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Since there are fewer and fewer of them being made, does that mean manual transmission Corvettes could potentially have a higher resale value?

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torquetube

Potentially, unless demand for manuals declines more quickly than the supply.

Steve_R

Why would the used market be any different than the new market? If ~80% of buyers prefer autos there's no reason it would be any different for used ones.

I'd also offer that you could price two identical used 2014 or 2015 C7s on NADA or another such site with the only difference being the type of trans and have a pretty definitive answer, but that wouldn't provide front page clickbait.

Foosh

I'm only one datapoint, but this past June when I was looking for a CPO under 5K miles, Z51, 2-3LT, 7MT convertible, there were not many to choose from, and I had to pay more than the automatics that were available within a reasonable distance. I actually only found one 7MT, which I happened to like, and which had a completely clean history, but there were more automatics available. The original owner took great care of it, and traded for a Z06 convertible, 7MT.

Of course, since both convertibles and manuals are relatively rare, combining those two attributes makes the available pool much smaller. Should I decide to sell, I'm feeling pretty good about being able to sell it for a reasonable price.

It may be a decreasing number, but those of us "die-hards," who feel very strongly about only wanting manuals, will be willing to pay extra for those increasingly hard to find models.

RedZ4me

NO - the automatic is an option you pay for when you buy new, the BlackBook recognizes that and provides a $$$ to add to the trade-in value. Not even close to full $$$ as when new but options do add to the bottom line.

Foosh

Yes, you pay more for automatics, but the demand/cost equation often flips very quickly (2-3 years) in the used, performance car market. It is not at all unusual for manuals to quickly become more desirable and costly because they are harder to find. As I said above, there will be a small but hardcore group wanting them for years to come.

Going back further, in the classic, muscle-car world, manuals command way more money than automatics, even though automatics were an extra-cost option even in the 1960s.

iridelow

Not necessarily true...Most people buying used vettes are younger buyers due to overall cost and the younger buyers are more likely to buy a manual shift over auto shift compared to older buyers. Also, it's a fact that as a sports car gets older a manual shift vehicle will be more valuable because less are made compared to autos...

dmk0210

I was just shopping for a C6 a few months ago. Manuals generally did cost more than autos.

Every time I saw an ad for a car that was priced lower than you would expect but looked very good otherwise, it turned out to be an auto (sometimes ads were vague about what trans the car had).

Steve_R

Based on what? That may have been true years ago, but many younger people have never driven anything but an auto. Based on my experience with our kids, grandkids and neighbors with kids I think it's actually the other way around. Younger buyers nowadays are more apt to want transportation and aren't as into cars as we were, and they don't really care what kind of trans is in it. They can't easily text while driving if they have to shift.

I assume you all know there are numerous sites on the internet where you can get "book" value for resale, right? While there are certainly variables, they will at least give you a good idea of what your car is worth as a starting point, and a very good idea of what various options are worth. I just did that for my '14 C7. It says the retail value for sale to a private party is essentially identical whether it has manual or auto trans.

thrilled

My thinking being they produce 80% more A8's than M7's.Being many of the A8's have needed TQ's among other things.I could see with the scarcity of the M7 with A die hard like me would definitely pay more for the manual,by far.
Unless the A8 gets it together it won't go down in history as A popular transmission.
I read on this forum now they can't wait for the A10.

davanz

Another thing to consider. When the time comes that you need or really want to sell, the question of which transmission has a higher "book", or real value can easily become secondary to the issue of the volume of prospective buyers there are. In other words, at selling time, even if you are able to document that your manual shift car retains more of its original selling price, you may have cut your possible buyers by 70-80%. Might translate to waiting longer to find that one buyer that wants your color, options, mileage, etc., AND wants a manual shift.
Like an above poster stated, if one is more popular as a new car, it is also more popular on the used market.

Foosh

I also know that "book values" are no more accurate than weather forecasts.

Steve_R

In reality if you look at enough weather forecasts you will find they're pretty darn accurate in the short term. While book value won't give you the absolute value of a car it does give a good idea based on a lot of data, which is always better than opinions or very limited data.

If 80% of buyers of new C7s prefer the auto over manual trans, there is absolutely no logical reason to think that would reverse for used ones. None. At all.

Any discussion here about auto vs manual trans, regardless of how it starts, always gets into an argument from the owners of manual trans about how theirs is more "pure," worth more, or better in some other way. Personally I care what mine has in it and couldn't care any less what anybody else chooses. YMMV.

Scruff Vette

This discussion is simple to me. Individuals who would buy a manual if they were buying new, will look to buy a used 3 pedal car. It may be worth it to them to pay a little more for the stick, but there are far less potential buyers who want that (and fewer cars to choose from), based on current model sales.

People who would have bought a new 6 or 8 spd auto will be looking for the same in a used car. They will have a lot more used Vettes to choose from so they may be more discriminating about color and other options. Again, a greater number of potential used car buyers will want the auto based on current model sales.

The difference in resale between the two will be not be enough to influence new car buying decisions. I don't know anyone who said I have to buy an auto or stick because it will have a better resale value.

Flame Red

All I know is this - potential buyer will look for ANY excuse to low ball sellers. Favorite "low baller's" tool is CarFax, and GM's repair records. If your A8 has an A8 repair show up in the history, buyers will use ANY excuse to low ball. So a lot of A8 owners are going to be eventually experiencing this given the A8 problems out there.

C7DriverOnt

Far more demand for automatics than manuals, that's why so few manuals are sold comparatively today. The used car market is no different than the new car market, fact is you have a much broader audience selling to with an automatic. Supercars like Lambo's are all automatics now a days, Audi gave up on them with their R8 saying this about it...You have to look at lap times,” he said at the 2015 Geneva auto show, adding that the take rate for manual transmission-equipped Audi R8s, at least in Europe, was almost nil. When pressed on the issue, Hollerweger remained firm. There is simply is no way for a stick-shift to match the performance of the R8’s dual-clutch transmission and few buyers wanted one, so Hollerweger believes there’s no point in offering a manual on the new car.

nekoz

I think the resale value of the auto will be decent. Since the C7 sells more automatics than manual, the demand for autos will always be there.

Foosh

Only time well tell. I do think the used Corvette buyer demographic is quite different than that of new buyers. As manuals get more rare, certain cars are likely to be more sought after as time goes by than they were new.

While there is much less demand for new manual, convertibles, and only about 900 were built in 2015, that makes them desirable and hard to find for a certain small, but hard-core demographic. I'm the poster child for that group, and they'll become even more rare as they succumb to accidents and environmental disasters.

If you lump 35-40K x 6-7 years of C7 production together, I think your predictions will be accurate. However, if you drill down to certain sub-categories, I think there will be exceptions.

Corvette ED

I go to Manheim auto auction every week. I buy used Corvettes for a few different dealerships. C7 Corvette with a stick is the kiss of death at the auction. They either don't get any bids or they don't bring near what the automatics do. C6's the at the auction there has been a lot of sticks and they are getting sold but the price has come down a few grand in the past two months. C6's with automatic 3LT in good colors are still selling well at auction.

Steve_R

Stop with the facts already.