"What is that?" I asked myself in 2007 at age thirteen when a C3 Corvette flew past the family sedan. I had no idea what this car was – all I knew was that I loved it! The fiery red paint, the sweeping body lines, the wide tires and that ever-so-soothing V-8 rumble had me hooked. This particular Corvette had been fitted with a large spoiler, like that of a 1998 Toyota Supra, which at the time looked spectacular to my young mind. My family and I returned home later that evening and I immediately began searching Google to find out the name of this incredible car.
It did not take long to find a similar car and, as soon as I learned that this was a Corvette, my mind was made up. I had to have one. After the discovery of this car, I pleaded with my parents; nearly begging for this Corvette. I wanted to have it as my first car when I got my license at age 16. After 2 years of attempting to talk my parents into buying my dream car, I ended up with a 1998 Chevrolet Blazer as my first vehicle. I did not care for it but I made do and drove it.
About 8 months later, gas prices began to go up and showed no signs of stopping. My dad told me to go to the local Dodge dealership and check out a 1992 C4 Corvette. This one was white, had a C5 look-a-like body kit on it and I thought to myself, "This is the one!" It was not the one.
After a few months of looking, I decided I would not find a Corvette, nor would my parents probably buy one for me. I ended up trading in the Blazer and purchasing a 2005 Honda Civic Si, which I still have today. It makes a wonderful daily driver. Two years later and I graduated high school and continued my education at the local community college, still dreaming about one day owning a Corvette.
A year later I started the search again, looking for a used C5. I found one at a local dealership: a Silver 2000 Convertible 6 speed. I test drove it, talked about financing, and began to drool. I decided I couldn't afford it, as I was only working part-time. Again, I cooled my itch and put it on the back burner. Another year passed and I began to get the itch really badly and graduated to a full-time job. I owned 2 motorcycles in this time span and after wrecking one and barely riding it after dumping money into fixing it, I sold my it and focused on school.
While my itch never went away, I tried to calm it with distractions, such as parts for my Honda Civic, parts for my motorcycle, and dates with my girlfriend. Only two weeks went by and I was already for looking for another toy. I began looking for a C5 Corvette with the money from selling my motorcycle, plus a little extra I had saved. I was about to give up when I saw it: a completely base Pewter Metallic 1998 Chevrolet Corvette. I gave it a shot. I called the seller and we hit it off immediately. The car was three hours away and I was not able to look at it until the weekend, so the seller sent me pictures and videos of the car running and driving. He was very prompt and upfront about everything. He verified the car, its history, and catered to my every request.
On December 7th, 2014 I was finally able to make the drive to look at the car and immediately fell in love when I saw it outside of his garage. I took it for a test drive, inspected it thoroughly, and had nearly made up my mind on it. I went home, thought about it for hours and the next day confirmed with the seller that I would be coming to pick it up.
December 8th, 2014 I again drove three hours and picked up my baby. My very first Corvette; my dream car! I could not believe it was finally mine. At 20 years old I made my dream come true. I am ecstatic about the car, completely in love. I could not be happier! Not only did I prove to myself that dreams can come true, I proved to myself that if you want something bad enough, you can have it. Any goal can be completed as long as you are determined. I would not trade my baby for anything and I have a whole list of goodies planned to go on her.
I love the Corvette family and have joined a wonderful Corvette group full of fun, friendly, and knowledgeable members. I cannot wait to see where this journey takes me. I hope to make it to the National Corvette Museum sometime in June 2015, and I plan to do a high performance driver's education course once I change out my suspension. I do not plan to trade or sell this car, ever. I hope to have it for many years and hopefully I can pass it down to my future kids or grandkids!