racebum

that was a super slick deal.. i've seen slightly higher closes at auction for similar.

BigBirdLS1

Seen the car that Ferg is talking about in person (he's my brother). Its in perfect shape and drives great. He come out slick on that one. A month later I gave $19k for my 03 Z06 with a good bit more miles but it's modified like I wanted anyways so that was a factor.

racebum

oh i agree, if you want a modded car, with the c5 it's almost crazy to buy a stock one when headers are $1500, cat backs are a grand and heads & cam packages are $3000

you can buy a car someone else did and pay just a little more than stock

BigBirdLS1

EXACTLY!!! what I did. I know who built the car and the mods were done less than 5k miles ago. It easily has $4k in mods. Headers, Cam, Fast 102, CAI, etc.

C5Dobie

I paid $24,300 for an 03 black Z black interior 12,980 miles, STOCK, dealer threw in a car cover. The car listed for $29,999 I think that is a "fair" or "average" deal - not the best and not a ripoff either, say what you want, but there just aren't alot of C5 Z's out there with sub 20 let alone sub 15k odometers. Whether or not that means something to you (it does to me) is your own opinion, but the fact remains a low mileage car is a low mileage car. While you can use the "free mods" argument when buying a "molested" car- unless the previous owner also throws in every single stock part he removed it'll never be a matching #'s car. Again - whether or not that matters to you is personal preference, but there's no argument that it matters to the people who set the prices.

Also on a low mileage car stock or not stock, I think another poster stated it well - I also drive my car about 5k a year give or take. I can keep it for 10 years and still have a car that has less than 70,000 miles at over 20 years old, and that's damn impressive. Once you eclipse the 100k mark things change though, and the car certainly loses its luster to the collector crowd, the used car market, trade in value, private party sales, etc. etc. - again your own PERSONAL opinion may vary on that point, but the FACT is that no matter what, it makes a difference to those that set the price.

rbartick

racebum

that's how it always is. i paid 15k for an old man owned 92k mile car that had perfect compression, no rattles, great interior. only downside was 92k mile freeway chipped paint. obviously needed some updating since it was on oem plugs and rotors but overall a really gently operated car

another friend paid 20 for a 32k mile car recently. also a great deal but sil/modred which is a low value color combo

i mentioned this in another post and guys are like oh that's way way too low, you're devaluing are cars

and now

in this thread, you guys are posting the same great deal prices i'm use to

seems like either some guys pay dealer prices and get mad when they see the deals people get, or, they just want to paint a picture of higher prices for when they sell their own car

C5Dobie

Here I'll quote crow dogs entire post- you know where he mentions that low mileage cars go for more bottom line & that he felt $27k was a fair deal and all...

Outta context much?

Back to the OP dilemma- the point of my post was that you will pay more for a low mileage example, but it is worth it not only from a personal choice standpoint but from a depreciation/valuation standpoint.

Sub 20k nice stock C5 Zs go for $25k-ish and probably the best deal if you can find one would be an electron blue car that has about 30,000-40,000 miles and the basic bolt ins including headers. You get the discount for the mods but pick up their value if you wanted them in the first place, you get the discount for slightly higher or "right" miles while still being on the low side, and you get the color you want.

Finding an owner willing to part w/ a vehicle as described above will be just as hard as finding the vehicle though....so maybe take the silver low mileage one on second thought lol

Hey silver is super easy to keep clean looking...coming from a black car owner

racebum

no joke on this

i have a black on black and not only is it hard to keep clean. i'm up to 103k miles now and black doesn't age nearly as well as silver or red, especially silver

rjwz28

I wish I had gotten silver or white

OP: $25k is where it's at if it's a dealer; that's what I paid for mine a year ago with 17k miles at a dealer in Denver, CO

To the guy quoting KBB: I swear, Edmunds and KBB only exist to rip off sellers and buyers (respectively); watch auction SALES (not listings) and NADA to get the best gauge of the market.

ggroller

I think 29K is too high. 25K is more like it.

It's your 3rd color choice? Keep looking. Your car is out there somewhere, just be patient.

laurent_zo6

Don't rush. Plenty out there:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...12-400-mi.html

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...80425141&Log=0

McFly09

My situation seems very close to yours. The buyer was asking 29k and I paid 27k in December 2013. Silver, it had 14,000 miles, original old corvette historian owner, all paperwork, mint mint, original tires, no modifications unless you count an optima battery, still has the factory 1-to-4 shift. Original battery was included the sale. I felt like the price I paid was fair, certainly not cheap. This was also almost a year ago.

As another member said, don't let 500 or 1000 stand in the way. Do all your research, make a fair offer, get what you want and don't look back

racebum

i think that's pretty good actually. 24k for a 12k mile car is as good as any deal. sure some may be cheaper but they may have been track mules and that's why they are low mile

as you know it's very hard to get a 12k mile cheap or at a deal. nothing like 80-150k mile cars where they are much easier to get at the lower end of the trading range

geagle.2001

I faced almost the same dilemma. Cross shopped an 03 Z06 with 39,000 miles for $28,000 vs a 2005 C6 with the Z51 package and only 19,500 miles. As much as I admire Z06, I bought the 2005 with the Z51 package. Love it. A couple of track days, autocross, and a road trip to upstate new York later, no regrets. Runs and drives great. Even more so since I ditched the run flats. There is really no wrong decision. Whatever makes you happy. Enjoy...

jasonsamara

I paid 28,000 back in 2008 for an 03 z with 7200 miles on it. I'm the second owner. Torch red, mod red interior and bone stock. My secret was finding it on auto trader at a new Chevy dealer, someone traded it. To them it was just a used car. They wanted 34,500 but with a bad economy and sitting on it for several months they caved. You can't go wrong with red and mod red interior looks good and is harder to find. Good luck

hifi875

ive got a 03 tr w/mod red had it for a couple of years. bought it with 7800 miles on it and gave 26500 for it. it now has 9700 miles and don't know why it bothers me to drive it past 10k miles. Its basically a brand new car. still smells new. just hate to lose that newness, but at the same time dont' really get to enjoy it like i should.

McFly09

I have the same mental block, I don't want to hit 15k. I'm just not a "free spirit" when it comes to cars. I'm always concerned about keeping it perfect, keeping the miles low. 10k is not a lot of miles though. I wish that were my starting point but I bought mine around 14k on the odometer.

C5Dobie

Yes except driving it that little or not at all is no good either. Sitting around and having fluids pool up in the same spot and metal oxidize and every moving part just get the equivalent of arthritis is not good for a car. Drive or or sell it. It's more of a pita to keep up what is essentially the equivalent of a perennially stored vehicle than it is mildly (like 5k a year) vehicle. At least you keep the moving parts in motion so to speak.

jasonsamara

I have that same mental block. What helps me is just turning the mileage indicator off. I just passed 13k at Carlisle a few weeks back.