First time poster here guys and gals, so bear with me a little...though I have read several pages this particular forum and have been quite impressed with the feedback and honesty its users have shown, so I'm hoping you all might share some of that expertise with me.

I'm thinkin about buyin an '05 or '06 vette, coupe body and 6spd manual. I haven't found any in particular, but this is just what I'm looking at.

My first question is about the amount of room in the hatch of the car. I have two dogs (labs), 50 and 75 pounds, that love to ride. I was wondering if there's enough room back there for them to lay down comfortably.

I'm hoping to have kids a few years down the road, but not for a while, so I was looking to get a vette to enjoy the ride for a little while. They seem to hold their value very well, so my second question is about price. Edmunds.com shows the True Market Value of an '05 vette at around 30K after sales tax and all (link).

30K is probably the max that I can afford, without stretching me too thin. Do C6's ever go for these prices? And is it worth reaching for that upper limit of my price range for such a sweet ride? (I think it is, because I personally am really trying to enjoy the ride, but I also value this forum's 'fatherly advice.'

Last bit. Is now a good time to buy a C6? How much do you think the 05 and 06 prices will come down when the '09 models are released? I carpool with a bud at work (my commute is about 25miles each way, mostly city but I don't mind the clutch work), so I will be putting only about 7-8000 miles a year on it, if that.

Sorry if this is a bit long....looking forward to hearing some honest and valuable feedback! Thanks in advance, yo.

-J

 

First...Welcome to the Best Forum on the Internet. If you can't find a Corvette answer here...it doesn't exist!

IMHO...if $30K is the "Upper Limits" of your new car budget, you may be limited to a fairly high mileage 05 or maybe 06. That's not a bad thing, but again IMHO...I might look for a low mileage, well kept C5 for low to mid $20s. Not quite the same as a C6, but a very nice vehicle in it's own rights. That way you're not stretched quite as thin. And with a C5 you will have one MAJOR advantage over any C6...PEWTER! The greatest Corvette color EVER!

Good Luck!

 

Welcome to the forum!!
To hopefully answer your question the first one regarding the dogs no there is not enough room in the back. The rear window sits way to low for an animal of that size. They would be able to lay down but thats about it without being able to move to much.

As far as the 30K market value you will find a few 05's going for 30K but for that to be out the door your looking at around a 27 or 28K car. From my research for an 05 in that price range its gonna have a decent amount of miles on it. Thats not necessarily a bad thing but if your looking for a loaded (1SB or 3LT) car with low miles your usually more in the mid 30's range before taxes and title etc etc.

If you can afford the car then I say go for it they are so much fun and a blast to drive.

The price of 05 and 06's wont move much because of the 09's coming out I certainly didnt notice a drop when the 08 LS3 came out. It seems that right now the 05 and 06 prices have bottomed out because you still see C5's going for high 20's and low 30's.

In city driving a 6spd C6 will average high teens for MPG highway you will see high 20's or around 30.

There are two different 6spd vettes available you can get the base model that has a softer suspension and standard transmission or the Z51 (which I have and LOVE) which has several additions including my favorite is the close ratio transmission gearing.

Hopefully this helps you out.

James

 

If you do go '05 stick, make sure it has had all the teething problems worked out or updated. A dealer should hopefully be able to give you what's been done on the car. Remember that only '05 manuals are required to be shut down in reverse, a small hassle, but one that will come back to bite you a few times with a dead battery.

There were some problems with early cars, including A/C overfill, crank pulley loosening, clutch sticking to the floor, shifter rattling, roof delamination mostly fixed early on. '06's still had the roof and shifter problems. Maybe a few others.
I would never own an '05 without an extended warranty.

 

Great feedback guys, these are all the kind of insightful answers I was lookin' for. I'm leaning more towards an '06 just because the first generation of things usually takes some time to work out the kinks. The dogs are a different issue though, as they're my little pride and joys. My girlfriend has a Honda civic that we use for most road trips and stuff, but it still would be nice to take the pups for a cruise. Maybe a test drive is in order!

 

Well...anything can be done if you try hard enough! This guy gets his 2 Great Danes in his Vette:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...6&postcount=18

 

Three years ago I was in your $$ position. Couldn't go over $30K. My number 1 consideration (after the requirement of it being a convert) was LOW MILES. I have a real aversion to high mileage in a used car.
I found a C5 (1999) with 10K miles for $30K. It was just what I wanted.... until last year when the finances looked better and then I traded it in for a '05. There is NOTHING wrong with the '05 -- first model year or not. Again, it was a very low mileage. Good luck.

 

I have to vote for yes on taking dogs with you.Get a cover for the seat. However, I have an 05 low miles and very happy. I paid more than 30k two months ago.
Do a search for corvettes and pets. Lots of happy dogs and owners.
Remember to keep dog biscuits in the cubbies!

 

Just buy it and don't worry about the rest. You won't regret the decision.

 

I was in the market for a vette a few months ago and was looking at 05's because I did not want to spend too much and was looking for a low $30's car.

There are some out there and I would not be worried about getting a first generation...the big thing I read is about the crank shaft pulley bolt.
The crank pulley effected VIN's below 5511039 (last seven digits).
Check the VIN of the cars that you are interested and check to see if the roof was fixed. Those are the couple big ones that I've read about.

I did find a couple 05's that I was interested in, but I ended up tapping into the pockets a bought an 08 because I wanted the LS3 motor.

I also recommend the Z51. The gearing is perfect (IMO)
The car can get high 20's/low 30 mpg, it all depends on how you drive

My buddy got me into vettes and I wish I would of bought one a long time ago!!!! They are a blast so hurry up and get one

 

I just bought one 2 days ago, so maybe I can offer some advice. If you can afford it, buy it. I got an '05 lt3 6speed manual, with 16k, gm certified, granted it wasn't $30k but it's nice to have the low miles, certified and all the options. It's insanely fun, comfortable, and has plenty of room in the hatch (maybe not for two dogs, but for bags, golf clubs, stuff like that. I was kind of on the fence about buying one too, but after buying it I can say it's a great car both for performance and comfort.

 

good advice

if you go with the auto trans, you wont need the warrantee on the 05
if you want stick, go for 06 or o5 w/ warantee