Would you trade-in for a C5 Corvette?
- Thread starter GTJeff
- Start date
If it's just a standard C5 it's not worth it. Z06, I'd lean a little towards yes but from a dependability standpoint, why would you even consider stepping down in year(s) for a C5? It will obviously be used, you'd likely be the 2nd or 3rd owner, the warranty will be gone and it'll just be a second hand Vette.
LV51FER
New Member
Based on my experience buying Vettes, I can tell you that age isn't a deciding factor.Many Vettes are very very low mileage almost mint examples with caring mid-life crisis owners who have to sell realising it's not practical for them. I even came across a '99 Hardtop with delivery miles and with the plastic covers still on the seats.
The Vette isn't fibreglass, its a plastic, a bit like tupperware so it keeps the drivers looking younger by preserving them
. Now stop posting pics (me included) as I want one again.... you can't beat that C5 supercar shape. I agree the 2002-on Z06 is the one to have though. The 2001 had oil ring issues (most replaced under warranty). other than that, totally utterly reliable.
The C6 was a big styling letdown fortunately so I was able to disregard it as an option. Roll on the C7.
The Vette isn't fibreglass, its a plastic, a bit like tupperware so it keeps the drivers looking younger by preserving them
. Now stop posting pics (me included) as I want one again.... you can't beat that C5 supercar shape. I agree the 2002-on Z06 is the one to have though. The 2001 had oil ring issues (most replaced under warranty). other than that, totally utterly reliable.The C6 was a big styling letdown fortunately so I was able to disregard it as an option. Roll on the C7.
dont you like have to have an AARP card to buy one anyway?
all I ever see driving them are whitehaired old f*^ks poking along in the number three lane!!!
who cares if retirees drive them. Or is there some ricer math that says if someone drives the car over 50 than it loses 100hp
the vette is an awesome machine and will destroy any stock stang in the 1/4 or track. Not to mention chevy's factory aftermarket support is far superior to fords
I love the 3/4 valve 4.6's but the ls family of motors from gm is just a flat out better platform to work with
heck an ls1 makes more power and delivers better mpg with more displacement than my new 3v 4.6 and the car is 5 years newer than the ls1
I swear people just wanna bad mouth the vette because they drive ford or can't afford a vette. For the record i drive a bolt on 06 mustang gt which I love but I do hope to one day own a zr1
just can't justify paying 20-30k for over a 10 yr old car at this point in my life
+1 for you. if you were in the market to buy a used car(corvette)...wouldnt you rather know that an old retiree drove the car before you and didnt totally thrash it? rather than a punk kid 21 year old that would beat the crap out of the car day in and day out.
I see a lot of old guys driving mustangs too, especially s197s but that doesnt seem to throw anyone off. I love my mustang, but i'd take a c5 or c6 vette any day. amazing handling and pure power for the money(especially low milage c5 z06s).
LV51FER
New Member
Just not worth it. The engine is needlessly complicated and the parts are extremely hard to come by these days. One of the reasons they dropped the ZR1 was that it gave little advantage over the LT1-engined Corvette for 90% of the time - one is a simple pushrod and the other a quad cam nightmare. You might just as well buy a Ferrari and pay the servicing costs.
As for ZR1 vs C5 Z06, the Z06 would walk all over the ZR1 as the handling and platform are light years ahead. THe ZR1 was a great car at the time but is really a collectors car now especially when the Z06 is so much easier to service.
The other thing about a Vette, of course, is you get forums where they tend not to spout blinkered nonsense based on prejudice
. I'll say it again though - it's quite an achievement that the S-197 in modified form is good enough to be considered in the same breath as a Z06 and for me, it just comes down to looks and they're chalk and cheese in that department and like comparing a BMW M6 to a Ferrari 430. The Mustang's competitor is the Camaro.
If Ford put their mind to it, they could build their own "Vette" based on the Ford GT which is a world class supercar and could probably be engineered to be far cheaper to produce using lower grade materials. But I think we're wandering off the point.
This believe it or not is my first Mustang and probably my 2 Ford in my lifetime.ALL my priors,at least the last six have been Vettes, from 65 to 96. At my time in life 54, lets just say once you get in one you don't want to get out, which brings me to my point. That is, getting out, not quite as easy as it once was. AHHH the lost days of youth and being more nimble. My Mustang accomodated me a little better for now, and is kinda like re-living 1969. Isn't there a name for this condition?
LV51FER
New Member
I hear you brother but after trying a Lotus Elise, the Vette is like a Maybach in comparison.
Even when I was 34, a Corvette C4 gave me a shooting pain right down my leg which disappeared when I sold it.I'm 48 and I agree the Mustang is far easier to get in and out of although our garages in the UK are a lot smaller than yours so it's still a contortionist act squeezing through the gap.
You know you're getting old when you start looking at cars because they're comfy. Regresing to your youth is one thing but then youth is a concept wasted on the young.
Agent Smith
New Member
- Apr 23, 2005
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I eat C5s for brunch. Now, if it was a C5-R or a Z06, I wouldn't eat it for brunch, but I still wouldn't trade. The Corvettes are nice, but fairly impractical for city driving or every day driving. Plus the fact that it has no rear seats, where I am going to put my twin poodles Fluffy and Puffy?
Er...I'm kidding about the poodles...
Er...I'm kidding about the poodles...
Mark25
Member
I've owned an '01 Vette Cpe ( 6 spd w/ Z51 suspension) for the past 6 years (bought it new)...love it on the weekends...for work I drive the Stang (which I love just as much. I will tell you there is a bit of difference in the ride and power, but then again the Vette is obviously more expensive.
Mark25
Member
I've owned an '01 Vette Cpe ( 6 spd w/ Z51 suspension) for the past 6 years (bought it new)...love it on the weekends...for work I drive the Stang (which I love just as much). However, I will tell you there is a bit of difference in the ride and power, but then again the Vette is obviously more expensive.
I don't think the push rod chevey platform is better than ford. If you want to go push rod, ford was as good as anybody with engines like the 427 side oiler or 427 sohc, boss 302, 351 cleveland, 429 super cobra jet and boss 429 hemie. Ford choose a different route in the 90's with the mod motor, chevey is still old schooling it with decades of research behind these motors on how to make them run. The mod motors are new, easy hp is forced induction. When people set thier mind to it, they will get some real hp out of these engines n/a and allready are. The advantage with FI, is you can get big power with small displacement engines, this seems to be the wave of the future. You don't need 460 CID anymore for big power, smaller motors with as much power, better mpg and don't pollute as much. Who in the 70's would of thought that getting 500 hp out of a 281 CID engine is no big deal, now it's common place for a street stang.
lightblade
Member
- Aug 7, 2004
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I have had my 2005 Mustang GT for 2.5 years now. I use it for a pleasure only. The older C5 Corvettes (1997 - 2000) have come down to $20-25,000 in price. I feel myself being tempted by the dark side...
I don't need the back seat. I like the fact that the Corvette Coupe has a removal roof. I like the look of the C5 over the C6 style. I like my Mustang but I still think about owning a Corvette.
How about some feedback ...
What ever you like best. For me NEVER.
Last time I checked, the 7.0L Z06 motor was getting better gas mileage than the stock 4.6L Mustang GT engine. Pushrods FTMFW.
