Owner Ages?

Hi... I've been driving staid German machines over the last 20 years, but am feeling the need for more excitement and perhaps a new or late C6. I usually participate in the car clubs and auto rallys and, being a senior citizen, would feel out of place if there were only much younger participants at these events. (i'm several years into social security.) I'd appreciate any feedback from older members on their experiences owning a Corvette (positive or negative), and how many seniors they are aware of or encountered as fellow owners. ( While some might consider "older" as over 50, in my case it means "over 65".) Thanks.

Reply to
Frank M.
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About 60% of the C5 owners are over 50, check out this poll -

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Good group and great people in most cases. Most of our club and the NCCC are at that 50 age group and older. My first Corvette was in the fall of 1956 and my last purchase was in the fall of 2004.

Get it and don't look back, not many will be gaining on you anyhow. ;-)

Reply to
Dad

I just got back from Funfest , a national corvette festival in southern Illinois which runs the entire weekend. Over 18,000 corvettes showed up , most were C5 and C6's .... and the great majority of those Owners were 55 plus . The C6 is typically associated with older men who can afford the luxury of owning one and who enjoy the performance and corvette culture . Git one !

Reply to
dave

Experience: Always positive. (ex 911 owner)-- remember, that on a quiet night you can hear a Porsche rusting! Next best thing to a daylight catshot on a calm sea.

In SoCal, there's plenty of white hair at meetings, road and show events. Much less at drags, street scenes and around the 'tune-up' shops.

Keep in mind that you will be judged by the "well over 70 crowd" by the ease and grace you display entering and exiting the car.

Clue: Use your left elbow against the body to gain leverage for a spry exit--makes you competitive with the Gen X and Gen Y folk. (You'll be judged down if you are caught using the steering wheel for leverage.)

--PJ (age 73 but still paying into Social Security) '89 Hookercar + '02 e-blu 6-spd

Reply to
PJ

Well ... I also receive a monthly allowance from the Social Security Administration... But have owned Corvettes for a long long time...

I sure do not feel out of place... nor do I feel I am a member of an AARP sponsered car club... when I attend Corvette events.. This year my wife and I attended the C3 gathering in Tenn in June, Did Corvettes at Carlisle in August, Attended the Labor Day event at the National Corvette Museum, in September and in a few weeks will be going to Ocean City Maryland for another Corvette weekend... Plus a ton of local Car events ....

Actually 25-30 years ago I was "into" Corvettes for the car itself, into driving them for my own pure pleasure, today I still am, but to be honest The social factor ..associating with other Corvette "people" has become just as important to me.

Bob G.

64 72 & 98 Convertibles 76 & 79 Coupes...

. Corvette "people" are great people, I do not care where we go there is always someone who engages us in a conversation when we pull up in one of the Corvettes..

Reply to
Bob G.

I've had an '87 for about 20 years now. Bought it new off the showroom floor. In fact, leased it first and then bought it 2 years later when I decided I loved the car. 87s were a bit more tempermental the the C5 and C6 although acceleration and handling were almost at the top of the heap when compared to other "sports" cars. There were the typical little ailments, such as horn didn't work, slight oil leak, hated the "security" lock out feature with the imbedded key/chip but nothing serious and worked through them all. Today, most garages and lots of shade treerers can work on C4s. Not so much with the C5 or 6 but thankfully, being warranty conscious, I'm glad to see the 5 year GM now offers. My age is just 60 and as I look at the drivers, attendees to shows etc, I see mostly folks in the 40-60+ age bracket. Young kids seem to be drawn to the rice burners with the spoutings for exhaust so they're not generally in the market. I'll be getting a C6 probably within the year as I deal with having to sell my old friend.

Reply to
truebluebowtie

Hi

I'm 76 years old..still have a 1993 Vette and a 1967 Shelby GT -500 and do all the work major and minor myself..( used to own my own business named Mustang Motors.)...also have an Eldorado..24' Trophy boat and a jet ski..use them all.. Also several mechanical antiques and 25 or so rifles/pistols/machine guns....use them all ..go to the range nearby..live in Florida where it is legal to own all sorts of weapons and also carry concealed ...also NO car inspections of any kind... Only comments I have received are that some people are shocked I still ride a jet ski..no problems with driving the Corvette.firing an AK-47 my Glock or an UZI...except for one biker chick who said how nice it was to see a "young couple " driving such a nice car.

Reply to
Maddog

Hello frank I am a salesperson at the largest corvette dealer in the south east feel free to browse my site I have links to corvette information you might find help full

Please feel free to contact me for any of your car buying need I would like to help

Regards Eric Grube

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Reply to
ezautostore

'I'm 76 years old..still have a 1993 Vette and a 1967 Shelby GT -500 and do all the work major and minor myself..( used to own my own business named Mustang Motors.)...also have an Eldorado..24' Trophy boat and a jet ski..use them all.. Also several mechanical antiques and 25 or so rifles/pistols/machine guns....use them all ..go to the range nearby..live in Florida where it is legal to own all sorts of weapons and also carry concealed ...also NO car inspections of any kind... Only comments I have received are that some people are shocked I still ride a jet ski..no problems with driving the Corvette.firing an AK-47 my Glock or an UZI...except for one biker chick who said how nice it was to see a "young couple " driving such a nice car.'

REPLY: Dang...I think youd make a good 007 ! I think its great youre still young at heart. I really do.

Reply to
dave

What's the secret to your good health? I need to hear this from experienced people like yourself, not doctors.

Last, congrats and hope you have many more of these youthful years ahead of you !!

Reply to
rob

Frank, my Vette clubs are not seniors as much as fiftysomethings, mostly grey hair, where there is hair. While there are lots of kids that get one because they were told its cool, I really see most Vettes being driven buy guys with grey hair like me.

GeorgeC

Frank M. wrote:

Reply to
George

Thanks for the replys guys. My order went in yesterday, and I don't think that I'll be getting any sleep for the next 4 weeks waiting for my new LeMans Blue C6 Coupe.

Reply to
Frank M.

One thing that the polls don't show is that a good many of those gray hairs have been driving the Corvette for the last 40 years. They grew up with them as "their" car and have enjoyed them all this time. Brand loyalty has caved in to cost over the years and that has diluted it some but it's hard to say how much. Then there are those that can finally afford to drive their dream and get into the "save the wave" group.

There are only 2 in our 60+ member club that have just started driving Corvettes, the rest have had them since the50s, 60s, and 70s. Even that's not a good sample because they are the hardliner Corvette owner. There are also many Corvette owners around our community that do not belong to any Corvette club that can be newbies or long term owners, so much for polls.

Born in the thirties I have had a Corvette most of the time since 1956, except for when the boys started driving and the insurance companies made it impossible to own. In most all cases they were daily drivers and rolled up many fun filled miles. At present the ol '72 doesn't get out much because I'm on the road with the '05, this weekend will find it on The Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee if this snow don't get to heavy here at the Ohio/Michigan line.

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Reply to
Dad

Man I wish I were with you to "do" the Tail of the Dragon again....did it in my 98 last June when I was "attending" the C3 Gathering in Pigeon Forge ...

Absolutely fun drive (even if I held up a heck of a lot of motorcycles (Honda Hoot was the same weekend and there were 1000's of them in town) only 11 miles long ...only 350 or so "turns" most not level ... when I finished the drive I turned around and did it again... LOL

My local Club also has more then a few memnbers in our late 50's and

60's About 3/4 of us are OLD TIME CORVETTE guys...most have not been without a Corvette in their garage for 20-30 years (me included)

Bob G.

64 72 & 98 Convertibles 76 & 79 Coupes
Reply to
Bob G.

Just missed a big bike weekend, but I'm sure there will be plenty of them unless this cold weather gets down that far.

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Reply to
Dad

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