1999 - 2001 Corvette = Reliable?

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Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,337
136
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: Vic
Shouldn't be any problems with reliability, but it'd be like having a Miata as a daily driver -- very impractical.
Again why do you think that? OK trunk space, no +2 people of course. Comfy suspension, plenty of driver room. They really AREN'T that small or uncomfortable to use. And you can get pretty good gas mileage with them.
Trunk space is exactly why I thought of that. I don't like it when the groceries or the golf bag has to ride shotgun.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
Hey hey...

Yep as Tim said me and my wife have a 2001 Corvette (auto trans).

If looking I would REALLY try to get a 2001 or newer. The prices have come down quite a bit since the C6 came out but there are piles of them that have been babied.

1 of the reasons I say 2001 or better is that all 2001+ Vettes have Active Handling standard. In short that means when you slid the ass out with to much gas it will get you straight again without being in a ditch. Now you can turn it off and be in the ditch if that?s what you want.

Ground clearance is not a problem either. The only time we kinda scrap is going up/down a steep drive way and even then its not really the car scrapping but the air dam. The air dam is just a flat piece of plastic that shoots air into the radiator and is pretty cheap to replace so I am not worried about it.

Gas mileage is actually good. In stop and go traffic my wife gets 21mpg, give or take. When we got the car she drove the Toyota Rav4 (4cyl) and I drove the Vette and I got about 1 mpg better on the highway then she did. Now if you beat on it yea the gas mileage will drop. :)

Inside room is not too bad. We have used it many times on trips and got all her stuff in the car and even a little room for my clothes.

Reliability is good as well. Mind you the car has every bell and whistle from the pop up head lights, HUD, traction control and active handling?etc? But even then the only thing that has really gone bad was the headlight motor but it was under warranty at the time.

So if you got any questions just ask.


OPPS almost forgot.

In snow it is not bad either since it has traction control and active handling. But it still can get away so you have to be a smart driver like any other time. Juts don;t drive like a tool in really bad weather and you will be ok. But that can be said for just about all low, rear wheel drive, sports cars.
 

tboo

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2000
7,626
1
81
Originally posted by: BullyCanadian
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
It would be awful in the snow, and judging my your name, that will probably be a good portion of the year.

Im not too worried about snow. I would be putting very good snow tires on them during the winter any hoo and using summers for the rest of the year. (Never use all season tires) so that should take care of the snow handling issue.

1st off the C5 Vettes are reliable & get decent fuel mileage. They DO NOT make a good driver in the snow-even with snow tires. You might be able to if you put on skinny snow tires & put a ton of weight in the rear hatch area, but even then you would have to be light on the throttle.

 

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
Originally posted by: tboo
Originally posted by: BullyCanadian
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
It would be awful in the snow, and judging my your name, that will probably be a good portion of the year.

Im not too worried about snow. I would be putting very good snow tires on them during the winter any hoo and using summers for the rest of the year. (Never use all season tires) so that should take care of the snow handling issue.

1st off the C5 Vettes are reliable & get decent fuel mileage. They DO NOT make a good driver in the snow-even with snow tires. You might be able to if you put on skinny snow tires & put a ton of weight in the rear hatch area, but even then you would have to be light on the throttle.
You have to be light on the throttle in any RWD V8 vehicle during any adverse conditions. I was going down the road in light rain in 2nd, and a little too much throttle brought the ass out a bit. Mind you with 6 gears, 2nd is pretty torquey still, but that doesn't separate the Vette from any others.

Marlin, maybe you can give some estimates on trunk space? I didn't think it was that bad from what I saw...and damn is it a nice car to sit in :)
 

tboo

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2000
7,626
1
81
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: tboo
Originally posted by: BullyCanadian
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
It would be awful in the snow, and judging my your name, that will probably be a good portion of the year.

Im not too worried about snow. I would be putting very good snow tires on them during the winter any hoo and using summers for the rest of the year. (Never use all season tires) so that should take care of the snow handling issue.

1st off the C5 Vettes are reliable & get decent fuel mileage. They DO NOT make a good driver in the snow-even with snow tires. You might be able to if you put on skinny snow tires & put a ton of weight in the rear hatch area, but even then you would have to be light on the throttle.
You have to be light on the throttle in any RWD V8 vehicle during any adverse conditions. I was going down the road in light rain in 2nd, and a little too much throttle brought the ass out a bit. Mind you with 6 gears, 2nd is pretty torquey still, but that doesn't separate the Vette from any others.

Marlin, maybe you can give some estimates on trunk space? I didn't think it was that bad from what I saw...and damn is it a nice car to sit in :)


It sure does seperate it from other v8 rwd vehicles if it has wide tires & no extra weight over the drive wheels-you would get no where.
 

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,368
418
126
I wouldnt see why it wouldnt be a good daily driver. Its a Chevy so parts would be cheap and actually not to hard for you to do any repairs on it yourself. Its a Vette so it will have some balls and look good to. Id say go for it. I would and almost did till I found out I couldnt fit in one :(
Im too damn tall and too damn wide in the sholders. Was a sad day for me when I was able to afford one and couldnt fit in any but the t-top version and then I looked silly with my head sticking out past the roof line :p Not to mention my knees where hitting the dash and gut was against the wheel. if yor tall you can pretty much forget getting one then.
 

Syringer

Lifer
Aug 2, 2001
19,333
3
71
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: Vic
Shouldn't be any problems with reliability, but it'd be like having a Miata as a daily driver -- very impractical.
Again why do you think that? OK trunk space, no +2 people of course. Comfy suspension, plenty of driver room. They really AREN'T that small or uncomfortable to use. And you can get pretty good gas mileage with them.
Trunk space is exactly why I thought of that. I don't like it when the groceries or the golf bag has to ride shotgun.

Have you ever seen a Corvette? It has more trunk space than your average mid sized sedan, and even gets better freeway mileage.
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,811
126
C5 Corvette is quite roomy for a sports car and the ride is very plush and comfortable. Trunk space is not really an issue. It's decent size and your grocery will fit fine. My experience is with C5 Z06.

The car is designed to be a daily driver and is very capable. Gas mileage is great and you should average in the 20s. Car is very reliable and the engine and the drivetrain very good.

Insurance is cheap on a Vette. I checked with my State Farm agent and C5 Z06 is about the same rate as what my S2000 was even though the Z06 cost more and I have the recent totaled S2000 claim on my record.

If you can handle it on the snow, by all means go for it. As for mods, simple mods will give you big increase in hp. Yes you can turbo it later if you feel the need as many already have.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
I wouldn't want to put up with the 2 door, low riding, no back seat nature of it as a DD. Not to mention that you are a cop target and every boy racer wanna be is going to be wanting to gun with you at the stoplights.

The only advocates for it live in Georgia and North Carolina. Both places that shut down the state with more than 1" of snow on the ground.

If I wanted something fun but still practical, I'd look at a WRX/Legacy GT.

It's not a 350HP snarling V8 like the 'vette, but it's quick, doesn't draw a lot of attention, and is about as utilitarian as you can get.
 

JSFLY

Golden Member
Mar 24, 2006
1,068
0
0
If you've got enough money to buy another one every 3 years or so then yeh
 

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
Originally posted by: vi_edit
I wouldn't want to put up with the 2 door, low riding, no back seat nature of it as a DD. Not to mention that you are a cop target and every boy racer wanna be is going to be wanting to gun with you at the stoplights.

The only advocates for it live in Georgia and North Carolina. Both places that shut down the state with more than 1" of snow on the ground.

If I wanted something fun but still practical, I'd look at a WRX/Legacy GT.

It's not a 350HP snarling V8 like the 'vette, but it's quick, doesn't draw a lot of attention, and is about as utilitarian as you can get.
Agreed the LGT and WRX are more practical and still very fun to drive, but they are very different cars to even compare them in the same sentence.
 

TerryMathews

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,464
2
0
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: TerryMathews
No, but snow tires have less than ideal traction compared to regular tires in non-snow conditions. Not what you want in a car with a lot of torque.

IMO you won't even need snow tires OP. Corvettes are very well-behaved in the snow, especially 95+ with the addition of ASR. The only things to keep in mind are throttle (gotta make sure you don't start peeling out) and ground clearance. Because the car sits so low to the ground, you've got to make sure you don't get hung up on snow drifts. It's no worse than a lowered car though.
The car has a lot of torque but it is more spread out through the RPM range than older Chevy small blocks. Just be light on the throttle and it won't be as much of a problem. I can only speak for heavy rain, I don't plan on driving my GTO in the snow, but my car also makes a decent amount more power than those Vette's. And at the same time my car is a lot heavier (3700lb vs ~3200lb).

Maybe Marlin can comment on driving a Vette in the snow?

I was trying to help the OP out in reference to the car he's used to driving (92 Saturn). Not a lot of throttle to someone who's used to driving V8s is quite a bit different than someone who's used to driving a 4-banger.

I've actually driven Vettes in the snow - if you'd clicked on the "My Baby" in my sig, you'd see that I actually own a '91 vert and live in Ohio, where we get quite a bit of snow.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: BullyCanadian
Another thread by me asking about cars. I previously had my mind set on getting a Toyota (either a Lexus IS300 or a Toyota Highlander) but have been really impressed by Corvettes as of late. I currently drive a 1992 Saturn and a corvette would be a nice healthy upgrade.

How good are the 1999 - 2001 models? I would be using it as a daily driver and expecting to put around 40k (km's) a year. Also are they very turbo friendly if i chose to go down that path later on??

First narrow down your car selection...vette, IS300 and Highlander are all over the place.

I went from a 96 Saturn SC2 to a 98 Nissan 240SX SE, I was looking at various $30-40k cars like it in 2004...I am glad I made my choice.
 

essasin

Platinum Member
Mar 4, 2004
2,777
0
0
If you can comfortably afford it and worked hard for most of you life...why not live a little. If you can afford a vette as a daily driver I am assuming you can afford to have a truck for when the weather gets really bad.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: chuckywang
A 'vette as a daily driver? Baller, man.

Originally posted by: DeadByDawn
corvette would not be a good daily driver. And it'd make you look like a toolbox.

why? A corvette is pretty civilized. Most people commute solo.
 

BullyCanadian

Platinum Member
May 4, 2003
2,026
0
71
Originally posted by: essasin
If you can comfortably afford it and worked hard for most of you life...why not live a little. If you can afford a vette as a daily driver I am assuming you can afford to have a truck for when the weather gets really bad.

well I'm 21 y/o taking a 60% course load in university and working full time. I got a decent job that pays for my school/insurance/car/entertainment/and $200 to parents for rent and misc. things Ive been saving up for a new(new to me) car for a while now.

 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: vi_edit
I wouldn't want to put up with the 2 door, low riding, no back seat nature of it as a DD. Not to mention that you are a cop target and every boy racer wanna be is going to be wanting to gun with you at the stoplights.

The only advocates for it live in Georgia and North Carolina. Both places that shut down the state with more than 1" of snow on the ground.

If I wanted something fun but still practical, I'd look at a WRX/Legacy GT.

It's not a 350HP snarling V8 like the 'vette, but it's quick, doesn't draw a lot of attention, and is about as utilitarian as you can get.

'vettes are hardly cop targets today...most are middle aged drivers.
 

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: vi_edit
I wouldn't want to put up with the 2 door, low riding, no back seat nature of it as a DD. Not to mention that you are a cop target and every boy racer wanna be is going to be wanting to gun with you at the stoplights.

The only advocates for it live in Georgia and North Carolina. Both places that shut down the state with more than 1" of snow on the ground.

If I wanted something fun but still practical, I'd look at a WRX/Legacy GT.

It's not a 350HP snarling V8 like the 'vette, but it's quick, doesn't draw a lot of attention, and is about as utilitarian as you can get.

'vettes are hardly cop targets today...most are middle aged drivers.
Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...

GTO is more a non-event than vettes.

 

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...

GTO is more a non-event than vettes.
:roll: Troller returns....

Here trolley troll troll, here trolley troll troll, want some candy?
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...

GTO is more a non-event than vettes.
:roll: Troller returns....

Here trolley troll troll, here trolley troll troll, want some candy?

The Corvette and GTO are not ticket magnets any more...their demographic is middle aged professionals, for the corvette it's also a high percentage of female professionals.

The GTO doesn't stick out on most roads as anything different. That is a plus for some and a minus for others. Personally I would not want a high profile car.

Thanks for attacking the poster and not reading the issue.
 

AdamK47

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,845
3,637
136
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...

GTO is more a non-event than vettes.

GTOs and Corvettes are cars not events silly.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...

GTO is more a non-event than vettes.
:roll: Troller returns....

Here trolley troll troll, here trolley troll troll, want some candy?

All he's saying is that the GTO is more bland and less attention grabbing than a Vette. I agree with him. Before the refresh they were nothing more than inflated cavaliers.
 

AdamK47

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,845
3,637
136
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...

GTO is more a non-event than vettes.
:roll: Troller returns....

Here trolley troll troll, here trolley troll troll, want some candy?

All he's saying is that the GTO is more bland and less attention grabbing than a Vette. I agree with him. Before the refresh they were nothing more than inflated cavaliers.

Explain
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Originally posted by: AdamK47 3DS
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Yeah, not to mention while vettes are pretty slick they don't look aggressive or ricey. My GTO is more likely to be targeted by cops, and WRX/EVO's are even worse ;) All the more motivation for me to de-spoiler it...

GTO is more a non-event than vettes.
:roll: Troller returns....

Here trolley troll troll, here trolley troll troll, want some candy?

All he's saying is that the GTO is more bland and less attention grabbing than a Vette. I agree with him. Before the refresh they were nothing more than inflated cavaliers.

Explain

Explain what?

Nonevent n : an anticipated event that turns out to be far less significant than was expected. AKA boring, dull, bland, blah.

Which is what the GTO is compared to the Vette. It simply does not turn heads like it's flagship cousin.