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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 01:34 AM
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Default Possibly buying first corvette?

Hey there, carter here. As of now, I currently own a 1999 10AE miata. I'm still paying it off, but having thoughts of selling it and maybe financing a c5? I live in north east louisiana so I don't know how the prices will vary entirely, or what a "reasonable" price will be. So I have a few questions.

- going from a miata to a corvette, how will the comfort be? The miata is already a small, uncomfortable long drive car.

- insurance, I have a clean record and 20. Will the insurance be outrageous?

- c5; is that a good first corvette to get into? I've heard pros and cons, but it seems like the best bang for my buck that I could afford.

- are there a lot of issues with the c5? I've heard c6 is the latest a personnel should go, but I love the looks, except the pop up lights.

- is there a way to buy body parts to make the front more of a c6?

Thankyou for reading and any answers. I'm either deciding on this corvette, or an 04 cobra.


I do drive a stick by the way. I hate automatics.
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 01:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Cartercascio
Hey there, carter here. As of now, I currently own a 1999 10AE miata. I'm still paying it off, but having thoughts of selling it and maybe financing a c5? I live in north east louisiana so I don't know how the prices will vary entirely, or what a "reasonable" price will be. So I have a few questions.

- going from a miata to a corvette, how will the comfort be? The miata is already a small, uncomfortable long drive car.

- insurance, I have a clean record and 20. Will the insurance be outrageous?

- c5; is that a good first corvette to get into? I've heard pros and cons, but it seems like the best bang for my buck that I could afford.

- are there a lot of issues with the c5? I've heard c6 is the latest a personnel should go, but I love the looks, except the pop up lights.

- is there a way to buy body parts to make the front more of a c6?

Thankyou for reading and any answers. I'm either deciding on this corvette, or an 04 cobra.

I do drive a stick by the way. I hate automatics.
I do not know how big you are, but I am 6 foot 2 inches and 230lbs. And I am so comfortable in my C5. I have driven longer distance in mine, but some people on the forum take theirs cross country.

My insurance is very expensive (I am also 17) but after 18 years old things tend to get cheaper depending on insurance and policy I believe.

Most common issues are the column lock, service active handling and such (you'll find out), and a few more. Most of the issues are cheaper to fix and can be done at home.

You can get the non flip up headlights! That's the only thing I can think of for a c6 looking front.
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 02:14 AM
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My son has 2007 Miata which I have driven many times. Although I find it fun to drive, there's no comparison to the C5. The C5 is soo much more roomy and comfortable to drive. My son inherited the corvette gene from me and just recently purchased a 1994 vette. He would have preferred a C5, but the C4 fit his current budget.

Read through the posts on this forum to discover some of the problems. I could have purchased a C6, but, personally, I like the styling of the C5 much better. Test drive both cars that you're considering to aid in you're decision. Good luck.
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 02:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr31FlavorsVette
My son has 2007 Miata which I have driven many times. Although I find it fun to drive, there's no comparison to the C5. The C5 is soo much more roomy and comfortable to drive. My son inherited the corvette gene from me and just recently purchased a 1994 vette. He would have preferred a C5, but the C4 fit his current budget.

Read through the posts on this forum to discover some of the problems. I could have purchased a C6, but, personally, I like the styling of the C5 much better. Test drive both cars that you're considering to aid in you're decision. Good luck.
I've driven the c4 and I wasn't very impressed with it. Maybe it's just the look and style of it that had me turned off. The only part of the c5 I dislike is the pop up headlights, but have not driven the c5. Thank y'all for the reply. It does seem hard to find a c5 around here, so getting a test drive is near impossible. I'm still looking!
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 03:48 AM
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Oh wow, I just got a quote from my insurance about how much full coverage on a corvette for me would be at 20 years old (2000 corvette) and it was only $50 more than I pay now for my
Miata! Confusion??? o.O
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 05:55 AM
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After purchasing my first corvette earlier this month I would add that maintenance history pays off with these cars, if you are a diy kind of guy you'll have some nice projects, there's a sticky post at the beginning of the general section that offers great info on things to look for on these models. It can help you arrive at a decent price for your car.
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 06:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Cartercascio
Hey there, carter here. As of now, I currently own a 1999 10AE miata. I'm still paying it off, but having thoughts of selling it and maybe financing a c5? I live in north east louisiana so I don't know how the prices will vary entirely, or what a "reasonable" price will be. So I have a few questions.

- going from a miata to a corvette, how will the comfort be? The miata is already a small, uncomfortable long drive car.

- insurance, I have a clean record and 20. Will the insurance be outrageous?

- c5; is that a good first corvette to get into? I've heard pros and cons, but it seems like the best bang for my buck that I could afford.

- are there a lot of issues with the c5? I've heard c6 is the latest a personnel should go, but I love the looks, except the pop up lights.

- is there a way to buy body parts to make the front more of a c6?

Thankyou for reading and any answers. I'm either deciding on this corvette, or an 04 cobra.


I do drive a stick by the way. I hate automatics.
I went from a Malibu to a Vette. It's a lot lower, but overall I enjoy the ride although it's a bit stiff with z51 sway bars.

Issues: Column lock (I'm dealing with this myself) if you do buy a c5 buy the LMC5 module right away and install it

You could buy the fixed lights, but I personally like pop out lights.

Insurance: I'm 22, my insurance dropped after buying my RED 00` c5


For the money, you're not getting a better performing vehicle
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 08:11 AM
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I'm 22, bought my 98 coupe last year when I was 21, she had 150xxx miles and bought her for $9,500.00. I've had the car for a little over a year and she is fully paid off now. My insurance was around $215 with a couple of previous speeding tickets ffrom years ago. Within the year all I've had to fix on it was the water pump, other than that C5's are the best bang for your buck performance car your gonna find.
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 01:22 PM
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hi i'm 22 just bought my first vette few months ago 31,000 miles 1997 coupe for $14,900 at a dealer looks amazing

I go through progressive and for full coverage $500 deductible I only pay $110 a month, and after using snapshot my first discount has brought that down to $90.60 a month

no accidents or tickets
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 01:23 PM
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basically anything 60,000 miles or less you'll pay more then 13,500

anything more then 80-90,000 miles plus youll pay like 11-13

anything over 110-120,000 miles plus youre talking 10-12 thousand dollars depending on mods
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Cartercascio
Hey there, carter here. As of now, I currently own a 1999 10AE miata. I'm still paying it off, but having thoughts of selling it and maybe financing a c5? I live in north east louisiana so I don't know how the prices will vary entirely, or what a "reasonable" price will be. So I have a few questions.

- going from a miata to a corvette, how will the comfort be? The miata is already a small, uncomfortable long drive car.

The C5 is a pretty comfortable car - I've taken mine on 7-8 hour trips and have not gotten tired. The ride is good too.

- insurance, I have a clean record and 20. Will the insurance be outrageous?

Obviously, insurance rates will vary depending on your location, age, driving record and coverage you choose. I've found the C5 to be a pretty reasonable car to insure, but I'm not 20 either.

- c5; is that a good first corvette to get into? I've heard pros and cons, but it seems like the best bang for my buck that I could afford.

The C5 is a great first Corvette. It has a lot of good safety features, is ergonomically friendly, is reliable and gets great gas mileage.

- are there a lot of issues with the c5? I've heard c6 is the latest a personnel should go, but I love the looks, except the pop up lights.

See the information contained in this thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...ion-files.html


- is there a way to buy body parts to make the front more of a c6?

Be prepared to get flamed for this one. There are a few panels that you can add - check with Corvette Creationz for some ideas.

Thankyou for reading and any answers. I'm either deciding on this corvette, or an 04 cobra.


I do drive a stick by the way. I hate automatics.

It's a personal choice, but really nothing wrong with an automatic in the C5.
See my responses to your questions above.
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 04:04 PM
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for insurance reasons you may want to consider a Z06. They can conciser it a collector car and it can get real cheap. Yes you will need another car and i am only telling you how it worked for me. I had a 97 vette and insurance was about 170 per month. I was 25. I then picked up a 02z and all the suddenly collector insurance was an option and insurance became 525 a year at 27 years old. Might free up some extra cash for the car payment. o yeah and the z is a way better car!! WAY BETTER!! something to look into. Good luck.
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 09:16 PM
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Thanks for the responses! I'm looking to find a nice one and spend in the range of 15-16k what, from your experiences, am I most likely going to be able to get for that price range? Or better yet, what should I be looking for, for that price so I don't get ripped?
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Old Mar 28, 2014 | 10:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Cartercascio
Thanks for the responses! I'm looking to find a nice one and spend in the range of 15-16k what, from your experiences, am I most likely going to be able to get for that price range? Or better yet, what should I be looking for, for that price so I don't get ripped?
All depends on the seller, I bought my FRC in pristine condition with 35,550 miles for 15,000. Just gotta get a good find.v
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Old Mar 29, 2014 | 06:19 AM
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Just make sure if you buy a C5 get an 01+ since they do not make a lot of the parts of a 97-00 anymore. check it for codes that would indicate a faulty EBCM, check the rear end for the famous leaky butt, check the seats for the famous rocking seat problem, and check the floorboards behind the seats for leaking windows.
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Old Mar 29, 2014 | 06:42 AM
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Stay in the miata
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Old Mar 30, 2014 | 12:09 PM
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I will be sure to check all of those things out. Once I can get my miata paid off a bit, I'll hopefully sell it and clear all debt and be able to get a nice little loan to pay for a corvette I had to get my first car by myself since no one could cosign for me. Paying 22% interest sucks, but now my credit is up there thanks to credit cards and the miata in my name. Hopefully I could aim for 6%
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