Tbong

I am not OCD about the Vette itself. I do eat in the car and don't wash it much and when I do i don't "detail" it. I park where I want. All that is not an issue for me.

I would have it professionally detailed at sales time


But lately reading the forums have made me mechanically OCD. Reading of issues people are having makes me wary of driving it any long distances. It is as if i am going to get every malady i read about.

I have not had an issue and in fact had all the fluids and hoses belts replaced as a precaution and am a maintenance natzi. I just am neurotic about the mechanics which hampers my enjoyment of the car completely and uber sensitive to noises and shakes

Don't know if it's a GM thing ( I would not buy a new car from GM)or just my idea that the Vette is somehow much more complicated than it is. '

ILS07

That's just fear of the "what if" scenarios your building in your head. If a mechanical part is going to let go, then worrying about it isn't going to change it...same with women, they're going to do whoever and whatever they want, so don't sweat it. Stay on top of regular maintenance and any preventative maintenance issues that are known and go out and do your thing.

OCD would be quoting the bearing clearance specifications to yourself while you tear the engine down for a third time because the text on the bolt heads wasn't parallel to the floor when you were finished.

Gars08vert

Excellent analogy ILS.

windyC6

While the Vette does has its share of "Issues".....there aren't too many that will actually leave you stranded anymore than any other brand of auto. So get out and enjoy it. But with one exception...LOL....if you have a C-6 with an auto and you are experiencing the
Won't come out of park" dilemma, then you better get it checked out, because no matter what you hear in these forums...(suggestions on how to get it out...etc.)....you stand a good chance of getting stuck in a parking lot somewhere cussing like a Sailor who just got kicked out of the Navy.

George's_Vette

P-a-r-a-n-o-i-a runs deep in your life. Do you also feel you are suffering from some medical condition each morning when you wake up? Just yanking your chain. Stop fretting and enjoy the car.

I've got 35,000 on my 2009. Been back to Green Bay, down to the NCM and the assembly plant then down to southern TX in blistering July weather and humidity.

Another trip was to MN and back to WA. Another trip was in semi winter conditions this spring to Pahrump, NV for another 3 days at Corvette driving school.

Had a R/F wheel speed sensor go out on the TX trip in San Antonio and got it fixed when I got home. Picked up a bolt in a rear tire last summer some place in the mid west en route to Glacier National Park on the way home from MN. Put air in the slowly leaking tire a couple times a day and got it plugged when I got home.

Life's too short to fret about what might happen. Enjoy the adventure and deal with what comes your way. Sure if something does happen it is a pain to deal with at the time but makes for a great story to tell others after the fact.

Now quit driving around the block you live on and take your car on a "TRIP" and have some fun. They are great touring cars and are very comfortable for long distance travel.

George

Dano523

Worse things happen from not driving the Vet (just sitting in the garage), then from driving it on a regular bases instead.

Its a car, so things are going to wear out, but if you are driving the car on a normal bases, you get in tune with things as they are starting to go out to know something is up, instead of just taking the the car out a few times a year for short drives and not knowing the difference instead.

Take a 2005 vet that only has say 4K on the gauge. That's a whole lot of storage time that the seals could have went bad, much less the car not driven enough to find any new manufacturer problems with the car from not knowing the difference.

To be blunt, no one needs a Corvette, so it a luxury item instead. Warranty if is new that will cover parts, or enough cash in the bank if there is no warranty to cover things that go south; With a AAA card in the glove box to get you towed to have it repaired if needed.

And from a luxury item car, lets just say that the Vet is about the least expensive maintenance/upkeep item when it comes to such cars. Drive a 911 for a few years with maintenance schedules services( read valve lash adjustments), and you get the idea real quick how much cheaper the vet is to mantain. Worst yet, timing belt replacement on a Testarossa that needs to be done every few years.

Rocketmanwpb

I am about to depart on month long trip in my 08. I have taken several long journeys in it with no ill effects. Of course anything can happen anytime. Enjoy and don't sweat the small stuff.

OldCorvetteFan

I see that you have both a Honda and Toyota ... are you an active participant on any forums dedicated to those cars?

What about the battery and AC problems on the Honda? Do you worry that your CRV is going to let you down? Do you simply believe it will work flawlessly because it has a Honda sticker on it?

Has your Toyota been subject to the recall about the stability control system or the occupant seat sensing system?

No car is trouble free, and any car may strand you at any time.

If you can't get over this fear of enjoying your Corvette, you should consider getting rid of it - why hold on to a car that you don't trust?

If the car gave you some reason to distrust it, like having stranded you a couple of times already, I could see it. But you're prejudging unfairly.

This forum amplifies the complaints and dampens the compliments - you just don't see a lot of threads titled "Life Is Great! My Corvette STARTED Today!!!". On the other hand, if something goes wrong, members come here to post in search of a solution. You can't let this posting bias influence how you regard the car.

I hope you can get past it, and can do some trips. We've taken the C6 we bought in April (and drove to NW Illinois from Texas) on a couple of trips already (Corvette Adventures in Wisconsin & a trip to the NCM in late June). We're also planning a drive to southeast Georgia after the NCM Caravan in late August. Drive it and enjoy it!!!

Steven

4SUMERZ

Maybe I'm the opposite of where you are.
I have an 06, 60K miles, have replaced the water pump, have picked up nails and screws in my tires a few times over the years.
I do regular maintenance, most of it I do myself.
I do regular oil changes, changed out the brake pads, sway bar end links, shocks, etc. and now on my 3rd set of tires (last 2 sets have been non runflats)
This car is for road trips, and I never worry one iota about breaking down, or getting a flat tire, having an accident or getting stranded.
I am prepared in case those things were to happen however.
I do carry a pump, patch kit, slime, have Onstar, car insurance to cover accidents, rental and tow truck service.
During any long road trips, I normally don't drive at night, most of the driving is between 7AM - 5PM daily. It's nice to relax after a long day on the road.
If something does happen, then I'll deal with it at that time, and try to stay calm about it. If it does happen, it will be during daylight hours.
BTW: we leave on a 2 week , 4500 mile road trip on Sunday.
I think you have to loosen up and enjoy life with your vette......or sell it if it drives you crazy and gives you stress.

raspyc6

^very reasonable man for a Canadian

RAGGDOLL

Not sure what to say. But our Vette's are not complicated cars by any means.

There's a few real OCD guys here, hopefully you'll get the support you need

4SUMERZ

Thank You I think

Tbong

You are right...You re ALL right. Even my wife asks me if I dropped $30K from our savings to "look" at a car in the garage......or enjoy it!

I am leasing the Honda. LOL I was going to buy a $13K beater to save useless errand miles on the Vette. Go figure.

I decided instead to spend that money on a lease . When it is up I will have about 12K on the CRV and will buy it and sell it for more than the residual. I don't worry about the Honda and the RAV 4 is bullet proof second one for the wife. I am more confident in those manufacturers. Plus my Vette is nine years old.

It's just me being neurotic. Some guys won't eat in their cars and would freak out of a drink was spilled. or won't put bags on the roof or trunk while opening the door, or freak out if someone leans against it. Those things don't bother me. I'll drop fries between the seats....

I can fix those things and clean the car. I worry about Harmonic balancers and stripped bolts in the crank. Ground issues..

Yet every time I drive the car, I am absolutely in love with it. What a feeling..... not only to drive, but to look back at and know it's mine.
and EVERY ride is uneventful and no codes or issues arise. I use a BT OBD app on the phone to monitor any codes and a few things.

If I had a Speed Shop close and did not have to depend on the dealer I would feel more confident about talking to guys who work on these cars as a labor of love. Like Harley Indys. But I am glued to dealer service. I am not worried about the money to repair stuff as much as "do they know what they are doing?" Will they screw something up and hide it or not take responsibility? My distrust of dealers feeds the neurosis,

But you are all right. Few threads with "My car has been perfect for 80K miles" We read of the issues a relative few have.

It is kind of like someone watching the news in the hills of Tennessee about some home invasions in SE LA and getting up to lock their doors. Need to get over the neurosis and let her rip.

Thanks for the tips. Right now I am afraid to drive it at night long distances until the low beam recall gets done. That is the kind of thing that keeps me from totally enjoying the car.


Thanks All for the tips. You are right, I need to drive the **** out of the car and let things happen that may , Fix them and drive the **** out of it again.

v26278

Well, if its any help, I will share my malady with you in hope that you will concern yourself with experiencing it yourself: my car has been trouble free and I have no problems to post. I had the usual minor issues such as loose axle nuts, sway bar end links to replace, and had a CEL once after a fill up but it was just the gas cap thing. Thats it. Knock on wood. Be sure to give your car a good healthy run through the gears on a regular basis, I swear these cars hold together better if you do that and follow a good regular maintenance schedule.

OldCorvetteFan

Why do you worry about the harmonic balancer? Have you LOOKED at it while the engine is running to see if yours is flopping around?

The only way you'll discover if you have the headlight issue is if you drive it at night. As I understand it, even if the problem happens, you still have high beams - and if you raise the hood and let things cool for a bit, you'll be good to go. I had a '74 Mustang II (a LONG time ago - it was my DD), and I was coming home late one night, and the headlight switch overheated and the lights went out. I was 30 miles from home. I'd pull over, stop for ten or twenty minutes, and then start up and go another five or ten miles. Repeat...

You might have ground issues that will crop up as the car ages. You can either wait for them, or take on a PM program by locating and cleaning the grounds BEFORE they become an issue. I had one ground issue with my '65 (headlights), and one with my '95 (fuel gauge).

And why do you feel that ONLY a dealer or a Speed Shop will be able to work on your Corvette? There are plenty of car nuts in South Carolina. Find one that likes Corvettes and give them a chance. There's a younger guy in town that's been out of the two year program for a few years (who also did a stint at the local Chevy dealership), and he's a car nut (Mustangs) and is now running his own show. When I had my '95, he did any of the work I didn't want to do. When it comes down to it, the Corvette is just a Chevy. Read the manual, do what it says, and any competent mechanic can do the work. There's nothing special about dealer technicians - there are good ones and bad ones.

Good Luck!
Steven

ben dover

I guess you could sell it.

Tbong

Been looking for a good shop. I would have them check all the grounds and replace the battery clamps. A couple of shops closed here. The closest Corvette shop is in Charleston. I trust Indys more than Dealers. But a Corvette specialist is worth paying more for.

The harmonic balancer came to mind because it is mentioned quite a bit as being an issue with this model year.


Not being a total "Vette Guy" yet, that option is always on the table before I become a "Vette Guy" .

ProfessorDeath

I don't mind working on my own car, so I have no problem putting 200,000 miles on mine over its lifetime. You'll hear more horror stories than great ones, but that's because people are more than 3 times more likely to report a negative incident than a positive one. Always take a restaurant or venue review with a grain of salt. This is why news sources are so depressing. For some reason, people love to hear negative stories, but rest assured. For every complaint there are multitudes more happy results.

Tbong

Yeah the News is a good analogy.......I want to hear them say this

"It's Thursday July 24 and Here is what went wrong today"

Kind of like reading the forum and seeing the new threads of what went wrong with someone's C6


The confidence of being able to work on one's own car is liberating. I usually change oil LOL but the Vett is too low and i don;t want to mess with ramps so I don't mind paying to have it done. With the miles I am putting on it will be next Summer before it needs it and thats because it will be a year old and likely 5000 miles short.
"

OldCorvetteFan

The easiest way to see if you currently have the balancer issue is to start the car and look for it. If you're not sure what to look for, then you need to find a shop that knows what to look for and get that one checked off your list.

With respect to ground issues, are there any problems or symptoms that are happening that make you suspect that you have a ground issue? Ground issues usually manifest themselves (to start with) by the occasional 'hey - this didn't work, but now it does' symptom.

Even though the car is nine years old, that doesn't automatically mean that you have some significant issue waiting for you to get 50 miles from home to strand you.

While a Corvette is just another car in many respects, there's also another point to consider. These cars require so much investment when new that most new owners and subsequent owners go to pretty good lengths to protect and care for the car.

Where and when did you buy your car? How many owners did it have before you got it? How many miles are on it? I'm assuming it's a 2005.

If the car has been garage kept, and no previous owner drove it into the Atlantic, then you probably have a car that is well preserved and waiting to pamper you on your way to fun destinations.

Although it's pretty late, you should try getting out of your comfort zone by joining something like the Corvette Caravan...

http://www.corvettecaravan.com/va-nc-sc/

You'd be around a bunch of Corvette people, and if trouble did strike, you'd have some support.


The best way to become a "Vette Guy" is to actually get off the sidelines and DO something with the car.

Let go of your fear - get in and drive!

Steven