When did you buy your first vette ?

[ynkedad]

Some great stories and history!

Me, Just bought my 1st Vette back in September. We bought a mini van for my mother in law that need to be checked out by the service dept. While there waiting, I couldn't help myself, I just had to look at the Vette's.
We had been looking around for an older Vette for some time, but I wasn't comfortable sitting in them. We had actually lost all hope for ever owning one!

Anyway, I assumed we'd be disappointed once again, but to our suprise the 2005 had more room. I wound up taking it for a spin thru town and was Amazed, as well as intimidated by the power!
We went home, and all I could think about that evening was the Vette.
That next evening the dealer called us, and the next thing I knew we were THERE, trading my F-350 king Ranch in on a Vette.
Several weeks later, we were CA. bound (in the Vette) via Rt66 and Hwy50
having the time of our lives!

LIFE IS GREAT!

~Ray

[CHASZ51]

Got my first Vette 2 months ago this week.

A 04 Z51 black with 9000 miles A4.

Chas

[als2052]

I have two brother in laws that I have to thank. One is a member of this site. Once they had theirs in their garage all it took was a test drive and 13 months later, I found my 05.

[jcb_njb]

quite by accident. When into dealer to see if they had any information of the new Colorado pickup and the C6. Saw a new machine silver c coupe and the wife and I said to the sale person to work up the numbers. The gave us $6K more then we owed on a '02 Monte and the rest is history.

BTW, this gave my brother in-law (als2052) the itch and 13 months later ....

[Nytro]

In 1984 I opened up three video stores. Now seeing that this business was a cash business I figured I would buy myself a nice car, so I figured I would fly down to Florida, visit my folks who lived in Largo and buy myself a midyear and drive it home. I remember looking at The Toy Store at a big block 67 but like all the rest of the cars they had it was in tough shape. I looked for ten days and two days before I was to leave I saw an ad in an auto hunter type of magazine for a 66 over at Treasure Island. As it turns out the 19 year old that owned it also owned a Kawasaki motorcycle and had gotten so many tickets the court ordered him to sell both vehicles to avoid jail. I bought it for $9100.00, registered it and drove it home to Mass. then I restored it. Still have it, love it. Bought it with 55,000 miles on it and it just turned 70,000.

[MADN3SS]

Originally Posted by Nytro

In 1984 I opened up three video stores. Now seeing that this business was a cash business I figured I would buy myself a nice car, so I figured I would fly down to Florida, visit my folks who lived in Largo and buy myself a midyear and drive it home. I remember looking at The Toy Store at a big block 67 but like all the rest of the cars they had it was in tough shape. I looked for ten days and two days before I was to leave I saw an ad in an auto hunter type of magazine for a 66 over at Treasure Island. As it turns out the 19 year old that owned it also owned a Kawasaki motorcycle and had gotten so many tickets the court ordered him to sell both vehicles to avoid jail. I bought it for $9100.00, registered it and drove it home to Mass. then I restored it. Still have it, love it. Bought it with 55,000 miles on it and it just turned 70,000.

15,000 miles in 22 years?! That's crazy! Including the 1,500 or so miles to Mass. from here? I'd probably put 15,000 on that car in a year. Especially here in Florida.

[USA-1]

..... when I was 11, my dad bought a new '71 Impala Custom Coupe (you know the one..... with the concave back-window? ) at a local dealership, and I went-along when he picked it up:
in the service bay was a new Corvette, stickering for $7xxx.....

2 years later, my dad is selling shiverlays part-time for the same salesman, who now has his-own dealership in another town, and I am tagging-along in the evenings, washing and detailing customers Corvettes for them, always thinking one-day, I'd own my own.....

6 years later, I'm still washing cars evenings and weekends for my dad's buddy, and I bought a '79 Z28 brand-new (I still have it, and it runs 12-eighties @ 105 MPH, with just 26,000 miles on the clock )

with the thought-being my 'next' car would be a Corvette.....

21+ years-later, my best-friend tells me to be 'on the look-out for a nice C3, 'cause I wanna buy one.....', and I am taking my pooch outside to do-her-thing, when the lady across the street from me (an under-cover/narcotics State trooper ) is washing this gorgeous Black '82:
I jokingly holler at her "are you so poorly-paid you gotta start detailing cars in the driveway part-time?"

Always very private, she 'invites' me over to look at the car, saying she'd owned it for 8+ years (I'd never seen it in all those years, living directly-across from me!!!!! ), but would be selling it, as she never had time to enjoy it anymore:
knowing I still have a lotta racing-buddies, she asks, "do YOU know of anybody who'd like this car?"

I walk-around the car twice as she holds my pooch's leash, poking my head in the open driver's-side window, and see the odometer reading "11,137" , so I ask her if it is original, and about documentation:
it's original, and she has all the papers on the car, so I am immediately torn between telling my buddy, and keeping it for myself

(turns-out, he'd bought a 1977 L-82 with 24,000 miles a few days earlier )

Finally, I say, "Yeah..... I know somebody who'll take it....." , without even asking the price:
"I WILL!!!!!"

She says, "Don't you want to DRIVE it..... the rattle, they ride rough, they're NOT like a new car....." , almost talking me OUT-OF buying it from her, but my mind was set:
I would give her $15,000 after she got-back from a 6-week 'job' across the state.


Before signing the papers, she made me 'agree' that I wouldn't cut the car apart and make a race-car out-of it:
since she coulda kicked yours AND my ass without breaking a sweat, I sheepishly agreed.....


6 weeks later, my now 'EX'-wife left me, and to say I 'got-depressed' would be an understatement:
my neighbor, never-married, and I chatted some, and I even took her for a few rides in 'her' car.

2 years later, I met my current fiancee, but my neighbor was diagnosed with cancer throughout her entire body, and her body, once like a Marine, shriveled-up and died:
her sister asked if I would attend the viewings and funeral services, as a friend of the family (in a lilly-White neighborhood, she was of-color ), but we did even better than that.....

we DROVE the Corvette to the funeral home, and to the local State Police barracks, where her 'formal' funeral took-place, and a picture of 'her' Corvette was buried with her that day.


It's been over 4 years since she's been gone, and I think she 'knew', all-along, that I'd be racing 'her' car one day:
BERNADETTE and I have began competing in both Florida-based Corvette Challenge Series.

[2Vettes]

These are great stories, guys! We've got a nice combo of new and "veteran" owners

[Nytro]

Scott, I haven't driven the 66 much in 22 years, but I sure have enjoyed every mile I have.

Not to jack the thread but I have to comment on USA-1's signature. I grew up in the northeast and have a few friends who ran at New England Dragway. I believe I was at the annual funny car meet that the picture depicts in your sig. Larson was a great Northeast racer. I have a very good friend who originally ran the Dodge Fever A-100 wheelstander Rich Travers. I have a way cool video that Rich put together from the old days. I went to New England Dragway the first day it opened. Remember this Larson car ?

[naples]

Originally Posted by 2Vettes

Great pic and story, Alan

Thanks, good idea for a thread!