The (proverbial) silver bullet?

csbassplayer2003 wrote: Yes this list gets longer by the day. Recently added: C55/Clk 55 AMG. I did a check on local examples of C5 Corvettes and it wasn't that impressive. For a non high mileage C5 I'm looking at mid 20s for a 2004. While the performance/drivetrain I have no doubt is excellent, the stuff I'm worried about is GM's meh interior/build quality just simply falling apart as time and age take its toll. For a few grand less in my area I can get an C55/Clk 55 AMG. It has similar horsepower, classy styling, nicer interior. It doesn't have the raw performance of the Corvette, but it also doesn't suffer from 'Vette stigma (very sleeper). I like the C5 Corvettes, I'm just worried about the longevity and I'm not going to pay extra for a so so interior as well as everything else that comes with it.

Corvette will more than likely be much more reliable than a Mercedes. My neighbor down the street was complaining when he had to drive his 01 Z06 (possibly the very best value on the road today) in the rain because his other 2 cars--both newish Mercedes'--were in for repair.

Of course, that being said, there is the Vette stigma that comes with it, and the interior is lousy.

The C55 AMG is a completely different car from a 'vette. Not better or worse, just slower, heavier, worse handling, more comfortable, better materials, and way better interior. They're completely different market segments - made for cruising rather than sporty driving.

I imagine that any single repair on the C55 AMG, which will be more frequent than the C5 vette, would cover many years worth of maintenance on the vette. Price scheduled maintenance and unscheduled repairs before purchase. AMG models in particular have really expensive and really delicate parts. "Well built" does not translate to "reliable and inexpensive to operate."

You can find C6's (much nicer interior) in the mid $20's, and C5 Z's in the low 20's. I'd stay far away from a cheap C55 AMG. Something tells me that it's probably as good a deal as a cheap Porsche.

Edit: I'm not trying to push you towards a Vette. I was doing a similar search for the year I was deployed, and decided to just keep what I have for the time being. The price, economy, reliability, and just how easy they are to work on is impossible to beat in the "sports car around $20k segment." I guess what I'm saying is that you can buy a C5 or C6, and then probably not have to worry about spending anything on it, other than regular maintenance, for a few years.

MB parts are really expensive and their customer service is possibly the worst customer service of any automaker I have ever seen.

If I could transplant the 04 Z06 motor into something with a decent interior I would be sold. Again I love the performance of the car, just wish GM did as good a job on the interior. I've checked a couple sources and its either a bad time to buy a vette, or the price is creeping up. There isn't an 05 without 100k miles that isn't in the high 20s locally. The main problem I am having now is a good way of measuring each car vs each other for my own sake of narrowing it down. I probably have at least 20 cars on the list now, each with their own virtues.

Sounds like you need a Miata to put that Z06 engine in

it is a shame GM did put such a low rent interiors into the vettes for so long. But I guess they had to cut costs somewhere? Not that most people would not have paid a few grand more for a nicer interior... maybe as an option?

csbassplayer2003 wrote: If I could transplant the 04 Z06 motor into something with a decent interior I would be sold.

So, a 1st-gen CTS-V?

get an R53 (gen1) cooper S, either Ireland Engineering fixed camber plates, Cravenspeed strut tower defenders, or an M7 front strut bar (to deal with the ever-present issue of mushrooming the strut towers), a H&S 27mm front bar, the biggest rear bar you can get (to balance the front bar out), and if it has runflats, get rid of them and get on to some good non-runflats for summer (I'm looking at the 215/45-R17 Michelin Pilot Super Sports) and a set of Blizzaks on 16x6.5" rims for the winter months. oh, and if you can find a non-sunroof model, do it, I really wish mine didn't have that gaping hole in the roof, and the sunroof assembly sounds like a damn box of marbles above your head if you run with it popped up, on rough roads

Why the supercharged Cooper S vs the turbo? I've driven the turbo and it seems fine to me. And actually an LS1 CTS-V doesn't sound too bad now that I think of it.

So, a 1st-gen CTS-V?

I drove one of those back to back with a Vette of the same year at a GM event and I kept wondering why anyone would buy the Covette. That CTS-V was a good car.