Not4spd

If a person is o.k. with less power, less comfort, and less resale value then yes I would agree.

Rob 02

At this point, wouldn't you be purchasing at the lower resale price, not selling at that price? Just saying.

Time for a C-5

If total ownership cost over the ownership period is the primary concern then buy an auto coupe. Auto coupes have probably help their value least in the C5 world, so they're most affordable to buy now. And since you're going to put plenty of miles on it I would focus more on a car with a solid maintenance history and an owner that didn't appear to treat it like a turd, then a low mileage car. I would only own a manual for a toy but if I was commuting that much in heavy traffic I would want the auto. As far as color - pick your favorite, I don't think it will make a significant difference when you're done with the car. Just my $0.02.

Wade Wilbur

Daily commuting in heavy traffic is going to suck the fun out of driving a manual transmission. I've done the DC commute in a lot of different cars with manuals and it always gets old. I haven't driven a manual Vette in years, but if I remember correctly, the clutch is pretty heavy, so I'd think long and hard before I bought one.

joezr2

Yeah, depending on where you live in Cali, you may want to rethink the manual. Everything said above is correct about them. They are great- heck, 2 of my 3 cars are manuals (including my C5) and I LOVE them. BUT... if I had to commute in "real" traffic there is no way I would use a manual for that. I've been to California... on the 405... no effin' way..... I've also driven my C5 through Cincinnati during rush hour..... in construction..... good lord.... you'd have to be a masochist to want to do that every day, twice a day...

The traffic where I live is laughable compared to most cities and I drive my C5 to work on nice days whenever possible. Only part of the drive I don't enjoy is the super slow, long scraaaaaaape of the air dam when I pull out of the parking garage at work....

captaineddie

I agree with those that are urging you to get an automatic. I love a manual, but our Atlanta traffic is really as bad as it is in Southern California, and there's no way I would drive a manual transmission here.

Scdynachopper

Scdynachopper

Tsumi

Maintenance history trumps low or high mileage every time, especially in a Corvette for a daily driver. That's what I would look for.

Put in a Vettenuts sound insulation kit. The FRC and the coupe are likely the quietest. The coupe has the rear that acts like an echo chamber amplifying rear wheel road noise, so sound insulation/deadening in the rear is pretty much a must in the coupe. Not sure how the FRC and coupe would compare, but I installed a bluetooth head unit in my coupe and don't have too many issues with it.

I do oil changes every 10,000 with Mobil 1 synthetic.

Joe Scafide

Go buy a tesla for that much travel for about 35,000

digitaloutsider

If you want a daily driver, seek out a mid-mileage (~75k mi), well maintained 2001-mid 2003 automatic. Inexpensive. Less unobtainium parts like the SWPS, more fixable things like the EBCM, no column lock bullshit to deal with, keyless entry doesn't break. Good amount of powertrain and electronics improvements starting in 2001. Post mid-03, the fuel pump replacement job became an absolute circus and that's not good for a daily driver. I would also stray away from the old school Z45 selective ride control, which wasn't great to begin with, and hasn't aged well at all. Z51 = less complexity.

Find a coupe where someone else ate the cost of replacing all the targa seals on. As outlined in an earlier post, maintenance is key. An 18 year old car with original coolant, trans fluid, etc would give me pause.

For a daily driver, change the oil in accordance with the OLM. Use whatever cheap Dexos synthetic you want and a quality filter (Wix XP, FRAM Ultra Synthetic, etc.)

jost6453

BlackHellcat

If value is a concern, get a low mile stock Z06.

Jim_ZO6

It's a waste of money to do less than 10,000 miles when you run synthetic.

grampi50

I'm curious why you say maintenance on a 30K a year Vette will eat you alive. These cars very reliable, generally speaking, and unless something(s) major goes out, I don't see why it would be any more maintenance intensive than any other car...granted they're no Toyota, but they aren't some finicky, problematic car either...

joezr2

One more note since you mentioned road noise- you can drive yourself nuts with research (I did) but the vettnuts kit is foam. It will cut down on some noise and definitly tunnel heat BUT that booming tire noise sound that reverberates in the rear of a coup can only be cut down by a couple things and both are mass- luggage or a mass-based sound deadening material. I used a dynamat equivalent to cut material reverberations in the doors and rear tub and then covered in mass loaded vinyl. Originally I was going to cover more of the car with it but it is HEAVY..... which is exactly why it works. I only did the rear cargo area and while it helped a bunch, it's still not a quiet car by any means. Frankly speaking, changing the old, worn PSS tires out for new Nittos made more of a road noise difference than all the work I did gutting the interior...

Would I do it again? Absolutely.. but not just for the sound deadening. I replaced the entire audio system which was the real reason I tore it all apart. If you buy the car and decide to work on the sound issue, this is a great website to learn from: https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/