Corvette C6 or 997?

[Sonic dB]

Looking ahead to 05, Im thinking of retiring the 86 as a daily driver and purchasing a new daily sports car, also a cabriolet. The 86 will remain with me, to be restored and driven for fun on occaision.

The 997 looks to be a big improvement over the 996 in terms of styling. However, for $30K less...the new Corvette C6 is pretty gorgeous and performance is outstanding with over 400 hp and 0-60 in 4.1. Chevy has been known to skimp on the quality of fit and finish however.

...any thoughts?

http://www.corvet****seum.com/specs/2005/index.shtml

http://autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=porsche&cat_code=p_home&loc_code=index&content_code=03755179

[84porsche]

What a choice but hands down I give it to Porsche. I had a chance to drive the Z06 and loved every minute of it but if my other option was a 997 I would say why the hell not. I am sure the C6 is fast but your a PORSCHE guy - you gotta keep it in the family.

[RANDY P]

That C6 is AWFULLY tempting - thinking about it myself -

BUT:

Corvette winds up getting dated QUICK, in 4 years you'll want to get rid of it pronto and guaranteed, it's gonna hurt when you do. Pretty much any mileage over 50K means you'll be discounted. around 100K means you'll have to give it away - or burn it to the ground for the insurance $$$.

Flip side it's cheap to modify and if you grenade it, entire engines are dirt cheap compared to Porsche.

As we all know, 911's never date....



rjp

[nostatic]

a chevy? Shirley you jest (and stop calling you Shirley).

sorry...don't care how fast it is. No vette in this garage. Well, maybe an old split window just for grins.

[Moneyguy1]

You mean Porsche has not skimped on fit and finish recently? Some recent reviews in Excellence seem to question this.

I'm the one who voted for the Corvette. Hands down, I can buy a lot of extra toys with the $30k and at the same time have a car that can be serviced at many more places than a Porsche at a lower cost, and is more user friendly under the "hood".

Yeah, I now own only a lowly 944, but I have owned a 356, 912, and many years ago when they were relatively new, a 924. I have also had the privelege of rebuilding early 911 engines (God, I wish they were still as simple and bulletproof)

Just the opinion of an old guy.......

[Sonic dB]

You mean Porsche has not skimped on fit and finish recently?

Yeah... sadly true. I was checking out 996s last week and was very surprised at the low level of interior fit and finish. The door rattled when closed and the leather was of much lessor quality than my 86 was. The dash had that rubbery textured material and there was an abundance of plastic, including the headlights. I expected more from a car of that price range and performance... hopefully the 997s will be an improvement.

Id rather stay Porsche...but have to drive both cars to really know. Thanks for an interesting poll.

[Dantilla]

One of the biggest advantages of Porsche ownership for me is the PCA, and the track time I get. For street driving, I do love the low-end grunt of a V-8.

A C-6 is tempting for a street car, but I'm keeping the Porsches for track duty.

[exc911ence]

Bang for the buck, the Covette seems like the winner of this comparison but once you factor in the $30K you'd have to spend on gold chains and big medallions in order to fit in with the other Corvette owners, the 997 starts to make more sense!

[ajackson]

I think this is one of those questions that you can't answer till you've driven both. Generally when I am in the market for a new car I can make up my mind after just driving the different models and seeing how they feel to me. Stats are a long ways from what a car is.

[BigD9146gt]

Performace wise, thats a tough one. The Corvette is a great handling car. But if i wanted the most amount of performace for my dollar, hands down the STi. It seems Subaru has copied Porsche from the get go. But traveling down any road in California, the 901 design Porsche catches my eye every time!

As for Porsches quality, a buddy of mine watched a documentory a few months ago saying Porsche is the highest quality manufacture, dollar for dollar, no one beats them. I don't remeber the exact number, but they take every 100th? 500th? car off the production line and tear it down to bare metal, spot welds and all to insure quality. Now i do agree that the Boxster's interior is somewhat cheap with the plasics, but its an entry level car, you get what you pay for...

[campbellcj]

I definitely agree with the above. There is some chance I might be able to shop for a 997 or competitor in 2005; however, if Porsche has not seriously stepped up the interior materials and standard equipment, it will be a tough sell for me. It is frankly a bit embarassing that one has to spend $20K in options to get the Porsche equivalent of standard equipment on a VW or Honda...and it makes it far "tougher" for any new Porsche to compete with a pre-owned one at half or less the price. A low-mileage 993TT would be awfully tempting compared to a $100K well-optioned 997.

[Sonic dB]

Close poll. The Pinto is making a surprise showing.

did porsche make a 993 Turbo cab?

[BigD9146gt]

Your getting some good feedback on your '86, go figure. Most of us are air cooled fans, and the Carrera, beautiful car. God forbid anything should happen, but if it does, can i call dibs on the motor?

[n8marx]

Have you looked at a 1986 Corvette lately? Talk about a pile. I've gotta believe even a 997 will age better than a Corvette.

[vash]

my stepdad has a vette. the thing is a rocket ship. i admit i havent driven any new pcars, but the bang for the buck vette option is tough to overlook. my pcar mechanic actually thinks that the 997 will not age that well. and the money saved could go into your existing 911's restoration project. i vote vette.

[pwd72s]

Whenever I drive by a car dealer's showroom near here, I glance in...this Chevy dealer has some NICE toys. 2 'Vettes on display. A '57 fuel injected, and a '67 427. I wouldn't kick either of those out of my garage...

[Sonic dB]

Thanks for this thread. Ive decided to stay in the Porsche family...either a 997 or maybe a 993 or another 80s Carrera. The ideal would be a 993 Turbo Cab...but such was never made by Porsche....so it would need to be some sort of conversion.

Im talking a wide budget level here, but if the 997 knocks me out it would be even as high as a new one...however if i found an awesome low mileage car for less, id get one of those.