This is the right way to think about it. The meaningful differences on the pre 2001 and post 2001 vettes are pretty minimal. It's not the little bump in power most people notice, it's the different feel of the transmission, since they made gearing and build quality changes there which made for a smoother shifter. If you enjoy driving your 2000, you're golden. As far as performance cars go, corvettes are some of the most reliable overall and cheapest to purchase replacement and aftermarket parts for.

It's a pretty simple endeavor to replace engines, if it comes to that, and any car approaching 100k miles will be in need of new suspension. It's understandable where you're coming from, but you didn't buy a dud. If you had a 2002, you'd need to worry about the F55 suspension being worn out and insanely expensive to replace. The pre-2002 suspension is somewhat inferior in new cars, but these are not new cars. It's easier to mod the pre-2002 cars, it just takes an inhibitor, as opposed to a reprogramming procedure involving a GM engine code reader.

So don't worry about it, enjoy your car and if your mechanic told you it was well-maintained, then you did _well_. The year doesn't mean nearly as much as how well cared for an older car is and if your _mechanic_ you know the person who makes money off of fixing your car, told you not to worry about it then you did great!

Also: Merry Christmas!

 

I'm loving my 2000. I've been looking at C7's a lot lately, but there is something about the curves of my C5 that makes me smile. I think I am going to dump a bunch of money into my car and drive it till the wheels literally fall off. 102k and climbing daily. Bought it from my dad a couple months ago with 95.5k

Enjoy the car!