I have found that when we have high expectations for something, often the reality does not live up to the expectation, and we can be disappointed.

What is everyone's experience with this in regards to your vette?

I had hugely high expectations for my vette; I had worked towards getting one for many years; I remembered my dad's 67 convertible as a child; I've always admired them and several friends have one.

I got my first vette this spring, a 1991 convertible with 32k on the clock.

I have found, much to my surprise and delight, that it has surpassed my very high expectations. I enjoy driving it more than I even thought I would. It's a blast!!!

How about you?

(Photo at Marblehead Lighthouse, on the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio).

 

Nice looking vert...I like the stripe treatment. My expectations were surpassed once I got it home (after new tires eventually) and I could really drive the car. On a test drive you can't really see what a car can do or how it handles (well I'm sure some here do ) so for me the longer I've had it the more fun it is. Got mine five years ago and I enjoy driving it as much now as I did when I first got it.

astepup said that

 

Great topic. Like you I lusted after 'Vettes all my life. In my mind, a 'Vette was "IT". Bought my first when I was 34; a brand new, '06 C6! It arrived in Park City. I drove it out of the dealer show room. That was the best/happiest/proudest moment of ownership. Everything after that was somewhat of a let down. Why? Partly b/c of what you said; my expectations were so high. But also partly b/c the car WAS not that great in many respects.

After 3 years, I bought my '92 that I have now. I bought it to flip (didn't run). Fixed the issue w/it and drove it once and fell in love. Sold the '06 and don't miss it at all.

What I love about the '92 is the way it feels, the throttle response, cockpit, looks...it just feels GREAT. Also, I love that for it's time, it was very advanced and has many features that surprise people even today. Lastly, I like the many thought full features it has that are lacking in today's 'Vettes; interior illumination, spare tire illumination, side illumination for turning and backing, etc.

What exceeded my expectations were the low end torque ("LY1's have no low end torque"), the gas mileage, tightness of the car (lack of rattles).

 

I remember once when expectations didn't meet my experience.

I was 18 and took my Uncle's 1987 to Prom. Red on Red. I was so excited, coolest thing I have ever driven and I was in love with this car. At the time I had no idea that it was a Stock Stripper vette meaning it had no options.... not even power locks. It also had the gas mileage focused 2.6 or 2.7 rear gear; whatever it was that year instead of the performance 3.07.

I remember driving it and being so excited, but then relatively disappointed in the speed the car and how the acceleration felt. Not drag racing or anything, just stop light to stop light. Where it matters for a 18 year old! ha ha. It just wasn't what I thought it should be; whatever that was. (This is in no way bashing on the L98, I know now that it's an amazing engine, this was just the view of a 18 year old at the time many years ago). Despite my experience with my Uncle's car, I was still heartbroken when he sold it last year.

My love of the C4 held on though. That said when I bought my 92 a few years ago I knew what I was doing. 6 Speed, FX3, LT1 with 56k miles on it at the time. I remember punching it for the first time with the traction control off and thinking I had made a mistake, and that this was too much car for me. That feeling of fear passed with experience, but the smile hasn't. Now I'm used to it, and the punch doesn't surprise me anymore but the "HOLY ****" that comes out of most passengers mouths when they feel the torque on acceleration for the first time lets me know that it's still there. I still smile from ear to ear every time it starts up.

I think if you know what you're looking for and you shop accordingly, you'll never be disappointed with a Vette.

 

My C6s have met and exceeded my expectations. My C4 is a mixed bag.

I expected my LT1 car to be much faster. Sure its only 300hp compared to 440 in my C6s, but its still 300hp! It just doeant have the power or powerband of the LS3 I suppose. It's not a monster in passing situations and such like the c6.

Oddly enough, everything else exceeded my expectations. I expected it to ride harsh and not be that comfortable. I expected the materials to feel crappy and the whole thing to be a crappy rartlebucket. But its not, its quite well put together and comfortable.

 

My 91 Exceeded my expectations on reliability!...My 91 is a daily driver and with 142k and counting, it is an Awesome ride!...

I enjoy no car payments and am very Blessed to be able to own and drive this special iconic sports car!...

 

I traded my 1992 Z28 for my 1st Vette, a 92 Convertible.

Right away the brakes did not meet my expectations, and always thought the Z28 handled better. The Vette was faster, but the Z28's torque gave it a better acceleration feel/rush.

When I bought the 95 I was open minded, but it exceeded my expectations. The coupe ran tighter, quieter, and a bit faster. The 3.07 gears is a great improvement, less MPG, but there is always a gas station within range.

The 96 LT4 blew my mind on it's test drive, and this little best after the rebuilt it's just a bumpy car on steroids. It doesn't have a higher top end than my Z06, but it is surely faster.

The base seats are more comfortable than sports ones.
The Bose radio sucks.

 

when i bought my 91, I knew it was short in the HP department, so I didn't expect much, I'm not a lead foot so light to light doesn't matter to me. what does matter is on the highway it has enough git up n go for me. the looks and comments I get are better than expected. ride is better, lack of squeeks, ect is what impresses me more. I didn't expect the kind of acceleration speed that my 67 olds 442 had back in school. not what i was lookinjg for in my vette. handling ride acceleration as a package is what i wanted as well as good lines. burning the tires off isn't needed.

 

Being my first V8 engine car ever, I didn't have any expectations high or low. I started out with a budget of around $8k and wanting a car with a V8 and manual transmission. Test drove a few Camaros and Mustangs and none of them felt right - they felt too loose, or had lame mods/customization, or something else that said they were not right for me. Looked around some more I realized I could afford a late model C4. Drove a 1995 LT1 ZF6 coupe and fell in love... maybe no back seat but so much more fun and much tighter than anything I've ever driven. The 4cyl pickup truck is my DD and this is my toy. 300HP/330TQ might not be a lot to some people, but it's plenty for my purpose of just having fun. The torque pulling 4th gear from 40-80mph is so great! WHEEE! 24mpg and solid reliability are very nice bonuses, not to mention the timeless styling. Today I could afford a C5 or C6 but considering my purpose of just having fun with a toy, I doubt those later models would give me any more pleasure than the C4, just more legal problems. LOL.

 

My 89 exceeded quite a few of my expectations, and let me down in others.
It's not faster by any stretch than my last car (a heavily ...and I mean heavily modded 3.8 Firebird, with the 5 speed modded to the point that I had to baby that 5 speed trans.... Power Nothing on the inside of the car, cloth seats too), and it's handling, honestly isn't better at all either.

It doesn't do as well at the pump.
That being said, it's looks are dead on to what I wanted it to be minus the cowl line on the hood being too low.

Structurally the car is disappointing, (really? this was considered World standard? My 85 hard top camaro felt better put together... it certainly didn't flex so hard that it can back the damn bolts off the roof...)

But...there's just something about how it feels in the steering wheel. My biggest complaint with the bird's handling was always that damn heavy steering wheel, and numb feedback. The vette while it's Equal to the bird's handling, provides a much better road feel. The car simply feels alive in the right places in the corners.

The interior is far better than I expected out of an 80s anything, especially with all the illumination they put into this car.
There's also something very satisfying about hearing that V8 rumble about, as it goes about it's business. And something very primal about hearing it open up.

 

I fell in love with Corvettes at 13 when the then new 2001 C5 Z06 came out. I gobbled up every magizine test article I could on C5's and later C6's. Finally in 2009 and with reality setting in that I cannot afford a C5Z06 I bought my C4. It has MORE than exceded expectations. I continue to be amazed by this car. No its not a C5Z or a more modern Corvette and does not have the flair of the old school Corvettes but it still blows peoples minds. I let (trusted) individuals auto-x the car all the time. Everyone falls in love with the car even folks who drive newer and faster stuff. Its not all about speed its about driver involvement and enjoyment. For me the C4 delivers this in spades.

 

I've had a bunch of C3's and a '93 C4 auto. It needed some work which I did and was a nice car but I really wanted a stick shift. I sold it and got a '98 C5 6 speed. That car really exceeded my expectations and was a blast to drive. I had to sell it a few years ago and was without a Vete for a while.

When I was shopping for my current one I was torn between a cheap C5 that would have some miles or a nicer C4 to fit my budget. I ended up getting a great deal on my '96 CE LT4 and it has greatly exceeded my expectations. I had remembered what my '93 was like but with the 6 speed and the LT4 motor it feels very different. It is also lower miles in in extremely good condition. I'm so glad that I got the LT4 instead of "settling" for an LT1 car (not bagging on them by any means but just really happy with the extra power).

 

Of course it has. My dad had lots of Vettes since I was an infant. My '93 is plenty fast for me, love the looks, enjoy a ride with targa off, and with the zo7 package it handles great.

 

In October of last year, I bought my first Corvette. An extremely clean, low mileage, red 1990 coupe for an amazing price that included EVERY service record since it left the dealers lot in July of 1990.. My wife and I recently completed an 8 day, 2500 mile trip to the Smokies and into North Carolina. The car has exceeded all of our expectations. It is a very comfortable travelling car, gets over 25 MPG and handles great in the mountains. No rattles and the Targa top never leaked a drop of water, even in monsoon rains. The best words to describe how we like the car comes from my wife-" you can take me anywhere you want in the Corvette" She loves the sport bucket seats. The best surprise was how much luggage we could fit in to it. I'm having a blast with the Corvette in my retirement years! One of the best purchases I've made. Love all the compliments I get about the car.

 

The LS3 absolutely exceeded my expectations. Also my 95 coupe with a 6-spd LT-1 was also more good than bad and I paid a pretty cheap price for it and got most of it back on resale. I would say i have been more critical of my C4 ZR-1 because of the money invested into the repair/mods, and purchase price. It runs like a raped ape, but I find myself comparing it to modern cars. Not fair, but perhaps a backhanded compliment at the same time.

 

This was one factor that hurt my C6, for me. For what I was paying for it, I wanted it to "stroke me" every time I took it out. And it didn't.

 

I lusted for a vette ever since my last trip to the U.S
There was one up for grabs at Vegas a red 95 ZR1, i played the one armed bandit for many hours to get the red, white, blue sevens.
I got every damned combination except the right one. (so much for sight seing lol)

Well i got the bug and i wanted a vette more than ever, now they are damned expensive in Australia but a couple of years later after i saved and saved i found one. We did the deal $34,000 (take into account $15,000 for the right hand drive conversion)

I was stoked to finally have a vette, a black beauty at that.
Due to the awsome tree stump pulling first gear in the turbo 700 the lack of power is not so obvious, she really liked to get up and go.
Headers cold air induction an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and a good tune knocked a second of the quarter, so she was in the mid 13 sec range and quite respectable.

Over time more modifications came, updated bumpers (the 91-96 C4's were out of my price range)
Next was a supercharger, intercooler and she really flew, then came the breakages..Transmissions, half shafts ...

Now with a specially built 383 with forged steel crank,rods and forged pistons i can take her to the next level. I just have to cut a section out of the crossmember to fit a larger crank pulley and go from 8-10 psi boost to 15-20 psi and a water to water intercooler as the air to air prevents me running the a/c in summer.

Yep i am happy but i have been told by my little woman i cannot mortgage the house and buy a C6 ZR1 there is one here in australia already converted for only $155,000 .. sigh financial resposibilities get in the way of more happyness.

 

I fell in love with Vette's in 1954 when I saw my first one. I've tried to buy 3 different C3's over the years, the last one about 35 yrs ago, each sale fell through. Well last summer I finally got my Vette, a 86 L98 5 speed convertible. It had had a transmission, suspension and brakes upgrade prior to my purchase and in good shape considering the age. I expected it would take a few repairs and it has, so it was as I expected.
Since finishing the last of the drivability repairs, I've driven it some and it's been a blast. Everything I'd hoped it would be and I'm not even done with all the little things I need to do (some interior lights, change the sun visors etc). Only took close to 60 years to get, but worth the wait IMO.

 

The C4 isn't the fastest car on the road but it sure is fun to drive.

 

Getting an American muscle car in good condition in Australia is expensive... if you want RHD, even more expensive.

Having had a 60s Mustang in the 70s I wanted something that looked great and be reliable.

I bought it off a guy who had it for 7 years and he owned a C3 and also a Monaro. He was upfront in saying it's not a show winner but it's a good honest machine... and that's exactly what it is.

Redid the interior and it looks fantastic inside.

I am not sorry I bought the car... it's a great ride and a real head turner.

As I ride motorcycles as well, I get different rides, one day I may feel like a ride on the sports tourer or harley and then another day I just want to cruise in the C4... I never get bored.