What do you think of the C5 Vette?

[tim87tr]

Originally posted by buickman69
I bought a '99 BRAND NEW, and it was the BEST daily driver i've EVER owned. A T-R doesn't even come close for a daily driver (in my opinion!).

Cool, I hope I can drive it most days, except during the winter which is not too long here. I'm only about 8 miles from work, so if I need to switch vehicles at lunch, I can. I have two children, and that is the only downside for me to consider, no back seat for the extra passenger.

 

[buickman69]

Originally posted by tim87tr
Cool, I hope I can drive it most days, except during the winter which is not too long here. I'm only about 8 miles from work, so if I need to switch vehicles at lunch, I can. I have two children, and that is the only downside for me to consider, no back seat for the extra passenger.

The heck with that man, that car was meant to drive!!

I remember the C-5 birthday bash in April '99 @ the museum in BG KY. I had about 5,000 miles on the car already, had just bought it in Febuary with 000,006 miles on it then. David Hill (i think that was his name) a famous guy with chevy that's the head designer/engineer of the C-5 some call him the "father" of the C-5 walks by and sees my '99 with brake dust covering the wheels and mud down the side and says:

" I love it!! This car is actually DRIVEN which is what they were meant to be".

I said:
"yeah it's my daily driver... i've had it in ice, snow, salt, rain, off road (which is where the mud came from) you name it".

He say's : " I like to see them like this. They are normal cars built in mass production to drive on a daily basis".

Then he offered to sign the backside of my hood which I of course let him. The guys standing around hearing and seeing this wasn't too happy as mine was the ONLY dirty one there that came in it's true daily fashion.

That's my point, and a quote from the head guy over the C-5 is those cars are meant to be driven. They ARE built in mass production and will never be worth or as rare as the T-R's and old V8 Buicks in years to come. The Buicks are the ones I keep out of the weather and baby.

My buddy @ the plant says that they build approx. 35,000 per year. Multiply that times 6 and that's 210,000 C-5's since the 1st in '97 model year thru the end of the '03 model year.

If you buy that C-5 DRIVE-IT, and enjoy it! Rain or shine.
Don't know what to tell ya about the other kid though.

 

[tim87tr]

Yea, thanks for the weather perspective. I have no problem with the rain, but I won't make it out of my 250 foot long driveway in the snow. A big snow here is only about 5 or 6 inches, but I have an old S10 Blazer for that. I liked the story about your dirty car...this one won't be a garage queen. I don't worry too much if it rains on my Buicks, but for their longevity due to their age, I won't intentionally take them out in bad weather.

 

[slow 87]

The C5 is a great car!

 

[GNSCOTT]

You might want to wait for a while. The new C6's are supposedly coming out about Jan, and you could get the standard vette, with an automatic, with about as much horse as the Z06 has now. (405 horse version). Also, the retail value of the current vettes is going to drop considerably (Z06's especially) when the new onc comes out. I like mine, but I wish that is was an automatic.

Lemme know if ya wanna trade straight up for an 03 with auto..

 

[Red Regal T]

Originally posted by buickman69
(I HATE chevys)

I would agree with that!

 

[Gary Wells]

"GNSCOTT'
"Lemme know if ya wanna trade straight up for an 03 with auto."

I do not dislike it quite that much just yet, but if I do I will let you know.

They are fast, and they do handle.
They lack the cult following of the great Turbo-Regals, though

 

[Rogue Leader]

Originally posted by galoush
I drove a buddys 99 convert , had it up to 140 . Its a car i wouldnt mind owning . The only thing i dont like is every yahoo on LongIsaland here in N.Y seems to own one . Id go for the ZO6 if i was going to go that route , which i also see alot of but

I agree theres more C5s around here than Mustangs!!

 

[Gokou]

I've driven a few, and would love to have one for a fun daily driver.

Good points:
-Comfy (great ride, low road noise, good seating position)
-Chassis rigidity. To say they're a billion times better than a C4 would still be an understatement. I don't think I ever heard a creak, groan, or pop even from my friend's '02 Vert.
-Good to excellent instrumentation (the HUD and multi-function portion of the dash display is way cool.)
-Excellent, predictable, stable handling even with active handling off
-Neat toys, such as the active shocks/suspension, and the active handling control is fun to play with.
-Reliable powertrain and suspension
-Excellent brakes
-Reasonble power (I find the standards a bit lacking, and the Z06's better, but still need more power)
-Excellent mod potential (turbos, superchargers, naturally aspirated, you name it)
-Ones a few years old and with a few miles are getting very affordable. Heck, a friend recently sold his MINT 14K mile 2001 Z06 for $34K! You can get standard C5's in the 20's now, even mid to low 20's.

Drawbacks:
-low nose, sucks for a good many parking lots.
-looks; a lot of people just can't get to like them. I myself would love to have a Z06 in a coupe body, but alas, no. I could live with the hardtop styling of the Z06 though. I myself like them.
-If you ever need tranny service, have the wallet ready. With the transaxle setup a clutch job is a bit spendy.
-they're EVERYWHERE. Don't expect to stand out.
-Insurance, especially for the younger of us. I'm 24 now. 2 years back I was considering buying a Z06. I was ready to buy until I got the insurance quote back-- Even with no tickets/accidents I was quoted $4800/year!

I expect a sizeable price drop after the C6's come out and everyone rushes to have the "latest and greatest."

Maybe next year after the C6 is out and I'm 25 I'll make my move and pick up an excellent condition <20K mile Z06. The '65 396 Roadster could use some company in the garage.

 

[tim87tr]

Gokou, great reply, lots of info I've only rode in a C5 once.

On the insurance, yes, 25 is the magic number. I was quoted just under $1000 annual for $500 deduct, multi-car discount, no tickets. And I definitely agree on the mass production, they're not intended to be "special" like the TRs. Therefore a good daily driver. Looks like there are plenty of basic mods for them also, like the TRs, except more $$. I see a few people on the C5 boards are frugal and use the DIY method to afford initial basic mods, which I would do also.