New Corvette Purchasing Experience- 1 more review

[graywolf624]

Well I'm finally getting to write this review. I have a location picked out for better pictures so look for that after the next nice day we have. In the mean time I figured I couldn't get away with the "I'm still evaluating the car" line any longer. After All I've passed 300 miles on the car already.

So I guess the start of this should be on the purchase process. I picked up the car from Kerbeck in Atlantic City. It was a rainy miserable day. In fact the highway was closed in places due to flooding, so yeah... horrible day to pick up a Vette. So I show up to the dealership where outside I'm greeted by the following 2 rows of cars (worth the click):
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/IMG_0753.JPG
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/IMG_0754.JPG

Outside sitting, just in from dealer prep, is my car:
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/IMG_0751.JPG
With TA in the background.

My father is with me and he wants to look at cars while I sign papers(and take pictures, honestly these aren't mine because I was so excited I couldn't hold my hands still).

So we walk inside with my salesman. Inside Kerbeck's building is a museum of muscle cars. So in essence I'm greated with this:
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/IMG_0727.JPG
(More pics available from museum on request).
Not only this full room, but they have the oldest corvette in the world, the prototype from the gm auto show in 1952:
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/IMG_0728.JPG

I'm still not distracted from my task, though partly because this is my second time at Kerbeck. My dad meanwhile is salivating at the mouth and talking about how he had this car when he was 25 and such so we parted ways for a while.

The salesman has me take a seat and offers me coffee. Nothing new here. He then has me fill out some paperwork after asking me how much of the plastic do I want to stay on my car for the drive home. The answer is, I still havent removed the plastic under my floor mats but the doors were off.

He then goes to get the Corvette Manual and goodies. Well where do I start? He hands me a nice leather carrying pouch with the manual, on star and xm pamphlets, and warrenty information. All standard fair until he hands me a dvd/cd combo. This is a video and audio instruction for the car. I've watched the video, its very how too but still some nice glory shots. Still haven't listened to the audio, but damn impressive a car so complex you need a video. He then says hold on a second. Comes back with a tshirt for myself and dear old dad as well as some Corvette posters.

At this point Im nearly blind to the salesman, Im just shaking to go see my car. Meanwhile dads outside running his magnifying glass over the car. Who is more excited, me or him? I don't know. He finally got his first drive in the T/A as well so he had quite the day too. So I sign the financial paperwork and hand over 2 large checks, one of my money and one of the banks. Both of these checks were bigger then anything I've ever seen (Even if the car isn't that expensive)... And the car is now mine.

I get a walkthrough of the car, which I hear less then half. He also has me pull the fuse and rev it to show my dad the trick exhaust. Even with a deluge of water fit for the tropics I'm still raring to go. So.. we do.
I put the car in reverse and ease it out of the lot, dad in tow in the t/a. I can't nail it till 500 due to break-in rules, not to mention the rain. Still it sounds fantastic. Down low the car sounds nice and throaty, but once in 6th on the highway it was as quiet as a Cadillac. As stated in my previous review you don't shift that often either. 4th gear will take you from 8mph to 150mph. So nice comfortable touring is easily achieved.

Since it looked like the second comming of Noah on my first drive I focused my attention on the cars toys and comfort. First the gadgets: XM Radio and an MP3 CD Player to entertain on the drive. Decide you want to make a phone call? Have On star connect you, my car has it's own phone number.. and the calls actually sound clear. Need directions? Again Onstar provides. Accident or car theft? Again call them. Not a bad service and all free for a year.

This car is a gadget fans dream! The keyless start isn't all that revolutionary nor is the auto proximity lock and unlock but it's still cool. The rearview mirror tints, also not new, but so do the driver and passenger side mirrors. Again not revolutionary but it's the little things: Electric seats, dual climate zone, HID lights, rpm sensing audio, nice quality leather (even if the seats are a little thin to be supportive in high performance driving they still are more comfortable then most cars I've driven), a driver information center with just about every type of gauge information you could ever need (oil pressure, level, and temp;mpg (avg and instantaneous); tire pressure; stop watch; elapsed time; etc.). The car even says hello, or whatever message you want, across the DIC as you start it (after it says Corvette by Chevrolet of course). All of these settings by the way are fob specific. If you have a second driver even the radio presets are driver specific.

I know everyones raring to go on to the driving section, but I want this to be thorough so I'm going to continue with the comfort for just 1 more minute so bare with me. The storage space... Well for a sports car it is freakin phenomenal. 21 sq feet of cargo space below the rear hatch. Can't say much negative about that. All this space, all these gadgets and the car still only weighs 3204 lbs. While certainly up from the sports cars of the 60s, when put in the context of even todays supercars that is pretty damn impressive.

Anyway enough of droning on about the comfort, time for a review of the drive.. Or at least it will be after this brief post to post break to ensure I don't exceed a post limit ;)

[obdr]

nice car!!!! The C-6 vette is an absolute performance bargain. Cant really get better for the $$$$. With a few mods you can outrun Ferrari 360's hehe.

[graywolf624]

So what options did I get on this new toy? The vary basics of course. I got 2 and only 2 options. The first was the NPP dual mode exhaust. You already heard me comment on it's effectiveness. For anyone who lives under a rock and doesn't know to what I refer, the NPP is a Z06 style exhaust. It has vacuum actuated plates that open over 3000 rpm or at WOT. You can even leave it open all the time by pulling a fuse. I personally wanted the best of both worlds as this car will play double duty as my grand tourer and toy. It will not do daily duty.

The second option I got was the Z51 suspension. This includes bigger brakes (I'll gracefully ignore, until Nthfinity teases me about it, the fact that they are also cross drilled), a bigger sway bar, stiffer shocks and springs, grippier tires, transmission cooler, and oil cooler. This option is actually pretty inexpensive and makes a hell of a difference. The car corners like it is on rails. It does still get a little jittery over bumps, but beyond that its quite easily the best handling car I've ever owned. That being said there are two downsides to this feature. First the ride is a bit stiffer, not harsh stiff, but you can tell. The shocks could use with a bit more dampening to allow the car to better respond to rough road surfaces. Secondly, and probably more importantly, these better tires are 400 dollars apiece. I don't think I'll be posting burnout pictures any time soon, sorry guys but I need to eat!

I wanted the HUD but sadly it's only available coupled with a bunch of options that jack the price up another $4k. Given I got supplier price I was out the door on this car at $44k, which is about the max I can afford. Really impressive for the price.

The turn in is tight and the steering wheel communicates very well. I always know where the car is, as opposed to the 07s which were difficult to locate. There is little to no deadspot and weight grows progressively as it should. I'm very impressed, the Vettes have taken a quantum leap with this new steering rack.

Which brings us to the second major improvement, the transmission. If you recall my first review of the car loved the nice smooth shifting transmission. I still hold this view, I love the transmission most of the time. I say most of the time for a reason. First, when cold it is nowhere near as good (of course, perhaps if I switch gear oil itll do a little better). Second is the dreaded skip shift. For those that don't know, GM places a block on shifting to any gear but 4th when you go to shift out of first in a certain speed and rev range. I don't encounter this point often but it's freakin annoying and half the time I find myself completely lost in the gear shift (what gear am I in?) after it does it. They sell a part that eliminates this feature (or product of Satan and the EPA as it is better known) that I may acquire shortly. Third, the transmission auto centers. If you shift first to 4th you shift directly down and it pushes itself towards the middle. If you try to move towards the middle you'll end up in 6th. This last niggle is probably simply a situation of getting use to this particular car.

So acceleration in this car is unreal. It doesn't come on like the TA in a savage kick in the pants manner sadly. It is toned down by GM using torque management to protect the rear axle. As such initially it actually feels slower, but once it hits it is like ridding a wave. Strong and pulls all the way to the 6600 rpm redline. Boy does this car have power. My setup is rated at 436 bhp and 428 toruqe. People have been dynoing these cars at 390 bhp with my options and with some small mods hitting 450 bhp. So right, I'm stating the obvious when saying I'm not going to want for power much (RC's modded GTO comments not withstanding).

The car does 4.1 0-60, .98 g on the skid pad, and 192 mph according to GM. This means one major thing... I don't need to mod the car yet because the nut between the wheel and the seat isn't up to the cars standards quite yet. Time to invest in some drivers training.

Honestly, each night this week I've taken some top gear dvds and my laptop and just went out to sit in the garage with the car. I'm actually thinking about installing a lounger and a tv in there. The car itself is stunning, but open the hood and it is even better. Red highlights the engine cover of this monsterous 6.2 liter engine. mmmmm.. I suddenly see myself in a Clarksonesque pose shouting: POWER!!!!

Which brings us to the last thing on our list... Insurance... *noticing the sudden silence in the room*. Unfortunately I can't comment directly on the price of this car. My insurance company has stuck their head up their ass and just lost me as a customer as a result (a month into my policy and I still dont know what they are charging me). That being said I was just quoted from a competitor 1000 dollars a year... Yes you read that right. Needless to say I'm switching...

So lets review: Cheap to buy, faster then the majority of stock cars including porsche 911's costing twice as much, handles better then many of those same cars, lighter (sadly) then many much more expensive cars, has all kinds of gadgets, has a removeable targa roof, 6 speed manual, 436 bhp, and is cheap to insure.... Right I think I found the perfect sports car for the average working man (one that can't afford the more expensive cars). But I guess you didn't need a review to learn that, it's been true of the Corvette for longer then my lifetime.

On that note the reviews are on hiatus until the Spring. At that time I may use the Corvette to test drive some exotics.. Or I might not as I don't want to end up wanting one of them too. Thanks for reading.

[Pokiou]

man i was waiting for this news.. LOVE the color LOVE the car.. :D i wish you where here in melbourne dude.. so we can cruise in the wrx and vette lol oh well i gotta book my plane ticket to your place :P

[regele]

1234567890
Is there any chance we can get this post back?

[pagani]

Congrats whit your new car.
The really have improved the base corvette.
Stock corvette's sound bad ass.

[sameerrao]

Congrats ... Looks like you are having the time of your life!

[dutchmasterflex]

Congratulations Graywolf! You know things are going well when you can pick up a brand new 'Vette ;)

Great write up too.. very in depth, I had no idea the Corvette had all those goodies.

[nthfinity]

Congrats Gray!

As to those things you mention that I'll make sure to pester you with ;)

I seem to recall how how much better those cross drilled rotors stop you faster... and I know the single greatest mod you can do to make that car turn in better is with a Strut Tower Brace, it helped with your 3rd Gen Camaro you know! ;) ;)

[waiting for paulgt to chime in] LOL

[acmarttin]

The gearbox sounds interesting. I can see how that could get annoying. Is that a change for the newer C6's or have all C6's had that shifter block? I feel like that's something Clarkson himself would bitch about relentlessly.

[sentra_dude]

Great review, very indepth. I drove a 6spd C6 about a year ago and it was a blast! Keep us updated on the mods you aren't going to install but are thinking about getting... ;) 8)

The gearbox sounds interesting. I can see how that could get annoying. Is that a change for the newer C6's or have all C6's had that shifter block? I feel like that's something Clarkson himself would bitch about relentlessly.

Its been around since the C5 at least, I'm sure Vette experts can further elborate. As annoying as it is, it is a nice way to boost up the EPA sticker MPG.

[nthfinity]

Great review, very indepth. I drove a 6spd C6 about a year ago and it was a blast! Keep us updated on the mods you aren't going to install but are thinking about getting... ;) 8)



Its been around since the C5 at least, I'm sure Vette experts can further elborate. As annoying as it is, it is a nice way to boost up the EPA sticker MPG.

the skip-shift is old, and been around since the early 90's C4's to some degree. What is 'odd' on the new box is the "auto-center" feature. It would take some getting used to.

[RC45]

nice car!!!! The C-6 vette is an absolute performance bargain. Cant really get better for the $$$$. With a few mods you can outrun Ferrari 360's hehe.

Actually bone stock the C6 Coupe will drill a Ferrari 360 so hard the F-Car passanger would be openeing the door to get out thinking they had stopped at the side of the road ;)

The "auto-centering" has been around since 1997 with the first C5. It makes shifting a breeze. Shift traditionaly from 1st to 2nd, then just tap the shifter forward and it spings to the center and simly palm it into 3rd... fro 4th just nudge it towards you.

Makes 2nd to 1st miss shifts and 3rd to 2nd miss shifts almost impossible to do.. unless you "try to hard".

Of course youneed to actually use your head for the 4th to 5th shifts - otherwise youmight go 4th to 3rd instead.

CAGS (Computer Aided Gear Shift) is easily eliminated with a resister to simulate the "lock out" solenoid - but if it is engaging it simply means you are driving too much like an old fart and need to give a little more throttle :P

Besides, 1st to 4th is a great gas savings technique.

Gray, sounds like you are enjoying the car quite a bit. I predict my June 2008 youwill already have installed long tube headers, intake and a "throatier" cat-back. March 2009 you will have already istalled a nice meaty cam and dropped $4000 on some bling wheels :)

[Pokiou]

lol men and there toys....

[graywolf624]

I seem to recall how how much better those cross drilled rotors stop you faster... and I know the single greatest mod you can do to make that car turn in better is with a Strut Tower Brace, it helped with your 3rd Gen Camaro you know!

[waiting for paulgt to chime in] LOL
Memories from the past.. All I need is to put a pair of dubs on it!


CAGS (Computer Aided Gear Shift) is easily eliminated with a resister to simulate the "lock out" solenoid - but if it is engaging it simply means you are driving too much like an old fart and need to give a little more throttle :P
Im finding it harder and harder, and more and more excuses, to avoid the break in period and drive it like I stole it.

Gray, sounds like you are enjoying the car quite a bit. I predict my June 2008 youwill already have installed long tube headers, intake and a "throatier" cat-back. March 2009 you will have already istalled a nice meaty cam and dropped $4000 on some bling wheels
So far resisting.. watch this space.. Then again.. I think I am about to give in on the TA.. so the first sign of weakness is already here.

The "auto-centering" has been around since 1997 with the first C5. It makes shifting a breeze. Shift traditionaly from 1st to 2nd, then just tap the shifter forward and it spings to the center and simly palm it into 3rd... fro 4th just nudge it towards you
I shamefully admit Ive over thought it a few times thus far.

[79TA]

Man, 44k! Despite being a Chevy fan, I just sort of assumed that a Z51 vette would take you over 50k in a heartbeat. That's the exact package I'd want to order minus color and random little things. The '08 refresh and your great deal are making me want a Z51 coupe more than a Z06.

And also 0-60 in 4.1 . . . dangit dangit dangit, now, despite the soon to come engine swap, my TA will definitely not keep up with a new vette at a stoplight.

[graywolf624]

More pics- a bit more photoshoot like
My personal fav:
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0761_copy.jpg

http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0773.JPG

http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0768.JPG
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0769.JPG
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0771.JPG
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0774.JPG
Grand turismo anyone?
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0758.JPG

Unfortunately due to unforseen complications with the car it is now sitting at a dealership awaiting repair. Don't expect any more pictures for the time being. :(

[sentra_dude]

More pics- a bit more photoshoot like
My personal fav:
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0761_copy.jpg

http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0773.JPG

http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0768.JPG
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0769.JPG
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0771.JPG
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0774.JPG
Grand turismo anyone?
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vette08november/IMG_0758.JPG

Unfortunately due to unforseen complications with the car it is now sitting at a dealership awaiting repair. Don't expect any more pictures for the time being. :(

Lookin' good! 8-)

Oh no! What happened? :-( :?: I hope its nothing big and that you get your 'Vette back soon!

[graywolf624]

Well the car is currently at the dealer with a ruptured gas tank. I'll eventually post up the story, but im trying to keep my mind off it until the tank is replaced (part is backordered). Another watch this space type thing.

[acmarttin]

So how does the new Vette do off-road? :mrgreen:

[5vz-fe]

ruptured gas tank?? That's an uncommon problem (unless involving in a big crash).

[nthfinity]

ruptured gas tank?? That's an uncommon problem (unless involving in a big crash).

Suffice to say that 10 or so gallons leaked out. where it happened isn't a question, but how it happened is. It doesn't make much sense even for a series of uncommon unlikely events to happen the way they did to cause the rupture.

But, It's best to let gray explain ;) Hope its resolved soon, buddy :ohmy:

[styla21]

Congrats on the whip Gray! Fingers crossed, and looking forward to the update on your cars health :!:

[HeilSvenska]

sexcellent car.

I hope your car feels better soon.

[79TA]

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Perhaps it had something to do with sudden changes in temperature along with an impact? iono, get well soon red vette.

[graywolf624]

Well heres the story on the tank. I'm out on a fall drive at around 4 pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I'm just leaving a red light at a leasurely pace, maybe 100 yards from the light, when I hear a noise like a tire blowing out (explosion like). I immediately pulled over but the car showed no problems. Unfortunately there is a slight fluid leaking noise so I decided to pull the car into a nearby parking lot. I pulled the car out of gear and pulled the parking break about half way into a spot (something sounded like it was gushing out and I wanted a look quick). Gasoline was pouring out of the car, I quickly jumped back in and turned the car off. I'm very lucky I didnt have a bbqed car.

Anyway long story short there are two puncture holes on the bottom of the gas tank. These two puncture holes were the only damage on the bottom of the car when the tow truck arrived. Not a scratch anywhere else on the undercarriage which is very odd.
See pictures:
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...e/IMG_0784.JPG (http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vettedamage/IMG_0784.JPG)
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...e/IMG_0780.JPG (http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vettedamage/IMG_0780.JPG)
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...e/IMG_0775.JPG (http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/vettedamage/IMG_0775.JPG)
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...4/IMG_0785.JPG (http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/graywolf624/IMG_0785.JPG)

The tank and shield both need to be replaced. I have asked the dealer to show me the tank before it is discarded because at this time no one has seen under the cover. It really is odd. I guess I could just be the most unlucky bastard in the world but im not sure.

During the insurance inspection it was discovered that the front of my car was damaged sometime during the movement to the dealership. There are scratches all over the bottom of the spoiler. Unfortunately the typical finger pointing occurred (dealer, tow truck company, myself). After some discussion the tow truck operator agreed to give me most of the deductable. Rather then play he said she said I have accepted that agreement.

Which brings me to insurance. Since the front is considered a seperate incident I am being charged 2 deductables. $750 out of pocket.

Needless to say this whole experience has not been the highlight of my year. 631 miles on the car.

[unwilling]

wow, that blows... sorry to hear about all the damage. hopefully it will get resolved quickly.

[5vz-fe]

Damn, that really sux. My guess is that you have run over an alien. Using its last breathe, it took revenge on your car and strike 2 holes in ur tank hoping that it will explode and kill you in the process.

[silentm]

holy shit that is really weird. but you can clearly see the scratch pattern on the shield. looks like you or the delivery dude scraped over something with quite some force!

[acmarttin]

Man you are lucky. How long had you been driving around with gas leaking out of your car?

[graywolf624]

looks like you or the delivery dude scraped over something with quite some forc
Those aren't scratches, just the way the picture appears. The plate itself is smooshed in slightly around the 2 punctures, but other then the punctures themselves is spotless.

For a concept of reference the dealer actually checked all the hoses were tight when the tow truck brought it in before he noticed the punctures. When I say this cars underbody is spotless other then the punctures, I mean spotless. The slight tank dent is only observable by taking a pencil or something and lining it up next to the tank. The dealer and insurance have been over it with a magnifying glass and seen nothing else. *Last sentence is a slight dramatization but you get the point.