carriageway. You just have to hang back a little bit and utilize the sweep of the road to improve your visibility as you come into an overtaking zone. I was driving LHD cars much less powerful than a Corvette. Having that kind of acceleration underfoot when trying to execute an overtake would have considerably reduced the difficulties of LHD passing.

Amanitin said:
Scottie - NW said:
over there the Corvette is referred to as a "Hairdressers Car" and the subject of petrol head ridicule.
what do the genuine petrol heads drive then over there?
It is true that out on the street, the vast number of Corvettes are automatics and/or convertibles. I do a fair amount of trackdays, and consider real petrol heads to be those kind of people, not idiots who bench race, street race, or even drag race. I would say you see Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Corvette Z06 in about equal numbers at the events I attend. You definitely see more of those than of Audi R8, Italian exotics, Vipers, or similar. Mustangs have come a long way in recent years, so you see a fair number of those, too. The rest are various older cars - M3s, Miatas, 944s, S2000s, STis, etc.

Shnozz

27,417 posts

270 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
e46m3c said:
Yes she is on PH Classified currently.

This thread isn't helping my (advert) withdrawal symptoms though. Might take it down.

Ooof that's bloody lovely.

Hmmm, don't suppose you want an Aston by any chance..

AndySheff

6,630 posts

206 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
A Corvette is still on my 'to do' list. It'd have to be a C6 or 7 though, and preferably one of the more sportier versions. But having just bought a Challenger Hellcat, I think I may have to wait a little while.

jpf

1,311 posts

275 months

Thursday 25th January 2018
quotequote all
C5 had a cheap interior.

The C6 had a much better interior (OK, not Aston Martin) and is absolutely bullet proof. If consumed tires (no surprise) but was trouble free. Buy an unmodified one and you will have miles of smiles and enjoyable track days.

George Smiley

5,048 posts

80 months

Friday 26th January 2018
quotequote all
I loved my Z06. Astonishingly accomplished as a car, handled amazingly but had the interior of a 1990s Ssangyong. It was the top spec interior too, which essentially meant nothing.

If you are buying one, go for the z06 if you can or a GS as that gets the styling (which is much better).

Road fund was 200 a year even for a UK supplied car and to top it off insurance was really low. Put 20k on the car, drove it all year in all weather without winter tyres (survived) and sold it to a dealer for PX for the same price as I paid private yet it needed new tyres all round.

Great fun car but like a 50 year old woman on botox. The outside might look tidy but the inside left a lot to be desired.

gigglebug

2,611 posts

121 months

Friday 26th January 2018
quotequote all
Will there have been many ZR1's unofficially imported and what difference would that make if any? It's just that there are two for sale in the classifieds at the moment which could potentially account for the two official imports quoted in the article but I highly doubt that that is the case?

Edited by gigglebug on Friday 26th January 06:34

macky17

2,210 posts

188 months

Friday 26th January 2018
quotequote all
Owned a z06 a few years ago.

1400kg
Independent rear suspension and terrific handling
Average 21 mpg!
Costs peanuts to run (tyres aside)

How many people realise these things? Not many which is why you can buy a 200mph supercar so cheaply.

Awful interiors though smile

George Smiley

5,048 posts

80 months

Friday 26th January 2018
quotequote all
I see the rear suspension brigade are out, its funny to see someone suggesting the Camaro with its IRS is better than a corvette with its transaxle set up, a set up so successful Porsche copied it

CaptainSensib1e

1,432 posts

220 months

Friday 26th January 2018
quotequote all
Seems to be a lot of love for these, such a shame Chevrolet haven't taken a leaf out of Ford's book and released them in RHD. Had wondered with the Mustang being such a success over here that other American manufacturers might have followed suit. I get it's still a small market for most of them.

Scottie - NW

1,284 posts

232 months

Friday 26th January 2018
quotequote all
George Smiley said:
I see the rear suspension brigade are out, its funny to see someone suggesting the Camaro with its IRS is better than a corvette with its transaxle set up, a set up so successful Porsche copied it
There is a reason the rear suspension comes up a lot. We can't all extensively drive every car we consider or comment upon so we have to trust some key reviewers/journalists we get to agree with over the years, be it from PH or EVO etc. I usually use reviews to narrow down test drives to a few at most.

When these reviewers keep mentioning the same points it is worth taking note. However, I am all ears (or eyes on here smile ) and always happy to learn so if anyone wants to explain the benefits please and why it's not as bad then go ahead.

Having owned a RX8 PZ despite everyone warning me, it turned out to be a great and reliable car, so owners feedback is important to dispel common assumptions.