Man, prices are all over the place. There are some C5 vettes still at high $30s and the same car with maybe 10K more at almost $10K cheaper.

Only pattern seems to be some sellers are asking dealer money and other what they would expect as a trade

Some great bargains around and also some real dreamers hoping to get back what they paid for the car or what they have in mods.

I suppose they could find a buyer if they wait long enough.

So what do you do.. Market price and sell quick or hang out for months hoping that "Magic" buyer will come along, you know, the one with rose tinted glasses who MUST have that vette and has no idea of market prices.

 

HAHA i was thinking that....cuz im in the market

 

I am not really sure what I would try to sell my Z for if I was going to get fid of it. (I am not getting rid of it!!)

The previous owner had my car listed at $32000!!! Which was over my limit, so I passed it up without looking into it. Then the next time I saw the add it was down to $27500!!! I almost jumped up out of my seat!!! I called my wife and told her that I found the Corvette for me!!! It was perfect fo me!!!

I priced my 78 vette at market. I wanted $8000 for it, I posted it up for $10000. That way if someone wanted it they could talk me down to $8000... I got the $8000!!!!

 

I think it depends a lot on "intent" with Corvettes.

Some people buy them knowing that they will probably drive the crap out of them and/or turn them in 1-3 years or so - these people are concerned with "market" value because they will be selling them soon.

On the other hand there are a lot of prospective Corvette owners (especially with C5s it seems) who plan to "keep" the car for a long time or "forever" - for these people (like me) market value is not that important. If I were buying another C5 today and it were selling near market value, I would assume it had been driven pretty hard and was maintained in an average manner (that is what "book" values are based on - average). That type of vehicle would be of no interest to people like me. If I could find the right car that was in close to perfect condition that would certainly be worth a few extra thousand to me.

 

No kidding.

I see C5's as high as $44,995 and C6's as low as $32,999 on AutoTrader right now.

Now I really have to ask, does someone think they're going to get almost $45K for a C5 when a buyer can save over $10K and get the next generation?

 

Price it reasonably and it will sell. Otherwise, just have to hope that one person comes along that doesn't mind paying more money for a car.

 

Reason: Most people don't have to sell, they are just testing the waters and will buy something newer if they can get a dream price. You can tell the sellers who are really interested in moving a car vs. a "let's see if anyone bites" person. With Corvettes it's my opinion the majority of sellers fall into the later category.

There are some good deals out there but it does take some serious searching. (I got a good deal on my 9800 mile all options car)

 

Very well said! That's why I didn't mind paying just a little extra for my car. I could tell it was taken extremely good care of, and I plan on keeping it for a very long time. And if/when I go to sell it, it will be priced just a little above what the average C5 is going for.

 

I just got an 04 Z with 70k on her for 26k. I think thats a decent price.

 

I just did a quick comparison of some of the more popular "used car value" sites and came up with a wide variation.
I used a '01 Coupe MN6 as my test vehicle with z51 and sport seats when it asked and 50000 miles.

KBB $20,745-$23,685 Private party value w/my zip code
NADA $21,775-$25,025

The last place that I used for info was Manheim.This is the site that car dealers use along with the Black Book to determine the values of their cars. Manheim is the actual results of the auctions and the results were just as varied.
They ranged from a low of $15,900 with 97000 miles to a high of $22,500 with 18000 miles.
So the prices are all over the place but seem to be dictated mainly by miles.

 

I'll sell you my 04 CE for $40K, that way you'll know it has been taken REALLY good care of! Just Kidding.

 

Welcome to the world of Corvette buying and selling. I can tell you from experience that the Corvette market has been this way for the last 30+ years.

Back in the early 1970’s when I was looking for my first Corvette (which I still own) I was introduced to a bank loan officer who was familiar with making loans on Corvettes. Back then if you didn’t seek out a loan officer that knew the Corvette market you would have a hard time securing reasonable financing. Back then the banking personal in general didn’t understand that the Corvette was special and that well kept Corvettes held onto a large percentage of their value over the years.

To the point: The first thing the loan officer did was pickup his NADA book, showed me what is was, and then literally threw it into the wastebasket.
He said on Corvettes this book is basically useless.

To reinforce this lesson over the years, I have experienced that in general, junk Corvettes bring too much money AND that well kept pampered Corvettes sell for less than they are actually worth.

 

if you are shopping for a C5 right now it is a buyers market, I have seen some very good deals on them.

If you are selling it is hard since the season is coming to an end for the northern states. This has driven down prices on C5, just check Ebay..

I sold my C5 two months ago, and I was happy with what I got for it..

Would like anotgher Vette, but that will be a few years..

 

The problem with some sellers of any special interest cars is they think that someone will give them the amount of money they have in it and make them whole which generally speaking is not going to be the case.

 

The problem with the forum is people get all worked up about prices. If I see a car that is higher than I am willing to pay I just move on. I don't get mad at the person for trying, but there is a lot of discussion geared towards being mad at people who won't pay the prices. Just drive your cars and be happy people!! If it doesn't sell you either aren't marketing it hard enough or the price is too high or you should wait it out.

 

I've seen low milage '04 Coupes selling (and getting) in the high $30's. Being a dealer, it seems the prices on the C5's are actually moving back up a bit. And it also depends on the area and season....bottom line is if you find the car you really want and it's a good price....buy it. If the price seems too high......then move on.

 

Vette prices depend on several factors. I think Year, Mileage, Model, and geography are the most important. I'm in Southern California and Vette prices here seem pretty low as compared as to the rest of the country. Probably because we have more Vettes and higher gas prices than everybody else. I have not seen a single C5 in the 40's as suggested in another post.....I may have read wrong. Anyway, IMHO I don't think that anybody would pay 30k for anything but a newer low mileage Z06 out here. In general I think prices for a newer low mileage C5 are hovering in the mid 20k range. I'm no expert but I buy and sell a lot of cars. I'm sure that people in my area advertise all sorts of crazy prices but I know what they actually go for. I have seen high mileage [100+k] mid-year C5's sell for between 13-14k. I bought my 97 with 60k on it for $15,400 and I probably could have got it a little cheaper if I really wanted to grind the guy. If you are a little daring and don't mind buying a car with out seeing it Ca, Tx, and Florida (maybe Az too) would probably be the best places to look.

Just my $.02.

 

I know it sounds crazy (and maybe it is), but if I had that much discretionary money and was in the market for another Corvette, I would much rather have a new C5 than a new C6. So... if I found a virtually new C5 with a few thousand miles on it and knew the owner to be honest, responsible, etc., I would be far more apt to pay $40,000 for a car like that than a used C6. For just a few thousand more I could order a new C6 (like anybody), but finding a new (like new) C5 is becoming harder everyday. Knowing MY car as I do, I would probably pay around $36,000 for it right now myself (and I would not sell it for $40k today).

I know I am in the minority the way I view things, but I have always been able to sell nearly everything I buy (high ticket items) for way more than "average" market value because of the way I maintain and market them. I have always been told that "Sure, if you find that ONE person that is in the market..." and I always say "I can only sell it ONCE, so I only need ONE fool like me"... and I have always found "one".

If you have to sell, and sell fast, or broadcast that an item is For Sale then you will usually take a beating. If I "advertised" my car For Sale right now I might get $26k, but I have now had three legitimate offers over 30k in the last few months - it's just not for sale.

GM could really help keep the resale value of these cars high if they continued to offer GMPP on low mileage vehicles after their current extended limits, but once these C5s are no longer covered by GMPP there is a potentially huge liability in owning one.

 

I like the C5 styling a lot, I just picked up my 04 with 9800 miles, 1SC, 3.15 axle, Z-51, 12 disc changer and it is a Commemorative Edition 6 weeks ago.

The interior was pretty dirty when I got it but the rest of the car was maintained well, a couple hours of cleaning and it looks new again!! Even with GMPP, taxes and some maintenance items I'm still in the low 30's. I could have gone for a higher mileage used C6 but I'd rather have the nicer C5 too.

 

ttt