How Corvette ownership has changed my life……….
03-26-2012, 07:56 AM
#61
Team Owner
Maybe, maybe not. I've been down this road twice before. I got out of motorcycles for 17 years after swearing I would never not have one. Then I got out of boats after thinking I would never be without one. And I don't regret that at all. But the reality is that I'll always need a car, but the difference now is that the Corvette had to be a third car for us because I have to have a sedan for work. That's why it makes more sense to wait until retirement to go back to one.
03-26-2012, 10:32 AM
#63
Safety Car
My "life" changes:
1) Bank account has about $500 bucks less each month (car payment, insurance, gas, parking). Which is honestly a good thing, as its less money than anticipated. Bought the car for less than I expected to pay, insurance is $60 bucks a month and it gets 30mpg on the highway when using cruise control.
2) I take way more road trips which is something I never did in the past. Which is pretty awesome getting to see parts of America from the ground, instead of at 35,000 feet. Drove from 1130 miles from Kansas City to DC. Drove 2000 miles from Orlando to Miami to KeyWest to Miami to DC. Also have driven the car to WV for business, southern VA to see family & of course to PA for Carlisle.
3) I'm up early Saturday mornings (have a new hobby) to clean/prep/drive her to the local cars & coffee show thats 30 mins away. Have meet a GREAT group of guys who all drive incredible vehicles that I've usually only seen in car magazines (Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, MBs, BMW, Vipers, Lotus, Tesla, classic Muscle cars and of course other Vettes). I like it WAY more than I do belonging to a strictly Corvette Club. Much more freedom and open minded spirit/conversation about all sports cars.. no club fees or mandatory meetings or events. We all just show up at empty parking lot on the weekends, talk about cars/women/life/work/etc, go grab a bite to eat a restuarant and do a lil sporty driving from point A to B when possible
4) Girlfriend wants to go out more, especially days when the roof can come off. Other ladies and ladyfriends have become alot more friendly. More attention from any women is great. Friends & neighbors love it. Co-workers still dont really know about it and I intend to keep it that way. Been going to the gym more, because if the car looks good then the driver getting out of it needs to look good too
5) Going back to the racetrack. I raced sportbikes for 7 years, believe its cheaper/easier/safer to race cars instead. Have the option to race roadtracks, do HPDE events, hit the dragstrip or just Autocross. Either way.. plenty of opportunities to push the car to the limit in a safe environment with no tickets or safety worries. I refuse to carry around a piece of paper bragging about what some magazine or aftermarket tuner "says" my car can do. I'd rather "know" exactly what it is capable of and enjoy the experience of pushing my car (and myself) to the limit in a controlled environment.
6) Moving from an apt in the city.. to a 1 or 2 garage house in the suburbs. Because I need a place to properly store the car & to maintain it. For the last 15 years or so.. my life has been all living the city life. Now that I'm 3 years away from 40.. Im looking more towards getting some distance away from the action and enjoying peace, quiet and privacy.. while making family a priority.
1) Bank account has about $500 bucks less each month (car payment, insurance, gas, parking). Which is honestly a good thing, as its less money than anticipated. Bought the car for less than I expected to pay, insurance is $60 bucks a month and it gets 30mpg on the highway when using cruise control.
2) I take way more road trips which is something I never did in the past. Which is pretty awesome getting to see parts of America from the ground, instead of at 35,000 feet. Drove from 1130 miles from Kansas City to DC. Drove 2000 miles from Orlando to Miami to KeyWest to Miami to DC. Also have driven the car to WV for business, southern VA to see family & of course to PA for Carlisle.
3) I'm up early Saturday mornings (have a new hobby) to clean/prep/drive her to the local cars & coffee show thats 30 mins away. Have meet a GREAT group of guys who all drive incredible vehicles that I've usually only seen in car magazines (Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, MBs, BMW, Vipers, Lotus, Tesla, classic Muscle cars and of course other Vettes). I like it WAY more than I do belonging to a strictly Corvette Club. Much more freedom and open minded spirit/conversation about all sports cars.. no club fees or mandatory meetings or events. We all just show up at empty parking lot on the weekends, talk about cars/women/life/work/etc, go grab a bite to eat a restuarant and do a lil sporty driving from point A to B when possible
4) Girlfriend wants to go out more, especially days when the roof can come off. Other ladies and ladyfriends have become alot more friendly. More attention from any women is great. Friends & neighbors love it. Co-workers still dont really know about it and I intend to keep it that way. Been going to the gym more, because if the car looks good then the driver getting out of it needs to look good too
5) Going back to the racetrack. I raced sportbikes for 7 years, believe its cheaper/easier/safer to race cars instead. Have the option to race roadtracks, do HPDE events, hit the dragstrip or just Autocross. Either way.. plenty of opportunities to push the car to the limit in a safe environment with no tickets or safety worries. I refuse to carry around a piece of paper bragging about what some magazine or aftermarket tuner "says" my car can do. I'd rather "know" exactly what it is capable of and enjoy the experience of pushing my car (and myself) to the limit in a controlled environment.
6) Moving from an apt in the city.. to a 1 or 2 garage house in the suburbs. Because I need a place to properly store the car & to maintain it. For the last 15 years or so.. my life has been all living the city life. Now that I'm 3 years away from 40.. Im looking more towards getting some distance away from the action and enjoying peace, quiet and privacy.. while making family a priority.
Last edited by Daekwan06; 03-26-2012 at 10:42 AM.
