Wow. Saving this much in just two years is incredible. You could buy a sports car every other year and still FIRE in less than a decade.
Bloody well done.
I hope so. Living in the bay area, it becomes very apparent very quickly that I need an escape route. As I have no interest in management, I absolutely must be Free by 40, in case people decide 40 is too old to be an engineer doing sexy work.
My eight-year plan (ten after graduation) is to have enough saved up to GTFO to just about anywhere else in the country, buy a house outright, have a garage, have a way to make a few bucks on the side.
The 350Z is interesting, especially coming from my daily driver (2008 Fit).
The Fit is all subtlety, controlled chaos - you can just drive too fast and then plow slightly around turns in fun ways. (The Goodyears on it help...) The clutch catches near the bottom of the travel, and it's light, like the liquid shifter. No effort.
In contrast, the Z is brutish. Heavy clutch that catches near the top, heavy shifter that demands you put some muscle into it. If you hit the gas, you go, and unfortunately in this area, there are few instances where the power can be put to use. (I can imagine it might be really tough with a couple hundred extra horses... depending on where you live.) It is a sweet car, but I'm still not sure it's "the right car for me."
The Corvette is American (where as the Z is "an Americanized Japanese sports car") and I think the fit might be there for me, as a taller driver. (Oddly, I drove an auto Camaro V6 rental in the rain one night, and it was a delight, way more fun than I'd have expected.)
I still haven't settled into the Z (about 4000 miles behind the wheel.) I got it as a bank repo w/ 36k on it, and mis-matched tires. Still haven't replaced them - that will be pricey - and I have this slight mistrust of the car. It can probably handle a lot more than I'm comfortable with; the opposite of the Fit, where it really can't handle much at all, but I know the limits and can push them freely without breaking a sweat.
People do say the camaros are very fun. How much did you pay for the Z?
Are you the same gimp that is on the grm forums?
I can't tell if you're making a warlizard reference ("Are you the same warlizard from the warlizard gaming forums?")
If not, what are the grm forums? If it's grassroots motorsports, as a quick google implies, no, I am not.
I hang out on reddit, corvette forums, buick regal gs forums, here -- that's about it.
Lovely car that is unlikely to depreciate much moving forward as long as you maintain it well :)
I just sprung for a "fun" car that I daily drive half the time (when I'm not cycling or riding motorbike to work).
It's been 2 1/2 months and I have 0 regrets.
Mine is only 330hp but its got 2 doors, RWD, 6 speed manual, with a sunroof so I am in heaven every time I have to drive somewhere :)
Let me guess. Infiniti?
The best part about immediately writing down the value of any car purchased is that depreciation is ignored. If I value the car at $0, that means I won't care if its true resale value is $15k or $5k.
With that said, you are right; the C5 is not at the bottom of the depreciation curve, but it just does not have much more to go. Even at 300k miles with today's prices, they sell for $8k if in good condition, probably more given the extras (supercharger and planned reliability and cooling upgrades.) If I put 200k miles on it in ten years (unlikely), I estimate value at $6k - there is only so low a ~500 crank horsepower can go in price - a depreciation of about $500/year + 3 cents per mile.
Also, a corvette with 300k in good condition is such a rarity that it'd get attention just for that.
We really only started investing 2 years ago and already have over 200k(210k now? I try not to watch it. Investing somewhere around 3-4k a month not including maxing 401k and IRAs) in VTSAX but we also have this thing... not too bad for 25 if I do say so myself...
It is not supercharged but it is still a monster, and the top comes off as well (Targa). Lot's of fun, but yes, bad purchase for this site and it's standards.....
(Not my truck)
You have me soundly, roundly beat. Holy shit, that is awesome. You are doing fantastically well.
Do me a favor and keep that car for many years. It's gorgeous. You made a great choice of color and options. 460 brake horsepower is nothing to sneeze at. You'll have just around 391 horsepower to the wheels, though I wouldn't be surprised to see 400 flat with some very minor tweaks and 93 octane. Anyone who thinks 400rwhp isn't enough is insane.
(Yes, my eventual build is planned to be around 450, but I am insane. It is currently around 450, will reduce to 400 with less boost, but then probably add it back with a blower cam and higher flowing heads.)
Considering the overheating issues of the supercharged versions, I am going to be spending a few dollars to get mine track worthy. You may have avoided a headache. Besides which, it is probably cheaper to buy a Z51 + TVS2300 + install than to buy a Z06, if all you wanted was the SC.
Badass, Gimp!
I recently sold the 2000 FRC (fully built n/a, 505whp, actually made $2k on the car) and bought a new-to-me toy
505rwhp NA is just bonkers. Insanity. Holy hell. How lumpy was the cam?
Congrats, gimp! There are many more expensive and/or less fun vehicles you could have purchased. I've always considered the Corvette to be one of the best bargains in the sports car segment.
That's really why I got it - it has a reputation as a redneck supercar, but it delivers. $12k buys you a 350 hp two seater with removable roof and relatively high reliability. That's just stupid performance for the dollar. You can sacrifice looks / style / suspension and get an LS-powered Pontiac or similar, and get even better straight line performance for the dollar, but I already have a comfortable four-seater sleeper car, I don't want another, so I got something stupid that can only fit one passenger.
