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C7 Corvette or Used Roadster?

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They're both about the same price. They both have similar performance. I will be using this car as a daily driver with a Civic SI as backup. Is the Roadster reliable enough to use as a daily driver? How much mileage can I realistically expect to put on it? (I plan to keep it for about 5 years)
 
I tested the Roadster in Milan (Italy) and I can tell you that the Roadster is really cool. :cool:

Never drove the Corvette but while choosing between the Corvette and the Roadster I would also consider that the Roadster has no CO2 emissions. Then of course the choice is up to you.
 
Is the Roadster reliable enough to use as a daily driver?

Based on what I've read and heard I would say definitely yes.

How much mileage can I realistically expect to put on it? (I plan to keep it for about 5 years)

As much as you want. Electric motors last dis radar longer than internal combustion engines and require no maintenance.

The Roadster seems the best choice to me.
 
The C7 has little or no sound damping to save weight and the engine is very loud. You will develop hearing problems within 5 years. You mentioned "similar performance." If you leave for work in the morning and accelerate down your street as fast as the C7 or Roadster will accelerate, the C7 will wake up all your neighbors and they'll think you're an a-hole. With the Roadster, punch it hard and nobody will know you went anywhere. C7 maintenance is very costly even if nothing goes wrong. The C7 has more power above 50 or 60 mph. The Roadster is a great daily driver. Ask me how I know!
 
No input on the 'vette. I drive a Roadster as a daily driver, and my wife and I consciously use the Roadster for everything we're able to, and a few things that most people wouldn't use their Roadsters for (bag of compost for instance - probably not 2 of them at once :)). I find that the car is very reliable, though mine is also still young enough to have a half year to go on the original warranty. It gets annual service visits and tire changes (new tires roughly 8k miles, or annually for me). So there's a tire issue if you want to make one out of that.

I expect that we'll still be driving the Roadster in 75k miles when the odometer rolls over 100k. We don't drive a lot, but when we drive, we drive electric.

If your commute is of any substance, especially including any rush hour / stop and go type driving, then the Roadster or other electric car hands down. One pedal driving during busy traffic times, ~$.03/mile for fuel (Oregon electricity @ $.11/kWh); very nice daily driver.
 
Very new Roadster driver here, but I daily-drove a 500e for a year, and a Lotus Elise for 8 years before that. I just went through the same decision process (Roadster vs. 500e+Evora vs. C7 vs. Cayman vs. Jag Type-F, all roughly in the same price range). I chose the Roadster because it was the funnest to drive (well, second funnest - the Evora S was insanely fun), but for me the 0-60 was less important than the dynamics.

That being said, I do have Roadster Anxiety (to coin a phrase): I'm worried that any one of the insanely expensive bits of my used car will stop working. I only have the non-battery warranty, so I find myself obsessively checking my batteries condition, making sure it cools down quickly, etc. Maybe that'll wear off after a few months, but at this point it doesn't feel as care-free as driving the Elise, or the 500e (which was a lease).

Another thing: compared to the 500e, the Roadster feels very much like a prototype. The 500e is plug-n-go. The Roadster is always cooling the battery, warming the battery, making strange sounds in the middle of the drive (keeping the battery in temp range), making you think about charging amps and cycles. The 500e does a lot of this too, but it manages to hide it well. On the other hand, this kind of thing appeals to me. My biggest issue with the 500e was that it was completely un-tweakable; the manual didn't even explain what the jack points were. The Roadster is a tweaker: I can play with the diag menu, OVMS, suspension, etc, etc, etc. The only thing I miss is digging around the just-drain warm oil looking for shavings (ok, I only miss that a little bit).
 
I would skip the Corvette. My experience with Chevrolet service has been poor at best. Here's the story. In 2008 I bought a C6 Corvette and a Trailblazer SS from a local dealer, the Corvette had problems with it's six speed manual almost right away, when I took in for service the service department advised me they couldn't find any problem, well there was a problem and everyone that drove or rode in that Corvette noticed, except for the service department who steadfastly refused to acknowledge that the transmission felt like it was full of sand by 50k miles. I gave up arguing with them and after putting up with the problem I sold the Corvette after taking delivery of my Model S. There's my 2 cents.
 
My Roadster is my daily driver. I have had it 5 years and it has 37000 miles on it. My round trip to work is only 28 miles and I take a lot of vacations so it doesn't accumulate that many miles.
It would also have more miles on it if we had not gotten the Model S. Before we had the S I would do any weekend errand in the Roadster, no matter how impractical it was, now I just take the S.
I greatly prefer driving it when I can take the top off and leave it off, because it makes getting in and out so much easier.

I have spent about 5% of the original purchase price on maintenance and repairs, as I had an expensive ( $4000 ) battery issue out of warranty. I have no idea how that would compare to a Corvette.
 
The Roadster is the most fun I have ever had sitting down. If you offered me the C7 and promised to pay for the gas and maintenance I would pass. I have totaled 26,000 miles and except for an issue with the accelerator pedal circuit (covered under warranty) the car has been trouble free.

I took on 4 different Corvettes at the "Street Fights" at the local drag strip and none of then could keep up. Combine that with a lower cost to drive than a Prius and emission free it is a no-brainer for me.
 
Personally, knowing you are 1 of 1400 people in the United States to be driving a roadster is just amazing. The car is a great daily driver and constantly puts a smile on my face. If you are not a track person, the Michelin Pilot Super Sports on the rear give a much better ride and offer a mileage warranty. I love the roadster.
 
Asking this question on a Roadster forum, you're only going to get one answer. There are only two variables that should sway you to the Corvette. Do you need more range on a regular basis, and do you need to go faster than 125 mph? Those are the only places where a Corvette might be an advantage.
 
EDIT: Wikipedia for the win on the differences between Roadster models!

Is there any place where I can read about the difference in the models of the Roadster? From what I've seen, there is a 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5. Where can I find the options that were offered?

Can anyone comment on safety of the Roadster compared to the Model S? The Model S is obviously the safest car ever made, but the Roadster is built of all carbon fiber which I think is good for safety. How safe should I feel when driving the Roadster?

My Roadster is my daily driver. I have had it 5 years and it has 37000 miles on it. My round trip to work is only 28 miles and I take a lot of vacations so it doesn't accumulate that many miles.
It would also have more miles on it if we had not gotten the Model S. Before we had the S I would do any weekend errand in the Roadster, no matter how impractical it was, now I just take the S.
I greatly prefer driving it when I can take the top off and leave it off, because it makes getting in and out so much easier.

I have spent about 5% of the original purchase price on maintenance and repairs, as I had an expensive ( $4000 ) battery issue out of warranty. I have no idea how that would compare to a Corvette.
You're in a unique position to answer a question I have:
- should I buy a used Roadster or spend the extra money on a new or used P85? I've test driven the Model S 4 times, and the last couple times I couldn't get over how big the car felt. I prefer driving a smaller car. However, I do like the safety of the Model S, and the practicality with an onboard supercharger is unparalleled. I'd probably take my ICE vehicle on long trips with the Roadster.

Asking this question on a Roadster forum, you're only going to get one answer. There are only two variables that should sway you to the Corvette. Do you need more range on a regular basis, and do you need to go faster than 125 mph? Those are the only places where a Corvette might be an advantage.
No and no.

If you want to drive on a race track, get the Corvette. Otherwise get the Roadster - gobs of fun, great daily driver.
I've never even been on a track :)
 
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No one has been seriously hurt in a Roadster, despite some nasty-looking accidents. That said, it wasn't built and tested to the same crash standards as the Model S. It's a smaller car and only has two air bags.

I feel very comfortable and safe driving my Roadster.
 
The C7 hatts little or no sound damping to save weight and the engine is very loud. You will develop hearing problems within 5 years. You mentioned "similar performance." If you leave for work in the morning and accelerate down your street as fast as the C7 or Roadster will accelerate, the C7 will wake up all your neighbors and they'll think you're an a-hole. With the Roadster, punch it hard and nobody will know you went anywhere. C7 maintenance is very costly even if nothing goes wrong. The C7 has more power above 50 or 60 mph. The Roadster is a great daily driver. Ask me how I know!

HCSHARP sums it up nicely.

In addition, Corvette drinks gasoline like it has shares in OPEC, AND Roadster qualifies for all HOV lanes so you get to breeze by in traffic.

Corvette will depreciate significantly with time, while Roadster most likely will retain some value as it was a limited production vehicle.

Unless you plan interstate travel with your sports car, I think Roadster comes out ahead... That's why I bought one.

ALL THIS BEING SAID... You are in a Tesla forum, so it will be biased towards Tesla. Go to a Corvette or Chevy forum and it will be quite the reverse.

My humble $0.02. Your mileage may vary.

Best,

T
 
Daily drive and more versatile than you might think!

No input on the 'vette. I drive a Roadster as a daily driver, and my wife and I consciously use the Roadster for everything we're able to, and a few things that most people wouldn't use their Roadsters for (bag of compost for instance - probably not 2 of them at once :)). I find that the car is very reliable, though mine is also still young enough to have a half year to go on the original warranty. It gets annual service visits and tire changes (new tires roughly 8k miles, or annually for me). So there's a tire issue if you want to make one out of that.

I agree completely. Great daily driver. I have filled my trunk with lots of stuff, and like you, stuff you might not think. When I was hunting in NH last year, my buddy there wanted me to bring the Roadster to give his kids a ride. So when I got my deer, it had to go in the trunk for the trip home. Probably the only Roadster to ever have that cargo. It did make me glad I didn't get a big one though. Still enjoying the venison and the car! Only down sides are (a) noisier than I like and (b) wish I could take those really long cross country road trips with supercharging!
 
If you want to drive on a race track, get the Corvette. Otherwise get the Roadster - gobs of fun, great daily driver.

You beat me to it. :)

Whenever I go to the track I'm thoroughly disappointed in my Model S (I'm sure the feeling is similar in the roadster although not as bad). Then I begin the drive home and I forget about it after a couple minutes.

So that said, find a roadster and take it for a spin. You'll likely fall in love.
 
I agree completely. Great daily driver. I have filled my trunk with lots of stuff, and like you, stuff you might not think. When I was hunting in NH last year, my buddy there wanted me to bring the Roadster to give his kids a ride. So when I got my deer, it had to go in the trunk for the trip home. Probably the only Roadster to ever have that cargo. It did make me glad I didn't get a big one though. Still enjoying the venison and the car! Only down sides are (a) noisier than I like and (b) wish I could take those really long cross country road trips with supercharging!
Do you think it's possible to fit two snowboards in the trunk? I was looking for the dimensions of the trunk online but couldn't find anything on it. It looks just large enough to fit two boards. I don't believe there is any roof rack available for the Roadster--correct me if I'm wrong.

HCSHARP sums it up nicely.

In addition, Corvette drinks gasoline like it has shares in OPEC, AND Roadster qualifies for all HOV lanes so you get to breeze by in traffic.

Corvette will depreciate significantly with time, while Roadster most likely will retain some value as it was a limited production vehicle.

Unless you plan interstate travel with your sports car, I think Roadster comes out ahead... That's why I bought one.

ALL THIS BEING SAID... You are in a Tesla forum, so it will be biased towards Tesla. Go to a Corvette or Chevy forum and it will be quite the reverse.

My humble $0.02. Your mileage may vary.

Best,

T
I've driven interstate maybe twice in the last 8 years. It would still be nice to have the freedom to do that--particularly because I'm sure driving will be much more enjoyable in a Tesla :) However, I'm not really willing to wait until the 2018 Roadster. Even if I waited, how much will the 2018 Roadster cost? If it's the same price point as the original Roadsters when sold new, then that's probably not a number I would want to spend.

No one has been seriously hurt in a Roadster, despite some nasty-looking accidents. That said, it wasn't built and tested to the same crash standards as the Model S. It's a smaller car and only has two air bags.

I feel very comfortable and safe driving my Roadster.
That's encouraging to hear. Thanks, I wasn't aware of the Roadster's 'track record'