Mikelly Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Well After jumping through many hoops scheduling-wise, Friday night I finally took posession of my 99C5. First thing right off the bat, let me say I DID NOT fully understand the options on this car, because the previous owner DIDn't. This car IS LOADED... I thought it didn't have a heads up display because the vent screen sun shade was in the way of the display... Didn't realize it because I couldn't see it and he never mentioned it. It has every single option except Selctive Ride Damping, but does have Active Handling and Traction control. The car is dirty inside and out. There is STILL pollen on the engine from sitting all summer. AND due to the fact that the car sat outside, the windshield motor got flooded with water due to the fact that the POLLEN and other airborne stuff clogged the cowl drains... Causing water to back up into the windshield wiper motor and trip the circuit breaker. There is a little piece of trim missing on the drivers door handle assembly on the interior door panel.. Little plastic grommet. And there is wear on the driver's seat bolster from getting into and out of the car. The seats are guite possibly the nicest sports car seat I've ever sat in. Comfort and adjustability beyond belief. So how does it drive? I drove it home at night in Washington DC Rush hour traffic and I never got above 50mph... Talk about a let down! So later that night I went to pick up my 16 year old after work and we took it for a quick spin... It was amazing. These cars are deceptively fast. I was very impressed with how responsive the car is in 4th gear at 35 miles per hour... No shifting, just mash the thottle. When you get on it from a stop, with traction control off, the car is fast to accelerate, and second gear is a burnfest on the tires that are on the car currently... Today I'll be putting the new tire and wheel combo on and fixing the wiper motor... Anyway, the car handles and brakes so well that I'm not sure I'll modify the brakes at all... The suspension I'm still unsure about... Not sure if I like the AHS applying the brakes to eas wheel individually for me when it feels it needs to... but hey, what do I know? I do have a set of Z06 Sway bars coming for the car, which are much stiffer, and I may upgrade the shocks. Today I took the wife to meet her aunt at a parkinglot where they were going to do some Xmass shopping... On the way back, a guy in a Grandprix GTP decided he wanted a piece, so I gave him some Wutfer! Well, sort of... We were side by side heading into a wide sweeper that approached an intersection about a 3rd of a mile past the sweeper and I'm in fourth when I just nailed the gas... And the car decided to step out, producing a nice a controllable dirt track style slide completely through the turn and up to the intersection. Traction control was OFF because I was fiddling with the settings... Would have been nice to have on... The guy in the GTP gave me the thumbs up and flashed his lights from behind... I just headed on home to change my shorts! Based on this little bit of seat time, I can see that this car is so much more than a sports car... It is loaded with things that I don't fully understand yet... I've been taking the inch thick manual to the can with me on every trip since the car has been home... And I'm still only a 1/4 of the way through... Still don't know how to set the dual memory seats, or reset the Drivers Information Center data... But I'm getting there... This is the nicest car I have ever owned... Not the fastest, but certainly close! More (AND PICS) To come later! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Mike those cars are really something ill tell ya. I worked at a chevy dealer for 3 years starting when i was 19 up to 22. Drove the vettes more than enough to get that cocky attitude that porters get. Lucky for me, the excess car lot was 1/4 mile down the street and around the block. Ive known myself to take the longer way to the lot. Those seats are saweeeet! Once you are in them, they feel so stiff like part of the frame rails on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKDGabe Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 I think that says it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kc6wfs Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Sounds like it will be a great car!!! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Now, all you need is an electric garage door opener so you can be like batman and drive in and out of your "mikeman" cave with out getting out of your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Told ya mike... there cool cars.. DEFF get exhaust as they sound so nice when opened up abit. The seats are real nice, my dad loves his and he loves the driving postion.. real racey feel. best of luck with it! mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 I already have the Borla XR-1 Exhaust for it, but I need the tail pipes to go with it. I've also got a ram air kit on order, as well as a Hurst Shifter and knob, AND a set of heads are on the way to my builder... I fully expect to have an 11 second daily driver by the end of spring... I pulled the windshield wiper and tried to work out the issue with the water in it... Found a cup full in the unit... I DID manage to get the thing to work, but only in HIGH mode... So I suspect the components are SHOT... One is on order and will be in tomorrow... I did get the wheels on... MAN they look good... After looking at the wear on the old tires, I'm gonna go ahead and get the alignment done when I take it to get it inspected. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETEW Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Mike sorry I have to say this, but......... I hate you. KIDDING! Just jealous my man, I can't wait for the day to own a world class sports car like the vette. Now I know one else has said this but where are the pics. I want to see the car inside and out, dirty or clean. I would also like to see the new wheels you have on the car now. Come on now, feed my need, I 've got to live through your vette experiance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Congrats Mike!!! Those cars a very nice. Lucky for the car to wind up with an owner who has such understanding and respect for fine automotive engineering!! Have Fun, can't wait to see some pics!! Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 Trust me guys, I'll post pics... Just have a BUNCH of snow, and the front cowl is removed for the windshield wiper motor swap! I'll get pics out tomorrow hopefully! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Mike called me from the Vette on his way home from picking it up. I had just pulled out of my work's parking lot and my cell went off - I figured it was the wife asking for me to get some milk on the way home . Talking to Mike Friday night was like talking to a 12 year old boy that just got a new X-box and a pile of nudie magazines!! Quite happy for ya, Mike - Congrats on a nice purchase! I can't wait for a ride! - and some pics! (Sniff - I wish they had a 2+2 Vette - I DO have to cart my 8 and 10 year old kids around every once in a while when the wife's sedan is not available.) Now get Donna something decent to drive, would ya! I'm thinking an M3 would be about right for her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 15, 2003 Author Share Posted December 15, 2003 Here is a link to the Ad on Ebay where I found this car the week before thanksgiving! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2442933382 It now has different wheels and better tires on it... I'll get pics of it up when I clean it up... $17900... Couldn't believe I got thsi much car for so little... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 How did you get it cheaper than the reserve? Made an offer after it didn't sell? I love the color! How easy does the removable glass top come off? Pretty cool feature. Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 15, 2003 Author Share Posted December 15, 2003 I was in the middle of doing some other finance stuff and couldn't buy it right at the time or I would have hit the buy it now... And I asked the guy to contact me AFTER the auction if the car didn't sell. The fact that I work 10 minutes away didn't hurt. He really didn't want to deal with shipping the car. SOOO after looking at the car and pointing out scratches and road chips and the fact that the car needed tires, He offered it for $18000 to me locally... I told him I'd give him $18500 IF HE FIXED the scratches (Buffed them out) and had the front tires swapped. Long story short, a snow storm hit weekend before this past weekend, and he didn't get any of it done. He offered the car to me as is for $17900 and I said Fine. I had already purchased a set of wheels for it, so I'd have had to buy more tires or have them swapped out... So I won there as well... I'm a lucky shmuck and I know it... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 15, 2003 Author Share Posted December 15, 2003 The glass top comes off with the pull of three levers... It stows in the rear hatch with two custom brackets that hold the back to the car, while forcing the front of the top into these "Feet"... Really secure, and easy to take off... however, sizable, and it explains WHY there are scratches around the rear hatch... The rear of the vehicle is fairly tall, so loading the rood panel into the trunk can be dicey, and it is easy to want to sit the panel on the rear ledge... The color is awesome, and the silver painted thin spoke wheels look great on it as well... I'm gonna get the windows tinted, which really should set it off more... AThis car books for about $25000. My bank told me that I was getting a steal! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaparral2f Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Cheez Mike, Can't you be just a little enthusiastic? That is sure one sweet looking ride. Congrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 awesome no bodyside molding mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETEW Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 That seems like alot of miles for a vette. Was it a commuter car? That's like 18K miles a year. I know if the motor was taken care of you can double that mileage and have no troubles, though. I had a ride in an older vette with close to 200K on the odo and man that thing could still run! Looks like a very nice toy, I would be in too much trouble roasting the tires everywhere. What's a set go for on that car. The rears are, what, 295/35 or something like that. 8) $$$$$$, I would learn the hard way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 15, 2003 Author Share Posted December 15, 2003 This one was used for commuting by the first owner, and running between DC and Newyork on the weekends by the second owner... Checks out fine as far as mechanicals go... The rear tires are 275-40-18s and I got them from Tire Rack for $170 each, made by Kumho. The fronts are 245-45-17s... All four ran me $625. It is VERY quick and fun to drive... I JUST dropped it off for inspection, so lets hope it passes! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 GOOD LORD you got that car for cheap!!! That's less than most of us put in our hybrids... damn if I had known I could get THAT for the $$$... wow... no matter... I couldn't afford the insurance... heck I wouldn't even want to park that thing within 10 miles of my apartment! sux living in CA where 99% of the population are crooks... great deal man and great car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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