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Should I pull the trigger on this?

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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 07:54 PM
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Default Should I pull the trigger on this?

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ca...st=1836#vdptop

1999 Torch Red FRC, 36k miles, 2 owner, Clean Carfax. It's owned by a person who works at a dealership - he's asking $22,900, but of course I will try and get that down a bit. Car looks REALLY clean to me..

What do you think?

EDIT: The car also comes with a Corsa exhaust, some sort of intake (twin filter, not a Vararam), Goodyear F1's with 80% tread left, and a Z06 clutch with about 1000 miles on it.

Last edited by IlyaFromTheBay; Sep 28, 2005 at 05:38 PM.
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 08:04 PM
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The only thing that is worrying me just a bit, is that the car's current owner bought it in May 2005, and is now selling it only 5 months later.

What kind of price should I offer on this car? It will be shipped here, so how does $22,500 including shipping sound?
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 08:13 PM
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This is the entry level Corvette, bare bones C5. Its a Fixed roof coupe, which means you can't remove the top...It looks completely stock.
the mileage is good for a 99 @ 6000 miles a year.
In 99 you could buy this car for under 40 grand. The car is more rare than a Coupe (removable top ). Ive seen many 99 coupes that look great with similar mileage bringing 25/27K. I think the price is about right and fair...I would not go by a Carfax as many are flawed.. we have seen cars with 35000 miles on the clock show much higher mileage under scrutiny. It would be good to see some records, inspection reports etc. Working at a dealer could be a good thing or a very bad thing. There are many many nice cars out there... the best advise I can give is do not get your heart set on any one car....Sometimes a car priced too low can cost you alot of money...I am not sure if I helped you any
Good Luck
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BTW I have a 99 coupe
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 09:19 PM
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KBB says $18,050 for a private party sale. If you really like the car offer him $19,000 and see what happens.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 02:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Johnny_B_Good
KBB says $18,050 for a private party sale. If you really like the car offer him $19,000 and see what happens.
He basically said that he will not go any lower than $22,900. While KBB works for some cars, I don't think that is a fair value for the car whatsoever, given what other cars like it are selling for. When I took the average between NADA Trade-In and Retail values, I got a price of $22,400. I will offer $22,000 and see what he says.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 03:20 AM
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IMO you may be able to do better. I get new listings from Ebay every day on 98-03 vettes and it seems the prices are coming down more now. Think you could get a nice 99-01 with maybe less miles if you watch ebay and autotrader. religously. Saw a cherry 01 Dark Bowling Green Metallic convert go on ebay above the reserve for $26,200 with 20K miles. Have to weed them out, takes time, but sometimes worth it. Depends on what you want but i think you may get some more goodies and maybe a better ride if you can find a 99-2000. Also think it's possible if your price range is $22K to 25K....have seen some good ones lately in that range. If it fits exactly what you want would offer him $19500, be prepared to walk or counter inbetween - but i like to deal......there are a lot of nice Vette's for sale out there. Book on my car 2K was over $32K - paid a little over $28 and i thought i got a good deal. That was less than 6 months ago and have already seen some that look like a little better deals. Good Luck, JMO

Last edited by NOWUCME; Sep 28, 2005 at 03:49 AM.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 04:00 AM
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i think you should offer him 19K i just picked up a 2000 frc about 2 months ago for 23K it also had about 30K worth of mods (motor, driveline and stero) .I feel that the vettes and all sport cars will be getting cheaper in the next month or so because summer is over .
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 04:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Evil-Twin
This is the entry level Corvette, bare bones C5. Its a Fixed roof coupe, which means you can't remove the top...It looks completely stock.
the mileage is good for a 99 @ 6000 miles a year.
In 99 you could buy this car for under 40 grand. The car is more rare than a Coupe (removable top ). Ive seen many 99 coupes that look great with similar mileage bringing 25/27K. I think the price is about right and fair...I would not go by a Carfax as many are flawed.. we have seen cars with 35000 miles on the clock show much higher mileage under scrutiny. It would be good to see some records, inspection reports etc. Working at a dealer could be a good thing or a very bad thing. There are many many nice cars out there... the best advise I can give is do not get your heart set on any one car....Sometimes a car priced too low can cost you alot of money...I am not sure if I helped you any
Good Luck
Bill aka ( et )
BTW I have a 99 coupe
Great looking Red Vette. Like the Seats and the wheels.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 06:53 AM
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He's a little high. If he won't go any lower, you may want to look some more. If you really want this one, be sure to check out the history well, especially the maintenance records. Good luck on your decision.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by jhong321
i think you should offer him 19K i just picked up a 2000 frc about 2 months ago for 23K it also had about 30K worth of mods (motor, driveline and stero) .I feel that the vettes and all sport cars will be getting cheaper in the next month or so because summer is over .
Do you really think he will sell the car for $4k under his asking price? He basically said that if he can't get what he's asking, he will just keep the car. I don't think there's a chance to get this price down...
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 03:46 PM
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Money talks......I would go in with a certified bank check for 19k and see what he says.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Big SShep
Money talks......I would go in with a certified bank check for 19k and see what he says.
I live 1800 miles away, so the only dealing I can do is over the phone.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 05:37 PM
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So what do you all think? If he doesn't come down on the price, it is a good buy? Here are 40 pics of it.. it looks pristine to me:

http://windycitymotorsports.ebizauto...ette/Hard-Top/

Please let me know what you think.. good or bad.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 06:46 PM
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Originally Posted by IlyaFromTheBay
I live 1800 miles away, so the only dealing I can do is over the phone.
although i'm sure you're excited about this car, don't be smitten with one & only one car. there are many cars out there. i'd suggest that you plug your zip code into kbb or autotrader & check out cars in your neck of the woods that you can see, feel, drive, touch, smell, & hear. making a decision from a distance of 1800 miles can be fraught with peril. good luck. bub
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 07:22 PM
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Originally Posted by ebubman
although i'm sure you're excited about this car, don't be smitten with one & only one car. there are many cars out there. i'd suggest that you plug your zip code into kbb or autotrader & check out cars in your neck of the woods that you can see, feel, drive, touch, smell, & hear. making a decision from a distance of 1800 miles can be fraught with peril. good luck. bub
I know what you mean.. believe me, I have been checking craigslist, autotrader, cars.com, etc. for more than a month and all the local cars around here are either 1) too expensive, 2) dirty carfax 3) wrong options/color combo, or 4) in bad condition. This FRC is the cleanest I have seen online so far, which is why I am excited. If I could look at some nice, clean, decently priced Vettes in my neck of the woods, I would have already done so.. but as it stands now, the best Vettes for my tastes are all outside of California.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 07:37 PM
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For example, here are the results from Autotrader for cars within 300 miles of me and up to $24,000. As you can see, it's pretty slim pickings.

http://autotrader.com/fyc/searchresu...&isp=y&lang=en
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 07:39 PM
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Does it have options such as HUD, dual climate? Personally I'd look around some more. $23k is a bit much for a '99. I just paid $23k for my '00 loaded with HUD, dual climate, original owner, pristine condition. I too looked for about a month and decided to find a car in state. I ended up flying down to L.A. and driving the car back the same day. Just remember you're going to have to pay shipping charges on top of the price of the car.

Also keep in mind that modified cars generally get beat on more than vehicles left stock. A new clutch with so few miles is a bit scary. Not trying to burst your bubble - I know how it is to want a car NOW but I think you could find something newer and in California for about the same amount. Good luck with your decision.

Edit: I forgot to mention that if you buy a car from out of state you will need to take it to a smog referee before you'll be able to register it in CA. The ref is going to be LOOKING for things to fail you on - just make sure that intake has a CARB number associated with it or he's not going to pass you.
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To Should I pull the trigger on this?

Old Sep 28, 2005 | 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by terlox
Does it have options such as HUD, dual climate? Personally I'd look around some more. $23k is a bit much for a '99. I just paid $23k for my '00 loaded with HUD, dual climate, original owner, pristine condition. I too looked for about a month and decided to find a car in state. I ended up flying down to L.A. and driving the car back the same day. Just remember you're going to have to pay shipping charges on top of the price of the car.

Also keep in mind that modified cars generally get beat on more than vehicles left stock. A new clutch with so few miles is a bit scary. Not trying to burst your bubble - I know how it is to want a car NOW but I think you could find something newer and in California for about the same amount. Good luck with your decision.

Edit: I forgot to mention that if you buy a car from out of state you will need to take it to a smog referee before you'll be able to register it in CA. The ref is going to be LOOKING for things to fail you on - just make sure that intake has a CARB number associated with it or he's not going to pass you.
Thanks.. you got a nice car for your money. If I could find something like that in CA, I would jump on it. But finding a loaded 2000 FRC with low miles for around $22k is almost impossible here in CA, which is why I am open to out of state purchasing. It's not that I want a car "now" - I sold my car on Friday and need to be in a car relatively soon, as I depend on one to get me to work/school/girlfriend on a daily basis.
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 08:04 PM
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$22000 is a good price for it, but not any more, car looks good in the pics. remember you are looking at pics.. Might be different
when you see it......

But what do I know..
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by LB04CE
$22000 is a good price for it, but not any more, car looks good in the pics. remember you are looking at pics.. Might be different
when you see it......

But what do I know..
It's being sold by a guy who works for a performance shop/dealer, so I don't think they would put up false advertisement on their website. Maybe someone near them could come and look at the car for me, or I could use Carchex.com.

Here is the entire list of all the 6-speed, 1999-2000, under $25,000 Vettes in the country according to Autotrader. I see maybe 5 cars that are potential buys, and only one is in CA.

http://autotrader.com/fyc/searchresu...first_record=1

Last edited by IlyaFromTheBay; Sep 28, 2005 at 08:12 PM.
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