Should I buy?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 43
Likes: 3
Should I buy?
I am ready to buy my first Corvette. I have found a local seller with a 2003 with 46000 miles. Automatic. It is perfect in every way. Well cared for. Price is $19,000. I know the blue book is lower. Is that a good gauge to go by?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,503
Likes: 33
From: McGrady NC
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
I've found the Blue Book to be optimistic. Great for sellers and not so much for buyers. Check Edmunds or the Black Book. Then try to negotiate a better price. Local market prices vary but that is a little high for the area I live in.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,936
Likes: 13
From: Redding California
Is it a coupe, or convertible?
If a coupe does it have both roof panels?
What color is it?
Which rear axle ratio?
What wheels does it have?
There needs to be more information for a price assessment.
.
If a coupe does it have both roof panels?
What color is it?
Which rear axle ratio?
What wheels does it have?
There needs to be more information for a price assessment.
.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 43
Likes: 3
It is a coup,there is one top, car is blue, aftermarket wheels but it comes with originals too, don't know about the axle, he took the car to shows so the he has dresses up the engine with colored hoses, wire covers ect.
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,536
Likes: 24,827
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
I would check with NADA and get an idea on the price - and depending on what wheels are on the car, add a little for that upgrade (especially if they are a higher end wheel). If they are reproduction wheels, no adjust the needed.
I'd say the price is a bit high, but not outrageously so. If the car is the color you want, has the options you want and checked out after an inspection by a qualified mechanic, then see if you can get a better price. Remember to check the tread depth and age of the tires as they may need replacing and that would be an added expense to you.
I'd say the price is a bit high, but not outrageously so. If the car is the color you want, has the options you want and checked out after an inspection by a qualified mechanic, then see if you can get a better price. Remember to check the tread depth and age of the tires as they may need replacing and that would be an added expense to you.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,296
Likes: 368
From: Iowa
I would check with NADA and get an idea on the price - and depending on what wheels are on the car, add a little for that upgrade (especially if they are a higher end wheel). If they are reproduction wheels, no adjust the needed.
I'd say the price is a bit high, but not outrageously so. If the car is the color you want, has the options you want and checked out after an inspection by a qualified mechanic, then see if you can get a better price. Remember to check the tread depth and age of the tires as they may need replacing and that would be an added expense to you.
I'd say the price is a bit high, but not outrageously so. If the car is the color you want, has the options you want and checked out after an inspection by a qualified mechanic, then see if you can get a better price. Remember to check the tread depth and age of the tires as they may need replacing and that would be an added expense to you.
Use NADA as your guide. Find out when the fluids were changed, check how old the tires are (google it as codes could differ by manufacture), car fax, etc. All of those items will need to be addressed if they haven't been done recently. Either negotiate a lower price or have them change/replace those items. NADA is usually more accurate with their prices and that is what banks use when they calculate how much they'll give you for a loan.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 6,644
Likes: 481
From: OK
Read this carefully (the LINK) , do your homework on other pricing... ebay, craigslist, vettefinders...etc
Then you decide
Good luck
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ion-files.html
Then you decide
Good luck
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ion-files.html
Last edited by 73Corvette; Sep 11, 2015 at 12:58 PM.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
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
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,936
Likes: 13
From: Redding California
Nice color.
Hopefully it has the body colored roof (tinted one can be sourced later if you really want one)
Because of the aftermarket wheels, I am assuming newer tires, and the original wheels are a bonus.
You can check the axle ratio on the RPO code sticker on the glovebox lid, if it just says GU2 it has the standard 2:73 axle, if it says GU2:G92, it has the 3:15 performance axle.
If it is the color you like, and a Carfax checks out, I don't think it is overpriced at $19K, but I would wave $17.5K in his face and negotiate from there.
.
Check it's code history first, and then start your negotiations based on owners word versus the cars own words !! 
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,754
Likes: 167
From: Youngsville North Carolina
Sounds like it was a show car - original owner?
Probably not driven hard, he's a little high most likely because he's trying to re-coup the mods he did - those colored hoses, if silicone, would be about $300+....
What other engine dress up bits? -any chrome or stainless covers? Those bad boys can run some coin too...
Like "73" said, do your homework on pricing in your area or an area your willing to travel (me - NC to NJ for mine), then if I were you I'd look again and try to see what those mods cost then determine how much of the mods uplift your willing to pay....and negotiate from there....could always pull the "show" mods after purchase and sell them here
Good Luck
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 146
Likes: 30
From: Perry OH
If you like it- buy it.
I bought a 2004 coupe one year ago, from a a dealer (although it WAS a Cadillac dealer, looking at a 10-year old Corvette on his lot as the snow was about to fly). Paid $ 17,500 plus tax.
It had a worn through seat cover on the driver's side, and the dealer agreed to pay for the driver's seat re-upholstery as part of the deal. Turns out the upholsterer told the dealer that, since the seats would no longer match, we should do both seats- so the dealer paid half and I paid half- new seats in original-looking leather.
It had some issues- the HVAC control unit readout problem, needed new tires, and pulsating brakes.
I feel I got a fair deal, and LOVE the car. My pic shows its condition. I have never looked back.
If you like it, buy it. Sure try to make the price better, but you might regret it if you press too hard for too long... then he gets another buyer.
It had a worn through seat cover on the driver's side, and the dealer agreed to pay for the driver's seat re-upholstery as part of the deal. Turns out the upholsterer told the dealer that, since the seats would no longer match, we should do both seats- so the dealer paid half and I paid half- new seats in original-looking leather.
It had some issues- the HVAC control unit readout problem, needed new tires, and pulsating brakes.
I feel I got a fair deal, and LOVE the car. My pic shows its condition. I have never looked back.
If you like it, buy it. Sure try to make the price better, but you might regret it if you press too hard for too long... then he gets another buyer.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,509
Likes: 946
From: Western New York
You don't give your location . If your up north more or car is, You might want to start out low . Owner now might not want to deal with storage or cost of storing if not kept at home. When I bought my 04 there was a good price drop of my car from Aug/Sept to when I bought car in mid Oct. I followed my car for a while original price was out of my range at first. Mine was at a dealer .They didn't want to have car in there inventory all winter.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 43
Likes: 3
I'm in the St. Louis area. There was an 04 with 14k on it that just sold here off of craigslist for 20,000. Not bad. I was too late on that one. The one I really like is the 03 and the guy is not returning my calls or emails today. Hope he is just busy or I waited one day too long.