QUESTION FOR EVERYONE.....

[MRS. XTREME]

So NASAJACK got me thinking....

How did you come to own your vette?
Have you collected them throughout the years?
Did you see one when you were little and just knew you had to have it?
Did you dad/mom/relative turn you onto them?
Was it your dad's car you took to the SR prom and you fell in love with it???

Did you go through a mid life crisis?? Were you trying to pick up a lady or a man??

I am really interested to know ...HOW DID YOU COME TO OWN A VETTE??

I think this topic will bring back some old memories for a bunch of people and we might even learn a little more about each other.


If not at least it'll get some people thinking and start up some conversation !!

So HOW DID YOU COME TO OWN A VETTE?????? :dancer01::dancer01::dancer01:

 

[Spinedoc]

My brother had a new 80 Black Vette. I fell in love with that car. (He hated it). I wound up taking over that car and have been hooked on Vettes ever since. I'm currently on my 5th one. Been driving them ever since, although I was out of vettes from 86 thru 93. From 93 forward, that's all I have owned...

 

[jcb_njb]

I have loved this car since I was little (mid to late 50's). I never wanted anything else. When I could finally afford one, it was not practical due to kids. After the kids were gone and finances improved. When the C6 came out I went to the dealer to see if they had brochures and or information. They had neither, but had many 2004 C5 and wanted to deal. Got a very good trade-in on our 2002 Monte Carlo and the rest is history. Took almost 50 years to get the Vette, but it was well worth waiting for.

eelout 1:

 

[Mark Dalton]

I'm driving my 1st 'vette. I owned a new '88 IROC Z Camaro and thought I was sh!t hot:hehehe: Then one day I was sitting at a stop sign and heard a guy crossing the street in front of me say "look, he's driving a poor mans Corvette". Ever since then I wanted a 'vette but couldn't afford one. I owned a couple of Trans Ams ('96 and '98 WS6) and while they were great cars, they weren't 'vettes. Then in late '01 I test drove a ZO6 and that was it. I bought a new '02 ZO6 in july and never looked back. Someday maybe I'll upgrade to a newer model but right now I'm still enjoying my '02.

 

[LS2POWA]

I feel in love with vettes when I saw my uncle come over with his pearl white with red interior ad t-tops. Cant remember if it was the 72 or 74. Always wanted one but could never afford one. With the last car I got into an accident with I always told my buddies one day Ill own a corvette just watch. Got mine through a way I didnt want to but I enjoy it, makes being "handicap" more fun.

 

[vett boy]

In the mid 80's my wife insisted that I get a Hobie or passion besides work .She gave me two months to come up with something .She was also the one that drug me into a Corvette show .Since then i've owned a 69,87,03,08 and verts .

 

[gsdave]

Someone ran into the back of my 88 IROC and messed up the back bumper and pushed me into someone in front of me, messing up the rear bumper as well. The car was going to need a complete paint job and it began having intermittent electrical issues. I had recently got a raise at work and decided it was time to fulfil a lifelong dream, so I started looking for a 96 LT4 because I just love the C4 body style and I still remember when the 84's came out. I've owned it since 1999 and added the 95 a few years ago.

 

[Kap142]

Have always loved vettes but never owned one till "Goldie" I remember in 63 being allowed to drive for, oh about 6 blocks, a 63 convertable. Wanted one ever since.

When I got close to being done chasing bad guys and near formal retirement I decided I wanted a vette. Carrie, being the honey she is said "if that's what you want do it".

Searched for months and months. Had my heart set on a chrome bumper C3 (would have loved a C2 but they were way out of my budget) Finally through one of the on-line corvette trade sites I found "Goldie". She was in Pell City, AL.

Ask Carrie if she wanted to do a road trip just after Christmas on 07 and off we went. Liked what we saw, put her on a trailer and made her a Florida girl.

Only vette I've ever owned. Neat car.

 

[MRS. XTREME]

WOW !!!! I love it guys, keep 'em coming ....very interesting stories indeed !!

 

[als2052]

Came close to buying a Vette back in the mid 70's (think it was a 68) for $3500 but did not have the leg room...instead bought a 72 240Z for about the same price which has the leg room and so I forgot all about Vettes for the next 30 years...When the 05's came out, I test drove one and was instantly hooked again (lots of leg room). Am not inclined to trade up at the moment but may change my mind if and when the C7 comes out...

 

[Jake_Dragon]

I have wanted a Vette from the first day I started driving. It was the you made it car for me.
I have had lots of cars over the year but that itch was always there. After a health scare I guess you could say I had a mid life crisis and scratched an itch.

My 84

My other 2 seater, I would call this a scar more than an itch LOL
But I love the little beast

 

[MRS. XTREME]

^^^^^^^^^^^

VERY NICE !!!! Those dang itches get you every time !!
You just cant help but scratch em...

 

[Mannings]

Owned a brand new '67 427 tri. Sold it to raise a family. A Few (almost 30)years later I bought the '99. What a pleasure it's turned out to be. :thumbsup:

 

[sigarms]

First ride in a '58 in 1958 and finally could afford a new 1973,454,T-top.
The numbers are hard to see, the "454" are about 6 inches in front of the windshield in the middle of the hood.

 

[Mark Dalton]

I have wanted a Vette from the first day I started driving. It was the you made it car for me.
I have had lots of cars over the year but that itch was always there. After a health scare I guess you could say I had a mid life crisis and scratched an itch.

My 84

My other 2 seater, I would call this a scar more than an itch LOL
But I love the little beast

Hi Jake and welcome to the site. :welcome: Very nice '84.

 

[98 softtail]

Deb and I had been looking for another "fun car" to drive, we had a couple of Mustangs and a Triumph TR6, a 78 Cutlass, then along came the family cars. We had a couple of Harleys for a few years and were thinking of changing toys. We were initially looking at
C3's when we saw an 02 Mag Red Coupe for sale. We both drove it and immediatly knew this was the kind of car we were looking for. That started us looking. We procrastinated and lost the 02 so we set out to find Deb "Her" car. We casually checked the trader mags and online and drove from New Port Richie to Ft. Myers looking at cars. We finally found one that met all of Deb's "bullet points". I made an offer, we negotiated a bit and 4 days later we drove it home. That day turned out to be Valentines Day, Feb 14, 2006.

Then there's the story of the '00 Arctic White, my car. I will save that one for later in the thread.

Joe B.

 

[Rich Z]

Actually, I already posted my story back when I originally set up this site. It's the second thread created here. Rather than cutting and pasting, I'll just link to it if anyone is interested -> http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2

 

[Rich427]

When I was about 12 years old, my oldest brother bought a used '57 Vette. I had always been a kid that was interested in cars, but this car created the desire in me to own Corvettes. Another brother bought a '66 vert brand new and I had the ability to drive this car when I was a teenager, ...a lot!

So, I knew I would own a Vette some day. As my career developed and I had the ability to buy a car that was not going to be my daily driver, I started looking. This was back in the late '80s. I really wanted a mid year big block, but felt they were out of my price range. At that time they were selling in the low to mid $30s. Ok, don't remind me how stupid and short sighted I was! :banghead: Anyway, I found my '69 BB vert through Hemmings Motor News in 1989. It was being sold by a big name Corvette dealer (back in those days) in New Hampshire. John Danos' Corvettes Unlimited in Manchester, NH. Back then, John was known for specializing in BB Vettes. The car was always a North Carolina car (I have researched back to the second owner but have been frustrated trying to find the original owner and dealer), but John bought it and took it to his dealership in NH. I cut the deal by phone contingent on it passing an independent inspection and meeting my approval. I bought a one way airline ticket and flew up to NH and drove it back to Maryland. In hind sight, this was not a bright idea, but it worked out fine.

Since then, I have completed a body on frame restoration and have done all the work myself, except for the paint. Thank god I was a lot younger when most of this took place. Here is a pic of the '69.

I never thought of being a multiple Corvette owner, but a funny thing happened. My wife and I, along with another couple (Corvette friends), went to Bowling Green to visit the plant and museum. This was in June of 2000. We got close to the end of the plant tour when an assembly line worker picked my wife out of the tour crowd and asked her to help him. He took her over to a 2000 black coupe and she got to start it up for the first time while it was still on the line. I guess that started the trouble. At the end of the tour there is a chassis dyno that they put the new cars on. Just as we got to the dyno they were pulling in a brand new Navy Blue Metallic vert with Oak top and interior. The wife started salivating. After that trip, I was looking around for a used NBM vert, but could never find one that was not abused. In March of 01, I got a call from the local Chevy dealer that I bought my vehicles from and he informed me that the new Tahoe that I had ordered was in and I could come and pick it up. When my wife and I got to the dealership, we were walking around a little just killing time while they got the paperwork ready on my Tahoe and we stumbled on a new NBM Vette that had just come in. It had not been cleaned, it still had the inspection stickers on the windshield, plastic on the seats, etc. Well, we wound up taking the Vette home too. When we got home, the wife and I looked at each other and we said, ...what the hell did we just do? This was totally out of character for us, because we are not made of money. Anyway, here is a pic of the '01 Vert.

I thought that would be it for our Corvette arsenal. One vintage BB, and the '01 vert for cruising and trips. Great combination. BUT, as I got closer to retirement, I got to thinking, which I admit can be trouble. But I thought, if I am retired why would I want to drive a truck everyday. It's not like I am going to be going anywhere. AND, since I have always felt that if it was a Vette it had to be a convertible, I could never do any high speed events with my local club. Yea, I could autocross, but if I wanted to do some HPDEs I was screwed with just verts. Sooooo, in 2006 I thought, let's see what I can find in a used C5 Z06. I started buzzying around the various Corvette forums and most of the Zs I found were junk, or modified significantly and nothing really struck me. Then one day I stumbled on an ad on CF for an '04 Z06 Commemorative Edition with 5900 miles on it. The best part was that the car was about 12 miles from my home in Maryland. The other nice thing was at the time, it was about $5,000 cheaper than any other Z06 CE that I could find. So, I added the Z06 CE to our little collection in November of '06. Here is a pic of our Z06.

I retired to Ft. Myers in July of '07 and here is where the cars now reside.

Well, that's my story and I am sticking to it! At least for now.

Rich

 

[Jake_Dragon]

Nice house!

:thumbsup: :bow:

 

[Yellow]

Did you see one when you were little and just knew you had to have it?

I always dreamed of owning a yellow Vette, since as long as I can remember.

Did you dad/mom/relative turn you onto them

I learned my aunt and uncle had a C3 later on when I was shown some old albums.

HOW DID YOU COME TO OWN A VETTE???

I was graduating in May 03 with my Masters and my husband at that time, said that I could finally purchase my 1st Vette as a graduation gift. Well this was early in 02 when we discussed this. After waiting for a new "MY Coupe, 6-speed w/ 2 tops" to come into a dealer (not wanting to order), He came across my vette. I was not new, but it was a "MY Coupe, 6-speed w/ 2 tops" with 3000 miles on it. On 08/01/02 I bought my yellow baby home (yep a bit of an early gift ).
Well I do not have the husband any longer, but I still have the Vette :dancer01: (I did lose my 02 Viper RT/10 though :nonod.
And yes, my Vette is a big part of my life. I do Children's Charity Events in Florida and Memphis with it, as well as shows and it is my daily driver.