Unsuccessful Boxster S search - What do I miss out on/gain with a C5 Corvette?

[maytag]

Originally Posted by Russdawg1

Investment might not have been the best term for it, but that’s what came to mind when spending 10 grand on a car. I think most cars would be considered an investment no?

I’m looking for a “cool” car, hah!

Probably a key determinant: It cannot be passed by ugly ricer cars who think adding stickers and makes their cars faster and thinks slamming and camming so they’re scraping on every bump ......

I think we've got some competing interests here. ;-)

Perhaps it's because of the years i spent on superbikes, and drag-racing musclecars, but i don't find the straight- line speed exhilarating any more. So for me, a "cool" car doesn't need to care about how many ricer cars can beat it from stop light to stop light. And since that's not on my list of what makes a car fun to drive, well, then my list might be different from yours. My fun-car list includes a base boxster because it's like driving a go kart, which makes you earn every mph you can gain on a straight by carrying a few more through a corner. To me, watching someone who's been toying around with you in traffic fade in the mirror as you accelerate into an interchange for which they are braking.... well.... THAT'S fun. Same can be said for braking zones. Like the corvette (of any generation) it's easily recognizable, but carries a little more sophistication on the badging.

In my own opinion, the C7 corvette is when I started noticing that Chevy was interested in moving the focus of the car; once this happened, the C8 was inevitable. And, because i happen to own one of those starts-with-an-I ends-with-talian cars, I'm active on the Ferrari forums, where the C8 is a hot topic right now. Having driven one, I'm quite confident i could rally a C8 pretty hard at the racetrack, haha. Seriously: it would demoralize my F430, which even 13 years old still costs more than the C8. (But then again: it's 13 years old.... should we be comparing them?)

Ok.... back to your fun-car. Maybe the C5 hits the buttons for ya. I think if I were looking corvette, I'd be more inclined towards an early-to-mid '70's. It seems they're beginning to outgrow the stigma. You should go drive some, and get back to us. ;-)


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[Qingdao]

My buddy is going into a pre-mature midlife crisis and he's getting a C5 soon.

I'll let you know about the comparison, but my box is chevy powered so I got the best of both worlds.


C5 is powerful and reliable, but I don't think you're missing out on much. I get the feeling its like ridding a Harley Davidson. When you ride a Harley you get the feeling of "murica" when you twist the throttle; a C5 is probably the same thing. BTW HD motorcycles are TERRIBLE; I only had one to try it out couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

[Russdawg1]

Originally Posted by Qingdao

My buddy is going into a pre-mature midlife crisis and he's getting a C5 soon.

I'll let you know about the comparison, but my box is chevy powered so I got the best of both worlds.

C5 is powerful and reliable, but I don't think you're missing out on much. I get the feeling its like ridding a Harley Davidson. When you ride a Harley you get the feeling of "murica" when you twist the throttle; a C5 is probably the same thing. BTW HD motorcycles are TERRIBLE; I only had one to try it out couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

That would be awesome if I could get your input after trying out his C5. What color does he want? I think the yellow looks phenomenal.

That’s actually the one thing on the C5 I wasn’t too keen on. I’ve (Sadly? Luckily? However you want to cut it) been brought up around nearly 100% German cars. Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Mini (Mini BMW’s lol!), but mostly BMW’s, and gotten used to that, I don’t even know what to call it, but it just sounds German. Or just not American. Lol.

Going to an American V8 will be quite interesting. But that’s nothing some metalwork never solved. X pipes, equal length headers, lightweight mufflers, it won’t be all that bad with some time and experimenting.

My grandpa owns a Dodge Viper, which is definitely no C5, but is most certainly a slice of “Murica”, and I loved it, through and through. I couldn’t hear anything after being driven around in it for 15 minutes, but I’m sure it sounded sweet!!!

No plans on getting a Harley Davidson! Always thought the GSX-R’s with Hayabusa’s were cool though. Ever ride one of those?

[Qingdao]

Originally Posted by Russdawg1

That would be awesome if I could get your input after trying out his C5. What color does he want? I think the yellow looks phenomenal.

No plans on getting a Harley Davidson! Always thought the GSX-R’s with Hayabusa’s were cool though. Ever ride one of those?

I don't think he has a particular color in mind. I know he wants the coupe version.



I'm more of a Honda guy but I've had a few Suzuki's. Closest I've owned to a Hayabusa was a GSF1200. Fabulous bike, retarded fast, but like most of my encounters with Suzuki motorcycles while fun and fast they are always broken in some way.

[Russdawg1]

Originally Posted by maytag

I think we've got some competing interests here. ;-)

Perhaps it's because of the years i spent on superbikes, and drag-racing musclecars, but i don't find the straight- line speed exhilarating any more. So for me, a "cool" car doesn't need to care about how many ricer cars can beat it from stop light to stop light. And since that's not on my list of what makes a car fun to drive, well, then my list might be different from yours. My fun-car list includes a base boxster because it's like driving a go kart, which makes you earn every mph you can gain on a straight by carrying a few more through a corner. To me, watching someone who's been toying around with you in traffic fade in the mirror as you accelerate into an interchange for which they are braking.... well.... THAT'S fun. Same can be said for braking zones. Like the corvette (of any generation) it's easily recognizable, but carries a little more sophistication on the badging.

—-

Ok.... back to your fun-car. Maybe the C5 hits the buttons for ya. I think if I were looking corvette, I'd be more inclined towards an early-to-mid '70's. It seems they're beginning to outgrow the stigma. You should go drive some, and get back to us. ;-)


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Well I find a lot of fun in being able to experience G’s in all 4 directions. The last 2 directions you probably don’t want to be experiencing G’s, lol!

I find myself smiling when I take my current 330i (being replaced as the slush box is soon to go!) around the 270° on-ramp, pushing the tires to the brink of audibly complaining, and then opening it up on the merger.

But I love working on cars also. Call it being inexperienced or even lazy, but working on German cars, especially in their stupidly compact and over complicated engine bays is not a whole lot of fun. (Seriously though, on the right side of my engine bay I can’t even stick a fist through, but behind the left kidney grill I can nearly see the engine splash guard straight down!) From photos and forum posts, the expansive engine bay of the C5 must be a joy to work in.

I’m mostly overlooking the “Porsche tax” for now on parts and maintenance, because even though American muscle is generally cheap, there seems to be a “Corvette tax” too on certain things!

But thanks a bunch for your input Maytag.