Choreo

I can empathize with your situation. There are tons of Corvettes out here where I live and I see many (even C7's) parked at apartments. Every time I see one of those it reminds me of all the stress I was under trying to keep all of my previous Vettes in perfect condition without a garage - the sun wind and dust took their toll inside and out. Even with the extraordinary care I provided, those Corvettes were showing signs of wear in a few months (paint, wheels, cracked dashboards, weatherstripping, etc.). The way the weather is out here, I don't know what I was thinking in those earlier days. I lived in one apartment for 25 years before building a home! Back then, I could not afford even a down payment on a home, but I could stretch and make a payment on a new Corvette. As a result of my decisions to place owning a Corvette at the top of my list, it delayed my ability to buy a home for many years.

As a result, when I finally was able to at least build a small home, designing the garage came first. I still could not do all I wanted due to funds, but did good enough. I still have a lot of stress choosing to own a Corvette as a DD, but at least 23 hours a day on most days, I don't have to worry about the C5. If it ever dies, it will be a quick death, not death by the elements.

ZERRY 316

These pix make me mildly nauseous.

BigBossMY03Z

Hm, I gotta wonder how different the elements treat cars in your part of the country. I'm in KY, so no dust or winds here, just lots of annoying rain and winding roads. The latter is fine of course, but mixed they don't go so well. Spring time is full of rain, hail, and tornadoes though thankfully I've avoided all but the prior. I can share a similar feeling as I bought the Vette over buying a house, but I forced myself to wait just saving money to go towards buying a used one. Thankfully only took a few years to get there.

I looked at another Z06 almost a year before I bought my current one, it was much cheaper because it was someone's daily and had about 110k miles on it. I almost didn't mind the miles but it had lots of scrapes, scratches, and various issues. I knew I'd never be happy with that, so I passed even despite the low price.

Having at least one vehicle you don't have to freak out about if something scratches it does wonders for me. Go figure but for me my 2015 truck is actually this, despite the fact it's much more pricey than my Z06. The way I see it, how much will a scrape or two hurt a truck made for hauling? Not like people are so adamant on a mint used truck. But Corvettes definitely have a lot who care greatly about the condition, me included. I think I'm going to slowly take a garage queen to daily status, kills me to do it but to get anything even comparably as powerful and fun to drive I'd be spending a lot more (Like a '17 Camaro SS). The thought crossed my mind, but a Camaro is no Corvette even if it might hang with it on a track it still doesn't match in the looks (or visibility department).

Jistari

Honestly . . .you guys make me laugh
The simple, short answer is . . .no....you're not going to enjoy driving this car in the rain any more than any other car.....and very likely....a lot less.
Nothing wrong with getting it wet, if you're a commuter....so be it. But if given the choice.....no.....this is not the set of keys you grab when its raining.....its like grabbing an angle grinder to do your nails when you have a nail file right there.
Can you drive it in the rain? . . . hell yes. As long as you are either heading out to enjoy controlled sliding around, drifting or screwing around.
Look, they're great cars.. but either you're selecting tires for rain and driving carefully (read that as not having the right tires for the majority of the time and not driving this car as it was designed to drive) or you take the lawn mower out when its sunny and the cigarette boat out when the waves are less than four feet....

v8srfun

Being that I have a 99 I use the rain as a service tool. Every time I drive in the rain I find a nice clear spot of road and exercise the abs pump a little bit. They stay good if used but when they don't get used for years is when they fail. Other than that I just enjoy the car whenever I drive it regardless of weather conditions.

Riteaidkid84

Gee, my car scares the **** out of me in the dry, I would be driving slow as ...

runner140*

Driving in South Florida, you are going to drive in the rain at some time during the week. I drive five times a week...minimum, and drive in the rain at least once a week. Not a problem.

P.S. Use a good rain tire and you will have no problems. Go to TireRack.com for some ideas.

chasboy

Bigboss, as this is a frequent characteristic of people nowadays, you are overthinking this. Get an easy to use cover(with mirror pockets). Alternatives to RWD did not make strong inroads in the USA until the '70's, and people drove all over inall kinds of weather, with heavy snow being the only real obstacle. Certain other conditions are not that frequent and most are avoidable by not driving. Occasionally there's a post about someone who took their vette into too-deep water. To that I say DUH? These cars can be enjoyed in all types of weather. Drive it when you can.

02BlownZ06

I don't drive mine in the rain as I don't have the extra time for the detailed amount of clean up required afterwards. It's not my DD though, so works great for me.

98C5P

Same for me, I dont want to clean all the time, so no rain... I have a truck for rain/snow....


Who really enjoys driving any vehicle in the rain???

Nyt_Muves

I didn't enjoy it I guess, but I had to get home. Lol. Just wanted to show that yes indeed a corvette will function in unfortunate weather. It's a car at the end of the day. And as others have already pointed out, it won't melt.

ApexerER

Where are you in Upstate NY? I live in Saratoga...I have had my Z out twice this year....I also daily drive a truck. I rarely drive my car to work. It isn't a garage queen but I am not going to take it out in the rain when I have two other vehicles I can take. The weather this year has been terrible and the pollen is just starting and will go through June. At least yours is yellow like mine so the pollen doesn't show as much. The people saying you can use all of 2nd and 3rd in the rain must not being driving a Z. I would never get rid of my Z for an AWD performance car but it doesn't bother me if my car sits. I know it is there for that nice sunny day...

dbgoodwin

yes, I am driving a z. Making more power than a stock z06 too. I think people play out their traction issues way more than they really need to for bragging rights. Get tires designed to perform in the wet and dry, and they will do just that.

Forcedvert

I enjoy listening to music when it's raining and since my '14 GMC has much better sound system the Vette stays parked.
To me driving my supercharged vert in the rain is no fun as I can't get that feel of acceleration on a wet surface and I don't need rain to slide it around.

msandym

To each his own , but I drive my vette rain , snow , what ever . It's not a garage queen . I live in Long Island, ny , the weather is what it is , and right now I'm dealing with the green mist ! Black car you know how that is and it certainly doesn't stop me from driving it . I gotta go out and I'm going out in the vette !

The Rabbi

Mine is a DD and lives in a carport. I drive it no matter the rain. In Florida, rain can come at any time, especially in the summer. It once started pouring with the top down and on a highway with no bridges or exits. I closed the windows and kept going - no problem. By the end the rain had stopped.

I BOUGHT THE CAR TO DRIVE

leadfoot4

When I first got my C-5 (16 yrs. ago), I used to drive it regularly to work, and got caught in the rain a couple of times, on the way home. After the second time, of some dipstick almost running me off the road, I gave up. Apparently black Corvettes become invisible in the rain, even with the lights all on......

Riteaidkid84

me too

Riteaidkid84

lol, "wont melt"

Nyt_Muves

It's a corvettte not a microchip. Lol. There are those who don't seem to realize that they can be cleaned if god forbid dust decides to settle on them. I bought this car to drive and enjoy.