Just a comment in general!

I have posted my Vette in both sections C5 and C6 as a WTT. It is both frustrating and time comsuming when you put as much info in the post regarding the terms of sale but no one pays attention. Pricing is the biggest complaint. My post is using KBB as a guide only to level the playing field. Discussions can proceed from this base point.

As an example, my car at KBB Private Party is $39,010, I get a PM from a guy with an 02 and He wants an even trade. His car has low miles but the tires are original and guys that, is 8 year old tires period! KBB priced the 02 Vert at $18,000 and retail at $23,300.

One member suggested using Edmonds as a guide because they include more options than KBB. This works for both cars! I looked at NADA and they are the worst for including options and we all know that a 3LT is more desireable than a 1LT and it should bring a higher price.

Anyone have a better method?

 

You'll always get responses to your ad that are absolutely in what they want. Just ignore them an move on. The resources you list are generally good for getting an idea what the car may be worth. What I have done is just list the price for what I think it may be worth and go from there - adjustment may be needed depending on how fast you want to sell the car or what trade someone may offer.

 

IMO in today's economy KBB, NADA, Edmunds Private Party, Retail & Trade values are really only a guideline. Buyers and Sellers, Private or Dealers are always going to try to get your vehicle at the lowest possible price regardless of 'Blue Book' values.

Here's an example...I just purchased a 99 Conv. for $15k, it has 88k on in and it's in great shape. Depending on which 'Book' value I looked at it's valued upward to $18-20K, but for me I could only justify spending $15k...BTW, the Seller was asking $17k.

I think the bottom line is whatever you are trying to sell whether a car, truck or anything else, for that matter, is only worth as much as a Buyer is willing to pay for it.

 

Ah this is so true! Just look at the Housing market!

My biggest asset is that I do not "have to sell". As I said in my post, I am not really trying to sell the car, I want to trade for a C5. When I had my last C5, a 2001 Convertible I thought that I had to have a C6 and if I got a C6 it had to be at least an 08 because of the horse power. I traded, got my 08, and now realized that I do not need the horse power and that I feel more comfortable in the C5.

By the way, I do like the Edmond's system better. I just ran my cars options through it and came up with "Private Party" $39,214 which is very close to KBB but it lists what each option is worth. It also did not pick up the Z51 package or the NPP which combined are over $3000 in options!

 

Sounds like a nice deal to me. As you say it is below the KBB and I did a search in the Auto Trader for '08's and found they were running an an average of $39,500. In fact there was a Victory Red with 6,900 mile an LT3 package private seller asking $39,900. Of course we all know that it will most probably sell for a little less.

Maybe the reason you are getting the replies is because you are the second owner of a 2 year old car. you sold your '01 so you could buy it and now you want to sell it or trade down to a C5. A lot of people might get the idea you need to get out from under the payments, so they will try and steal it if they can.

Good luck and I hope you get what you want.

 

I'm in the same boat. I posted my 2001 C5 coupe for $13,000 on Kansas City Craigslist and one guy offered me $9500... another offered $10,000... haha I reposted it for 12k firm now and reiterated "I do not have to sell this" I'm just doing it so I can pay off our SUV....sigh Though mine has 122k its still beautiful!

 

first you need to realize there are always going to be "tire kickers" and some folks just seem to enjoy wasting both their time and that of others with ridiculous information and offers, etc. those people (as ably noted above somewhere) you just need to ignore and not let them get to you. if you are bored and have nothing to do, you can respond, otherwise just forget them.

when it is all said and done, you know what you feel your car is worth (in your case you were diligent and used one of the more popular evaluation sites as a guideline). unfortunately selling (or trading) something like a car or a boat or a motorcycle takes finding the right person who is on the same general wave length as you are, understands the market and recognizes that the seller is a reasonable individual to deal with. unfortunately in my opinion, you have to kiss a lot of frogs until you find the princess you are looking for.

good luck with your venture.

 

I have mine on Autotrader for $38,900 and it has 5,900 miles on it. Mine is paid for so payments are not a problem. From what everyone says, my price is not out of the ballpark. The car is like new and runs great so I can afford to wait. And enjoy it at the same time.

 

Your system seems fair, using KBB or any measuring tool to get the variance price between 2 vehicles. If KBB retail is $40k on your C6 and $25k on a C5, the variance is $15k. and should stay that way even if KBB, Edmunds etc. are a 'too high' (if it's high on yours, it's high on the C5 but the $15k spread would remain.

Haven't seen your add, but you should specify in more detail what you want and the $ you want to go along with your car.

ex: want 2004 Z06 w/ less than 40k miles. $15k plus your car gets mine.

It may weed out all the speculation

 

You get the POINT! If we both use the same pricing method, regardless, it applies to both cars!

I think that I have made it clear what I am interested in. I have a couple of models that peak my interest. I am open to a nice 02-04 Z06 or C5 convertible. I understand that my car is mod'ed but that has no bearing on the price method that I am using. I am looking for someone that like me wanted something different and now is looking for something else!

My last inquiry was a trade for a 04 Z06 with low miles. I offered the inquiry a trade, His car plus 10K. Before replying, He made the inquiry knowing my terms. Without going into details, this was not acceptable. That is OK but the Z06 owner is the one that responded. As you say, I can always pick and choose or something like that!

Thanks for your interest!

 

Just a footnote to the whole pricing issue.

Back in a time I would like to forget, I was a car salesman for a GM Dealer. In that day not so awful long ago, when we had a customer with a trade, the first thing that we did was have the Used Car Manager appraise the trade. He would drive it kick the tires etc and then pull out the latest edition of the "Black Book" to price the car. The "Black Book" is a compilation of all the area auctions. A friend gave me a copy when I was shopping for my current Vette. My copy states that it's data is comprised of the auction results at 12 Auction sites in my area. Manheim is just one of the Auctions.

My book is dated November 2, 2009 and since they are updated weekly, I know that some prices have changed and not all went down! Below are some examples that I found interesting that are based on the cars that I am interested in.

2008 Coupe 35,950 miles +400 Total trade 36,350

2004 Z06 22,650 miles +600 Total trade 23,250

2004 Verte 24,500 miles +600 Total trade 25,500

2003 Z06 20,600 miles +775 Total trade 21,375

2003 Verte 22,500 miles +775 Total trade 23,275

The reason I think that this is interesting, is that I made an offer to trade my 08 for a low miles 04 Z06. I offered $10,000 and His car for mine which He thought was ridiculous. The truth of the matter was that I offered too much! Based on the Auction numbers, my car was worth $13,100 more than His. He missed a good deal!

By the way, all of these figures are for X-CLN in the book. I never saw this figure offered on a trade unless the customer was walking away. The used car manager always leaves a little wiggle room!

Still have my 08 for sale or trade! This Used Car Guide may work better than KBB or Edmonds?

 

another thing that might be hurting you, as a second owner of a 2 year old car, that would scare me off. i would wonder why 2 people have bought and sold (or tired to sell) the car in such a short time. add some mods that the buyer doesn't know if they were installed and tuned correctly or not and you have doubt. maybe not fair, but in today's market the buyer has a lot of control. you seem to have a fair price, but you're not the only one with that price. i don't mean to 'bash' your sale or anything, just something else to think about.

 

The story goes as this! I had been driving C5's since 1998. I turned 71 this year and decided that I wanted to have a C6. I found this C6 on the Forum in early December. I contacted the owner with a offer to trade my 01 Convertible for His C6. He did not want a trade and was selling the car because He had two young daughters and the car was not practical. Cadillac had a promotion in December and He then traded the car in on a Escalade.

I found out where He traded, called and made a offer to trade on December 31st. The Dealer called me back with an OK to the trade and I drove my 01 to Lexington Ky on New Years day and picked up the 08. They opened the Dealership just for my deal!

I got the car home to Nashville and in a few days winter set in so the car just sat in the garage. After the weather broke and I got to drive the car, I discovered that I loved the car but did not like the CAM. The next problem was that my wife would not drive it because of the power.

I then checked on having the CAM removed "which may still happen" and decided that it would be a shame to do it so I decided to try and sell the car to someone that could appreciate it. I also decided that I could live with another C5 if I found one that I like!

This is a really nice car and the fact that it has had two owners should not be a problem. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the car other than it has the wrong owner! The car is still under Warranty other than the drivetrain. The original owner had the car a year and a half after modifying it with no problems. He did the MOD's for show and cruising around.

As for the MOD's, they were done professionally by Vengeance Racing located in Cummings Ga. on 6-19-2008. I had the car dyno tested here in Nashville in March and the performance shop commented on the quality of the work and the power that the car put out!

This is a car for a younger man that wants to have a fun car to drive. Andrew bought it, I bought it, and someone else will as well!

 

i wish you good luck in your sale. i didn't want to come across as trying to put your sale down in any way. i was in the market for an 08 for about a year looking for the 'right one' when i stumbled on the 04 that i bought 2 weeks ago. i wasn't really that interested in a C5, but i got a really good deal. and let's be honest, you can't go wrong with any generation Corvette! i just wanted to give you a different way to understand where some people are coming from. of course you're going to get the crazy low-ballers and just ignore them. i'm just saying if i say 2 08s, one with one owner and one with 2 owners. one modified one not. if they were priced almost the same, i would go with the one owner non-modified. that's probably not fair, i'm just saying what i would feel more comfortable with. i would say hold out and you'll get your price. good luck with the sale and i hope i didn't come across as 'bashing' your sale or price.

 

Not a problem! I looked for a long time before buying this car and I can wait for the right opportunity to come along. My wife thinks that I am nuts as this is Corvette number 12! Of course when I think about it, I bought my first one new in 1965, a base 66 Convertible cost $4,000. Good things come to those that wait!

Enjoy your C5 , I have had 3 of them!

 

You better get real about a vette's value it drops every month.
Do more research by the time you read the value in a trade book
your car has devalued even more. It's lousy but what can you do
the ecnomy is in the tank and your worry is selling a vette where as
millions are looking for a job. Good luck.

 

Worry? What me worry? My car is paid for and I am retired. If you are not retired and not working, I am truely sorry! But on one point you are wrong!

After the winter there was a increase in Vette values as there has always been. The big factor here is that I am looking to trade! If my car has dropped in value, so has the car I will trade for! It all balances out in the long run.

PEACE!