Why is my Rare Fairway green corvette not selling
#1
Why is my Rare Fairway green corvette not selling
I have a very nice 1997 Fairway green corvette ls1 auto 64k miles I have babied this car since I have owned her alaways garaged lot's done z06 wheels z06 seats with green stitching painted to match calipers with chrome disk covers custom exhaust painted to match windsheild wipers with chrome.. both tops painted to match motor parts with chrome all over runs great drives great new breaks ..The miles are 64 k very nice driver compliments everytime she is out .Asking 15k is that really to much to ask for such a nice corvette please let me know ..Fairway green 1 out of 155 made in this year .See my pics under my corvette or garage ..Let me know what I should be asking I'm losing so much already ..Thank you ..Also I'm a female driver so not driven to hard 17/25 gas mileage I average 20 per gallon ..synthetic always used
#2
Melting Slicks
NADA states your 'Vette has a clean trade in value of $14k, so I don't think $15k is asking too much. How long have you been trying to sell it? Through what channels do you have it for sale? In what part of the country do you live? Have you tried listing it in this Forum? How many, (if any,) have given it a test drive, and what have been their remarks?
Keep in mind, though Fairway Green is a rare color, you're asking fifteen thousand dollars for a 14 yr old car. Even though it has only 64k miles - in the eyes of a collector, that may be considered more of a driver and not so collectible.
Expand the listing through other local and online media and the right buyer will come along.
Good luck!
.
Keep in mind, though Fairway Green is a rare color, you're asking fifteen thousand dollars for a 14 yr old car. Even though it has only 64k miles - in the eyes of a collector, that may be considered more of a driver and not so collectible.
Expand the listing through other local and online media and the right buyer will come along.
Good luck!
.
#3
Le Mans Master
Check several used car sites to check your price. Use Kelley Blue Book,
eBay.com and others. Advertise your Vette in this Forum, that national auction site and others. Take good pictures, at least twenty of them.....detail the car first and make sure it shows well.
With the right price, and in the right sales medium, it should sell.
eBay.com and others. Advertise your Vette in this Forum, that national auction site and others. Take good pictures, at least twenty of them.....detail the car first and make sure it shows well.
With the right price, and in the right sales medium, it should sell.
#4
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Sometimes it just takes a while - I listed my '00 for sale in December 2007 and it finally sold in June 2008. And it was in very good shape with lots of upgrades. As has been said, list the car here if you haven't already done so, make sure you have some good pics (exterior, interior, engine bay, etc.), if you have maintenance records - mention that. Fairway green is a nice color on the C5 even though it wasn't real popular at the time. Your asking price is not bad - just remember you won't get your money back out of all the mods you did - I know I sure didn't.
Best of luck to you - hope the car sells soon.
Best of luck to you - hope the car sells soon.
#5
Le Mans Master
Although you have done some modding, nothing is over the top, but still it is not completely original and many times that is what will slow the sale. As you stated it is 1 of 155 and only a total of 378 ever produced, so even though it is a rare color once you take it from it pure factory original condition you now are looking at a select group to buy it. Also, just because it is a rare color, C5's are not considered a collectable so that really does not effect it as a must have vehicle, at least not right now, 20 years down the road that may be different.
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#7
Burning Brakes
When I had the 93 C4 up for sale I used Auto Trader and had an add in all the newspapers. It sold when a guy on the highway saw me driving it with a $4 For Sale sign in the window. It should sell soon. Give it as much exposure as you can.
#9
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There seems to be some bias against the early C5 Corvettes (before 2001). I understand it has something to do with some electronic parts not being available and not repairable. Also, remember that a color is generally rare because very few people liked it enough to buy it when the car was new (with some exceptions). That means many will still not like it.
#10
Melting Slicks
As a fan of the Fairway Greens, I have a few observations about your ad.
1. In the For Sale section, your ad is hastily and poorly written. It sounds like you're desperate to sell, which can be construed as trying to unload a problematic vehicle. Whether this is the case or not, take your time and expound on how great the car is, accentuating it's cleanliness, problem-free status and how many compliments you get on the color.
2. Provide many, detailed pictures. Don't make a potential buyer beg for pix. Put them up there for all to see. Someone may not go out of their way to request pix because they're turned off by the description. Putting pix right in front of their noses will give them 90% of the info they may be looking for. The pix you have in your Profile are minimal: you have one exterior, one interior and one engine shot. You need a lot more, again accentuating the cleanliness and or/special touches you've added to the car.
3. List the car for sale in as many places as you can find. I found my FG on Craigslist. You can even try ebay if it comes down to that. Even if it doesn't sell there, at least you've exposed the car to many more potential buyers.
Your asking price is reasonable, so that probably isn't the problem here.
In a nutshell, you've managed to say you're selling your car, but have put the least amount of effort into doing so. The color you have is attractive to some because it is so rare, but by the same token, they didn't sell many at the time because it wasn't a popular color back in '97. It'll take a "special" buyer for your car, so you'll need to be patient until that buyer comes along. Maximizing your exposure will certainly help.
Good luck with your sale.
1. In the For Sale section, your ad is hastily and poorly written. It sounds like you're desperate to sell, which can be construed as trying to unload a problematic vehicle. Whether this is the case or not, take your time and expound on how great the car is, accentuating it's cleanliness, problem-free status and how many compliments you get on the color.
2. Provide many, detailed pictures. Don't make a potential buyer beg for pix. Put them up there for all to see. Someone may not go out of their way to request pix because they're turned off by the description. Putting pix right in front of their noses will give them 90% of the info they may be looking for. The pix you have in your Profile are minimal: you have one exterior, one interior and one engine shot. You need a lot more, again accentuating the cleanliness and or/special touches you've added to the car.
3. List the car for sale in as many places as you can find. I found my FG on Craigslist. You can even try ebay if it comes down to that. Even if it doesn't sell there, at least you've exposed the car to many more potential buyers.
Your asking price is reasonable, so that probably isn't the problem here.
In a nutshell, you've managed to say you're selling your car, but have put the least amount of effort into doing so. The color you have is attractive to some because it is so rare, but by the same token, they didn't sell many at the time because it wasn't a popular color back in '97. It'll take a "special" buyer for your car, so you'll need to be patient until that buyer comes along. Maximizing your exposure will certainly help.
Good luck with your sale.
#11
I don't think the color is the problem, its the age of the car, the fact that its an automatic and your original asking price it looks like was $16500 which was too high IMO. I got that from your picture description.
It will sell just give it some time.
It will sell just give it some time.
#13
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I think it's a nice color and very rare, but finding a person that likes that color will take more time than your standard colors. More significant though, is your add-ons. Modifications are highly subjective and generally, detract from the value of a car. At the very least, mods make it hard to sell.
You should remove and/or undo everything you can, which is what a dealer would do if they got a hold of your car. If you can save them for the new owner, that would be a bonus to some.
You should remove and/or undo everything you can, which is what a dealer would do if they got a hold of your car. If you can save them for the new owner, that would be a bonus to some.
#14
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You can't go by those retail books, they're so out of line with the current market it's pathetic. Only dealers use those. And there is a different price for private sellers.
This is because the private seller doesn't have stocking costs, detail costs, salesman costs etc.
The biggets mistake when a private seller sells their car is asking retail and an informed buyer just won't do it. The car lots can get away with it because they offer financing, in some cases through various lenders, and to those who will pay retail that's a trade off.
And going through a private seller the buyer is most likely going to have to have cash and in this market it takes a while to find that cash buyer or one who can get financing for a 14 year old car.
So in closing, it's the year of your car more than anything. Be patient, there's a buyer for everything for sale.
This is because the private seller doesn't have stocking costs, detail costs, salesman costs etc.
The biggets mistake when a private seller sells their car is asking retail and an informed buyer just won't do it. The car lots can get away with it because they offer financing, in some cases through various lenders, and to those who will pay retail that's a trade off.
And going through a private seller the buyer is most likely going to have to have cash and in this market it takes a while to find that cash buyer or one who can get financing for a 14 year old car.
So in closing, it's the year of your car more than anything. Be patient, there's a buyer for everything for sale.
Last edited by RetiredSFC 97; 09-15-2011 at 12:27 PM.
#16
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Well... you've stated that it's a rare color and implied that the mods it has should make it appealing.
Rare colors typically only matter to collectors, everyone else just looks for a color they like. (btw: fairway green isn't really all that rare. Aztec Gold and Purple Pearl are rare) Two problems. 1: The C5 isn't really a collector car because there are a zillion of them available. 2: A "collector" is going to buy one of the available C5's with under 20K miles, not one with over 60K.
Also, modded cars are not typically worth more. Especially if the mods are cosmetic in nature. You have to find the "right" buyer who values the mods you've done over a car that doesn't have them. Cars that have obvious mods will actually scare many buyers away. Also, the '97 was the first model year for the C5; that will also scare some buyers away.
That being said, you still have a very nice car and, if you're not in a rush to sell it, should get a fair price for it. IMHO $15K is too high to be realistic for a private party. Run a search on autotrader.com for 97-98 corvettes within 300 miles of you and see how they are priced...
Good luck with your sale.
Rare colors typically only matter to collectors, everyone else just looks for a color they like. (btw: fairway green isn't really all that rare. Aztec Gold and Purple Pearl are rare) Two problems. 1: The C5 isn't really a collector car because there are a zillion of them available. 2: A "collector" is going to buy one of the available C5's with under 20K miles, not one with over 60K.
Also, modded cars are not typically worth more. Especially if the mods are cosmetic in nature. You have to find the "right" buyer who values the mods you've done over a car that doesn't have them. Cars that have obvious mods will actually scare many buyers away. Also, the '97 was the first model year for the C5; that will also scare some buyers away.
That being said, you still have a very nice car and, if you're not in a rush to sell it, should get a fair price for it. IMHO $15K is too high to be realistic for a private party. Run a search on autotrader.com for 97-98 corvettes within 300 miles of you and see how they are priced...
Good luck with your sale.
Last edited by cdkcorvette7; 09-15-2011 at 02:07 PM.
#17
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As a fan of the Fairway Greens, I have a few observations about your ad.
1. In the For Sale section, your ad is hastily and poorly written. It sounds like you're desperate to sell, which can be construed as trying to unload a problematic vehicle. Whether this is the case or not, take your time and expound on how great the car is, accentuating it's cleanliness, problem-free status and how many compliments you get on the color.
2. Provide many, detailed pictures. Don't make a potential buyer beg for pix. Put them up there for all to see. Someone may not go out of their way to request pix because they're turned off by the description. Putting pix right in front of their noses will give them 90% of the info they may be looking for. The pix you have in your Profile are minimal: you have one exterior, one interior and one engine shot. You need a lot more, again accentuating the cleanliness and or/special touches you've added to the car.
3. List the car for sale in as many places as you can find. I found my FG on Craigslist. You can even try ebay if it comes down to that. Even if it doesn't sell there, at least you've exposed the car to many more potential buyers.
Your asking price is reasonable, so that probably isn't the problem here.
In a nutshell, you've managed to say you're selling your car, but have put the least amount of effort into doing so. The color you have is attractive to some because it is so rare, but by the same token, they didn't sell many at the time because it wasn't a popular color back in '97. It'll take a "special" buyer for your car, so you'll need to be patient until that buyer comes along. Maximizing your exposure will certainly help.
Good luck with your sale.
1. In the For Sale section, your ad is hastily and poorly written. It sounds like you're desperate to sell, which can be construed as trying to unload a problematic vehicle. Whether this is the case or not, take your time and expound on how great the car is, accentuating it's cleanliness, problem-free status and how many compliments you get on the color.
2. Provide many, detailed pictures. Don't make a potential buyer beg for pix. Put them up there for all to see. Someone may not go out of their way to request pix because they're turned off by the description. Putting pix right in front of their noses will give them 90% of the info they may be looking for. The pix you have in your Profile are minimal: you have one exterior, one interior and one engine shot. You need a lot more, again accentuating the cleanliness and or/special touches you've added to the car.
3. List the car for sale in as many places as you can find. I found my FG on Craigslist. You can even try ebay if it comes down to that. Even if it doesn't sell there, at least you've exposed the car to many more potential buyers.
Your asking price is reasonable, so that probably isn't the problem here.
In a nutshell, you've managed to say you're selling your car, but have put the least amount of effort into doing so. The color you have is attractive to some because it is so rare, but by the same token, they didn't sell many at the time because it wasn't a popular color back in '97. It'll take a "special" buyer for your car, so you'll need to be patient until that buyer comes along. Maximizing your exposure will certainly help.
Good luck with your sale.
#18
Melting Slicks
#19
Le Mans Master
Almost bought a Rareway green myself.
It's not for everyone,but I thought it was a cool color.The one that sold me on them had dark tinted windows and blacked out tail lights and corners.It really looked nice.
Problem for me was I didn't like the interior,it was the oak color. Saw one later with black interior. It looked great!
Your price is not outrageous,you just need the right buyer.
It's not for everyone,but I thought it was a cool color.The one that sold me on them had dark tinted windows and blacked out tail lights and corners.It really looked nice.
Problem for me was I didn't like the interior,it was the oak color. Saw one later with black interior. It looked great!
Your price is not outrageous,you just need the right buyer.
#20
I have a very nice 1997 Fairway green corvette ls1 auto 64k miles I have babied this car since I have owned her alaways garaged lot's done z06 wheels z06 seats with green stitching painted to match calipers with chrome disk covers custom exhaust painted to match windsheild wipers with chrome.. both tops painted to match motor parts with chrome all over runs great drives great new breaks ..The miles are 64 k very nice driver compliments everytime she is out .Asking 15k is that really to much to ask for such a nice corvette please let me know ..Fairway green 1 out of 155 made in this year .See my pics under my corvette or garage ..Let me know what I should be asking I'm losing so much already ..Thank you ..Also I'm a female driver so not driven to hard 17/25 gas mileage I average 20 per gallon ..synthetic always used