Kevin A Jones

First welcome to the forum!
Of course a C7 can be driven every day, however doing such can be inconvenient at times, especially if you live in a colder winter climate.

I've owned Corvettes for 44 years and have had a second vehicle (pickup truck, usually) most of that time. Why, because as much as I love Corvettes, it can make life a little easier and I prefer to drive Corvettes when I want too, not when I have too.

neogenesis

Hopper12

Hi Jason, welcome to the forum, and best of luck with your GS!

As I see it, the main flaw in your analysis is that you're trying to be logical with a sports car purchase. I'm not sure the two mix at times - and that's part of what makes them so fun.

I agree with others that you're over-thinking this. Enjoy your GS! If you want/need another vehicle, get one - but don't let this diminish your enjoyment of your C7 - best sports car value on the planet.

BTW, what in the world are you doing to only get 15 mpg with your GS? We're averaging around 23.X and it's 40% around town and 60% at 70-80+ mph (and no AFM).

4thC4at60

Corvette as daily driver for 29 years and 700,000 miles.

I have, at times, owned two vehicles, as I do now. Today I split the DD duties between two cars: the C7 and a 328 GTB Ferrari.

So, when I walk out to the garage I get to ask myself: "Do I drive the fun car? Or do I drive the fun car?"

DPC57

I daily drive my C7. If I need to do something it can't do, I use my Suburban. My dogs don't fit in the vette, can't tow my boat with it. If the weather is really crappy the vette's not the best choice. Bought the Burb last year; it was 10 years old with only 80k miles for less than $17k.

darkLight

I daily my Z51 because we have nice weather. Those tires can handle rain when it happens. However, a Z06 or GS probably might not be safe. Also, I don't have much traffic so I don't mind driving a manual. It's entertaining and rewarding after work.

I DID seriously consider a daily driver right after some idiot drove into my car. However, after driving an anemic rental for weeks while the Vette was in the shop, I can definitely say that I'm happy to drive such an easy to use sports car.

If you want more storage organizing for cheap, this fits nicely:

blueray16

I got my first weekend toy in 2003 (Mustang Cobra) and kept my 2001 Honda for the daily commute and runs to Walmart and Home depot. The Cobra was very special and I enjoyed it so much more over the years when I got to drive it just for fun on weekends and the occasional Friday commute to work on those top ten weather days in the spring and fall. Just the anticipation made those times more fun, more satisfying, and more memorable
That Cobra remained show room new and still very special while the Civic suffered the wear and tear over then next 10+ years and 280k miles.

So when i retired, I sold my beloved Cobra and junked the beater and got my first Corvette, '16 Z51. The beater wasn't costing me anything. Dropped collision coverage years ago, spent only enough to keep it as a reliable daily commuter.

Now retired, no more daily commute and in bad weather, I don't have to leave the house if I don't want to and there's always the wife's Accord , so no need for the beater.

Corvette is almost 3 now and spends most of the winter in the garage, but is in all other respects my daily driver. i have to admit that as much as i enjoy driving it every day, I am already sensing that the more I drive it as a daily routine, at least on an emotional level, the less special its beginning to feel.

Difficult for me to verbalize, but there seems to me a very normal, diminished appreciation for anything that moves from "special" toward "routine"

Long way of saying, I would stay with some kind of beater, whatever you can afford.
Hard for me to justify 3 cars for the two of us now on a fixed income.

BuLion

OP: To your analysis, if you drive 700 miles/wk on 1 car, your "business case" has to rethink the mileage assumptions with a 2nd vehicle...I'd be surprised on an awesome sunny day you don't leave the 2nd car home to drive the toy. Your budget and needs is your guide, only you know that equation.

SingleTrackMinded

Fun: 2018 Corvette Grand Sport
Commuter: 2002 Lexus IS300
Truck: 2002 Toyota Tundra

spireland

I daily a Vette. At the end of the day its a bit more costly in fuel, and tires, though the carrying costs for two vehicles ended up being more than the extra costs when I looked at it a few years ago. You do get a lot more depreciation, so the savings of eliminating carrying costs of two vehicles ends up being a wash on cost.

To me it was worth it so I could look out my office window at my car and have my car every day.

As far as feeling special, or if I've gotten used to it. I have had it since December 2016, 35k miles, and I still get urges to go drive it after commuting home in it. I still go to 2-3 cars and coffees a month, and take tons of pictures on Instagram. Dailying it, if anything, has made me love the car more.

I will say you have to be honest though. If it is a status issue, dailying it will put more wear and tear and it won't be as pristine. If you want the car to drive it, doing it as a daily is amazing. I don't mind the rock chips, wear spots, because I love driving it.

The juice is well worth the squeeze.

nexxis

I have a 2nd car but ONLY because some drives are not worth damaging my nice C7. So I have a 10-year old CRV that I take to Home Depot, my monthly 2-hour drive to my work’s main office, and to tailgating events where I need a BBQ grill and park in the dirt.

(Insurance is cheap, 85-octane gas is cheap, and it tows my buddies jet skis)

Grand Slam

My C5 and now C7 have been my DD (and only car) for almost 20 years. Yes, they take abuse that garage queens don't, but I get to enjoy the car every day.

If I did get a 2nd vehicle it would be a small truck so I could haul larger loads.

DeStreGa5

I had my M7 Z51 by itself for the first year I had it. Now I have a 1999 Lexus RX300 as a second car. I'm a little backwards and daily drive my Corvette to work 40 miles each way through traffic and the Lexus on the weekends. It helps having a SUV to haul stuff and drive to places that are pretty shady. It also likes to flood a lot, ie Harvey, so it nice to have a tall car.

The problem with having two cars is that you need to make sure you drive both or stuff tends to go bad and break down. I'm actually spending a lot of money to fix it now since it wasn't really taken care of in the first place.

I got 28k miles out of my first set of tires on the Corvette. Second set cost me about $1500. So far, no abnormal problems. Get a lot of protection on it such as a clear bra and you can drive it everyday. Just watch out for those potholes!

Guitarking1

Well over 10 years ago, I took a job that required a 90 mile round-trip commute. Since my Vette at the time was a DD, I decided it wasn't worth the lower fuel economy and wear and tear on the car. At that point, I bought something really economical and sold the Vette.

In the last few years, my job got closer to the house and even though the round trip isn't that bad, when I decided to pull the trigger on a new Vette, I decided to keep driving the economical (and ratty) car as my true DD. While fuel isn't the reason any more, I won't drive the Vette as a DD because I have bad surface open parking at work where I'm almost guaranteed to get door dings since it's a large lot with no dedicated spaces. Also, sitting in the hot sun with occasional temperatures over 100 degrees all day is another reason.

Also, since I'm close to retirement, I really want to keep this Vette as pristine as I can for as long as I can.

DickieDoo

Typically, a Corvette is the second or third car in the stable. Since you seem to be a young man, and if you live in a temperate region, you can certainly daily drive yours....
But the Corvette is primarily a summer car with limited space. and can only haul 2 people.

Bringing any other car into your stable, will incur costs, Gas, Insurance, Maintenance.. etc...

Fuel economy is that last thing you need to consider...

dbaker

For a single person.....it's fine.

Married life almost demands a 2nd or 3rd auto.

\db2

village idiot

Like you I have a GS. I just picked up an old 4runner and can't believe I waited this long to get a daily.

I can drink a cup of coffee and not give a damn while driving the 4runner. In the Vette it's loud, no one can see me, visibility is crap, blind spots, pot holes, taking drive ways and parking lots at super hard angles to avoid scraping and worrying about door dings when I park, driving manual (especially in traffic), etc. Driving the 4runner is like meditating in comparison. Also, holy hell it's nice to have for when the dog needs to be taken somewhere (vs. laying down blankets and stuff), home depot runs, rain driving, etc.

Plus, I can do stuff like slam the GS, get "loud" wheels, stiffer suspension, etc since I have another car to drive around.

Most importantly, I really appreciate the GS when I get in it. It's very easy to get used to it and not appreciate how awesome the car is.

Buy a cheap daily like a 4runner. Drive it for 20k miles. Sell it and you'll have nominal (if any) loss. I thought about a lease but realized I'd save as much as I spent on the lease all in.



edit: I daily drove a Vette (c6 and 2 C7s for about 4-5 years now. It certainly can be done, but I much prefer having another car to share daily driving duties)

chronage

+1 for a used SUV. If you own a house & have family/friends it will come in handy in many situations. Frankly it's nice to drive a vehicle you dont care about

village idiot

VERY true. I just drive that bitch through an automatic car wash every 2 weeks, or when I feel like it, and couldn't care less. Before I had the 4Runner, every time it rained, I thought "well, there goes 40 min" (to wash the car). I park in dirt parking lots and around shopping carts. I use cheap shitty gas from sketchy gas stations. I eat lunch in it from time to time when I'm in a rush. Nope, don't care one bit.

sprinkler

I vote for a good used crew cab pick up. A great combination with a Corvette. I can't imagine a household without a truck! Plus with a crew cab you have seating for at least four if you need it. I have a 2005 Dodge Dakota crew cab with 145,000 miles that runs great, and it takes some of the miles off of my GS for some of the mundane trips to the store, etc..