Put in money-don’t drive much-why?
The following 4 users liked this post by saplumr:
03-25-2021, 02:15 PM
#22
Burning Brakes
I don't know or really care why they're not driven that much. All I know is kudos to the last person (one owner) who owned mine else I wouldn't have been able to buy an '11 GS 3LT 6M with 5k on it 18 months ago - prior to the insane price increases we've seen with COVID.
Past that - who cares?
Past that - who cares?
The following users liked this post:
Red Greene (03-26-2021)
03-25-2021, 03:34 PM
#23
Safety Car
Back before the hot young stripper wife I also used the same formula when dating... Hahaha... it's a winning formula :-)
03-25-2021, 03:49 PM
#24
Safety Car
I think you're missing the main points here. Is Jay Leno not super wealthy? Tim Allen? Im sure I could find a bunch more if I wanted to waste time. Sure the "average vette owner" isn't super wealthy, myself included, but there are a lot of super wealthy people that have corvettes and drive the **** out of them. I put 50k miles on my modded c5 in 4 years, and I had a daily driver. Go to any track and you will find high mileage vettes that are highly modded. It's not about the spending money, its about having the car the way YOU want it when YOU drive it.
The following users liked this post:
Red Greene (03-26-2021)
03-25-2021, 04:26 PM
#25
Last time I checked when I buy something it belongs to me, and I don't have to answer to anyone else about how I use it, or don't.
It's great that we live in the US and can do whatever the hell we want to with our own **** without having to explain ourselves to anyone.
It's great that we live in the US and can do whatever the hell we want to with our own **** without having to explain ourselves to anyone.
The following users liked this post:
Sdk8103 (03-26-2021)
03-25-2021, 07:43 PM
#27
Well, I am glad I started the thread and learned so much about Corvette owners. Not having had one, I was surprised to find so many low mileage Corvettes and wondered about the reasons for it.
I always thought what are fun cars to drive are those cars driven often. Since I bought my 2013 with just 25,500 miles on it some 3 weeks ago, I have driven 1700 miles and I loved every minute of it. Being a base corvette, I don’t find the ride as harsh as some here commented.
Having visited some 22 countries, lived significant periods in a couple, one responders remarks about cars and freedom are quite dumb. You can drive faster in most of Europe without playing dodge with cops, some other countries don’t require all the bullshit we face with inspections, registrations, titles and more. You buy a car, pay once to get plates and you are done with it. Govt regulations are not there to force the car to have all the safety ****. No such things as points and insurance costs here.
For the rest, thank you for helping me understand. I really could not understand the need to up the power gram 430 to 800 or whatever HP. Wondered how often one can use the extra power in their life. Now I do.
Its been a learning experience on this forum, thanks.
I always thought what are fun cars to drive are those cars driven often. Since I bought my 2013 with just 25,500 miles on it some 3 weeks ago, I have driven 1700 miles and I loved every minute of it. Being a base corvette, I don’t find the ride as harsh as some here commented.
Having visited some 22 countries, lived significant periods in a couple, one responders remarks about cars and freedom are quite dumb. You can drive faster in most of Europe without playing dodge with cops, some other countries don’t require all the bullshit we face with inspections, registrations, titles and more. You buy a car, pay once to get plates and you are done with it. Govt regulations are not there to force the car to have all the safety ****. No such things as points and insurance costs here.
For the rest, thank you for helping me understand. I really could not understand the need to up the power gram 430 to 800 or whatever HP. Wondered how often one can use the extra power in their life. Now I do.
Its been a learning experience on this forum, thanks.
The following users liked this post:
Don-Vette (03-27-2021)
03-25-2021, 10:46 PM
#30
This subject really irritates me. It is extremely simple to understand and there are a ton of reasons.
There are people who love posting pictures of themselves driving the vette in the winter on facebook. You know why I don't drive the vette in the winter? Because it's not fun to drive during the winter. I like driving the vette because it's fast and handles well. You're not going to enjoy power and good handling during most of the winter.
Another reason: it destroys the car. If you're a person who doesn't care about sandblasting the paint and chewing up the wheels, hey, good for you! But don't just pretend that driving it in the winter has no consequences at all. Some people enjoy maintaining a really shiny car in really amazing shape. Driving it in the winter makes that much, much, much more difficult and, by the way, expensive when you need to get paint work done.
Third reason: mileage = cost. Parts for the vette are expensive. My GS takes 10 quarts of oil. These cars also do OK maintaining value if you bought a used one.
Fourth reason: I have another car. A truck in fact. The truck is also modified and I like driving it. It's not a prius with torn seats that smells like cat urine. It's a nice lifted truck which is a ton of fun to drive, especially in bad conditions.
Fifth reason: not all roads are created equal. I used to be unfortunate enough to live in MA where the roads are completely destroyed. Taking your car with low, stiff suspension out to do errands was painful and not enjoyable at all. You spend half the drive puckering your butthole, clenching your teeth, and wincing. When I lived there, I would take my fun car out to drive in places where there weren't rim bending potholes every 10 feet.
So when you ask me why I don't put more mileage on my car, what you're really asking is why I don't drive a car all year that I don't enjoy driving in the winter, which gets beat up from driving it in bad conditions, is expensive to maintain, and is uncomfortable to drive on bad roads instead of a car which is much more well suited to drive in those conditions and, indeed, has been modified to drive even better in those conditions. My question is, why would I drive the vette under those circumstances, to please some rando stranger on the internet?
If you're young and bought a Vette as a DD because you wanted one and cant afford a second car, good on you! Do it up! Enjoy! But be glad that there are others out there selling low mileage cars in good shape for you to buy second hand. My vette is actually third hand, and I couldn't be happier that the first two owners didn't put more mileage on it.
There are people who love posting pictures of themselves driving the vette in the winter on facebook. You know why I don't drive the vette in the winter? Because it's not fun to drive during the winter. I like driving the vette because it's fast and handles well. You're not going to enjoy power and good handling during most of the winter.
Another reason: it destroys the car. If you're a person who doesn't care about sandblasting the paint and chewing up the wheels, hey, good for you! But don't just pretend that driving it in the winter has no consequences at all. Some people enjoy maintaining a really shiny car in really amazing shape. Driving it in the winter makes that much, much, much more difficult and, by the way, expensive when you need to get paint work done.
Third reason: mileage = cost. Parts for the vette are expensive. My GS takes 10 quarts of oil. These cars also do OK maintaining value if you bought a used one.
Fourth reason: I have another car. A truck in fact. The truck is also modified and I like driving it. It's not a prius with torn seats that smells like cat urine. It's a nice lifted truck which is a ton of fun to drive, especially in bad conditions.
Fifth reason: not all roads are created equal. I used to be unfortunate enough to live in MA where the roads are completely destroyed. Taking your car with low, stiff suspension out to do errands was painful and not enjoyable at all. You spend half the drive puckering your butthole, clenching your teeth, and wincing. When I lived there, I would take my fun car out to drive in places where there weren't rim bending potholes every 10 feet.
So when you ask me why I don't put more mileage on my car, what you're really asking is why I don't drive a car all year that I don't enjoy driving in the winter, which gets beat up from driving it in bad conditions, is expensive to maintain, and is uncomfortable to drive on bad roads instead of a car which is much more well suited to drive in those conditions and, indeed, has been modified to drive even better in those conditions. My question is, why would I drive the vette under those circumstances, to please some rando stranger on the internet?
If you're young and bought a Vette as a DD because you wanted one and cant afford a second car, good on you! Do it up! Enjoy! But be glad that there are others out there selling low mileage cars in good shape for you to buy second hand. My vette is actually third hand, and I couldn't be happier that the first two owners didn't put more mileage on it.
03-25-2021, 11:07 PM
#31
Safety Car
It's either spend the money on the car, or the wife inherits it when croak, oh wait, she'll get the car also.
03-25-2021, 11:10 PM
#32
Le Mans Master
I drive my Corvette several times each week but it still only amounts to about 5,000 miles per year. My first priority each day is to surf. If there are waves, I am in the water at sunrise. Can't use the Corvette for that. My wife and I also golf a couple of times each week. While we could use the Corvette for golf outings, it is just easier to use my SUV. I have 3 cars and use them all for what I purchased them for. We all have different needs and priorities. Never really thought about or cared what other did with their cars.
03-25-2021, 11:18 PM
#33
Team Owner
Member Since: Sep 2002
Location: Bonita Springs, Florida
Posts: 22,096
Received 3,090 Likes
on
2,053 Posts
I enjoy driving my Corvette every day to and from work, to the stores, to the beach, to cars and coffee, to car shows, on road trips and just for a cruise every chance I get. I also enjoy modifying, meticulously maintaining and cleaning my Corvette. Even up close my cars look like un-driven garage queens but they are driven. Life is very short and I sure don't want t miss out and regret not driving these great cars. But to each their own. I don't care what others do or what others may think about what I do.
That being said I came across someone with a 2018 Z06 Carbon 65 3LZ with the Z07 Ultimate Performance Package recently and so naturally I started talking Corvettes with him. When he boasted that in over 3 years he had under 1,000 miles on it and how it had all sorts of clear poly film protection and he had it professionally ceramic coated and it was never wet and he was now considering selling it to get a C8 I just had to ask if he ever tracked it and he looked at me like I was crazy. So then I asked him politely why do you buy a race car, add all sorts of paint protection only to have it sit in your garage. It's really none of my business however it seems very odd to me. But who the hell am I to say. I am glad for these types of people in a selfish way because eventually I get to buy these garage queen Corvettes pre-owned at half the price or less and get to enjoy them in the way that they should be imho.
I do understand why the owners that live in the snow belt parts of the country don't drive theirs for several months each year since I was one of them years ago.
That being said I came across someone with a 2018 Z06 Carbon 65 3LZ with the Z07 Ultimate Performance Package recently and so naturally I started talking Corvettes with him. When he boasted that in over 3 years he had under 1,000 miles on it and how it had all sorts of clear poly film protection and he had it professionally ceramic coated and it was never wet and he was now considering selling it to get a C8 I just had to ask if he ever tracked it and he looked at me like I was crazy. So then I asked him politely why do you buy a race car, add all sorts of paint protection only to have it sit in your garage. It's really none of my business however it seems very odd to me. But who the hell am I to say. I am glad for these types of people in a selfish way because eventually I get to buy these garage queen Corvettes pre-owned at half the price or less and get to enjoy them in the way that they should be imho.
I do understand why the owners that live in the snow belt parts of the country don't drive theirs for several months each year since I was one of them years ago.
The following 3 users liked this post by Mike98SilVert:
03-25-2021, 11:40 PM
#34
Team Owner
Member Since: Dec 2012
Location: Outside the Quick Stop N.J.
Posts: 30,426
Received 1,597 Likes
on
1,074 Posts
While I do agree that everyone if free to use their own car in any way they see fit, the OP does bring up a valid point.
03-25-2021, 11:47 PM
#35
Instructor
I don't drive mine much at all. I have a family, kids are 11 and 13. Any time we go somewhere it's mostly all of us so we take one of the family friendly vehicles. I rarely get out alone and really just enjoy having the car to look at, pamper and work on.
Oddly enough, even at over 700whp the vette gets better gas mileage than all 4 of my vehicles so I should drive it more lol
Oddly enough, even at over 700whp the vette gets better gas mileage than all 4 of my vehicles so I should drive it more lol
Last edited by STLC6; 03-25-2021 at 11:49 PM.
03-26-2021, 01:07 AM
#36
Melting Slicks
I agree 100%, i literally drive my vette year round even in the canadian winters, (as long as its completely dry out)
its fun, it makes my day more exciting , and life is short.
its fun, it makes my day more exciting , and life is short.
03-26-2021, 01:18 AM
#37
Most of us have multiple cars from which to choose, and for a plethora of reasons choose not to drive our Corvettes. For me personally, I’ve been modding my vehicles since I got my first car at 16 & it’s a hobby. I enjoy working on them & I enjoy making my vehicles unique. Working on the car is actually a way for me to decompress from other things I have going on.
I put about 2k mi per year on my Corvette. The roads, traffic & other drivers by me suck - to put it bluntly. If I do drive it, I’m constantly tailgated on the freeway at 80+ mph by either a soccer mom in her 6,000 lb suv or guys in their jacked up F350s, neither of whom understand that it will take the length of a football field for their vehicle to stop at those speeds while it’ll take 1/3 that for my vehicle to stop.
I’m also fortunate to own an extremely rare vehicle so, while I don’t plan to sell it, the mileage will affect its value if I decide or have to sell one day.
Similar to your statement of not understanding why people don’t drive them, I don’t understand why so many people care what strangers do with their property? Out of all the cars I’ve owned (30+) the Corvette has been the only one where people constantly comment about what, how, when, why, where owners do what they do with their vehicle or brag they their vehicle is driven in the rain/snow/sleet.
I put about 2k mi per year on my Corvette. The roads, traffic & other drivers by me suck - to put it bluntly. If I do drive it, I’m constantly tailgated on the freeway at 80+ mph by either a soccer mom in her 6,000 lb suv or guys in their jacked up F350s, neither of whom understand that it will take the length of a football field for their vehicle to stop at those speeds while it’ll take 1/3 that for my vehicle to stop.
I’m also fortunate to own an extremely rare vehicle so, while I don’t plan to sell it, the mileage will affect its value if I decide or have to sell one day.
Similar to your statement of not understanding why people don’t drive them, I don’t understand why so many people care what strangers do with their property? Out of all the cars I’ve owned (30+) the Corvette has been the only one where people constantly comment about what, how, when, why, where owners do what they do with their vehicle or brag they their vehicle is driven in the rain/snow/sleet.
You pretty much covered the waterfront on answering the repeatedly silly question/s.
Why do people even ask about others Corvettes anymore??
The following users liked this post:
Bird67 (03-28-2021)
03-26-2021, 07:56 AM
#38
Safety Car
I do not daily drive my corvettes, but the newest one gets 10-12 thousand miles per year. We do a few trips around the country that are 3-4 thousand miles round trip so that adds right up. Then we drive it anytime we have errands to run that fit in the car.😎. We even drive the corvette in the rain.😱
-Justin
-Justin
03-26-2021, 08:49 AM
#39
Safety Car
Member Since: Dec 2006
Location: Pearland / Houston Tx
Posts: 3,778
Likes: 0
Received 1,129 Likes
on
701 Posts
I am fine with only putting a few thousand miles per year on mine as I plan to keep it a very long time. First couple years ownership was driving daily....14k. Now weekender with 4k per year.
Bought new in 07 with 88K on it now. Many more miles to go. Looking at a 20 yr old car with less than 120k.
If i continued to put 14k/yr on it, I would have 200k by now and probably be looking for a replacement.
Bought new in 07 with 88K on it now. Many more miles to go. Looking at a 20 yr old car with less than 120k.
If i continued to put 14k/yr on it, I would have 200k by now and probably be looking for a replacement.
03-26-2021, 09:22 AM
#40
Pro
I have absolutely NO complaints, NO issues and NO words of wisdom to share with those auto enthusiast who choose to buy a sports car, drive it around the block a few times then park and grant it "Garage Queen" status.
However I do want to say "Thank You" because for those of us who want to drive their cars, when we are in the market to purchase, with a bit of research and patience a sweet low-mileage ride can be found waiting for it's new owner.
In late 2018, I sold my M2 and purchased my current 2013 C6 427. It had clocked under 9K miles with the original owner who kept the car in a environment controlled garage, on a lift. Matriculates documentation, every receipt including gas was provided, amazing! Car has been flawless ever since, millage now reaching 25K
Recently I went back to my BMW roots and purchased another M2, a 2019 M2 Comp as a daily driver / track toy. She was another Garage Queen, original owner in his late 70's under 1K miles, basically brand new ride. Owner was selling because he regretted buying a manual transmission..... God bless him..... I snagged it at a price well under 18K from sticker.
However I do want to say "Thank You" because for those of us who want to drive their cars, when we are in the market to purchase, with a bit of research and patience a sweet low-mileage ride can be found waiting for it's new owner.
In late 2018, I sold my M2 and purchased my current 2013 C6 427. It had clocked under 9K miles with the original owner who kept the car in a environment controlled garage, on a lift. Matriculates documentation, every receipt including gas was provided, amazing! Car has been flawless ever since, millage now reaching 25K
Recently I went back to my BMW roots and purchased another M2, a 2019 M2 Comp as a daily driver / track toy. She was another Garage Queen, original owner in his late 70's under 1K miles, basically brand new ride. Owner was selling because he regretted buying a manual transmission..... God bless him..... I snagged it at a price well under 18K from sticker.
The following 3 users liked this post by VINAL13: