ALT-3 Is the Chevy Corvette Overrated
Is the Chevy Corvette overrated?
The American made Corvette has been thrilling drivers and any passenger since 1953. Built in Bowling Green, Kentucky, this sleek, low riding sports car is sure to please anyone who sits behind her steering wheel. As a teenager just learning to drive, I would dream of what it would be like to own such a beauty. The first person I knew to own one was a skydiver who drove his early 1970's royal blue Stingray Convertible around town to impress the girls, and I must say, it worked. A few years later I met someone that owned a 1964 Convertible and she referred to it as, "her baby."
As the years passed I would meet a Corvette coming down the highway and think to myself how lucky they were to have such a car, dreaming of what it would be like to own one.
About four years ago we were visiting the wheat country on the other side of our state when we notice a Corvette sitting at the edge of the field with a price painted on the windshield that read, "$5,600.00." I didn't think much about it and we went on into town for breakfast. When we had finished and I asked my husband what we were doing next he said, "Let's go back and see why that Corvette is so cheap. Maybe the side you can't see is missing." We weren't in the market for a new car and didn't have much extra cash at the time, but I went along with the idea. It was something to do.
After inspecting the body and finding it in very good condition my husband called the owner. We were not experts when it came to Corvettes but we thought the price was low and still wondered why. The owner came down, put the key into the ignition and turned it over and she roared to life. We asked why he was selling it and he said, "First I got married, then we had a baby, then I got a Corvette, then a girlfriend, then a divorce, and now I need to sell my Corvette to pay child support." He asked if we had ever owned a Corvette before and when we said no, he just smiled. He then let my husband test drive it, and as the saying goes, "the rest was history."
We were a couple thousand short but luckily we had a friend who had been saving for a new Harley and was willing to loan us the extra money we needed to buy our own piece of the American dream. We told the owner that I would come back in two days with the cash. We were soon to be the proud new owners of a 1986 Corvette, metallic midnight blue with tinted windows.
My husband had to work so I had my sister-in-law drive me back across the state to pick up my Corvette. After tending to the paperwork at the local bank he handed me the keys to "my baby." My sister-in-law told me to go first but she said as I was pulling away the old owner had a look on his face that said, "I'm never going to get laid again." I went to the car wash first and then immediately removed the top to let in the warmth and sunshine of the hot July day.
I don't know quite how to explain the feeling of driving a Corvette down the road, hair blowing in the breeze, knowing you're finally able to be in that spot you always thought would be reserved for your dreams. Your worries evaporate as fast as the air whistles by you. You get this feeling that yes, you are special, and yes, others are envious, and yes, you are enjoying every single second of the ride.
After buying our Corvette we learned that we did get a pretty good deal but that the 1986 is one of the least valued years as apparently that year had some suspensions problems. Plus, it is too old to be considered new and too new to be considered one of the classic years. However, when it comes to Corvettes, I don't think there is a "bad year." Everywhere we go we wave to other Corvette owners and most wave back. All of them seem to be smiling just as big as we are.
After driving ours for a year, my husband had the motor rebuilt, bored and fitted with higher compression pistons, which made it go faster than before. We were going on an extended road trip and he wanted to make sure we didn't have any problems. We usually drive ours on cruise control to avoid speeding tickets. However, when you get into one of those situations where you have to act fast, having control of all that power under the hood can be a lifesaver, not to mention quite a "rush."
We have taken our Corvette from Washington State to southern California on the west coast and from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Key West, Florida on the east coast, and through over 25 states in between. Driving or riding in a Corvette makes you feel different, look different, and be viewed different. I can say that because I rarely have people wave to me when I drive my 1992 Subaru with dents on every end.
So, to anyone wondering if the Corvette is overrated, I say, "Absolutely not!" To all those dreamers wishing to someday own a Corvette I say, "Keep dreaming!" Dreams do come true and owning a Corvette of any year is worth the wait. Of course, now I dream of owning a "new" one or one of those "old classics."
