Hey guys/gals after 2.5 years its been fun, but I finally made the plunge I bought a new/used car. Needless to say its been quite a rollercoaster ride. I figure with the Nissan resale value not getting any better as the days go by, I gotta loose the car before it gets even worse.

I've decided to jump ship completely. A 1998 Chevrolet Corvette coupe. Feature wise it does everything the Max does and then some, except roll the windows down by the FOB. I don't have any pics of it yet cause its dark outside, the max is still broken in the garage and it was raining all day today.

I know this wasnt the car that a few people recommended, and I sincerely appreciate the time and effort people put into letting me know their opinions. I didnt jump into this haphazardly as I put much thought and consideration into each factor. I also realize that its an american car and things will go wrong (I already broke the exhaust) but hey life is short and is full of experiences and each step is a learning stage. The maxima taught me alot but its time to move onto something more suitable for a single person with no kids. Who knows maybe I'll buy another Maxima 5-6 years down the road when I can't have 2 seats that doesnt drive in the snow. I'll still be around, but probably not as active as before.

 

Have fun, that car rocks!
-Cyrus

 

Now maybe you won't have as many headaches. But in a way, it's kinda good for the rest of the org that you had so many problems. You really helped with all your writeups

Have fun with the v8

 

I think it was long overdue for you to get another car Eric. With all the problems you had with the Max, I'm surprised you waited this long. If it was me, I would got rid of it a long time ago.

 

Dammit, I lost the bet with you. I said 6 months, but you did it in one month. Good luck with the C5. Be careful and buy an EXTENDED WARRANTY.


Dave

 

Corvettes are sweet cars, but they are usually driven by 50 year old white men going through mid life crisises.

Eric, I would have bet on you getting an LS1 Camaro SS 6-speed, I thought that was for you. That or a Cobra and mod the hell out of it. But even though a Vette is more of an old mans car, you'll definatally impress the ladies with it, that's for sure. Camaro's and Cobra's are more for boy-racers. (which is why i wanted one so damn bad for a time )

 

Hehe I havent gotten rid of the Maxima yet, its still broken in the garage. I gotta pick up the crank pos. sensor tomorow, fix the car and then sell it. As for the warranty I knocked on wood and crossed my fingers, I got it from a private guy for a pretty good price. So far in the first 3 hours I've had it, I've broken the X pipe from just driving and the targa top leaks at the seams cause it was pouring down rain. That and the tires are expensive as freakin *****.

As for Camaro SS, I never really liked those cars, I like quick cars but I also like luxury and refinment. The camaro's interiors are very crude and rattly, that and non-independent rear live axle, and it is MORE to insure a SS then the Corvette (hows that one? hehe). The Corvette also has many more luxury features such as memory seats, an extensive computer display readout, the gauges are awesome, sports seats are much better then the Camaros. It also handles a ton better. But you are correct, I will be quite out of the "typical corvette driver" as I'm a tiny asian kid not some balding 50 year old white man with silver hair hahaha. Yeah so I went from one old person's car to another

 

Don't ya just love American quality?
-Cyrus

 

That's funny.

What are your thoughts on Mustangs? I hate V6 mustangs, and don't care for GT's, but Cobra's....I just think they are sweet. I think the modular body style needs some work though. Did you ever consider them? What about Lightnings?? I could see you in a lightning..

 

Ya can't really call Corvettes old peoples cars just cause they drive them. I'm pretty sure a lot of them race their Vettes in their free time. The 'Vette is US's finest volume sportscar, bar none. Given the choice, I would definately choose a Corvette over a F-body.

That said, the Vettes interior is still crappy and cannot compare to the Maxima's.

btw, how is the computer display readout? What kind of information does it display? does it have a lot of buttons to play with (all that really matters to me!)? also, does it have a HUD?

Anyway, congrats on a great car. btw, it is a 6-spd right?

 

wow - form a maxima to a corvette!!!!!! - luky guy - who cares if its an old guy car - i'd rather tell the ladies i have a corvette rather than a max

 

Thats because most "boy racers" cant afford a new vette so the F-body is the next closest thing for about half as much...

 

Corvettes are for old people? Come on! So what if most of them you see out there driving are old people. It's still a Corvette! And what about the Z06?!

 

Congratulations on the new car! I'm in the same boat as you. I ordered my new 350z last month. You opted for the lighter Corvette, while I opted for the hefty 350. Maybe we can meet up at 75-80 or Cecil for some head to head runs. What color is it?

 

Jesus, you already broke the X-pipe? How? Did you drive over something?

Did you get a 6 speed or auto? Please say 6 speed, please.



Dave

 

I was driving with a friend and I got on it a little, slightly breaking the back end loose and then the car got all loud. Apparently its a common problem on the C5's. Just my luck eh, it never broke on the last owner. As soon as I got my hands on it it does. I guess that says somethin about how the last guy drove it.

Yes it is the 6 speed. Im sure you know this but in this car it was a $800 option. The auto was standard. Imagine if the max the manual was an option, it be even less popular. I was lookin at the production statistics, and about 80% of corvettes are autos! Good lord! I cant even imagine what the max's #s look like. Probaly .1%.

Oh yeah and I saw the dumbest sticker in the car. In the glove box it read "Warning, children can be killed by the airbag. The safest place to put children is in the back seat." OK I guess I have to put them in the cargo hold.

 

New years eve really messed up my sleep schedule so here I am, anyway I like the 03 Cobras. They're a bit pricey though. Ive never driven one, but I see them launching at the track and they have wheel hop. I dunno I never really gave much thought to the mustangs. Maybe I shoulda driven one. My grandfather had a 60s mustang and my dad was kinda into muscle cars, but I think he was more a GM guy. He had buicks before, but now I think he stopped caring. He drives a 90 Camry or a 94 Quest. I think he wanted a Corvette in the household though. Lightnings I never looked at, I'm not into trucks at all.

 

Hehehe, from what I see the Maxima interior is just about on the same lines as the corvette interior. +/- a few points in a few areas. The corvette seats are about 100x better. The steering also feels like a true sports car (duh). So far no squeeks or rattles, but my roof is leaking under heavy rain when the car is moving. but
best of all it has a layered analog blue gauge pod that looks so awesome.

As for the display and buttons, oh its incredible. It displays fuel statistics (instant, avg, range etc), the actual temp (oil, coolant) volts, oil pressure, TIRE pressure, oil change range. It actually has an OPTIONS menu when you can control (nissan take note) if you want 1 or 2 doors to unlock with the FOB, horn/lights or both for arm/disarm, if you want "easy exit" (power seats slide all the way back when you turn off the car, and returns when you turn car on). It has a 3 person memory setting (it remembers seat position, outside mirror position, A/C control settings (dual zone auto) AND what radio/CD was playin and volume! The memory settings can be "assigned" to different FOBs. Personaly I have 1 setting as setting as street and 1 as race (AC off, radio off, seat much further forward) so when Im preparing to race I just press a button!

No mine doesnt have the HUD. It came out in 99. I actually prefer it without cause the tach part is all segmented and responds slowly that only the speedo is useful.

Whats also interesting is alot of the "cues" from imports this car seems to have, unlike previous GM vehicles Ive seen. The headlight control is where the Maxima's is and operates the same "push forward lock and pull back flash" manner. The key is double sided and in the dash like a Camry. And it goes OFF ACC IGN START like an import, unlike ACC OFF IGN START like most other domestics Ive seen.

 

this time, dont let anyone jump on the roof or get exploding and flammable pillows stuck underneath the car.


have fun. you shouda got a Z.


:P

 

dam, u really like the vette eh? i remember u tried to bid on one and lost, and still got one from a private party..i can't wait to see pics...what is that thing pushing anyway? i know its a beast

 

please post and let us know if this one breaks too.. we want to know if you just need a bus pass

 

I really can't comment.

 

Good luck Eric. I hope that "new car" excitement lasts long and isn't disrupted by problems from the car, etc.

I've never driven a vette sans pulling them up at the car wash. The seats feel supportive, but the leather seemed to be the same domestic shoddy quality I see in GMs, etc. The interior really never striked me as "luxurious" at all, quite the contrary...leaks at the wash, rattles and noise, lack of complete frame on doors (reminds me of my old integra....I can hear the loud, sloppy "BANG!" when shutting doors in my head now). But I didn't know the computer-side of the car had *that* many features - that's cool stuff.

Heh...an older friend of mine that owned a 93 TT RX-7 for a while, then a 99 VR4, bought a newer Z06 to replace the Mitsu, forget which year...
A month later he had a 01 S4. Guess he hated the handling, interior quality, and ran into maintenence probs. Hope you have better luck & enjoy it a lot more than he did.

 

good luck with your new car, i know you will enjoy it more than the max.

 

I'll admit the electonric wizardary is pretty sweet on the C5, but it does have tendency to come around and bite you in butt. GM electronics are no where near as reliable as Japanese electronics. My father's friend with the C5 has had lots of problems with the seats. I've riden in his C5 a few times and even though it's an auto, it hauls butt. It wasn't as fast as my 94 Z28, but it was more refined for sure. The interior is not near as clean and refined as the 95+ Maxima, but it's not terrible. The seats are very nice, but the quality of leather is definately subpar for a 42K+ car. I sweat GMs leather (same with Ford) rivals vinyl in it's appearance and feel.

Have fun with the car and make sure to keep about $1500-2000 handy just in case something breaks. Like I said, I spent $3500-4000 on my Z28 over 3 years (all warranty). The engine and tranny were strong, but everything else around the car started to break. BTW, you can get aftermarket extended warranties. Go to a Chevy dealership and see what they can do.


Dave

 

Congrats on the car Eric!

Now come to NJ so someone can give me a run.

 

It was great having you on the org and the thanks for helping out the org members. Have fun with the new car

 

first off, you would have to be a complete idiot to take an SS over a vette AT ANY AGE. my friend has a 2k1 SS and its nothing special at all, my max's interior whoops its *ss and the extra speed does not make up for his reliability problems (ie. 18k miles, new cat, new trans, horrible rattling!) good luck with the car eric, hopefully you will have less problems with it than your maxima, although like said before, you have taught a few of us a thing or 2 with all your problems. corvettes are great cars, so i hope you have a lot of fun with it. be careful with it, and dont break everything on it

 

Too late!

 

I want pics of the interior and the computer info display thingy!

You can't compare the Corvette's interior to the Maximas, in terms of quality, look, and feel. The Corvette interior looks way to plasticy and does not befit a presitgous sports car. However, GM put the money in all the right places so its all good.

You have a coupe right? So how does it leak water if its a hardtop?

 

you know what would be funny... your differential bearings on the vette dies. LOL jk; blah my maxima is suffering from that disease for past couple of months. Thanks for answering a couple of questions about it, I hope you don't disappear completely form here!

anyways, at least you had fun w/ the max (judging from those crazy **** u did in those videos) and gained a whole bunch of experience working on it. good luck w/ your new car!

 

are you on any vette boards?

 

Congratulations Eric.

 

Uhh yeah you can, the Maxima's interior suxed, at least for a flagship foreign family sedan. The leather in the Corvette is alot better then the leather in the Maxima. Maybe you havent seen one with the sport seat options. I have not one but TWO lumbar supports and they're air filled and motorized, not that lever the Maxima has. My side supporters in the seat are also adjustable for both driver AND passenger. I agree for a $40K sports car thats the "american dream" the interior is plasticky and lousy. But guess what, its made for speed. The body is very very stiff. Its the stiffest body'd car I've ever driven so far besides say a truck. It is 4x stiffer then the previous generation corvette, and its about a million times stiffer then the Maxima!

The coupe has a removeable roof top. I was fortunate to pick up a car that has both roof panels (one of them is a dark blue tinted clear plastic you can see through it, the other is body colored). It was raining really hard last night and it leaked from where the targa top met the windshield. I'm sure I can correct this, and I'm going to try the other roof too.

I'll get pics of the display, I really like it. Its multi layered and got an awesome color.

As for forums, I'm on Corvetteforum.com . The crowd is completely different over there then here obviously.

 

well obviously the seats are going to be much better in the Corvette as its a sports car and not a family sedan.

But in terms of dash layout and quality, the Maxima is much better. The 99 Maxima GLE (with its pop-up drawer) has a better interior than its competition (Camry, Accord).

Anyways thats not the point.

I wanna see pics of your 'Vette, and congrats again!!

btw, a technical question: how do you know when your throw-out bearing is dieing? And is it easy to change the bearing on a RWD car?

 

I'll get the pics when the weather doesnt sux outside, it just figures I buy this car and its been raining non-stop. I still cant say the Maxima's interior is better then the Camry 4 gens is. My mom has one and its built very well. The vette's layout for the most part is good, EXCEPT for the cup holder (its about 1/2" deep and the center console does not open all the way when the ebrake is up But otherwise, it is layed out like if not better then the 4th gen Maxima is. The better stuff includes that you can set the cruise control setting to "always ready" without having to modify it. You can also turn on the foglights with the parking lights WITHOUT mods! Oh yea and double zone climate control, memory settings which remember seats, outside mirror, RADIO AND AC controls.

But quite honestly I dont know how long I'll be able to tolerate this car. It is very fun, very head turning, but also very expensive. The tires are 275 40ZR 18s and they dont last very long. Also- so far my gas mileage really really sux. The fuel computer says I get an average of 17 MPG. It probaly doesnt help that my foot is pretty heavy right now as I'm getting used to the 345hp/350 ft lb torque. The car can actually get very good gas mileage on the highway, mainly cause of its .5 ratio'd 6th gear.

Throw out bearing, when you step on the clutch you'll hear a noise cause the throw out bearing is pressing against the prssure plate to get it to release. My car has a transaxle that's in the rear of the car. From what I hear the clutch jobs on this car a nightmare, so I dont plan on burning the F outta the clutch anytime soon.

 

I like the accord's interior better

 

I have to interject here, some people work for a very long time by the time they buy a Corvette. It has a very rich history. I knew a 53 year-old dude whose dream came true when he finally saw his last of 3 daughters graduate from college and he bought himself one. If you can't tolerate it, I don't know what gives. imho a person needs a sense of accomplishment in order to appreciate the finer things in life. If they come too easy then all they do sometimes is want what's on the other side of the fence.

 

Congrats! Good luck with the new car. Do you plan on selling your mods?

 

Congrats on the new ride.
I like 'vettes, you get Porsche type performance, for half the price.
My buddy had a 91 Auto, which he had running low 13s. I've ridden in it and that car is a beast.
I went to a GM promotional test drive event and got to drive a Z06 6spd and that was a ridiculously fast car. If I could afford one, I would definetly get it.
Take it to the track as soon as you can and let us know what it runs.