Base or Grand Sport for daily driver? (Opinions Requested)
 

I have a question and wanted to get some opinions on the forum.

I am looking at getting either a base C6 or a Grand Sport C6 as a daily driver. My concern is that I want to get one with a bit higher miles and lower cost as I WILL be driving it in all weather (I am in the southeast - so weather not that bad) all the time. I will need to park on the street, parking decks, next to people and know that I will get the occasional bump or bruise on the car.

That being said, I am looking at an 08 Base car (3LT clear roof) with 120K miles (about $16K)...I am also looking at GS 10 3LT 22K miles and GS 13 3LT 41K miles - both of which are about $36K. I don't mind paying a bit more for a GS, but the higher miles don't scare me (maybe it should :-)). I have not owned a C6, but from talking with others, I am told the performance for daily driving is going to be about the same on base and GS.

Again, I am looking for others opinions of what year, what level (base or GS), mileage, and price point that I should be looking at for a daily driver that I plan on putting a lot of miles on.

(ADDED NOTE: To add one point, my concern is that adding miles and getting some "bumps and bruises" on the car from daily driving it will drive value down....so which is the smartest choice and point to start with a C6? (price and model))

Thanks everyone, appreciate your input!

Based on your post, I would recommend buying one of the GS. I would always recommend the lowest mileage, newest year, and most options that you can afford. Price does not seem to be a deciding factor for you. With that being said, I am curious why you are considering the '08 with such high mileage... I get that it is way cheaper but you are comparing different apples on the 2 GS that are under 50k miles. You should be afraid of the high miles- stuff starts breaking down after 100k miles and nothing is cheap to repair or replace on these engines (there is a Corvette Tax)

Cosmetically, the GS has the wide body kit and improved styling (IMHO) inside and out. Performance wise, I doubt you would notice much difference as a daily driver.

My wife and I found our GS comfortable for a 3,000+ mile trip to Florida and a recent 2,500 mile trip to Colorado. That isn't DD duty, but it does say something for the comfort level of the car. I'm guessing that clearance issues should be about the same. I do have to be careful about a fair number of parking structures.

I paid $26500 last Feb for by 11 GS conv. It is a 3lt and now has 87K miles on it. Personally I like the GS for the wide body. Never driven a base so I cannot speak on the difference. GS' seem to maintain a strong premium. But choice is subjective as you have to decide what you deem a value. One thing to think about. You will pay a premium for a lower mile car, drive it daily and rack up miles that value is lost. Sorta why I went with a higher mile car. I knew I was going to modify it and put miles on it in the summer. Miles never bothered me if condition was excellent.

A narrow body car will be a little easier on both the wallet and in daily activities.

A narrow body is faster, will get better MPG, a lot less oil needed for an oil change (if a M6 car), tires are cheaper, easier to park in tighter spots, easier to get in and out of steep driveways and such. Outside of exterior aesthetics and raw handling limits, a narrow body is "better" in almost every way.

I daily drove an 08 narrow body for 5 years and now daily a 12 GS for the last year. Both have been very reliable and only replaced tires and a battery. Buy the newest one that fits your budget and don't look back.

I have a base and wish I would've saved for a GS. You can google all the exact differences, but I primarily like the wide body on the GS. Additionally, you get better brakes, wider tires, dry sump oil system, and other goodies. Both have removable tops. If you DO get a base, get '08 or newer (they introduced the LS3 in '08).

Am I disappointed with my base? No, not at all (excluding the bad harmonic balancer I didn't know about when I purchased it). Base will be slightly cheaper to maintain (brakes, tires are smaller/cheaper), but man you can't beat the look of that wide body GS!

To add one point, my concern is that adding miles and getting some "bumps and bruises" on the car from daily driving it will drive value down....so which is the smartest choice and point to start with a C6? (price and model)

High miles do not necessarily mean problems are coming, just as low miles does not necessarily mean less problems. How it was driven and maintained is more important. I suggest a dealer history report for the ones your interested in.

As for base vs GS for a daily the base will have a lower operating cost over time. GS tires and brakes will cost more than for a base. And you can get all season performance tires for the base, not aware of any for the GS. Others will correct me if I am wrong about the tires.

Comes down to if the looks of the GS is worth the extra cost (purchase price and maintenance cost) to you. It is for a lot of C6 owners.

I have a 07 base with 207,000 miles, all of which I put on. Take the car everywhere with no hesitation.
Runs and looks great.

Either one is a great choice. Just look for the car that really like and go find it. Always remember you are the one that must look at it every day, make sure you love it.

Simply driving the normal person won't be able to differentiate any actual difference between the two.

I didn't know normal people drove Corvettes! I'm certainly not one, and I can't differentiate any actual difference between the two! :D

Definitely buy the newest model, mileage is less important for a daily driver because you are going to start racking up miles anyway. I went with a '13 GS 6M 4LT coupe 60th anniversary model simply because it "spoke" to me. A base model will be cheaper to buy and to run. The 6M GS is meant to be the "baby track car" of the lineup so it's a bit compromised as a DD. The only thing that I was not expecting is the dry sump cars with the air-to-oil coolers take FOREVER to warm up the oil even in the sunny south. You won't have that problem with an auto or a vert (except the 427 vert). I went so far as to replace the radiator and oil cooler with a DeWitts rad that has an engine oil cooler built in. That gets the oil up to temp quicker and keeps it warmer under normal operating conditions but plenty cool for even the most enthusiastic street driving.

For your situation, really no difference except for looks and price. If you already have a set budget, you'll probably get a nicer "base" model with lower miles.

The GS has more room to depreciate, and so the bumps and such you're planning to add will cost you more money.

The base car is far cheaper. You have a lot more room to rack up miles without losing as many dollars per mile. If you're worried about losing money, it's the car to buy, as far as corvettes go. Corvettes aren't a good car to buy period if you're worried about money spent on them though...

FWIW, there is only one choice of AS tires in GS sizes, so if you are going to be driving below 40 deg take that into consideration. I love my GS, but if I had to DD a C6 it would be a base model.
The LS engines hold up very well, there is a member on here that bought a Hertz rental and put over 200k on it, Callaway also has a supercharged LS3 w/ close to 200k, many of those 1/4 mi at a time.

Both will work for you. As many others have said, buy the newest model you can fit in your budget. If you don't have a GS as a must have, then a base will get you a newer, lower mileage car. Improvements are made every year.

Actually that Callaway is nearer to 300k miles! :eek:

As already stated, the narrow body will be cheaper to drive. But the GS looks much better. If you will have to drive in snow you should go with the narrow body due to availability of snow tires and/or more than one choice for all season tires, which is all that is available for the GS.

I've had an 2006 Base Vette and now a 2010 GS. I daily drove both for around 7 months out of the year (Cleveland Ohio winters suck) and I honestly can't tell the difference! And I don't care how much more the tires cost (It's not like you have to replace them every oil change) on a GS! The looks are worth it!