johnsos30

Very simple question, I see a lot of cars for sale at reasonable prices, but nothings moving in the C5 for sale section. What's going on? To early in the year? Price too high? Cars too old? Too many mods? There are some pretty nice cars that are still lingering around. Just curious what's going on.

gimp

Price is too high. I'm in the market, but I'm not seeing what I want.

S.C. vette

The prices for C5s bottomed out two years ago, retail pricing has begun moving upwards. Current ratios of supply and demand favor the seller right now. As with all sports cars, the more mods or the more personalized the mods are the slower they are to move.

Studying4boards

Toys always move slower

tmirisola

I've been searching for a second Vette since last fall. I was hard stuck on low mileage and the right price. I am a stickler for OE. 3/4 of the Vettes I looked at had plenty of Mod's or were beat in to the ground. It's not too hard to figure out the car has been beat when the rear tires were ready for replacement and the front's looked brand new.

Seems to me a lot of young people own Vettes and treated them like their Dodge Truck 4 x 4. Gorgeous Vette's Left outside all winter in New England with no covers in the back of their parents driveway. One owner said to me, this car was taken care of all winter. I would start it once a week to keep the battery charged. OMG. But, on the other hand, some of the nice cars are soooo over priced they end up a bad investment from the start.

It's a slow tedious job to find the right car for you. Patience is a great virtue.

mike48750

I agree with this 100%. I just sold my Street Glide that had a lot of personalized modifications as well as special paint. In order to sell it I had to take a whole lot less than I thought. It's gone now snd I am still licking my wounds. Mike

Shakeydeal

Most people are pretty proud of their cars. More so than the buying public.

Also mods don't bring a very good return on the money spent. Some people think they should get most of that money back, when in reality, they get very little of it back.

My vote is "unrealistic prices".

Shakey

Shakeydeal

I hear ya brother. I had a a SG that was a show bike with many thousands of dollars in upgrades, including a built motor. I took a natural born *** whipping when I sold it. Hurts don't it?

Shakey

Vetteman Jack

Mods may hurt the sale a bit depending on what was done as can higher mileage cars unless they are reasonably priced. I think C5 prices are on the rise a bit but many here feel they still have a ways to go before bottoming out. Many want a pristine care or one with moderate mileage on it for a much lower price than a seller is willing to take. Just the way it is sometimes when you try to sell a pleasure vehicle.

zdeckich

I don't think most of the cars are over priced, most people are just offering ridiculous low prices for them. I had a guy the other day offer me $15k for my car if i ever decided to sell it (was at a car show). I just ignored him and walked away. 02, 64k miles in great shape (or so i think so) with some mods

Black 02

I would have ignored him too. Lowballers are annoying enough when you have something for sale, even more so when it's random

RC000E

I think the issue on the C5Z side is, there is just nothing to rival it until you exceed 25k...if you sell at 15k...what do you buy...talk about lose for the seller and win for the buyer..lol. The C5Z's are holding strong in their place of value for that reason. Now we see C6Z's starting to crunch in right behind them also, as the LS7 failures have devalued them a couple grand (unless there is documented head attention). The used performance Corvette market is solid, so then you have these guys with verts and coupes...some with low miles wanting 20k and it's just a no sell proposition. Too many options at 20k to buy a base model. So, on that end, I see a lot of over priced cars. The C5 market is about the C5Z right now...that's it.

zdeck...sorry I haven't returned the pm's, been getting sidetracked with many things. The kit is long gone...sold for 4200.

zdeckich

I agree 100%.

Mo worries I get that. 4200 is not bad at all. Im following your new build right now lol. Those front fender flares look amazing.

RC000E

Interestingly, over the years, I've had a huge number of cars. A cars lifespan in my ownership generally lasts a year or less. The C5Z has outlived every car I've owned, and that's includes prancing horses all the way down to Honda's. I have found though, even still, I've had to keep reinventing or renewing the car to maintain excitement. I'm hoping this rendition will breathe a bit of life into it for me. I have to admit, even though I have massive...massive love for the C5Z, the C7 Grand Sport is on my radar I think. We'll see.

That, or I'm strongly considering a 996 Carrera 2, doing a 997 front end conversion, mild wild body/aero and doing a built LS1/6 in it. That's still a money build though, and though I've never had a car payment in my life, I'm considering it. Who knows.

Black 02

996 with a LSX conversion sounds like a dream. You can pick up rollers for 5-10k or buy a complete running car and just sell the flat six for decent money. I wish I had the time to build one, seems like a fun "best of both worlds" project. I personally would keep the 996 front end though, they never seem to look right with the 997 nose grafted onto the car. The 996 also feels and drives amazing. Would be interesting to see one done RWB style.

Here is some inspiration

RC000E

Well, as discussed in the other thread...I don't ask, I just do...lol. I'm not a fan of the 996 headlights..I just can't handle them. I'd, at minimum, have to do the turbo headlights, and at that expense, you might as well go the distance and just redo the entire thing. The car would be hated in the general Porsche world, which is a world of hype and followers, mixed with supposed life long purists, etc.

From my perspective, I had a 993 C4S while I also owned my C5Z...and thus the brain contamination occurred. I loved how the C4S felt, drove, turned...the chassis stiffness, etc. What I didn't like was the flat 6 VERSUS the LS6 in my C5Z. The C4S was a great car, one that I could've been content and happy with but, I just liked the Corvette better. Hence why the C5Z survived in my ownership and the C4S didn't.

I don't follow hype, I just do what I want. Seems to me, a little Corvette/Porsche hybrid adds up to a timeless design, with great drivetrain, very short nose with great visibility (corvette doesn't have), and great aftermarket. Plus, the anti-crowd of the 996 is only going to last so long, before hype consumes those cars. Thank god for bad IMS bearings to keep them at bay! Frankly, you put an LS6 through the right exhaust, it can sound very Porsche.

Luckily I've built a number of cars mating LSx's to Porsche transaxles...even exploded one to smithereens so...I am comfy in that realm. It's really testing me...I just love my Corvettes.

CriticalmassGT

Used cars were selling at a premium during the recession when dealerships had to offer deep, deep discounts to move new car inventory.

That's not the case anymore, but used car prices are still high, so sales have slowed. Buying a 15 year old car for 20k is an "ouch" moment. When the buyer has to decide how much extra $$$ they are going to have to pour into that 15 year old car over the next couple of years to make it reliable.

Emotional attachment by the seller also plays a huge role. Modified cars, if anything, will usually lower the price of the car, because you never know what you'll end up with. Was it done right? or was it done half-assed?

This isn't just for Corvette owners either. It's for anyone with a car that they are emotionally attached to. Honestly, it's better just to keep it rather than sell it IMO. Because cars in this range still have a long way to go before they become desirable.

IMHO, The C6 is actually a helper, because it's not a particularly attractive Corvette. The C5 IS going to be a classic at some point and the values will skyrocket. But we're not there yet.

Some of the prices run about half what a base C7 goes for though. HALF for a 11-15 year old vehicle. That's a bit much when you consider the years. Low Mileage also doesn't mean as much as it used to. Low mileage can mean bad gaskets, seals, rotten rubber. etc. Cars are meant to be driven. vehicles that are driven keep those seals and gaskets lubed. Then again, if it's got TOO many miles on it, you wonder about when the engine will need a rebuild, the tranny, the clutch, etc.

Literally the ONLY thing that dates the C5 is the front fascia, and possibly the pop-up headlights (though as a personal preference, I like the pop-up headlights).

I'd pay for a stock C5 that was clean, had enough mileage on it to know it was driven. know it was taken care of with maintenance records, no leaks, and had any issues taken care of. But as a buyer, you just never know the life that the car lived. But I wouldn't pay 20-25k for it when my Uncle but his 2004 C5 over 7 years ago for 26k.

I'd be more willing to spend 18-20k for a C3 for that kind of money. Because that IS a classic and the prices are only going to continue to go up for those.

Hell, in 1984 I could have had the '69 Mach 1 I wanted with the 351 Cleveland for 6k. Now a restored version goes for upwards of 50-60k.

Also, buyers are becoming more educated. If they're going to buy a used car that old, many would almost rather have as FEW electronics in the car as possible. Electrical issues are a notorious pain in the *** to track down. Fixing is usually easy, yes. But if they're not an electrician, that means paying a mechanic a lot of money to find the issues and fix them.

My father and I had to rewire his 1946 ford pickup from the ground up, and we had to do the WHOLE truck because it was starting to have too many electrical issues. It wasn't fun. Now imagine a 15 year old 'vette loaded with all the electronics available at the time, not including the on board computers which are becoming hard to find. And on his truck at least, there were no schematics. Over the years he had to add new gauges. He'd had a 351 Cleveland and transmission transplanted into it, etc.

Robert Perkins

Here is what I am seeing the prices of the C5,s are staying toward the high side for a good well taken care of car. The age of the car requires the buyer to pay cash for it. The buyers have 10-12K available but you are not going to find a nice C5 for that money so the sellers are getting low ball offers. Look back at history the same happened with the C4's, history repeats its self. If you have a nice C5 why sell it you will not get anything better for the money you get unless you are going to finance a newer C6 or C7.

RC000E

There...fixed that...

Black 02