"Original Miles"
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 333
Likes: 2
From: Aurora Colorado
"Original Miles"
I must truly have a special and very arare car! It's a 1971 corvette, it is one of the very few c3 corvetts that have more than 100,000 original miles!!! With all of these 65,000...36,000....28,000 original mile cars I keep seeing for sale, or just purchased mine must be very rare because it has 138,000... Maybe 238,000... Maybe 338,000 miles on it!!! Come on people use your heads 30-44 year old cars with low miles???? Come on now. LOL
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 29
From: Texas
I must truly have a special and very arare car! It's a 1971 corvette, it is one of the very few c3 corvetts that have more than 100,000 original miles!!! With all of these 65,000...36,000....28,000 original mile cars I keep seeing for sale, or just purchased mine must be very rare because it has 138,000... Maybe 238,000... Maybe 338,000 miles on it!!! Come on people use your heads 30-44 year old cars with low miles???? Come on now. LOL
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,200
Likes: 1
From: Belle River Ontario
2015 C3 of Year Finalist
I got extremely lucky and found my 73 with 53,000 original miles (well documented) but i'm not stupid enough to believe that the majority of people out there of full of s#$t when they come up with these claims of low milage.
It took me 12 years of actually "looking" for mine , it's a rare find to say the least.
It took me 12 years of actually "looking" for mine , it's a rare find to say the least.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 6,400
Likes: 1,226
From: Tampa Florida
I must truly have a special and very arare car! It's a 1971 corvette, it is one of the very few c3 corvetts that have more than 100,000 original miles!!! With all of these 65,000...36,000....28,000 original mile cars I keep seeing for sale, or just purchased mine must be very rare because it has 138,000... Maybe 238,000... Maybe 338,000 miles on it!!! Come on people use your heads 30-44 year old cars with low miles???? Come on now. LOL
I bought my '71 LS5 conv. 4 speed in 1975 with 27,000 miles and drove it for a few years. It's had 55,000 for the past 2 plus decades. I'm getting old, so someone's going to get an original low mileage barn find.
Last edited by 71 Green 454; Jun 5, 2012 at 09:52 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,684
Likes: 696
From: Danville Illinois
2025 Corvette of the Year Finalist - Modified
2024 C3 of the Year Winner - Modified
2021 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods)
1975 one owner, me, original miles.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 3,719
Likes: 95
From: Saskatchewan, Canada
Originality and mileage mean nothing for a 40 year old plus Corvette. It's all about the current condition and restoration.
I bought my '71 LS5 conv. 4 speed in 1975 with 27,000 miles and drove it for a few years. It's had 55,000 for the past 2 plus decades. I'm getting old, so someone's going to get an original low mileage barn find.
I bought my '71 LS5 conv. 4 speed in 1975 with 27,000 miles and drove it for a few years. It's had 55,000 for the past 2 plus decades. I'm getting old, so someone's going to get an original low mileage barn find.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 5
From: Brown Summit North Carolina
There was a highly documented 72 ZR-1 at the 2010 NCRS event with less than 300 miles on it.
A Corvette was often a 2nd car , not the primary car.
I am sure some people are mistaken, and some are flat out not telling the truth.
What I would not do is call everybody who claims low miles a liar.
I would need to 1st have a interst in buying a car before I would care how many miles it has.
David
A Corvette was often a 2nd car , not the primary car.
I am sure some people are mistaken, and some are flat out not telling the truth.
What I would not do is call everybody who claims low miles a liar.
I would need to 1st have a interst in buying a car before I would care how many miles it has.
David
Last edited by dmayhew; Jun 10, 2012 at 10:18 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 333
Likes: 2
From: Aurora Colorado
I wasn't calling everyone with a low mileage car a liar. But unless you personally know the cars history or it can be documented, I won't believe the odometer. Too many low milage old cars, not just corvetts being sold without documentation, that's all I'm saying. Look on Craigslist.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 556
Likes: 13
From: C3 Forum, Colorado
Pro
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 741
Likes: 46
From: Hebron IN
I've seen plenty of low mileage Corvettes and it doesn't take an ace mechanic to tell the difference between 30K and 130K.
Many of the cars are still around simply because THEY ARE LOW MILEAGE. Most of the junk being produced in the 70s that was driven 20K miles a year ended up in a scrap yard when disco was still popular.
Further common sense....it's an expensive 2 seat sports car, not a Caprice or an Estate station wagon.
Corvettes aren't grocery getters, they don't take the kids to school, they don't haul the family on a cross country vacation and they are not typically used to drive back and forth to work everyday.
I've been C5 shopping and can find a never ending supply of 10 year old C5s all day long with 20K or less miles (plenty under 5K). Finding one with over 100K miles would be a rarity. 30 years from now there will still be a ####load of C5s around with low mileage.
Most the owners are financially well off and bought them as a TOY. They kept them in a nice garage and never drove them in the rain let alone snow. No different than a C3 back in the day. Try and find a 10 year old Impala or Camry in mint condition with 20K miles.
Many of the cars are still around simply because THEY ARE LOW MILEAGE. Most of the junk being produced in the 70s that was driven 20K miles a year ended up in a scrap yard when disco was still popular.
Further common sense....it's an expensive 2 seat sports car, not a Caprice or an Estate station wagon.
Corvettes aren't grocery getters, they don't take the kids to school, they don't haul the family on a cross country vacation and they are not typically used to drive back and forth to work everyday.
I've been C5 shopping and can find a never ending supply of 10 year old C5s all day long with 20K or less miles (plenty under 5K). Finding one with over 100K miles would be a rarity. 30 years from now there will still be a ####load of C5s around with low mileage.
Most the owners are financially well off and bought them as a TOY. They kept them in a nice garage and never drove them in the rain let alone snow. No different than a C3 back in the day. Try and find a 10 year old Impala or Camry in mint condition with 20K miles.
Instructor
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 115
Likes: 4
It was “suggested casually” by the seller that “possibly” the 46,000 miles on my 68 were original, although no documentation was provided. I listened with total skepticism. There was no question that the past 15 years had seen probably less than 3000 miles, due to the documented repairs and condition of 10-15 year old parts. Upon inspection, many signs would support such a claim, while a few others might indicate otherwise. That said, everything about the car begged of impeccable care during the past 15 years. Repairs with original parts, numbers matching, all restoration and repair parts fully documented with dates/receipts on each. Pictures of the remnant of the gas tank tag from when the tank was replaced 10 years prior. Bottom line … maybe it’s 46,000, maybe 146,000. Who cares, it’s a 45 year old car in better mechanical shape than most 10 year old cars and better cosmetically than most 1 year old cars. Sold! And no, I did not pay a premium for low mileage.
Last edited by ugadog; Jun 6, 2012 at 12:08 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 15,892
Likes: 42
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,966
Likes: 5
From: Wichita Falls Tx
I've kept up with my old '80 I sold back in '86. The current owners of the car bought it from me with 30k miles. Now some 26 years later it has less than 46k miles. The tires I put on the car are still on it. Yes, there are low mile C3s out there.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 3,079
Likes: 315
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Exactly. If the car has not been cosmetically restored, and/or if the drivetrain has not been rebuilt...what you see on the odometer could very well be correct. Original paint and interior are dead giveaways. Once refreshed, hard to tell and the actual/true mileage is probably no longer relevant. So what.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,541
Likes: 268
From: iowa city iowa
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (appearance mods)
C3 of Year Winner (appearance mods) 2019
I have always noticed that in ads some say "57,000 miles on the odometer" kind of implying that it is a 57,000 mile car without really claiming it is.