2003 Corvette Craigslist Ad is Real, and a Real Headache

This C5 Corvette seemed too good to be true, but it ended up being the real deal.

Craigslist is chock full of fraudulent ads for all sorts of things, but we hear about a great many listings for automobiles being a hoax. When Doug Tabbutt got the lead on a shockingly inexpensive 2003 Chevrolet Corvette 50^th Anniversary Edition, he was immediately interested. But, he was also concerned that the deal was too good to be true, but it ended up being the real deal.

However, the real deal on this 2003 Corvette ended up being a real headache as well, and the whole story is documented in this video from the VINWiki YouTube channel.

The Craigslist ad

Doug Tabbutt owns an exotic car dealership in Ohio called Switchcars and he frequently gets leads from customers on cars available for sale. Many of them come from the internet, and many of those prove to be fake. However, when one of his customers emailed over a Craigslist ad for a 2003 Corvette 50^th Anniversary Edition with a great price, he wanted to at least check into it. Most importantly, in addition to being a good deal, the car was local.

He called the number and spoke to the woman who had the Corvette, and she had a story to go with the car. It belonged to her late brother, and it took her time to be comfortable with selling the car, but it was time. She asked if it was ok if the title was in her sister’s name and if the guy brought cash due to some tax issues she was experiencing. He agreed and went on with his day, only to have her call back and tell him that another dealer offered her $1,000 less, but Tabbutt assured her that he would pay full price later that day and she agreed to wait.

It’s time to check out this special C5

Having heard about various Craigslist ads where people had been lured to their doom, Tabbutt asked a friend to drive behind him and his towing rig when he went to see this Corvette, just in case. Fortunately, when he got there, the woman was there with the sister and the special edition sports car. Tabbutt was relieved that the car was real and the ad wasn’t a hoax, but the problems hadn’t started yet.

Once Tabbutt spoke with the woman who possessed the 2003 Corvette, she accompanied him to the local bank where he would withdraw the $31,000 to buy the car. Although he had wired money to that bank in the morning, the first bank had not completed things on their end. This forced Tabbutt to transfer money from his personal account to the PNC account so that he could get it from that bank.

However, with the bank being situated in an area with heavy drug trafficking and laundering issues, the bank refused to give him his money. As a result, he had to drive an hour away to his normal bank, where they gladly handed him $31,000 in cash.

Once he finally got his money out of the bank, Tabbutt drove back to the woman’s house with his Lincoln and enclosed trailer. He paid for the car, they signed the title and he brought the car home. It was a headache, but at least someone wasn’t waiting with a deer rifle to pick him off as he looked for the right Corvette.

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com