Driving in the rain
 

I have a fairly new GS and never want to take it out when it rains. My only reason for that is being brain washed on always seeing how people make a big deal when they sell a car stating that it has "never been driven in the rain". Is that really a big deal? Does it hurt the car in any ways? Does it add resale value? All my other vehicles get driven in the snow, salt, rain, mud, etc and still look like new vehicles. Do most of you take your vettes out in the rain?:confused2:

Rain... yes, I've heard of rain.

Ask yourself the same question next time you wash your car.

:iagree::woohoo:


Elmer

So what's more important? The resale value, which has already dropped when you drove it off the lot, or the enjoyment of driving it?

If it's the resale, then sell it now before it goes lower.

If I feel like driving I drive it...Only I never feel like driving it when its snowing...Rain is no big deal to me..

How's this?

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...ettesalty1.jpg

The only reason I don't like taking it out in the rain is because it will get dirty and then I'll have to wash it. Other than that, it's a car. They are made to work in the rain.

car will melt in the rain :see owners manual for wet weather hazards and kelly blue book section for vehicles driven in the rain.:crazy2:

I've heard rumors of Corvette's melting in the rain. True? :lol:

It is just a car. If you are not going to drive, why did you buy it. These are not made of sugar. Drive it like you stole it.

Remember guys, chew those aspirin.

I live in Seattle.
Drove this last week every day ...in the rain.
Im a firm believer in driving the car rain or shine.
:flag:

Mine is a daily driver in rain and snow (although I really try to avoid snow because it gets scary really quickly) so I'm the wrong guy to ask. But I will say I never believe it when someone says their car has "never been in the rain" anyway. Kind of like "only driven to church by granny on Sundays."

Well, unless your particular Corvette happens to have relics of The True Cross embedded in the fiberglass or the seats are upholstered with bits of the "Shroud of Turin" I doubt if driving it in the rain is really going to make much difference.

To be honest, I try not to drive my C6 in the rain, but that's only because I happen to have a 3rd vehicle and I'm lazy. If you can avoid driving your car in the rain, great, but you're missing out on some great driving.

We bought our C6 with the specific intent of taking it on road trips. It rains on road trips.What am I supposed to do; call Passport Transport and tell them to come get my car and take it home from, say, Billings Montana, while I cut short our road trip and look for a flight home?

Frankly, given the rain this region (PNW) is famous for, I'd sure not be able to enjoy my car if I waited for the sun to come out.

I'm sure your Corvette is a much cherished car for you, but I presume you still send your kids to school, assuming you have some (If you have the means, I highly recommend them) in the rain...

In short, you have one in a million (literally I think) Corvettes. Drive the damn thing, even if you need to get on medication. The appeal of buying a car that has never been driven in the rain applies only to old British Roadsters and steel-hulled crabbing boats.

Drive it...

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...tasmallpic.jpg

Last years trip to South Dakota, five days of rain off and on.

Here in Georgia we occasionally haver strong spring and sometimes summer storms. Last week in northern sections they had hail larger than golf balls that broke windshields and dented cars over a wide area so I'll take the truck if there is a chance of storms, otherwise I don't care. Just gives me a chance to wash it.

Been there done that, but got scared when my rear was not stopping
very nice, indeed

:lolg::lolg:

Now, my car is dusty. Need rain! :D

I have several other vehicles so don't take the 'Vettes out in the rain if they're clean and I have other options. Having said that, I would imagine of the 19,000 miles on my '05 about 4,000 of them have been driven with the wipers on! My Summer trips always include Road America, Bloomington Gold, and visiting my son at Vanderbilt in Nashville. I always hit rain at least part of the way on each of those. The worst consequence is having to do major cleaning of the wheels/wheelwells following those trips. Other than that, no reason not to drive in the rain-just be careful with the extra power compared to your daily driver. The positive of the rainy trips is fewer bugs to clean off...

Rain won't hurt the Corvette, but it makes them dirtier and more difficult to clean. Maybe those who "don't drive their cars in rain" are just lazy? haha

I realize I'm going to get caught in rain on road trips and overnighters etc but I will drive one of my other cars if it's raining out. I try and avoid rain when at all possible and only because I hate how dirty it gets and a lot more clean up time. Like another poster says, nobody believes you anyway when you sell it and say "never driven in rain". You are always going to get caught in a rain shower every now and then. Remember, weathermen are only about 50% right lol.

Enjoy your ride!!

I avoid rain because I don't like having to re-detail and would rather enjoy the car on nice sunny days. I have been caught in rain, no big deal, and I've driven in the rain to make an appointment for an alignment corner balance (car was filty from a winter of projects anyway). It was however scary because 650rwhp, shaved/ worn slicks and rain do not mix

Think a car dealer moves them all inside when it starts raining?

Sent my backup car off to charity and now the vett is my DD and I am realizing just how dependable the car is and fun.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, if we never drove our Vettes in the rain, they'd never be driven...

Is this thread for real? :willy:


It's just a f**king car. Drive it. :smash:

IN THE RAIN

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x71/sherm522/012.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x71/sherm522/011.jpg

IN SNOW AND ICE
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rMeetup004.jpg

Anyone worried about resale value should considering buying used. They hold there value relatively well at the 36 mo point.

With the plastic body and aluminum frame, there's much less to rust.

Drive and enjoy the ride!

I detail my Corvette meticulously. I only wash my DD .If I get caught in the rain with the Vette then so be it but I'll purposely wait for the sunny days to take her out. It's not a Garage Queen by any means (25K in 3 years).I just don't have the time to devote to constantly redetail it.

My kids told me I need a second car so I dont put miles on it running to the store and around town and when it it rains. Told them it was just to much fun to drive to let it just sit there. When I am driving it I havent a care in the world. I am the one with the sh-t eating grin behind the wipers.

Unless you took a Museum delivery, your car has been in the rain.

I bought my car to drive and enjoy, not be completely anal retentive about it. :hide:

Just today swapped my GS wheels/tires from the General Exclaim UHP set back to the Goodyear F1SC set that came on it when I took delivery of the new car 12/13. Have put about 800 miles on the Generals.

Since I'm in Chicago, let's just say there was a bit of foul weather the car handled very well in the last couple months but I'm glad we're now into the stickier summer tire season!

Rain
 

just drive your Vette & enjoy it....

:cheers:

I drive my vette in the rain because its fun. If you have never driven your vette in the rain then your missing out on very different driving experience. Then again...you have to have some driving skills to handle a corvette in the rain :yesnod:.

"never seen rain" ha! Here is a pic of my car at GM assembly plant. They get blasted with 1500 gallons within 2 minutes! Then they are parked outside in the rain & snow and let birds poop all over them. The only reason I don't like driving in the rain is cause I got to clean it, can't stand a dirty car. Drive & enjoy it.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/c...8/4f1fda9a.jpg
Oops, forgot to post the pic :rofl:

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...0eng/photo.jpg

Mine and two others, not melting. The Ospreys on the other hand...Nevermind.

Unless your driving in acid rain go for it. They drive very well in wet weather in my opinion compaired to other cars i have owned. Vroom!

I don't drive my vettes in the rain because don't want to wash them.
The rims, exhaust, crowl, from all the mess kicked up by other cars.

Besides don't feel that safe in the vette on wet roads. its low, wide tires,
just asking for trouble

Good Lord, don't worry about driving in the rain...enjoy your car!

Partially correct... my '07 LMB was a museum delivery but it was driven in the rain as the evening it came off the assembly line it was pouring. Also, some cars coming off the line get driven on BG's test track (not a real track but a test area for rattles, hums, etc) and, yes, mine was driven in the rain for an extended period that day. :(

:iagree: I've had four Vettes living on a friggin' dirt road! All four Vettes have been on 4000 mile plus road trips all over the SW and Mid-West. Oh my god!! I ran into RAIN!!!!

Got good deals when I sold/traded the previous three Corvettes. Nobody every asked me if they had been rained on!

OP, drive the dang car!

:cheers:

Not a believer in any extra value for "Never Driven in the Rain crap."
A friend of mine was looking for a C5, and spotted a "very rare 98 Torch Red Convertible/Black Interior never driven in the rain."
We pull up and start checking out the car, nothing special at all.
First question - Why is this rare?
Him: They didn't make very many Red Convertibles with black interiors
Me: Yes they did it was the second most popular color combo built. The Torch red/Black interior hardtop was the most popular combo built- What else ya got?
Him, Oh I didn't know that
Me: Never driven in the rain - prove it?
Him - You have to take my word for it, it has only seen dry paved streets, not even puddles.
Me: Your taillight wiring harness is filthy and has mud on it:eek: what else ya got?
Me to friend - Offer him 7500 less than asking - reasonable for this car he is priced too high anyway.
Friend: He is interested at $14,500
Him: No way, not for a rare convertible
Me to my friend - Let's check out the other 99 Vert and see what it looks like.
Us: :seeya
Left and never turned back. He bought the 99 at a much lower price but it wasn't as rare :D

Me, my car gets driven in all weather and darn proud of it.

Rain
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ictureid=78215

Sleet
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ictureid=57760

Snow
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ictureid=78214

Detailed after each time
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ictureid=60763:seeya

Over 110,000 miles on my vet with many days of rain. IMO the worst thing would be to let your car set for long periods of time & poor maintenance. :thumbs:

:iagree: It's an OCD thing but I agree.

It seems like the OP really put some serious thought into his post.......:lol:

I hate driving in the rain because I have to reduce my speed by about 5 mph.:willy::rofl:

And snow... Holy cow!

:iagree:i dont try and get it in the rain...but if it happens....oh well

Just drive it

:willy:

:iagree: :woohoo:

Mine is black, and we all know black is high maintenance. That said, I love driving my car so I used to not care if its raining, but lately I've been keeping it garaged when it's raining out of pure laziness of having to wash/wax/Zaino, etc.

Just drive it, all this crap about not being driven in the rain adds nothing to the value. I mean people wash their Vettes with water, and who cares what they say, drive it and enjoy it,.

Is this a new color Chevy is coming out with? :rofl:


I don't drive my car in the rain, since I am lucky enough to have a second car to get dirty. The only problem I see with driving the vette in the rain is that it might be damaged due to acid rain.

Don't save your car for the next guy! Enjoy it!!!:flag::cool:

Road Salt Red?

What is this "driving" of which you speak? Surely you are not actually taking that car out of the garage????????:eek::eek:

Just how would any potential buyer know how you've driven your car? How does not driving in the rain actually enhance the value of any car? It's exposed to moisture and water all the time; from routine washing to driving over puddles.

Driving in sun can effect your paint, as can driving in windy conditions, dust, and road grime. The only way to keep your car in new condition is to constantly keep it covered in a climate controlled environment. In real life, that's just not going to happen.

The C6 is a car that's made to be driven and enjoyed. Not doing so just negates the whole point of owning this vehicle. Certainly maintain it as carefully as you want, but at least go out and drive the thing. I can guarantee you that getting the car wet won't hurt it.

About 1000 miles in on a 1500-mile drive from St. Louis to SoCal:

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g.../vette1012.jpg

It's not a museum piece, it's a kick-arse sports car!!

I bought it to drive it, so I daily drive my Z. It has given me some wild rides in the rain, but mostly in heavy rain and with cold tires.

:U

:lol:

:iagree:

Well said... :iagree:

Our 2008 Convertible is our sole car and therefore a daily driver. Typically warm and dry, but we get rain, snoe, hail occasionally. No problems of any kind.

I've been avoiding rain as we currently have a lot of salt left on the roads from the storm this week. After that's washed away, I'll drive in the rain if needed. Usually, I will drive the other car on a crappy day.

Make sure you have good tread or you might get surprised!

I don't like to drive in the rain because I have to drive like a big whimp!

The vette has so much power and such wide tires it breaks loose WAY too easy on the roads.

If I get caught in the rain, oh well, but if its raining out I'll take my Honda Ridgeline!

RAf

I'm melting !!!
 

love to see dirty vettes, it means people are actually DRIVING them! they are few and far between though....

Be careful in heavy rain - other than that car works fine :D

In heavy rain you can hydroplane - the nominal speed for hydroplaning is 9*SqRt of Tire pressure - somewhere around 54-55 mph for our cars.

That's what they say. Makes a big colored platic blob.

Corvettes will melt in the rain :see owners manual for wet weather hazards and kelly blue book section for vehicles driven in the rain.:crazy2:[/quote]


:iagree:

Good thing that you did not include the part about the Corvettes being driven dirty otherwise the op would faint :lol:

Back to the OPs original comment about why people advertise "Never Driven In The Rain". It's just desperation to make it sound better. I really get a kick outta clowns who Still insist on advertising Power steering, Power brakes on vehicles for sale OOOO! Does it have power windows, to? I say drive that bad boy! Just make sure your tires are up to snuff.

Never had a bit of problem with hydroplaning with my General UHPs. I did with the stock GY Runcraps though....

On BOTH my Vettes...

no rain
 

No Rain, I,ll have to walk and get wet. Then I can say Ive seen Rain... Not my Vette,,,:cheers:

Good one :D

It's a car, I bought it to drive it, I drive it in the rain. Life is short, I want to enjoy the toy I bought.

That said, the stock runflats on the base car are not great in the rain. I ditched those years ago (I have Michelin PS2's non runflat) and haven't had problems. 460 rwhp and 4.10 gears mean all starts in the rain have to be low key, but with better tires you can choose to spin or not instead of being unpleasantly surprised when the stock tires break loose while you're changing lanes on the freeway in the rain.

With all due respect to our mid-west and southern friends, but I had no idea it was only a 1500 mile trip. I wonder, if you'll indulge me, doesn't it seem like the trip in the opposite direction take something like 100 years? Sorry, but... well, never mind, I'll never dig my way out of this one.

Ahhh, does California rain wash off any easier than Missouri rain?

I need to go find a job... :leaving:

Post Winter colour::D

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...Picture030.jpg

Where do you think your vette sat before it was delivered (even to the museum)... behind the assembly plant... where it rains.

Just be careful since you'll spin the tires pretty easily.

this thread sucks

Not at MacMulkin Chevy.ALL Vettes are kept indoors:thumbs:

Your last pic is why SOME of us don't drive ours in the rain. Don't have much time in my life to detail after EVERY rain storm, plus I think most of us appreciate our Vettes more on a beautiful Sunny day.

Oxidation of the aluminum suspension parts is accelerated especially during the Spring, in the Northeast ,due to some residual salt on the road mixing with the rain water.

:iagree: My feelings exactly!

It's a daily driver. I live in Florida. If you are driving down here in the summer and it is 4PM, your car is getting rained on. Why the hell do you think I buy cars? Transportation, fun, and driving. I don't like snow so I don't drive north of the Georgia/Florida border during the winter but I sure cover a lot of miles in Florida!

Elmer

The folks who tell you their car has never been in the rain really don't know unless they transported it from the factory in a covered trailer. Otherwise they have likely been in rain on the open transport or sat in the weather at a dealer's lot.

Who really cares anyway??

I've been on a couple of long trips where rain happened a significant amount of time. They handle well in the rain but hydroplaning can be an issue so slow it down!

Oops... I'm goin' to hell...

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...r_1/wipers.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/c61e0b6a.jpg

:iagree:

Tacoma here, new GS with about 1000 miles since november. all but 40 or 50 were in rain.... DRIVE THE BITCH!

Old Blue the truck needs a starter so I drove the car today
to work in some serious rain. All I gotta say is that a properly
Zaino'd Vette really repels water!

:iagree: I'd never be able to drive my baby (when I get her) in Oregon or Washington except for 2-3 months out of the year. Any other time it seems like it is always raining or could rain at any moment.:cheers:

you mean they dont?

just kidding, you know when i went for the factory tour they put every car through a rain storm like you wouldn't believe, to water test it.:willy:

well, in Seattle what are ya gonna do? Drive it on the 11 sunny days per year? :D

I was born there and grew up in Portland where my folks still live so I get up to the PNW quite a bit. Nice area, but it rains. If you don't drive the car in the rain it isn't gonna get used very much. Now, it isn't like it rains all day long!!

I drive mine rain or shine, but in Northern CA there is a lot more of the latter. And on those nasty stormy all day kinda days it does stay home in the garage.

Guess I appreciate mine more, since I drive it in any weather, sunny, rain, snow, sleet. Don't care what it is like outside. If I want to drive the car and appreciate it's qualities in all types of situations, that is when I get in it and drive it.
Only takes me an hour to get it back into shape and worth every minute spent.

Too much work to get rid of the water spots I guess I'm lazy and OCD, Zaino brain washed me :lol: and I don't feel like washing it more than once a month.

But the rust in our other 2 DD's non Corvettes is easily noticeable inside the hood. Mine looks completely clean.

However, I agree with most of the comments, maybe I'll get over that at some point. Actually I may get caught in some light rain tomorrow, well...:(

BTW, somebody mentioned it's fun to drive in the rain?

Not for this guy :D.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Yz8F38eic

They sit outside the factory, at the shipping lots, and on the transports.

It's just a car. :smash:

That video was hilarious. I bet he had to go home and change his pants.

Its not just a car, its a Corvette. :)