nephewryan

I am looking at buying a 2001-2002 convertible or 2002 Z06. Do you think that the prices on used C5's will drop much further as we get in to spring and the C6 gets closer or do you think the spring/summer will bring more buyers to the market for used C5's and thereby keep their prices pretty much level with where they are now?

madeouttaglass

I've been following prices on used verts for two years now. (It has taken me that long to save for one.) I can't imagine prices getting too much lower than right now. IMO the C4s have gotten just about as low as they are going to go, and the C5s are not too much more $$ right now. I also think that springtime will bring out more cars for sale, but the "springtime factor" will keep prices from falling too much more. I cannot see waiting a year to save a couple of thousand more $$. As soon as I find the right combo that I want, I will pull the trigger.

sson20s96

i have been following fora while too, looking here in phx there has been some ok deals , but still over kbb private party high book , i am looking at one this morning , high mile 97c5 , hopefully they go down a little bit more , but they do seem to be holding on the auto industry pricing guides . good luck to both on searches :cheers:

nephewryan

Thanks. There are so many out there for sale and the prices vary so much it is a little hard to get a feel for the trend and how much is a fair price. Added to that I'm torn between a Z06 and a convertible. Just trying to get my head around it all.

madeouttaglass

Sson, I would expand your search. I've bought cars down in FL twice. Both times were an adventure and a vacation. Each time I made out great after a few days of looking. A few hundred dollars for airfare/lodging/rental car, and a few thousand $$ saved.

FASST LN

I think C5 prices will reach their immediate low point in Fall or Winter of 2004. The C6 will be out then and the Vettes will be "out of season" at that point.
This is of course pure speculation.
Good luck!



[Modified by FASST LN, 3:22 PM 2/21/2004]

Corvette ED

As a used Corvette dealer here is what I see. When the C6 comes out you know that dealers will want list or thousands above. Lets say that 05 coupes will list at low $50,000's. Late model C5's should hold in the mid to high 30's just because the new car will be $20,000 higher.

97-01 C5 that are clean low mileage cars have dropped about as far as they will go. The 02-03 cars are the ones that are hard to sell now because of the big discounts on 04.

Supporting Vendors here are offering 1SA coupes for as low as $36,990 and convertibles for $42,990 that makes selling 02/03 cars hard.

If you own a older C5 or a C4 car now is time to upgrade to a newer C5. Lots of good deals out there.

nephewryan

Thanks. Any thoughts on when might be the best time between now and mid-May to get the best deal on a 2001-2002 convertible or 2002 Z06?

PRNDL

The huge discounts on new corvettes have almost inverted the market. Used to be a buyer of a new corvette would take an immediate depreciation hit and the best deal was the used vette. Now, or so it seems to me, the best deal is a new corvette, but the guy who only has $20k to spend will buy the used corvette and maybe isn't getting the greatest deal in the world. Just my impression, but here are 2 recent, real auctions. Both were high mileage, but appeared to be in great shape, although one has the "check engine" light on.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6168

98 coupe 6spd 116k miles, $16,545
(feedback from buyer: Wow, nice car, very honest. Thank you A+++++ )
and,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6168

97 coupe, auto, 106k miles $17,600

:) MJ


[Modified by MNJack, 10:38 AM 2/22/2004]

jrc50

Although all said in this thread is true re the new C5 pricing, my recommendation to you if you want a convertible C5 is to do it before Spring hits. The used convertibles will pick up in $ and hold their until the dog days of summer (August), so buy your 01-02 ragtop now or wait. There seem to be a fair amount of 01-02 owners trading up with the new deals now and a lot of off-lease C5's showing up on a variety of dealer lots here (S.Alabama).
Good luck in your search! :cheers:

madeouttaglass

jrc50, I agree, now help me find my MY/oak/bk, mn6.

Nitrodamus

I think the C5 verts will drop even further in September and October during the C6 release and the onset of winter. They will have made almost 250,000 C5's by then, there's no shortage of them. :D

jrc50

madeouttaglass,
Since there is no real easy to use for used C5 forum listing for supporting dealers (I do not blame them for pushing new iron), I suggest you do what I did and closely monitor EBay for the years you want.
Start tracking what the successful bids are (as well as max pricing but not sold) by year. There are a ton of cars listed. After maybe two weeks of tracking, start communicating (you will need to register on EBay unless they give their direct email) with the sellers of what you are interested.
I recently bought a 03 AE convertible this way. This was too much $ for me to buy on EBay-I do not personally like the procedure-so I simply told the dealership what the car was worth to me then if it did not sell they could contact me. There are some specific EBay rules they have to follow, I gather.
Anyway, when the 03 AE did not sell, they contacted me and agreed to my price (within $500) and we made the deal by me giving them a relatively small credit card deposit. Since I was buying it from a GM dealer and deposit was on AX, I felt pretty safe if car was not what I wanted when I looked at it I could back out. I caught a one way flight to Houston and finished the purchase and drove it home.
This technique probably will not work if it is not a dealership. Unless it was a very low mile car that appeared to be cared for I would not get involved with it this way, as there is too much emotion in Corvette sales from private individuals, you want the dealers that are choking on floor plan interest who are looking at having to take the unit to a car auction.
Good Luck with your hunt!
There are several used Corvette dealers in the forum offering what appear to be quality C5's and I am sure could make good deals-but what you need to do is figure out what is a good deal. As to a 2001 or 2001 convertible, for a 1SA unit with less that 15K miles I'd say given the value plunge a good price would be $27K-$32K. A high mileage C5 convertible (over 30K miles) would be $25K or less. If is is a 1SC add a couple of thousand. If it is really cherry and your colors, then perhaps a couple more, but no more than $35K even if it was 0 miles and in storage. The depreciation curve is way too steep now with the new pricing and the C6 coming. :party:

madeouttaglass

Jeff, I couldn't agree with you more. I think that some current owners that don't watch the forum have no idea how much less a new Vette is going for right now. Many used ads are asking the same price as a new one right now. Little or no GMPP, miles, a few years old, uncertain if it has had paintwork,ect., you name it. There is a cost for all of the above. I am not looking to steal someones car, but I won't pay their depreciation for them either. As you said, they have the option of holding on to their cars, but I do not see their situation improving with the dealers having to move what is on their lots.

speedwaywhite

As I continue to look for 02 Z06 I am finding several owners have purchased on the 0% interest with little or nothing down. Now the market has them upside down in the car.

NeedVert

I have been keeping an eye on Ebay lately, and it sure doesn't look like the used Vettes are going for the high prices that a lot of the sellers expect. Same thing in the Auto Trader in my area. I keep seeing the same overpriced used cars for sale month after month.

mike229

So its a stalemate?

Buyers arent buying because they dont want to pay the "normal" asking price for a used one (and they cant afford a new one for $5K-$10K more)...
...and sellers arent selling because they dont want to dump below book? So now what?

just curious..

96 Collector Edition

:lurk:

sson20s96

:iagree: here in az people are asking 24,900 on 97 with 60k ,98,99 also, kbb is not very nice on the c5 with many miles ,i have one a couple of ebay auctions and seller would not budge on price, some people willing to pay more than car is actually worth :U they are getting hosed.

nephewryan

It seems like most of the sellers out there are trying to get too close to new prices for most buyers to purchase. If dealers keep the pricing on new C5's as low as they currently are, I can see the inventory of used C5's growing substantially. It doesn't seem like a lot of the cars listed on the net for sale are moving. I can understand people not wanting to take a large hit on depreceitaion on late model used cars but then I wouldn't expect buyers to pay high used prices when at least some dealers are dumping their new inventory. It comes down to the laws of supply and demand. If people really want to sell the used vehicles and buyers are holding off, there will be no choice but to lower the price to move the vehicles. On the other hand, if enough people hold off on selling the used vehicles or you get a sufficient number of people paying the typical higher prices for used vehciles then used prices will stay relatively close to the new prices.

Question comes down to whether the sellers want to move the cars more than purchasers want to pay higher prices. Not quite sure what will happen.