my first car

'I'm sixteen and looking for my first car, I've seen local ads for a '74 and a '79 corvettes priced at $5100 and $5800. In the ad for the 74 is says it needs brakes, a rear bumper, and has splits from the sun, the 79 ad doesnt say much but high mileage. I go to school and have a part time job, not much experience, with that said i ask what should i look for when buying? what am I getting into? and is this a good idea? thanks for help Cam'

REPLY: I suggest you do not get into Corvettes yet at your age ; 1. Your insurance will be astronomical at your age. 2. It will be a danger to you given the power that even a 1979 has for a 16 year old boy. 3. It will be a money pit , both in parts and gas mileage. In light of the way gasoline prices are going, you need to look at an economy car for your first car and have it checked out good before you buy it so you know what youre getting into.

Cam,

I couldn't agree more with what Dave said. I've had Corvettes for years, and I've also had teenagers. I managed to talk them both away from expensive exotic cars. Now, they are in their 20's, and they are both glad that they waited before buying too much car. The funny thing is that they each had the same old Buick as their first car. They both remember it with good memories.

As Dave said above, insurance (if you can get any) will be very expensive. Talk with an agent before making any decisions. A set of tires can set you back over $1,000.00. Newer Corvettes need new tires every 15-25K miles. Every thing about the Corvette is expensive, and the neighborhood mechanics usually are not competent to work on one.

If you really want a Corvette, then be patient. Drive something inexpensive and reliable for a few years. As your driving experience increases, and your finances become more reliable and robust, the Corvette will still be there. It is a great car, and well worth waiting for.

you can take my word for it.

90% of them are just as EASY to steal...

thanks for the advice, i appreciate it

just remember, when I said "at first it was a money pitt" I meant just that !

g'luck

sure you would ! just remember this, (you pay to play)

ya make a vette resemble a harley davidson. hd use to stand for "hundred dollars" now its just plain "high dollar"

my2¢

"Cam F" < ...

and is this a

Buy a vette !!! Its what you want . When I was 18 I bought a 66, I made payments and I couldn't afford anything else, except beer. But I never regretted it Drive safe

kickstart

I wouldn't be caught dead in a minivan!

High school mourns for its two seniors killed in Dix Hills crash (involving a high performance car) ---

Address:

In my day, it was the kids in little economy compact cars that were killed in crashes. My friends and I all drove rear drive V8 sports cars (Firebirds, Mustangs, etc). A few went into a ditch backwards but always walked away from it.

Besides, Cam is talking about a '79 C3. It's not exacly a powerhouse. They're rated at, what, 180HP? And it's a big heavy car with an 800 pound front mounted cast-iron battering ram.

Potentially the best part of it is the car > High school mourns for its two seniors killed in Dix Hills crash

All they said was "2007 BMW". Not that there's enough of the car left to tell, but it could have been a 318 for all we know. Stupidity would have happened regardless of the type of vehicle they were driving.

That reminds me of a crash down the road from my house when I was a kid. Two highschool kids in a little foreign car. Both stoned. Ran through a stopsign at a dead end intersection and hit a dirt wall - at

90MPH. They hit so hard it ejected their eyeballs from their heads (so we heard). Both DOA.

-rev

I can agree with you here, when my son was just driving, we gave him a 79 El Camino. After that he had a Porsche 914. He told me recently that he believes he didn't get in much trouble because he never could carry around a bunch of kids. It's funny, but that's the reason I told my wife why I bought him those cars.

For the same reason, my brother and I both learned to drive in a Ford truck - standard cab, bench seat, short bed, step side. Only holds three people.

One time in highschool, a friend of a girlfriend needed a ride across town. She was a cheerleader. And four of her friends needed to ride along. They were cheerleaders too.

Five hot girls and me, on one bench seat. It was truly one of the greatest moments of my life.

-rev

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@q75g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...

"The Reverend Natural Light" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@q75g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...

I was in a head-on crash in a new (one week old) 72 vette. we were going 70 that the other car (70 nova) was going 40. if we were in another car (not fiberglass) we probably wouldn't have made it. the fiberglass gave and took a lot of the impact. GM took that car back to study it..

my2¢

one could put a "bunch of kids" in the back of a 79 El-Camino :-)

Yeah, but with the bed cover, they'd be packed in like sardines...

ya never said it had a bed cover :-)

Well, nobody asked. I still have that car, it has the bed cover and the original leather toneau cover it came with. I have both off right now because I use it to pickup remodeling material. My son used it to carry his musical equipment, the bed cover locked and I made it so the toneau cover went over the top to look pretty stock. It's a Royal Knight edition, but I upgraded the small V8 (265 cu in) with a 350. When I get done with the remodeling, I plan to redo the rest of it.

well, the fact that it had a bed cover makes all the difference, back in those days, I remember kids/adults (without bed covers piling their friends in the back). especially at the beach.

sound like ya got a nice one to work with.

g'day