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Well, took a shot and went with a dealer not based solely on price alone but rather a combination of things that I thought would provide the most satisfactory and entertaining overall experience.
Unfortunately, oftentimes these 'great' ideas of mine end up on my list of things that "Seemed like a good idea at the time..." due to reality being at odds with my somewhat optimistic theoretical thoughts of how things 'should' work. Sometimes the 'glass half-full' ends up being 'half-empty' after all.
With that in mind, yesterday we hauled ourselves outta bed at 6am and drove 150 miles to be at Chesrown Chevrolet's door at 9am to finalize the paperwork and take delivery of Margaret's new 2019 Corvette. After that we drove it over to Esoteric Fine Auto Finishing where we left it to have the windows tinted, STEK DynoShield applied to the entire car and the wheels pulled, prepped and coated with Kamikaze Stance Rim Coating.
At the end of the day, nearly 13hrs later, we had one of the most overall entertaining days in my recent memory. Both organizations probably took a hit on overall productivity yesterday as the hospitality (and associated time) they provided to us were beyond compare. Dunno about them, but we were just having SO much fun at both places that I was just unable to merely complete the task at hand in a timely manner and run out the door.
At Chesrown we met the entire dealership family, got an in-depth tour of the facility, the obligatory introduction to the cars features but mostly just had a great time talking with everyone about everything from how their dealership runs, the auto industry in general, cars in general and any other obscure but interesting-to-me things that mighta popped into my head. While they were prepared for our arrival and we coulda probably finalized everything and been on our way in 30 minutes, we ended up spending about 2.5hrs there because time gets away from ya when you're having so much fun. Oh yeah, and we signed some papers and wrote a check too...almost forgot about that part.
We musta seemed like an interesting couple as Margaret was nicely dressed, appropriately accessorized with bits of St Patrick's Day green and me, well I was wearing torn jeans and a Mr. Bubble t-shirt. Opposites attract, I guess.
Got a chance to drive the car for about 30 miles on the way Esoteric and I think its gonna be a winner for us. The controllable dual-mode exhaust is a hoot, it's pretty comfortable for both Margaret and I and it's just overall a nice step up from our 2004 Corvette for us; priorities change as we age and I think we'releaning more to 'Tour' as opposed to strictly 'Sport' these days. Rides nicer in Tour mode, steering is lighter when set to that mode and, for me anyway, the view through the windshield while driving is somewhat less 'faith based' than it was with our previous model; I was just never quite sure exactly where the corners of that car were w respect immovable objects.
I don't see myself laying on the garage floor bolting on longtube headers, cold air intakes or scheduling dyno-tunes with this one like I did with the 2004. We ordered the new one with specific options that we kinda DIY'd with the last one after having it for a while so the 2019 will likely stay pretty much stock.
We were somewhat unsure of the visibility with the tint we were having done so when we got to Esoteric, they grabbed some keys and had us sit in some cars with different levels of tint, both on the windshield and the other windows. In the end, we decided on 55% all the way around and actually seeing it on a car from the drivers seat was a big help.
Todd (Cooperider) was on site after doing some very early morning TV spots for the Columbus Auto show and getting the chance to talk with him, Zack, Dan, Ryan, Tak and all the others there is absolutely an opportunity not to be missed if you're at all interested in the 'automotive arts'. The knowledge these folks have and are willing to share is just incredible. Coatings, PPF, exotic cars, cars in general, detailing specifics, trends in the industry (past, present and future) were all things we touched on.
Sorry for taking up so much of your time, guys...you're just too darn nice for me to not babble on endlessly, absorbing as much info as I can.
Finally heeded Margaret's mentions of "Kurt, you need to let these guys back to work..." and headed out the door...only to realize when pulling out of the parking lot that we forgot to leave them the keys to the Corvette. Oops.
Thanks to everyone at Chesrown Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, most notably Joey Gill who's been putting up with me since last October, and the always first-class folks at Esoteric Fine Auto Finishing. It was a truly fun and memorable day...not sure actually owning and driving the new car will be as fun as the day we bought it.
At a "55% tint," you're going to need to drop the driver's window at night if you're wanting to check for cross intersection traffic when approaching an intersection. My C7's got a 38% tint and I love it - but you can't identify non-lighted traffic with it. 55% would be impossible , IME.
At a "55% tint," you're going to need to drop the driver's window at night if you're wanting to check for cross intersection traffic when approaching an intersection. My C7's got a 38% tint and I love it - but you can't identify non-lighted traffic with it. 55% would be impossible , IME.
I believe 55% is lighter than 38% in that it lets 55% light thru. We were considering 70% which is even lighter than the 55%. At least that's how Ohio classifies tint.
Twas a dark, cloudy day and the 55% was not all that dark in comparison to the 35% I had on other cars.
The 70% was barely noticeable on windshield from inside of car.
With regard to performance, at stock power level, the factory tires stick as good as drag radials. If you do your part you can turn 11s with no problem.
Well, took a shot and went with a dealer not based solely on price alone but rather a combination of things that I thought would provide the most satisfactory and entertaining overall experience.
Unfortunately, oftentimes these 'great' ideas of mine end up on my list of things that "Seemed like a good idea at the time..." due to reality being at odds with my somewhat optimistic theoretical thoughts of how things 'should' work. Sometimes the 'glass half-full' ends up being 'half-empty' after all.
With that in mind, yesterday we hauled ourselves outta bed at 6am and drove 150 miles to be at Chesrown Chevrolet's door at 9am to finalize the paperwork and take delivery of Margaret's new 2019 Corvette. After that we drove it over to Esoteric Fine Auto Finishing where we left it to have the windows tinted, STEK DynoShield applied to the entire car and the wheels pulled, prepped and coated with Kamikaze Stance Rim Coating.
Rich
At the end of the day, nearly 13hrs later, we had one of the most overall entertaining days in my recent memory. Both organizations probably took a hit on overall productivity yesterday as the hospitality (and associated time) they provided to us were beyond compare. Dunno about them, but we were just having SO much fun at both places that I was just unable to merely complete the task at hand in a timely manner and run out the door.
At Chesrown we met the entire dealership family, got an in-depth tour of the facility, the obligatory introduction to the cars features but mostly just had a great time talking with everyone about everything from how their dealership runs, the auto industry in general, cars in general and any other obscure but interesting-to-me things that mighta popped into my head. While they were prepared for our arrival and we coulda probably finalized everything and been on our way in 30 minutes, we ended up spending about 2.5hrs there because time gets away from ya when you're having so much fun. Oh yeah, and we signed some papers and wrote a check too...almost forgot about that part.
We musta seemed like an interesting couple as Margaret was nicely dressed, appropriately accessorized with bits of St Patrick's Day green and me, well I was wearing torn jeans and a Mr. Bubble t-shirt. Opposites attract, I guess.
Got a chance to drive the car for about 30 miles on the way Esoteric and I think its gonna be a winner for us. The controllable dual-mode exhaust is a hoot, it's pretty comfortable for both Margaret and I and it's just overall a nice step up from our 2004 Corvette for us; priorities change as we age and I think we'releaning more to 'Tour' as opposed to strictly 'Sport' these days. Rides nicer in Tour mode, steering is lighter when set to that mode and, for me anyway, the view through the windshield while driving is somewhat less 'faith based' than it was with our previous model; I was just never quite sure exactly where the corners of that car were w respect immovable objects.
I don't see myself laying on the garage floor bolting on longtube headers, cold air intakes or scheduling dyno-tunes with this one like I did with the 2004. We ordered the new one with specific options that we kinda DIY'd with the last one after having it for a while so the 2019 will likely stay pretty much stock.
We were somewhat unsure of the visibility with the tint we were having done so when we got to Esoteric, they grabbed some keys and had us sit in some cars with different levels of tint, both on the windshield and the other windows. In the end, we decided on 55% all the way around and actually seeing it on a car from the drivers seat was a big help.
Todd (Cooperider) was on site after doing some very early morning TV spots for the Columbus Auto show and getting the chance to talk with him, Zack, Dan, Ryan, Tak and all the others there is absolutely an opportunity not to be missed if you're at all interested in the 'automotive arts'. The knowledge these folks have and are willing to share is just incredible. Coatings, PPF, exotic cars, cars in general, detailing specifics, trends in the industry (past, present and future) were all things we touched on.
Sorry for taking up so much of your time, guys...you're just too darn nice for me to not babble on endlessly, absorbing as much info as I can.
Finally heeded Margaret's mentions of "Kurt, you need to let these guys back to work..." and headed out the door...only to realize when pulling out of the parking lot that we forgot to leave them the keys to the Corvette. Oops.
Thanks to everyone at Chesrown Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, most notably Joey Gill who's been putting up with me since last October, and the always first-class folks at Esoteric Fine Auto Finishing. It was a truly fun and memorable day...not sure actually owning and driving the new car will be as fun as the day we bought it.
Full wrap with STEK Dynoshield PPF, 55% window tint all around, wheels pulled, prepped and coated with Kamikaze Stance.
Kinda a hobbyist detailer so usually do the prep, paint correction and coating application myself but wanted to go a bit further on this one and see what life with PPF was like...way outside of my skill set.
Gonna be nice to just pick up car and go as opposed to working on it for a week or so when new.
The PPF is supposed to be hydrophobic and have some self-healing abilities so maintenance will probably just be occasional application of Kamikaze Overcoat or Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz.
Esoteric guys have been a great help in my 'detailing adventures' and every time I've been to the shop for one of their events I thought it'd be great to have them do one of my cars...can check that off the list now!
Originally Posted by Vette Ski
I think WE have a hold in that category !
What level is being done to it !!
Rich
Well, headed down to Esoteric and brought it home today. A very fun day, filled with a bunch of great folks and one great looking car.
As for Esoteric, they certainly went above and beyond, beyond just what we had decided on even. Picked it up today and it really is something special to see.
Was funny as while I went with 2 coats of Kamikaze Stance on wheels, I had planned on a little Polish Angel Super Sport over it when it was home. While they were going over exactly what they did, turns out they had already put the SuperSport over the Stance.
They did all exterior glass with Gyeon View which I had planned on DIY`g and after they did the STEK, they coated it with Kamikaze Film Surface Coat; that was a nice bonus as well. A bit of Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz to bring out that last bit of pop (I saw a 1000ml/1L bottle of Cosmic Spritz there...I gotta get me one of those!) and good to go.
Surface is smooth and pleasant to the touch, not so much slick as like a polished glass type of smooth but not grabby.
55% tint is barely noticeable on inside looking out (still daylight), we`ll see how night goes but not too worried. I musta had ike 5% tint or something back in the 80`s cuz in dark places hadda sometimes roll down the window to see when turning. I think this will work well.
Also, they had a brand new, unboxed set of GM Front and Rear Splash Guards that were going un-used so they threw those in as too.
All in all, I couldn`t have hoped for a better experience...the work is incredible, the whole deal was just plain fun in every respect. Very glad I decided to do it.
As for the car itself, overall it seems/drives 'smaller' than the C5, which is good. Seems to take up slightly less room than the 2004 did.
Visibility seems better to me than the C5 and the ride is much, much better on the freeway. Far less harsh than the C5, less tracking and bump steer. The seats seem comfortable enough although I can see why some find the meeting between the seat bottom and seat back a little discomforting on long hauls...a nice bolster at that junction may improve that if needed.
Passenger side, uh, no way at 6' 2" would I be able to stand that for over 3hrs at a stretch...not much room over there. As a driver, getting into car is fine, getting out a bit harder than the C5; seems like the door opening doesn't extend back past the seat as much, harder to 'roll' out. Maybe 'easy exit' will help.
Obviously the technology is light years ahead of the 2004, gonna take a day or so to 'set it up'. Hopefully the technology proves reliable and trouble free.
We'll see how it goes but I think its gonna be a winner for our needs. A few things we'll miss about the C5 but the pluses of the C7 far outweigh the minuses at first glance/drive.
I know I'm in the minority but I really like the look of the Stingray. There are so many things I prefer about the original Ray compared to the wide body Corvettes. I know for guys who track their cars the GS is the better choice but as a daily driver the base Stingray just makes sense.
We really considered the GS, really liked the aggressive look...until we got back to the spoiler. Just don't like spoilers/wings and the rest of the GS mechanical stuff was superfluous for our needs. Did like the look of the GS for the most part though. Silly as it may sound, another thing I thought of when looking at the GS was "Wow, water sure is gonna need to be blown outta a lot of places after a wash".
Originally Posted by JDSC7VETTE
I know I'm in the minority but I really like the look of the Stingray. There are so many things I prefer about the original Ray compared to the wide body Corvettes. I know for guys who track their cars the GS is the better choice but as a daily driver the base Stingray just makes sense.
GREAT description of work performed and details of the car. I can't compare anything to a C5, I can agree getting out is tricky. (Wait till you get into your 70's to see how much fun it is to get out )
Looks good, good luck again!
Rich
03-16-2019, 04:39 PM
