juanvaldez

I think I would upgrade to a low miles/waxer '04 Z06.

vrhaines

Much as I like the Z and the looks of the FRC, the roof coming off is huge for me.

juanvaldez

The roof comes off the Camaro?

vrhaines

Sunroof at least - and looking at a ragtop. My point is, if I stay corvette the top has to come off, I won't do a FRC.

Vetteman Jack

I definitely agree with this. The new Camaro looks very good, but the things mentioned are some serious factors for me.

Roddy13

I'd say its a great deal, and a huge step up in technology to go to the Camaro. I bought the C5 because it fit the budget and its pretty wicked. Both are great cars, but if you wants something newer, with all the gadgets and the performance to boot, I'd say grab the Camaro.

Crosis

STay with the vette. The lack of visibility in the Camaro will grow old very fast.

chasboy

I usually agree with Jack, and this time is no different. I rented a new gen Camaro when they first came out. They didn't even have the v8 yet. I was very impressed with the driving experience and surprising power from the 6. It was comfortable for me, but not my luggage. I felt like I needed a periscope to augment the windows. It's not my style to tear apart or demean someone else's opinion or choice of product, so I'll just state that for me the driving experience doesn't compare to the C5, and simplicity of operation does have it's virtues.

BRKLYN

A matter of preference. Keep 02 trade Audi, if you can, leases are not as easy to trade. Usually buy out is high if your payment is low. But 0% is the way to go if you went ahead with it as planned, sell corvette put right. Keep cash flow at 0%, use GMs money. Happy hunting...

66dts-v

Meh, I have never cared for the Camaro after '73. The new ones are kinda cool, but it still doesn't say "sports car" to me and I am not a "Pony Car" guy, I guess.

But I never saw myself ever owning a Corvette, let alone two.

SG Lou

My sister couldn't wait to get a new Camaro, now all she does is complain about the visibility issues...I told her she should have brought a C5

Slo Yelo C5

When I was shopping for a sports car last summer, I narrowed my choices to Camaro SS (used), Dodge Challenger SRT-8 (used), and C5 Corvette.

I test drove Camaro SS and Dodge Challenger SRT-8 back-to-back at Carmax. I drove the SRT-8 first...way nicer interior and faster than the Camaro SS turned out to be, but interior pieces actually fell off the 30,000 mile car during the test drive. No thanks.

The acceleration, visibility, and "attractiveness" of interior were just...lacking in the SS. I test drove the C5 Corvette a few weeks later and knew it was the right car.

I'm a GM guy (all 4 cars I've owned personally were GM), but just not impressed with the 2014 SS I drove. The power felt adequate for a muscle car, but not overwhelming by any means (it had an auto trans). I hated the interior layout and design. It wasn't the quality (quality actually seemed light years better than the C5), it was just how everything was layed out. I just couldn't stand it. Visibility was poor. Small back seat. The car seemed pretty heavy and I just couldn't "connect with the road" while driving. At $27,000+ used, I just expected more.

The C5 Corvette is a better driving car. The quality of the interior pieces is far, far better on the Camaro SS, but it is 10+ years newer. I'd still pick a C5 over a Camaro SS.

Now if you said Camaro ZL1. I've seen some of those supercharged 556 hp Camaro ZL1 for $40k and slightly less used. I've never driven one, but I'm sure they're pretty awesome if you want the best of a C5 (better driving car) and Camaro (newer and better quality).

VerTigo456

All very good points on keeping the C5. More power and a dressed up interior and you will never look back until the next Vette.

One not mentioned is to also think about how involved you are in the Corvette Community locally to you. If the answer is "never involved" then this point is null and void.

But if you do, you will still find yourself in a Camaro going to Corvette get togethers. Nothing wrong with that...its that you will more than likely attend one Camaro gtg and realize that is not your scene.

I LOVE the new Mustangs too but HATE the stereotypes of those communities. Of course you shouldn't choose not to buy a car by who else is buying it but it does affect you if you want more out of the ownership experience than just driving the car IMHO.

chasboy

completely with vertigo. I even experienced similar, by selling my Z and buying a '12 SRT8. It was a great car, but I was a Dodge in GM land. I sold it after I got my wits about me and love being a part of the corvette community. I don't have to go to an all corvette show and just watch. As for Mustangs, I love the new ones, but some of the owners I've met are not who I like to hang around with. If I has a 10 car garage, there would be quite a mix!

C5Txfan

Slo Yelo C5 - the '14 (Gen 5) Camaro is much different the new '16-'17 (Gen 6) Camaros. Yeah there's still the visibility issue, no trunk / back seat space to speak of, but they are about 300 lbs lighter and have the LT1 more powerful engine (SS anyway). So you would see a difference in performance / power in the one you drove versus the SRT8.

Corvette#2

I've ridden in a 5th gen SS, but haven't seen a 6th gen Camaro up close. But I'd rather buy a used '14 Stingray over a new Camaro, it's that's an option. I don't know how the prices match up.

Slo Yelo C5

Interesting. I didn't know that. Wouldn't have mattered in my case though because my budget was $25,000 max. The Corvette at under $20k despite only having 19,000 miles just sealed the deal for me. A friend's brand new Honda Civic was $25,000 recently. Hmmm...Civic for $25k or Corvette with 19,000 miles for under $20k (although in all fairness it is 17 years old)...yeah, I think my Corvette is just a bit nicer. As a bonus, I could probably give him a 20 car length head start in the quarter and still blow his doors off.

So what was the power of the Camaro SS I test drove vs. current?

S.C. vette

Back in the day, the Corvettes little brother had its own audience and personality, today not so much. It's gone to the dark side and taken on the euro trash appearance.... a four seater in a two seater body.... for those wannabe corvette owner, who's run my life wife, has said NO!

C5Txfan

Gen 5 has 425 HP and new Gen 6 has 460 HP

hatewhatownsyou

I wouldn't trade solely based on the fact I don't like them, interiors suck, options suck, weight sucks, visibility sucks.

I was going to sell mine and go to a c6 z06 but i decided to just throw 10k at my car and make 700hp vs spending 40k to have 650 and a car payment