Back in 1999, I was hanging out one Saturday with a fellow Corvette enthusiast and the guys at the now-defunct Quality Corvettes in Triangle VA, and I accidentally sold a white 1992 six-speed targa coupe to a customer. Jerry, the owner of Quality, was very appreciative, and all I wanted was to take a certain 1994 roadster in polo green metallic with tan top and 300hp LT1 engine with automatic out for a drive. So he tossed me the keys and we toured around in it for the rest of the afternoon. I didn’t have the money at the time to buy it, and it was sold the next week. But that car hooked me on roadsters and was what I eventually planned to buy once Excalibur (the silver ’98 coupe) was paid for and I had money rolling in again.
The dealership went bankrupt just a few months later, and Jerry died of a sudden heart attack shortly after that. By the time Excalibur was paid for and money started rolling in again in 2003, it was stolen and I bought the navy roadster instead. Things don’t always go according to plan.
I’ve had the Fiero GT for a daily driver for five years now, but I need a change – and when I stumbled upon a Corvette dealer in Downers Grove, IL on Monday I knew it was time. They just happened to have the same 1994 LT1/automatic polo green roadster in their showroom that I liked so much at Quality years before. But they wanted $25,000 for it, as it was a show-quality, low-miles car. Not what I want; too much money in the dealer and mileage premiums, and after the ’87 coupe I decided I don’t want any more automatics.
So I went home and checked on eBay, and the prices there are really cheap for some great cars. Now that C6 is out, C4 prices are a real bargain. Not only that, but the credit union rates are at 3.5% for up to 60 months. Could it be any better? I found a polo ’96 6-speed roadster that fit the bill perfectly, so I started watching the auction that night (Monday) and decided to bid on it Thursday night. It hit the reserve Friday around noon. I was okay with the reserve price but didn’t want to go any higher. Nobody tried to outbid me from that point, so I won it three hours later. I’m having it shipped out from Phoenix tomorrow.
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