cobalt172

Actually I found one in Ohio for 38.5k with 50k miles, 2lt. However thats too far from me and its from a dealer and I want to buy from a private party.

Foosh

Honestly, I think you're better off buying from a dealer. You should insist that dealer run a GMVIS report on everything done to the car, and get some assurance it has not been modified or tuned, which voids whatever remaining powertrain warranty a car might have. The 2014-15 cars have 5-year/100K powertrain warranties, and CPO cars have 6-year/100K powertrain warranties.

If you buy from a private party, you're going to have to find a way to get it to a dealer for that kind of inspection.

pika

can't a dealer run the GMVIS report on any Corvette?

Foosh

Yes, but just running GMVIS doesn't necessarily find disqualifying mods and tunes if the car has never been in for engine issues, which most haven't. That requires a physical inspection of the car.

HogwildC7

I have drove my 2015 up to 24k miles and drove as a DD. I have drove all mines as a DD. they are US production cars made everyday.
My 2017 GS will not only be drove everyday but even out of town. I travel in mines as well.
If i want something I cant move I will buy a house.

joemessman

You're young enough to recover from a poor financial decision, if it is so deemed. I would buy the car if I was in your shoes. I regret not buying one when I was your age. It would have put a little pressure on me financially, but it would have been worth it for me. I remember my dad bought a 57 Thunderbird when I was a kid. That created a little stir in the family, but he never regretted it. And everyone was all for it after a few months anyway.

Palanon

20k is far less than most are financing for a grocery boring Honda or what not. your finances seem more than adequate veven with hire tire and routine maintenance. Really shop for good insurance rates prior to purchase.
I always have had a sports car from my teens on. all domestic ones. your in your 20's and you can afford it. pull the trigger and do it. Don't wait until your in your 50's or later. You should look back when your older and say "man, life was awesome in my 20's & 30's. I wouldn't change a thing!" I don't regret any sports car i bought and the memories made in each one are fantastic to think back on. You won't get that with Honda Passport or some other mundane commuter.
Do it.

xlaziox

When I was your age, I bought a pretty new Acura RSX the first year they made them post Integra. I had to borrow most of the money to pay for it, and the insurance on it was almost as much as the car payment. It got totaled a year later on the freeway, when 3 trucks weren't paying attention to traffic and rear ended me at high speed while I was at a stop in a traffic laden lane. This after I put like $4,000 in stereo and other aesthetic mods into it (neons, custom fog lamps, alarm system, etc.). The insurance company didn't cover any of the custom stuff, and furthermore wouldn't let me remove any of it from the car as they had to recoup the value of what was left and I may damage things removing the components. Honestly, I was actually relieved the car got totaled, because I could buy a more practical car for a college kid and it freed up 200/month in my budget. Unless you are some kind of trust fund baby, a car is like THE WORST way you can spend your money. I know you are unaware of how this works, but the money you save early on is worth far more later than the money you save at the end. Buy a duplex with the 40k as a down payment and rent out the other side. Buy a cheaper, more practical car. Save your money, and when you have another 10k, buy another rent house. By the time you are 35, you will own property and possibly be able to afford your Vette. Buying it at 26 is frankly a very bad idea. Plus you will get married in there somewhere... I mean call me a hater, but I lived it. I feel irresponsible buying mine at 39.

cobalt172

I will not be getting married, as that is a far worse financial decision than a vette.

Gonzo

I drove my 96 coupe for years as a DD....100k miles.....my other two were garage queens....my next will see more DD, because I enjoyed the DD the most.....as for the finances, don't touch the 401k and take a loan. Imho

xlaziox

Well, you say that, but if the right girl comes along at 29 she's not going to be wanting to play games. She's gonna want to get married and start making you future college tuition expenses. That aside though, and to answer the question you asked, and not the question you didn't ask. My daily driver before the vette was a G37S coupe. I would have gotten an all wheel drive, but the manual transmission didn't have the option. One morning at 5am on my way to work there was an unanticipated squall. I'm in a plains state, and when it wants to rain it can get fairly intense. Well, I thought if I was careful and just went slow I'd be fine. It was red and not magenta on the radar, meaning heavy rain but no extreme hail. A subaru wagon AWD zipped down the onramp in front of me 10-15 mph faster than me and my RWD coupe, and I watched him go through and merge as I putted down the ramp at maybe 50 coming onto a 70 mph freeway. There was a seam in the ramp between concrete and blacktop and maybe there was some small amount of rain water flowing across the road at that seam, or possibly a cm of standing water there. I was not really accelerating, just holding 50, and BOOM! No time to react, the car immediately entered a full spin and water was covering the windows on all sides and I was helpless spinning in the car watching vegetation fly up on the sliding side windows unable to do anything until the car reached the bottom of the grass slope ditch spun around one last time into the concrete drainage curb at the bottom of the ditch and thumped to a halt (at the expense of 2 rims and a bent front knuckle). I called a friend and he took me back home and I drove my truck to work. After work, when I came to get the car out, I reviewed in daylight what had happened, and the skid marks on the slope. At the beginning of the spinning and sliding my car came within 2ft of an 8 ft concrete culvert drop off that would have flipped my car and possibly killed me. I could have spun into oncoming traffic, or possibly a bridge pylon, or any number of things. From then on, if it's raining, I take the truck. I don't know where you live, but these RWD sports cars are not intended for wet or inclement roads. I was even being cautious... For me... Certainly more cautious than the guy in front of me, and it wasn't enough. If you live in Phoenix or LA, maybe this can be an only car, but nowhere that gets "severe" weather on regular occasions is a good place to have this as an only car. Washington has a lot of very light rain from what I understand, and maybe this car can handle light non-flooding, non-surface-flowing rain if you go slow, but standing water and flowing water across the road even at skimming depths are NOT your friends in this car, particularly not with summer sport tires. It's light and the tires are wide, making it prone to hydroplane. If you drive it in the snow or rain, don't go faster than you are willing to smash your body into something outside of your control.

xlaziox

PS. Also note, if you do decide to buy, A LOT of the lower priced vettes are priced low for a reason. I am a bargain hunter, and looked for months and saw A LOT of fraud on the lower-priced vettes. If someone is going low on price or the vette has been for sale a long time without selling, be VERY wary. Check all the body lines and make sure panels line up. Idle the engine and make sure it isn't jumping around, and test drive, test drive, test drive. The carfax is almost meaningless. I've seen plenty of self-repaired or Bubba's auto repaired, and secretly tracked low mileage vettes that were not healthy. I've had dealers swapping out VINs on carfaxes, among other fraud. Be on your toes. These cars are expensive, easy to wreck, and nobody wants to take the big loss when they wreck them. They will patch up, cover up, and sell/trade off. Good luck.

brooklync5

I've had the past 3 generations of corvette and drove all 3 daily.... the only times where I had to find another way to get around was in the snow.

Skid Row Joe

Based on your figures and information, you can easily buy a new C7. The financing is a lot more attractive on a new one vs used. If I were you, I'd save up and pay cash for it. That's what I did when I bought my 1st new Corvette at age 25. It was my 2nd car too. The difference between your income and mine at the same age, was I was earning nearly 2X what you are. However, your monthly mortgage payment is being made by your live in tenants. That's financially kick-a**!! Good for you!!
One piece of advise; don't ever take financial or most other advice from broke people.






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chronage

lol, true.

As far as the car, it will never be a "wise" financial decision or a great daily, but you're only young once and a Vette is a hell of a lot of fun. If you can comfortably afford it, go for it. I got mine a year ago for my 31st birthday and haven't regretted it at all.

Foosh

The difference in interest paid on a $20K loan on a new car (assuming 1.99% for 36 months) and a used car (assuming 4.5% for 36 months) is about $800. You'll save a lot more money on the used CPO.

cobalt172

what is cpo.

there is no way I can ever pay cash for this car. If I was making 150k, sure I could pay cash but I don't make that kind of money.

Yeah I don't see an advantage of buying new....

village idiot

lol, who the hell is paying 4.5% for a 36 month note these days?

Anyway, interest rates really don't make much difference over 36 months, as demonstrated above.
Assuming interest at 2%, the net present value of the difference is negligible. I could have easily paid for my car in cash. I financed the whole thing at about 2% and left the money in relatively safe stocks that pay almost double that in dividends every year.

Leave the money in some sort of reasonably safe investment. Finance it all. If you lose your job, you can make payments out of the money in your brokerage until you find a new one. It will kind of force you to be more frugal with your income too.

Silver C7

Cobalt, whenever this question is asked, unless their finances indicate otherwise, I always say buy the car! But I also add, buy a NEW C7! You’ll get much better benefits when you buy new. Starting with insurance where you’ll need all the help you can get. I’m sure my insurer isn’t the only company that gives a new car discount. No Z cars (51 or 06), or convertibles will get you a lower rate.

A trip to Spring Mountain is another and maybe the best benefit of buying new. Especially for first time owners, you’ll learn what you need to know about your car. How it works and most important, how you work in it. You’ll also learn on the first day, rain is not an obstacle. The wet figure eight exercise, in and out of weather mode is a confidence building eye opener. And living in the Great Northwest, you’ll probably be able to operate with one set of tires and wheels, unlike us in cold weather states where we have to switch for the winter months.

If you’re a home owner with good credit, no interest financing shouldn’t be out of the question. It will save you a few thousand over the life of the loan.

Do you homework, this is a great first step, see if it fits, if not wait until it does. But for insurance, warranty and Spring Mountain, start fresh, buy a NEW C7. You won’t regret it.

By the way, I am a daily driver in the NYC Metro area...Took delivery in Sept 2016, I’ll hit 22k miles this week and enjoying every rev of the engine!

Foosh

Precisely my point. I purposely chose a ridiculously high rate to illustrate how little the difference would be vs. a new car rate. OP only wanted to finance about $20K, and with interest rates so low the difference between a new car and used car rate wouldn't come close to negating the huge savings of going w/ a CPO car.