81_vette!

I am absolutely sick of it as well. I really, really feel your pain.

My problem? I did not do my homework before I got the vette.
I should have been far more knowledgeable about these cars... been able to isolate the issues that were going to be deal busters. The seller was a liar, and I did not know enough about vettes at the time to call him on it.

The car is really cool and my girl loves it to death. I sold my Lamborghini kit car and bought the vette.... been kicking myself ever since. At least the kit car was totally dependable, I never felt like it was going to leave me stranded. I cross my fingers every time I crank the vette. LOL.

I bought the vette for $6400 and have another $3600 in it in less than a year.... and all of it has been mechanically related for the most part. I will admit that all the work done thus far has made the car more enjoyable to drive and more dependable.... but if it does not end I will have no choice but to sell it for whatever I can get for it.

And forget the fun add-ons and custom frilly stuff... I am just praying to get through the mechanical abyss.

Has a rebuilt engine, and everything actually works... sort-of.

The car looks great physically (body and paint are very nice) so I don't have to deal with that expensive torment.

But mechanically... it's a moving target. I see a tranny rebuild in my future, so I am having to weigh my losses. Do I want to sell it now and loose a few grand, or keep it and suck up the expenses I know are around the corner?

So after the tranny.... what the hell is left? I have replaced everything else... so maybe I am at the end of this torture? Or is it a cycle that you never get out of? So... I guess I will drive it until the tranny falls out in the road.

I have other cars, and lots of projects to keep me busy.
So I think my personal issue is having an ideal of perfection.
I can barely stand the though of having something wrong with my car and not getting it repaired as soon as possible. I am getting close to the point where I can no longer fix things right away....


I want to enjoy this car, not lose sleep over it.

Ron R

Don't do it, man!

Here's what I'm going to tell you, and I'm only saying this because of what we talked about in the past and the whole debt situation. Even though you had to buy a water pump for the beater, it's still cheaper than a car payment. If you had to buy a new water pump EVERY MONTH for the beater, it's the SAME as a car payment ... but you know you're not going to have to buy it every month. So on the months were you don't have to spend that cash, all you have to worry about is gas.

If you go the route of buying a new car, (1) you'll have more debt and I know you don't want that, and (2) you'll be paying that same "dammit I gotta buy this part" money every month.

Take it from someone who has a couple of vettes, I still drive my 2000 Wrangler every day. Yeah stuff will break once in a while, but so what? It's still cheaper than a car payment. Even a "low" car payment is $300 these days ... that's $3,600 a year. Short of a total transmission failure, odds are you aren't going to spend $3,600 a year keeping a beater running. If you do, then you have the wrong beater.

It's not worth going into debt, man. Keep the beater.

As for the vette, that's a different story - it's purely a pleasure car, and you have to decide whether your interests would be better served by keeping it and enjoying the benefits of owning it, or selling it and using the money to pay off some other debt.

You'll make the right decision as long as you don't make a hasty one.

NIGHTMARE73

Keep It Man !!
If You Buy A Honda, It Might Be Better On Gas !!
But When You Wake Up In The Morning Its Still Not A Vette !!
Us Vette Owners Dont Keep Them For The Mpg !
We Keep Them Cause There The American Dream Car !
Lol

fauxrs2

In addition to the above.. also the cycle does end, you just havent got there yet. When i got my car i had to invest a few hundred in it before i could register it...mechanicly it was ok...and the car was my DD for the better part of 8 years.

Now my car is very reliable, I limit how much drive now because of gas prices but I can and do drive it at will.

Oh and i am still putting money into mine, but for fun stuff...current project is stereo upgrade and new center console with ipod dock.

Hang in there and it will get better

Kerry67

Ron,

I HEAR you.........I just get sick of nothing working out. Just ONCE I would like to get a car that every seller tells me is "running perfect" "no problems" etc.........and actually have it be that way instead of having to dump $$$ into it in a matter of DAYS. That goes for the Vette (Thanks CORVETTES ONLY DENVER) to my beater (bought it off a fireman) to whatever. It ALWAYS happens. It is proof to me that if there is a God, he hates me because my run of bad luck is long enough for 20 people.

vettes555

The Corvette is like a hot babe mistress. She takes all your money and leaves your broke. However unlike a mistress she won't be looking around wondering if the grass is greener, nor will she stray. She'll allways be in your garage (parking spot) and be at your beck and call.

Joe Buck

The grass does get greener on the other side, yet you raise a great caveat: know what you're getting yourself into. There's no finer way than talknig to someone who's owned one.

Once you get around to replacing it all (like I have) the car will be just as reliable as most. It's the knowledge knowing that you will have to replace all the old components......we're talking 'bout 30+ year old parts here folks that were'nt meant to last.

**RETROFIT**

Red70vette

Cars cost money. That is the bottom line. If you buy an old one you have to pump money into it for repairs. If you buy a new one you have to pump money into it for depreciation.

The only SAVING GRACE IS IF YOU PUMP ENOUGH MONEY INTO YOUR VETTE IT WILL RETAIN ITS VALUE AND MIGHT EVEN INCREASE. You can't say that about a new car. That Camry will cost you $30k and in 1 year will be worth $20K and in 2 years be worth $12K. If you put $30K into your vette in the next 2 years it should be worth a whole lot more than $12K. Choose your poison.

mod81

I'm just waiting for the day I can START spending money on it. I see you're point though about maintaining...I don't have that issue(knock on wood), but I am too broke to do any of the upgrades I want. Trying to save for a house, a ring for the lady, and a vette restoration is tough on a recent college grad salary.

Jeffery73

Sounds to me like you should sell it. If your that worried about fixing it, you shouldn't have it (or any old car for that matter). Things break when they get old. That's the way it is. Sounds to me like you will be happier driving a civic or prius.
Most of us buy these cars because we enjoy working on them as much as driving them.

Kerry67

By working on them I bet you mean making them look nice, perform better (fun stuff) etc....NOT, 2 grand on brakes, replace a power steering hose, Needing new shocks, A/C switch, radiator leaking all over, etc........

Kerry67

I don't think most of you get my purpose of the thread. I CAN afford my Vette, I do ENJOY my Vette, I have fixed my Corvette and it is a nice driver the way it sits. BUT, having stuff go wrong on cars every week gets old. I would LOVE to be able to put the money into the fun stuff like all of you but have not had that chance yet.

bextreme1

Owning a classic car is like owning a boat...Money pits! I'm changing my tranny to a 700R4. Why, I don't know. I'll get better gas mileage but I don't drive it enough to make a difference. I won't drive it anymore than I do now but I want to have it and I can afford to do it so I am. There is no real reason to do it other than I want to and that list never ends.

BTW, I can't wait to see what else I need to replace once the tranny is out and other things need to be done.

schmegeggie

I was in that boat when I bought mine. It was one problem after another for 4 months!
After $3000 I got scared to even drive it for fear of something else happening. I started to get buyers remorse.
Turned out almost two years later, I look back at what I've learned about the car, the people here in the forum that helped me, and the Best of Show Trophy I won last year, and it's made me more of a car guy than I was before.
Take it on, I say. You won't regret it later. It's a learning experience.
P.S. I'm currently finishing up a major suspension overhaul, engine detailing, and getting the AC running for the trip to Carlisle in August...can't wait!

Joe Buck

It does get old: now either sit back, calm down and realise you've just been dealt a crappy hand, but having finished some of the larger issues won't have to worry about them for awhile...that or sell it and lose some cash.

If you keep it it'll end up being that much more meaningful/worth-while when it's all done......that and possibly worth more.

jgoglick

I approach it this way - my Corvette is my hobby. It's not my daily driver, and it usually comes out on weekends only. I've thrown a lot of money into it - new engine, rebuilt Muncie, Dewitt's radiator, etc. Now I'm putting some decent money into a bunch of new interior pieces. I'm doing this knowing I won't get most, if any, of that money back if I ever sell. I do it because it's making the car what I want it to be, and I get great pleasure hearing it fire up and driving down the road with the top down.

Any hobby you participate in will cost you money - some just require more than others. If it gives you that much grief, maybe it isn't for you. There's nothing wrong with that. We all experience frustration, but the joy has to be there or it's just not worth it. Life's too short.

jlelec

I agree with every one, just one thing to add. I owned a 78, 79 and an 80 when they were new or close to new and they were poor quality even then . I still love them and have 2 and work on them as a hobby. I often wonder how I rode in one every day back in my younger years . On the way to cruise ins, I ask my wife; Remember when we used to take 5 hr road trips in one of these??

Ron R

I would like to add that I don't know why some of you guys are always saying how you have to work on your vettes ... maybe you're buying the wrong parts or something, but I'm on my third C3 and none of them have needed constant repair.

The 81 was bought as a basket case in 1999, by 2001 I had replaced or rebuilt nearly everything I could get to without taking the body off the frame. It was my DD for a few years and never had another day of trouble out of it, still runs like a new car.

The 68 was bought fully restored in 2001. Had a vapor lock problem in 2002 or 2003, replaced the radiator and ran new fuel lines. No problems since.

The 80 I bought last year and never had a day of trouble with it. I even drove it to Tennessee, 12 hours straight, then back home two days later. Wasn't worried about breaking down either. I swapped the transmission for a 700 R4, changed gear ratios, and having a new motor built. All of these things were done for performance (bought it to make it a track car), not for repair ... the original equipment is still in working order and will probably go into the next car I feel like toying with.

Anyway ... a car is as reliable as you make it. The way some of you guys talk you make it sound like you can't drive across the street without the wheels falling off. These are good cars, easy to work on when you have to, and when you fix something it stays fixed. No different than any other car of age - eventually if you replace all of the parts close enough together, it's like having a new car. I find it hard to believe that I've been "lucky" 3 times in a row ... an old car is an old car and things are going to break, but once you fix that bad part it should stay fixed.

brdd

Lots of good thoughts here.

I think, for some of us here, money is not the main issue.

I have about a thousand dollars in parts and mods sitting on shelves in my garage waiting for me to get up the ambition to work on my 72. But I work most every day (self-employed) and I have many projects going on at home and at work. Cars are down the list.

Add to that a bad back and poor eyesight and it's easy to see why for some of us life gets in the way.

When I was younger the kids (3) took first place always. Now the kids are gone so my corvettes are my hobby........when I can work up the energy.............

I'm gonna go lay down now for a while.....................

chevy69

It's just part of the game - if you don't enjoy the maintenance and upkeep of an old vehicle...