christian79

Call me an old guy but I would wait........

You have a 2009 VW that will give you little to no problems for the next 4-6 years. I can assure you that any vette you find for $17k will not be able to make that claim.

Also I know you feel you can control yourself but do you really think you will be able to handle the temptation of having your girlfriend or fiancee in the passenger seat and turning down a race when (NOT IF) a ricer challenges you?

Finally when my vette needs parts its usually $200 plus at a time, or $750 when I fried my BPMU. That was annoying but not a disaster since I have the tools, space, lift, and experience to do it myself.

I know i WANTED a vette at 16 but I was not ready to drive, afford, or maintain one until much later. It is a very cool car but are you REALLY ready?


BTW if you wait until your mid 20's you will be out of school (if you are going) and C6 ZO6s will be in your price range....... Just something to think about.

Mr.Bill

I disagree with you on this, My C5 is a lot cheraper to operate than the WS6, As far as cost go's for parts I find them about the same. You have to shop around as with anything.

PCK1221

Shan15, repaires and maintnance, like any other car, depends how much of the work can be done yourself. Preventitive maintnance isn't very hard, and, if you can change your own oil, plugs, wires etc then I think most of the common problems these cars have can be fixed yourself, with the help of the forum. Good luck

Shan15

well thats good, helluva alot better than an e36 m3...takes like 1/2 the price of the car just to get it running on the road reliably for 2 years.

yea plugs and oil changes and all that i can do myself, i actually like to do alot of car work myself with the help of my dad, and friends.

Me and a friend are actually in the process of a mazda 6 engine swap and i have learned ALOT from it.

Vetteman Jack

If you feel you can handle a C5, go for it. Just remember its not going to be the Rabbit - much more power on tap. And you might be surprised about the insurance - a C5 just may be a lot cheaper than a Trans Am.

LisaJohn

Are you going to college? I wouldn't advise driving a vette on a college campus. Good luck. Be patient. Don't buy on impulse. Get insurance quotes, tire prices, etc.
L

dbaker

I don't see an issue with it and say "so what". At 16 I owned a 65 with the L76 mtr & M20 trans.I obviously didn't kill myself with it.

I say have the fast cars early and learn how to handle the performance.It will serve you well for years to come.

\db2
Carolina

Navyvette04

If you can afford it, go for it. I remember when I was 17 I could have bought a '67 427 roadster for $1,000. It had a spun main bearing. I was a HS senior and worked part time in an auto machine shop. It would have been an easy fix for me. My father would not let me buy the car even though I had the money saved. He told me I could not have my own car until I graduated from HS. So 5 monthe later I bought my 1st car, a 1932 ford 5 window coupe street rod. Wow, that was 37 years ago.

99cobra

im 19 and i drive a 1999 mustang cobra, and no matter how much u say u can control urself you will always have that urge to stomp on it when a ricer pulls up next to you or a friend says lets race.

and think about payments that u will have to make on this car, and the only reason i say that is because my older brother really wanted a truck and he found a durango and he bought the car without thinking about it and now hes about 5k in the hole with that truck.

if i where you and i had a 09 rabbit, i would talk to my parents and see how they will feel if i sold that car to help pay for a corvette.

if they say yes that u could sell it then this is how i would go about it.

sell the rabbit. u could maybe get around 13k for it (just guessing)
then i would take out a loan from the bank that ur family uses for about 5k or so. that will put u to about 18k (which where u would need to be to buy a nice c5)

now u can go out and buy a nice c5. your payments wont be that much. i took out a loan (for my cobra) for 7200, and im only paying 140ish a month.

and if u save ur money and pay off the loan then by the time ur 19 or 20 depending on how much u save u will OWN the corvette not still paying payments on it.

i have taken out 2 loans so far the first one for my 1998 mustang gt (paid off), and the second one is for my cobra which i plan to pay off near april of 2010.

oh and do not.. NOT go to a dealership to buy a vette. they will rape you with crazy payments, go on cragistlist or look for someone selling a c5 around you. but thats just my $.02

but anyways good luck with all this.

PCK1221

I bet an early model C5 will be cheaper on insurance than your rabbit

diyguy

My kid, now 20 - started out in a VW Golf GTI..stock (bought it from one of his school teachers!) 6 months later it had a full Suspension Coil Over system, then the big expense...a turbo /intercooler and cam. Crap - That thing was fast!

And, he had driven all his buddies cars, most some variation of a ricer.

I let him drive my vette and he came back home one time looking white as a ghost. Later learned he had never driven a rear wheel drive car. What an eye-opener for him. Had ZERO experience with rear wheel drive, so it put the fear in him. My guess is he lost it cornering somewhere.

Then, I put him through a 'racing school' at Texas Motor Speedway - did skidpad and intro to the twisty track. He loved it!

Went to work for Cobb Tuning and ended up with a nearly new 05 STi with only 9,000 miles on it. The previous owner had spent a fortune on every Cobb part he could put on it. Stage 2 turbo, Koni coilovers, AcessPort, (ah hum - lucky dog - free dyno pulls anytime) with numerous custom maps. Then went to E-85 fuel, pushing 21 lbs of boost and that car is beastly fast. Over 400 to the wheels!

Point is I guess, I think he, like a lot of his buddies just grew up around front wheel drive or AWD and that's his passion. He can kick the crap out of any stock C5 without any problem. Laughs his a** off when we used to go side to side at the track. Was almost embarasing. He knows it backwards and forwards and races at the twisty track as much as he can.

The vette is a wonderful car and price is attractive, but if that IS what you go for, take a good driving course in one so you know where the edge is on them. Otherwise, (as a friend of mine pointed out) you are just basically riding in a tupeprware / plastic car that is very unforgiving of serious misjudgement.

Hammer99

You haven't mentioned how your parents feel.

SFL_driver

I'm 18 and I just bough myself a 2000. I bought it full out one big check and I love it. The only down side is that I get more milfs checkin me out than girls my own age

99cobra

dude hit up those milfs, one of them is bound to have a daughter ur age, and u already know how shes gonna look 20 years down the road

pcbunn

Bad investment for an 18 year old. Put your money where it will grow! Not in a car.

0TheRadioFlyer97

If the vette fits your lifestyle, then go for it. The only limitations i would see are cargo capacity, ground clearance (especially in many mid-America or southern states) and passenger capacity.

other things to think about:

where you live: I would STRONGLY advise making sure your car has a garage to sleep in to protect it from weather AND jealous Vandal-turds

2vettes2go

if you have any thoughts about going to college and NOT have your parents help, keep the vw and when the 4(?) years are over then decide whether you want a vette or other hot car. plenty of things will change in those years.

rdline

It will cost more to insure and put mods but IMO it is second to none, if you can meet the bills go for it

madmatt9471

I am seriously considering it for my daughter - it only seats two and therefore easier ground rules can be set and then there will be less Peer pressure

It has just been a thought and nothing in stone

Thanks,Matt

christian79

Wow....... Sounds like you will also need to get her a 10ft stick to beat the boys back with. Nothing says come over here boys like a girl in a vette.