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Hi Doug. At 78 I'm driving my blue 08 C6 A6 and loving it. I had this red 09 Z06, but had to give it up because of a bad clutch knee.
My thinking was as we age a base model made a better choice for us, bought this one and love it.
Many above have given great advice. Follow the advice and you should be fine. Best of luck in your hunt.
Hey Doug, welcome to the forum. As with any information source, make sure you get confirmation of any advice you have been given here. I've seen some really good advice, and really bad advice. I have made mistakes too and mixed up things when trying to help someone out, we're all human. Anyways, to your question I would first go drive a few. Drive a base model, drive a grand sport, and drive both the automatics and manuals. The grand sport basically has better suspension, bigger brakes, bigger wheels, wider tires, and comes with the widebody. All MANUAL grand sports are dry sump engines that were hand built. The major thing someone of your age needs to worry about is can you get in and out of the car comfortably, and is the ride soft enough? I would not worry about mileage, the main thing to look for is service records. If the car was maintained regularly, even if it was driven really hard it should still hold up for as long as you own it. The LS engines are extremely reliable. Biggest "issues" to look out for is a wobbly harmonic balancer and fuel leaks. You will immediately know if you have a fuel related leak by the smell. Also the manual cars have really crappy clutch master cylinders, but that's a relatively inexpensive repair. The only must have that I would personally want in a corvette is heads up display and a manual transmission. You will most likely be happiest with a 2lt or 3lt model. The 4LT has a leather wrapped dash which peels up over time and is expensive to fix.
All good advice. I have a Z06 and its a beast but as I get older i find the reflexes aint what they was . I find myself wanting an automatic. Shifting is a chore. But thats just me. Others really like going through the gears. Maybe try them both. Im sure theres a Vette Club near you and guys with Vettes cant stop talking about them. . Im 74(how did that happen?)
Tons of great advice here! Go look at some, drive as many as you can. Look at all the pictures on here to see the differences between the different models, including interior. Search around to see exactly what you get with the different trim levels. There are also a ton of things that can be changed out very easily on these cars to make it your own.
Everyone is different, so you have to see what you want and what works for you. Some people have waited for months or years to find exactly what they wanted. Some buy something because they want a Corvette now and then regret the purchase because they didn't wait. I was incredibly lucky enough to find exactly what I wanted in less than a month of looking and within 15 minutes of my house! I should have played the lottery the day I found her!
Figure out what you want and DON'T SETTLE! You will find what you want sooner or later.
Edit: As you can see, there are also a ton of great, knowledgeable people on here. If you run into any issues, there will be help from this great community!
Doug, welcome to the Forum, the best advice from the best people involved with the world of Corvettes. You have received some insightful and valuable advice, and hopefully it will help guide you on your quest for the perfect Corvette for you. I am 82 years young and have owned numerous Corvettes over the many years of ownership. I currently own a 2010 Grand Sport Convertible with an automatic transmission (old knees not what they used to be). Exterior color is crystalline red metallic with an oak top and interior. Being you are located in sunny Florida, you would surely look great cruising the coast and backroads in a convertible, and I might add your preference for the C6 body style is absolutely spot on ! In the end, the final decision will be yours alone, so don't be reluctant to ask lots of questions and expect multiple different answers. I believe you will know it when you see it. Sort of like girlfriends when we were young ! Good hunting and all the best with your search.
Hi Doug. I'm 71 and had many sports related injuries in my youth. All joints and most muscles are sore. I have a '09 Z51. It's fine for me but I wouldn't say no to a total base. I would never get a Z06.
Doug, I'm 73 and the c6 convertible is my second vette in a spread of 50+ years! The first was the 67 427 roadster in my avatar. If you live in Florida, you must get a convertible! It took me quite a while to find the perfect C6 for me. I had a few must haves looking for my car, LS3(08 and up), convertible, 6speed manual, and as low mileage as possible for a reasonable price!
I drove a variety of cars, all convertibles expect for one Z51 coupe, and one 6sp auto. A beautiful 2013 427 convertible, several base cars, and one grand sport. Under the test driving conditions with the sale person along for the ride, all flavors of the C6 felt pretty much the same. I could have bought anything I wanted, including the 13 427 convertible for more than double the price I paid for my car. Keep in mind that even the base car is no Caddy as far as ride.
Take your time, drive several cars to get a feel for the way they're supposed to drive. If you can find a private sale, they're usually less expensive than a dealer. If you decide to buy a convertible with a manual transmission, they are very scarce in Florida. I found my garage queen in craigslist in Daytona Beach going on 4 years ago for $28K with only 17K miles. At the same time, dealers selling similar cars were asking $4K more!
If you do look at a private sale car, insist that you be allowed to bring it to a local Chevy dealer to put it on a lift, and totally check it out! it's worth the $75 I paid. The photo taken by my wife, when we first saw it at the seller's house!
You've got 2 years on me which may or may not be a big deal. Depends on your health and physical fitness. I'm driving a Grand Sport coupe automatic and it has about as stiff a ride stock as you're going to get unmodified. I don't mind that at all, but you absolutely need to test drive some examples to see if you're OK with any of them. You need to get in and out a few times with the door at the first detent to see if that's doable for you because you'll probably be forced into that situation sooner or later. I can just manage to get in and out because my garage is quite narrow and I can only open the door to the first detent if and only if I back in. Any of the models are a bear to park because they have a terribly wide turn radius, very restricted rear vision especially the coups, and figuring out how far to nose into a parking spot pretty much requires a guide. Many folks have installed aftermarket front and rear cameras to assist with parking. If you plan on taking long trips then of course you'll need to make an assessment of how comfortable the seats are. Nonetheless, I find mine so much fun to drive that I can easily forgive the parking and rear vision issues. Hope you find one that you are comfortable in.
Hi Doug, welcome to the wonderful world of Corvettes. I just turned 70 and bought my C6 three years ago. One owner, base coupe, 6 speed with 50k miles on it. When I say base, I mean base. It has no options than I can find and it’s wonderful, less stuff to break. I drive about 10k miles a year and I’ve only had to replace a battery and the starter motor, which I understand is common. The drivers side seat is a bit worn but it doesn’t bother me as I can’t see it when I’m sitting on it. I’m not as flexible as I used to be and use the same technique as Chatman getting in and out, no big deal. I took my time to find what I was looking for at the amount of money I was willing to spend and haven’t looked back. When you get your Corvette, post again and give us an update please.
One more thing; Drive it every chance you get, it will last longer.
07-29-2021, 09:28 AM
