No I mean a 2007 Saturn Sky Redline
At what age and why did you buy a Corvette?
- Thread starter Dale124
- Start date
Back in the early 1970s I took a friend's 1968 Corvette for a drive. I don't know what suspension it had but it drove like the axles were bolted right to the chassis with no springs. I was totally turned off. Then came marriage, kids, building a house and on and on. Finally, in 2008 a friend invited me to drive his new 2008 Corvette six speed. I was totally impressed with ride, handling and especially the power. The LS3 performed better than any big block car that I had ever owned. When buyers lined up to buy our COPO and L78 Chevelles, they were GONE. With a 13,300 mile 2005 Corvette in the garage and money in the bank, we have never looked back. It would be impossible to replace them where as with the Corvette, there are lots on Kijiji if something happened. We can drive the car without worrying and totally enjoy it after eight summers.
To me Corvettes have always been the ultimate North American sports car....just something about “ a Corvette”.ive had a mid series coupe , a 78 anniversary, and now a triple black C5 roadster, and the c5 is the best for sure, I’ve also got a couple of traditional hot rods and a couple of muscle cars. For driving pleasure and fun on long distance trips I like the vette , it’s classy, fun, fast , and just a really good looking car...but all that said I only drive it nice days.
2018 was a bad year for me. I just turned 60. I was diagnosed as being AFIB with a very high heart rate. (160 Bpm) The aerospace company I had been with for 23 years was relocating to the U.S. After spending 3 weeks in the hospital wondering if I was going to be around much longer I decided what ever time I have left I am going to enjoy it to the Max. A friend of mine was nice enough to lend me his C5 for 3 weeks. The first 2 days were spent detailing the car inside and out. After that I was hooked and had to have one. Even though my friend rarely drives his C5 anymore he did not want to sell it to me. I was fortunate to get some severance money for all my years of service and spent 3 weeks shopping for a C6. Was lucky enough to find one with low mileage and I have never looked back. I have always wanted a corvette. Now I have one, and love every minute of it. Whether its driving it or cleaning it, or just looking at it. I am blessed to have one and even more blessed to have my health back.
Happy Motoring Y'all
Happy Motoring Y'all
Great story. Glad you are doing well - nice car - have fun driving her.
I was born and raised in London: back then worked for Petro Fina and did an audit every year at the two big service centers on the 401. Nice area!!!
I was born and raised in London: back then worked for Petro Fina and did an audit every year at the two big service centers on the 401. Nice area!!!
Well, it didn’t have to be a vette.
I’m a gearhead, wife is not. We wanted something we could share our time with and a summer car seemed to be a nice compromise. We wanted a convertible.
AND...we didn’t want to spend a butt-load of cash.
I’m a Ford guy at heart, so we looked at some 60’s mustang convertibles. They were all waaaay overpriced or total basket cases (and still overpriced).
Then we looked at a couple MGB’s. Fun cars and we were laughing our heads off even though we thought we would be thrown from the car and killed on every bump we hit! But again, everyone wanted thousands more than they were worth and they all needed some oretty serious restoration work before I’d be happy with one.
We saw the 88 vette on the way home one day. Stopped in to look at it and it needed a fair bit of work (brakes shot, exhaust, etc). Price was right though and there was nothing there I couldn't fix fairly easily.
Stuck a deal and brought it home.
Not much more to the story than that.
I’m a gearhead, wife is not. We wanted something we could share our time with and a summer car seemed to be a nice compromise. We wanted a convertible.
AND...we didn’t want to spend a butt-load of cash.
I’m a Ford guy at heart, so we looked at some 60’s mustang convertibles. They were all waaaay overpriced or total basket cases (and still overpriced).
Then we looked at a couple MGB’s. Fun cars and we were laughing our heads off even though we thought we would be thrown from the car and killed on every bump we hit! But again, everyone wanted thousands more than they were worth and they all needed some oretty serious restoration work before I’d be happy with one.
We saw the 88 vette on the way home one day. Stopped in to look at it and it needed a fair bit of work (brakes shot, exhaust, etc). Price was right though and there was nothing there I couldn't fix fairly easily.
Stuck a deal and brought it home.
Not much more to the story than that.
Thanks............CheersGreat story. Glad you are doing well - nice car - have fun driving her.
My first job out of high school was at the local small town GM dealer - parts counter, service writer, whatever needed doing. Being a rural setting, the bread and butter was pickups and family cars - the odd Camaro or Firebird but no Corvettes - we still got all the Vette sales materials and I used the Vette parts book as my go-to for learning the parts system. To actually own one though, a far off pipe dream.
Fast forward 40 years and my wife and I started talking about what I might like to do after retirement - although long since out of the car business, I am still a closet gearhead and my thought was to restore a classic car, maybe an F body from my younger days. Not long after, we heard a good friend was going to sell her 75 C3 coupe which she had owned since 76 - aged and in need of some work, but virtually stock and unmodified. Needless to say, my long-dormant Corvette dream is a reality and the "retirement" project is well underway. And the looks that C3's still get on the street...
Fast forward 40 years and my wife and I started talking about what I might like to do after retirement - although long since out of the car business, I am still a closet gearhead and my thought was to restore a classic car, maybe an F body from my younger days. Not long after, we heard a good friend was going to sell her 75 C3 coupe which she had owned since 76 - aged and in need of some work, but virtually stock and unmodified. Needless to say, my long-dormant Corvette dream is a reality and the "retirement" project is well underway. And the looks that C3's still get on the street...
i had an uncle that used to drag race that had a corvette. wanted one since i was about 5. finally at 50, thanks to my beautiful and wonderful wife, i got one!
EDIT: I was 56 for my first Vette.........Great stories guys.... About time I posted too.... A Corvette was something you NEVER saw in small town Nova Scotia in the 60's.... Actually not in big town either... Pictures in magazines were as close as I got for a lot of years and given finances in the east, a Corvette was a dream car that I never dreamed would ever materialize... Worked construction during summer breaks and at age 17 bought a new VW beetle right off the lot for $1500.00 and change... Then in 74, bought a used 69 SS 396 Chevelle. Onward to a 72 340 4spd Duster, and then to a F250 Ford. Then met a girl and moved to Alberta where I purchased a 76 280Z Datsun which was the best handling car I had ever driven. That was also the first time I ever drove a Corvette. Some guy pulled up beside me in a 78 C3 gave me the wanna run look, and after I let him catch back up to the 280Z, we became friends. To be honest, I loved the look of the C3 but that was about the only level of my admiration at that time and with that car. Onward and upward, work and buying a house came into the picture, which turned into buying a farm, so it was the new and improved C5 years before I seriously considered a Corvette... Time flew by and thought about it was as far as I got until a good friend 4 years younger than me got the big C and left us way too soon. Made my mind up then that life was too damn short sometimes and watched until I found my C6 and was hooked. Drove it and loved it and fell in love again the first time I saw a C7 drive by in 2014. The next season I bought the car I have now and still love it like it was the first day...
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That is awesome. Life is indeed too short. It’s a balancing act between financial stability and living your dream life. I now think I should have jumped into the Corvette pool years ago.
Dale.
Awesome story. And you are right; and that is why I am buying the new C8 even though my C7 only has 12,000 km on it - 70 YO and you just never know? My wife will be pissed for a while - but, so be it!! My money and sitting there waiting to buy the new C8.....
It will be my 5th ... loved them all!!
I wanted a rear wheel drive sports car with a bespoque chassis, power, handling, and relatively modern comfort and features. Price for performance there is no better combination than the Corvette, you can fix it with a hammer as I can do basic maintenance and repairs, and have reasonable parts availability. The V8 sound track is a good time.
I was born in 1953. I know. Old fart. But that was the first year the Corvette was made. So I grew up with Corvettes. When I was 19 I got hit head on by a drunk driver when I was in the States. Got a very nice settlement from it and was laid up for about 6 months. Was a bad accident. So with part of my settlement I bought a brand new 1974 Corvette. Long story short I placed my order for the 2020 hardtop convertible. I figured I have waited long enough for the mid engine.
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Been a Mopar guy for most of my life. But everything Mopar only goes in a straight line. Thought about a Viper but after driving one realized it would not be a daily driver. I am not a Euro guy (dabbled with an Audi for a while) but wanted North American grunt with some handling refinement. Really only one choice...Corvette. So found my C6 and have never regretted the choice. Maybe a C7 in my future if I can find the right one.
Had a few project cars on the go and sort of lost interest in them after I bought a new Challenger. I am getting up there in years and decided that I would rather spend my remaining time driving instead of fixing up cars (but don't regret the time spent on restoring the ones I did). My nephew just bought a C5 and wanted to show it off. I looked it over and couldn't believe how nice of a car it was and how relatively little he paid for it. That was it. I researched the Corvette family and determined that the C5 Z06 was for me ( I had four criteria 1: minimum 400hp 2: standard transmission 3: less than 50,000Km 4: <= $25,000). Someday may look into a C6 Z06 with the 427 or maybe even a C8 (I am lousy at predicting the future).
Corvette has been in my life since I was born - literally. This is a true story:
My uncle Jim owned a 1970 Stingray 350/350, 4spd, Dark Green, that he factory ordered when he graduated from university as an Electrical Engineer.
Fast Forward to July, 1971, and yours truly was born. My father, a lover of Corvettes (but never took the plunge to buy one), borrowed my uncle’s Corvette to drive his first born son home from the hospital!
That’s right, I was driven home as a newborn in a gorgeous 1970 Stingray! My dad always said I was giggling and gurgling the whole drive home! He then went back and got my mom, lol. My dad was truly one of a kind.
Growing up, it was always super exciting to see my uncle and his ‘Vette! I loved that car so much. I’d sit in it every chance I got. As a teenager, when I would cut his lawn when he was away, I would sneak into the garage and sit in it and pretend I was driving on a road course.
He sold that car and it was a sad day for the entire family. We lost a member of the family.
Fast forward to September, 1999, and I had finished university, and was practicing my profession. I had finally paid off all my student loans.
I had always dreamed of owning my own Corvette and could finally afford it! I factory ordered a 2000 C5 coupe, 6spd, Bowling Green metallic w/black interior - in honour of my uncle Jim’s Corvette.
My dad flew out from Winnipeg to Toronto for the delivery. It was a very, very special moment.
I had that car for several years and loved it immensely. Then, as life goes, I got married...house...kid...another kid...so not too practical. I sold it and bought a minivan.
However, as any Corvette owner/lover knows once Corvette is in your blood, it’s there for life - like a burning passion. I longed for another but could not afford it.
Thankfully, after decades of hard work and saving and staying focused, I was able to factory order my 2019 Z06 2LZ A8 from a local dealer.
When I sat in the driver’s seat and fired up my Z for the first time, with my 13 year-old son next to me, I felt complete. Like life had come full circle.
I knew my dad was smiling down from Heaven at that moment, giving us his trademark thumbs up!
I will be a Corvette lover for life!
My uncle Jim owned a 1970 Stingray 350/350, 4spd, Dark Green, that he factory ordered when he graduated from university as an Electrical Engineer.
Fast Forward to July, 1971, and yours truly was born. My father, a lover of Corvettes (but never took the plunge to buy one), borrowed my uncle’s Corvette to drive his first born son home from the hospital!
That’s right, I was driven home as a newborn in a gorgeous 1970 Stingray! My dad always said I was giggling and gurgling the whole drive home! He then went back and got my mom, lol. My dad was truly one of a kind.
Growing up, it was always super exciting to see my uncle and his ‘Vette! I loved that car so much. I’d sit in it every chance I got. As a teenager, when I would cut his lawn when he was away, I would sneak into the garage and sit in it and pretend I was driving on a road course.
He sold that car and it was a sad day for the entire family. We lost a member of the family.
Fast forward to September, 1999, and I had finished university, and was practicing my profession. I had finally paid off all my student loans.
I had always dreamed of owning my own Corvette and could finally afford it! I factory ordered a 2000 C5 coupe, 6spd, Bowling Green metallic w/black interior - in honour of my uncle Jim’s Corvette.
My dad flew out from Winnipeg to Toronto for the delivery. It was a very, very special moment.
I had that car for several years and loved it immensely. Then, as life goes, I got married...house...kid...another kid...so not too practical. I sold it and bought a minivan.
However, as any Corvette owner/lover knows once Corvette is in your blood, it’s there for life - like a burning passion. I longed for another but could not afford it.
Thankfully, after decades of hard work and saving and staying focused, I was able to factory order my 2019 Z06 2LZ A8 from a local dealer.
When I sat in the driver’s seat and fired up my Z for the first time, with my 13 year-old son next to me, I felt complete. Like life had come full circle.
I knew my dad was smiling down from Heaven at that moment, giving us his trademark thumbs up!
I will be a Corvette lover for life!
I don't have one yet but I will have one. The reason why, Italian week festival with all those lambo's and ferraris. They shut down an avenue and the cars do pulls for the crowd. Then it'll be my reward for all those crazy customers and jobs I get. Just today a woman called to have her kitchen sink line unclogged because the husband stuffed poutine in the gargabe disposal and the cheese curds clogged the line further down. She said I had to go there tonight(Dec 24th after 4pm) As if I have nothing better to do on Christmas eve. She had a party during the day so it's a no brainer the plumber will be there for peanuts. Then she said they put sulfuric acid down there. I refused the job because of her attitude and second I'm not spending 8-16 hours in the emergency room crying in pain from acid burns or losing an eye. F-that.
I always loved Lamborghinis and I'd play the old school Amiga racing game. Since I can't afford a lambo and it would be ridiculously pricey in repair parts.
I don't like mustangs, I think they are ugly and there's a million of them, I saw a rag top driving in the snow just last week.
So I was planning on getting a used C6 but it's still not exotic enough for me so might as well go for a C7, now that's exotic enough for me. It'll have a wing and some decals.
I always loved Lamborghinis and I'd play the old school Amiga racing game. Since I can't afford a lambo and it would be ridiculously pricey in repair parts.
I don't like mustangs, I think they are ugly and there's a million of them, I saw a rag top driving in the snow just last week.
So I was planning on getting a used C6 but it's still not exotic enough for me so might as well go for a C7, now that's exotic enough for me. It'll have a wing and some decals.
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