Did any one see the 2001 MY coupe on e-bay bid was $15100, mi. was 54000 of course it was a no sale, buy now was 26000.

 

with the C6 out the C5 is not that Hot anymore kinda what happend to the C4

 

I have noticed the prices dropping significantly in the last 2 months while I have been searching for a car. - Colin

 

'tis the time of year when we turn model years & accordingly, the older models drop down a notch. bub

 

I think they are falling... but it seems as though people with harder-to-find cars are still keeping their prices high (a bit too high IMO). I have been searching MONTHS for a C5 6 speed 'Vert.... I have found only 2 within a 300 mile radius..... both '99 models... one guy wants 28k... the other wants 24k. I don't want to spend that much on a 1999 but I am having trouble finding alternatives!!

 

I know I'm looking around for a 00-02 coupe but I'm in no hurry as I can wait if people are going to overcharge like they are..They will come down, just have to be patient..Wait till winter comes.

 

I have been looking around for about a year now and pretty seriously shopping the last couple of months for a 99/00 FRC or maybe an 01 z06 if the price falls enough ... they have certainly come down a solid 4k or so the past couple of months. Hoping to get lucky soon

Fej

 

yeah I am with you guys. i have been in the market a while and people are still asking too much. Once in a while truly good deals come up like that highly modded 01 Z06 w/44k miles and like 5k miles on a new built motor that went for $24k here. Now THAT was a deal. I don't expect those to come along every day but I still think people are asking too darn much, but hey if people are still willing to pay those prices...

 

If prices fall to much we are definently going to lose some of our exclusivity. I don't want any joker who could buy a honda buying a Vette and screwing it up for the rest of us. MHO

-Ken

 

You're exactly right, Ken..... There are so many dreamers on this Forum who think they can establish Corvette values on their own... both buyers and sellers. They don't realize there are zillions of people who would love to own a C5, but because of caution about gas prices, insurance considerations, an unstable automobile market, etc., they can't own one.

Automobile prices are established by actual dealer sales reflected in the Kelley Blue Book and N.A.D.A. books.... not by someone's cousin in Fargo, N.D or Winnemuca, Nevada who "saw an '04 Z06 with 800 miles for $12,000." We can only conclude this kind of post is a BS attempt to influence '04 Z06 pricing in favor of the poster.

The banks use these books for true vehicle and loan values and they are the resource to use when selling or buying. When you see Corvettes advertised for less than these established values it should immediately send up red flags as to why.....

I'm on my sixteenth new Corvette ( I've owned them since 1962), and I've seen a lot of Corvettes change hands through the years ..... there is no car that better fits the description..... "you get what you pay for."

Terry

 

Well, I agree with much of what you guys say.....The exclusivity thing pretty much passes with time on ANY car..... The C4 can be had for little $$ these days..... They used to have the exclusivity thing going in their day... It is just a matter of time before the C5 is in the same place. They are no longer in their prime (not saying they are over the hill or anthing). Heck.... The C6 will ultimately see the same fate when the C7 and C8 are eventually out..... It's the circle of life my friends....LOL!!!

 

C5's are falling now but the C4 market seems to be getting stronger! a low mileaged 94/95 is selling at the same or more than a mid mileage 97/98. to me, that is crazy!

 

While the books are used to give dealers a pricing range that may or may not be reasonable based on sales activity, it's private party sales that a lot of Forum members look for when buying or selling. Both NADA and KBB show private party sales price ranges on their web sites and in a lot of cases, I believe these prices are much more accurate in terms of the market. True (dealer) prices don't always reflect the market prices. IMHO, it's very seldom that dealer lots reflect reasonable prices.

I have looked at a number of C5's in the last month on dealer lots and on websites like cars.com and the prices shown there for cars on lots are in nealry every case, a good 10-15% higher than private party values.

In one case, my local Chevy dealer had a 02 EB Z06 with 44K miles and they wanted $38.995 for it. It was what I would generously describe as in "Good" condition. Assorted rock chips, some seat bolster wear, some windshield pitting and of course the usual "detail shop" clean-up with some sort of glossy coating on the engine, lots of greasy dressing on the tires and the typical lot boy wash job. Not something you would put in a show.

Another 02 C5 vert I drove (mag red, MN6, 1SC) with 22k miles was offered to me at $42,995 This one had numberous rock chips on the nose and rocker panels and wear in the driver's footwell carpet (no mats!). It was a nice car overall, but the price was simply ridiculous and it was a very early build date and out of warranty.

There is a Forum member that has a '02 Z06 advertised in this section with 8K miles on it and the asking price is under $33K! This would probably a $40K car on a used car lot. The pics of the car show it to be, IMHO, almost "unused".

When I see a high-quality private party car that has all the earmarks of being pampered, and well cared for, I don't raise any sort of red flag. It's the kind of car I look for and I don't have to listen to some used car sales twit expound ad nauseum on a subject he most likely knows nothing about. My red flag goes up on the dealer lot. There is no way to know what the car has been thru, where it came from (auction, wholesale lot or..) and what had been done to hide any cosmetic or mechanical issues.

Even the dealership that sponsors my club has told us that any '06 Z06 they sell to a member gets a reduced "second sticker markup" of only $7000 instead of the normal $10K markup. No wonder the books reflect high prices....

 

There is a buyer for every seller, eventually. There is also the perfect car for every buyer, if you can wait long enough and look often enough.
After looking every day for more than several months, I found this within 30 min of it posting by a private seller and flew 1000 miles to drive it home.

Just be patient

 

True prices are based on actual transactions, not what some book tells you. Those are the true prices. When you see something listed for less than the established values, it should be looked at, but it doesn't mean "red flags." Remember, those books are published based on sales data that may or may not be current and may or may not contain enough statistical validity to represent the population of deals. Cars that sell higher on a lot do so for a reason. Often they include warranties (or at least state protection) and include trade-ins, financing deals, etc. There are so many levers to play with on a used-car lot that you can't play with in a person-to-person transaction. Things like mandatory disclosure of problems that are identified during inspection (veries by state) that are not required in a private party transaction.

The only true price is what the buyer and seller agree to.

 

It's called "compression" in the automobile business. The older Corvettes have reached their bottom value and have stablized or are increasing in value. That occurence is sure to keep desirable C5's at or very near the current KBB and NADA values as we see them today. They will certainly be higher than some of the low-ball prices some people are attempting to steal them for today.

As for those who claim C5's have dropped "4 thousand" in the last couple of months?..... all I can say is Corvettes always increase in book value during the summer and fall months and this summer was no exception. There is no factual data that supports any other conclusion .....

The Z06 will be interesting to watch. With the new 2006 Z06 selling for $70,000 plus. The bargain of the Corvette world will be clean, low mileage, late model, pre-'06 Z06's for less or near half the price. Pre-'06 Z06's are more than most people can handle performance wise.... That's why I bought a new '04 CE......

Terry

 

I would say its a combination of :

1. As more used C6s crop up, some people are trading i their C5s for they new and improved.
2. Its the end of summer, who wants to drive a Vette in winter?
3. Gas prices have put some people who were on the verge of selling into wanting to sell.
4. The new Z06 is arriving, some people may be inclined to trade up.
5. New models of different cars are coming out.

 

This is why I hope to pick up a nice 01-02 Z06 by years end.

 

[QOUTE=kbreese]yeah I am with you guys. i have been in the market a while and people are still asking too much. Once in a while truly good deals come up like that highly modded 01 Z06 w/44k miles and like 5k miles on a new built motor that went for $24k here. Now THAT was a deal. I don't expect those to come along every day but I still think people are asking too darn much, but hey if people are still willing to pay those prices...[/QUOTE]

Don't understand you guys....If you really want to buy a vette, just do it, waiting around for months / years to try and save a few dollars is crazy. Life is to short and motoring around in your own vette is way to much fun to let a few $1000.00 dollars stand in your way. Just think about it, if you look/shop 20 months to save 4K dollars or so what have you saved? You've lost out on 20 months of your life and a heck of a lot of fun. Remember the "fun factor" is worth every bit of the money you spend for a good , clean vette.

Just in case some one things I'm just talking thru my azz, I do own 3 C5's ('98, '01, and just bought a '04) and I have a blast with all three. Spend the money, enjoy life, cause you sure as hell can't take it with you.

 

My "4k" comment comes from doing about a year's worth of watching prices of corvettes in my particular desireability range. Example a blk/blk 50k mile "clean" 99 FRC last year was 28k ... this year that same car can be had anywhere between 20k and 24.5k. Yes I understand that it is now a year older. I also understand that more people are selling the early model Hardtop cars currently than this time last year (can you say new z06 down payment?) I know these numbers because of my particular price range (26k max) and what is available to me now vs what was available last year (possibly an 01 z06 at the current trend of pricing .. you don't agree check the 01 z06's currently for sale)

Argue all you like .. it is not worth my time to go back on this site and research the numbers or find the threads. I do a lot of research on the items I spend money on so I really feel comfortable with my statements in this thread. Whether you agree or not is up to you .. I personally could really care less.

Fej