I'm part Bohemian and we are known to be frugal and IF buying a new car you gotta go dog dish hubcap, base model.
You get the car you might not like but the price was right. YOLO? Not when you ate all that sauerkraut that pushed you to live to 90. You're going to need that money.
With discussions of $46k-$53k Civic Type R's/Integra S's and $60k Nissan Z cars; if you can get a dealer to order you one, would it make sense to order an option-less, base model 2025 Corvette?
Cheaper then that in the market already. Only reason is to get a specific color and interior you want and a 25.
Now they do it or the Z06 they can have my money.
In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :
I think in the context you suggested....a $60K Corvette vs. a $45K Civic or equivalently priced Z-car, it makes all the sense in the world. A C8 is a GOOD car, the Z06 just improves on that and makes the base model look more tame. If you don't need a backseat or truck-like space or capabilities, it would be an awesome daily to just pile the miles on, and it's probably cheaper than all the soccer moms and dads driving around in new F150's and Tahoes, while being a lot more interesting.
No. I simply cannot do the care and feeding for such an vehicle.
a corvette is WAY more car than you can use on the street. Compared to a civic (4 door hatch back /w usable trunk) the corvette is a toy. So for me; to use a dual use fun weekend car and track car +z51 yes i think i would. I have been on the configurator and 2LT /w Z51 in the dark red /w bronze wheels comes in closer to $85k. I believe dealerships will take some off if you go on the forums and ask around for dealerships playing ball and you're probably at $80k+TTL for that car, it's alot of car for the money
the better question is; Z for $60k or a BMW M2 for ~ the same money; BMW sells those at sticker pretty regularly, it's a good car /w the stick and a great car /w the automatic. It has a back seat and a decent sized trunk...
No manual trans = no sale. Kind of wild that you can get this much sports car for the money relative to average new car prices currently..
Small bit of possibly helpful info: We have tested many of the cars mention here–base and Z06 Corvette, BMW M2, Z and more–and you can find lap times at The Grassroots Motorsports ultimate guide to track car lap times.
In reply to ClearWaterMS :
Good point on being too much car for the street
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:No manual trans = no sale. Kind of wild that you can get this much sports car for the money relative to average new car prices currently..
That's my opinion too. I get it that today's automatic transmissions are better, but I still like to row my own.
It would have to be a Z51 and not gumby blue. Car and Driver just published their top 10 for the year and the Z51 was one of the 10. Very impressive car for the price.
Its just not in my budget to buy any $85K car.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:No manual trans = no sale. Kind of wild that you can get this much sports car for the money relative to average new car prices currently..
Fully agreed. If I was in the market for a newer Corvette, I'd be shopping for a manual C7 Grand Sport.
In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :
They can be too much for the street, for sure. My last Corvette was a C7 Z51 running on E85. It was fantastic.
I decided if some was good, more must be better so I bought a C7 Z06/Z07 (7MT, of course). That thing can be a handful. On track it's great but it absolutely destroys tires, and on the street there's only so much you can enjoy with very tiny bursts of acceleration. I'm actually thinking maybe my next sports car is a Cayman GTS 4.0, which would be dropping 300 horsepower but might be more fun.
It's just money, right?
On the Corvette side, though, I agree with the sentiment that a C7 GS 7MT is probably the hot ticket. The Z06 sometimes feels a little "extra," as the kids say.
EDIT: Obligatory:
I repeatedly regret being responsible and paying off some debts instead of ordering a new Corvette when I had the opportunity.
I think the C6 would be my generation to go looking for but these are so not my car that it's not even a thing I'm considering at all.
My local Chebby dealer has three 2024 2LT Vettes in stock, and all three are advertised online at $9-10K off MSRP. If I were looking for one I think I could convince myself to take a better optioned 2024 over a base model 2025. There is a base 1LT at a dealer 32 miles away,too.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Is it legit? One of the Chicago Nissan dealers listed a base new Z in the upper 30's but had $5000 worth of mandatory adders.
I have seen GM/Ford dealers in the Detroit area advertise they sell at employee discounts since you'all work for them. LOL
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
C6s are really fun when they work but most seem to be coming to the point where all the electrical bits disintegrate. I'm in a Facebook group where all our posts are "yep, mine's doing that too, no idea how to fix it but replacing/repairing x,y,z,etc doesn't help "
IMO, a used C8 is one of the best performance bargains on the market. Its performance is incredible, a huge leap forward from any Corvette before it. The chassis (with the Z51 package) is soooo well balanced. Not only that, it's easy to drive, very comfortable for daily use.
I've always been a manual transmission guy, but for these newer cars I would go automatic all the time. It's way faster than the manual and if I want to control it I can use the paddles.
Datsun240ZGuy said:In reply to ClearWaterMS :
Good point on being too much car for the street
It's the old "fast car slow" story. The Corvette is a specialty vehicle, and IMO there are far more entertaining cars to drive around town - or even on a tight twisty road than the Vette. But for what it does well, it does amazingly well at that price point.
I've had a 20 z51 Lt3 since new. Very heavily optioned. MSRP was nearly $90K. I really like the car. Like others have said, it has a lot more performance than you can use on the street. I've driven the car around 15K miles and it and my truck are my daily drivers.
It looks like retail for a car like mine is in the low $60K range. If you're interested in a C8, I'd suggest getting a used LT2 z51. Unless things have changed since the 2020 models, LT1 doesn't have camera rearview mirror so I'd get an LT2 for that reason alone. I also think the front end lift is an ecellent option to look for.
If you get a used one, be sure it has documentation of transmission filter and fluid changes by the book.
At this point it's safe to say I'll never order a new car of any kind.
I wouldn't order a new Corvette because I think they look funky. So many weird lines and sharp edges.
I guess I don't fully understand the too much car for the street thing. What deems a car to be too much for the street? I drive a Chrysler Pacifica for work a lot. It's capable of 120mph. That's too much for the street, isn't it? Or let's take the ND Miata. Quick acceleration, great cornering ability. Go to a road like Tail of the Dragon. Many of those corners are speed limit of 25mph. The Miata can probably charge through those corners safely at 40mph. Is that too much for the street? Or a highway traffic clover. Miata can probably do it at 80mph if it's a gradual curve. Isn't that too much? The only real difference to me is that supercars like the C8 can either get to the "too much" zone faster or its limits are even farther outside the "too much" zone than other cars. I'd happily drive a C8 on the street and use what abilities I can safely do.
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :
"Too much car for the street" = "you could've bought half the car and still gotten 100% of the actual performance".
Trade your van for one with a 60mph top speed, you'll notice. Trade 1,000hp for 500hp and you still won't be missing any power if you are keeping both engines in their respective power bands.
As it happened, we got the 2017 GT-350 from a Chevy dealer. As my wife is finishing up the paperwork, I'm walking the showroom looking at the shiny new Vettes and checking out the stickers. It occurred to me that for just a little more scratch, we could put a Vette in the garage.
Lack of a manual shift makes it a non-starter, though. Any toy car as impractical as the Shelby or the Vette needs a proper gearbox to play with. The Shelby delivers.
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