Looking on Cargurus I notice that some of the low mileage corvettes have as many as 5 and 6 owners, my guess is, is to stay away from these as there has to be a reason for this. what are your thoughts about multiple owners?
Thanks Jack

 

I would be more concerned about condition and maintenance.

 

i would say it would be hard to put your finger on the reason why these cars had so many owners. Some people lose interest i guess if they are not real enthusiasts. The cars are old enough for multiple owners. Who knows for sure why.

 

It depends entirely on the condition of the car. I'm technically the 4th owner of my car. The first owner kept it in a garage for 5-6 years and only built up 8k miles. Usually stereotype, older fellow who wanted a garage queen. The second owner was similar to the first, but drove the car about 34k miles. The third owner, who I bought the car from, got it up to 104k miles as a daily for his commute over highway 17.

All three owners were gentle to a point of absurdity, but I'm not complaining! I got my car in pretty much perfect condition, with the amusing exception that for example the car still had its original factory brake pads and rotors. The previous owner sheepishly explained he mostly drove on the highway and used his transmission to control his speed primarily.

I don't think any of the previous owners drove the car over 100mph a single time, they babied it, waxed it, did regular maintenance and drove it gently, but consistently, after the first owner. So my engine and drivetrain are extremely well maintained, as is the car's exterior. The previous owners did zero mods and followed maintenance guidelines, which I have paperwork to verify.

This was the perfect car for me, because while it's in gorgeous shape, it's over 100k miles and there's no point not modding and driving it. It depends what you're after. I wanted a platform to make into a track/street crossover, and I'm extremely happy with the car. It's also worth noting that if you buy a car which has been sitting for a long time, you're going to have some engine issues to resolve in all likelihood, so very low mileage can be a double edged sword.

If you take care of it, a C5 will go north of 250-300k miles and sometimes much more before the engine dies. Only go for a low mileage car if you're actually going to try to flip it over the next couple years. Otherwise, find a vette in good shape, run it through all of the regular "buying a car" paces and if everything is up to snuff, the number of owners/mileage isn't actually that big of a concern (up to a point of course).

 

Condition is more important. Check Carfax and service records. You can figure out who put all the miles on and who kept it off the road. A lot of people don't hang on to cars very long. Doesn't mean they neglected or beat on it. Mine had 4 owners. The first one put the most miles on it. The rest seem to just use it on weekends and drove it very little. Also it had a service contract on it for it's whole life, so all scheduled mantainance and repairs were done by the dealership.

 

My car has had 7 previous owners. It was well maintained by all and has been perfect for me. Mike

 

It's a Corvette, not a woman!

Having several previous owners may not be the fault of the car - if it is, then you can take comfort in the fact that 5 or 6 others were duped in a similar fashion and you are not the only idiot suckered by a pretty face.

 

I'll agree with the others - the condition and how well the car has been maintained is, at least to me, more important than how many owners the car has had. While it is a point of interest why there were so many owners, it is probably something you will have a hard time finding out why.

 

I bought my car at 16k miles with 4 previous owners. Doesn't bother me one bit. You may miss some really nice cars with that type of thinking.

 

My 2000 had 4 or 5 previous owners, IIRC. Not unusual with a Corvette. The first owner had it for 7-8 years and the other owners 2-3 years each. Bought it from the most recent owner...a retired cop in his 60's. The owner before him was cop's best friend (another guy in his 60's who sold it to buy a Corvette convertible).

I figured they each sold it to upgrade to a newer or different Corvette. With a "run of the mill" car like a Accord, Camry, Malibu, etc, I would be concerned with 4-5 owners. With a Corvette, not so much. Corvette owners tend to be amongst the best owners out there, generally speaking. Typically very concerned with proper maintenance and keeping the car running well. That's why you see so many "Corvette Shops" out there and you'll never see a "Accord Shop" or "Malibu Shop" etc.

Have it inspected by a mechanic familiar with Corvettes. As long as they say it's ok, you're good to go regardless of number of previous owners. I'd change the fluids if you can't verify history, but other than that...you shouldn't have problems. I had 3 mechanics check mine (I'm pretty **** about used cars) and all of them said its running perfectly. So it's a moot point.

 

Some of the previous owners may be dealers. That was the case with my '03. Two of the four previous owners were dealers and very few miles were put on it during the time it was in their possession.

 

In January of 2007 I purchased my '97 (#502). I was the fourth owner. The car had 40K on it. After looking closely at the condition of the car, the number of previous owners wasn't a concern to me.

I've only put another 20K miles on the car in its second 10 years. No major problems to speak of.

Strangely, people still say "Gee, it must be nice!", or "Did you win the lottery?", or "Did you start dealing drugs?" All that fuss over a $10K car.

 

Both of my 03's had 4-5 previous owners.
Both were exceptionally well taken care of.
Car guys with the manta "so many beautiful cars, too little time."

 

I agree with others that it's about condition...but also note that carfax can double-count owners.

In my case, carfax said it had 7 owners. That seemed excessive and when I mentioned it to the seller, he said he's the 3rd and he had old registrations going back to when the car was with its first owner.

Looking closely at the carfax, here's what happened:

Owner 1: First owner lease vehicle
Owner 2: First owner buys lease with loan
Owner 3: First owner pays off loan
Owner 4: First sells to Second with loan
Owner 5: Second owner pays off loan
Owner 6: Second sells to third with loan
Owner 7: Third pays off loan

I was able to trace this because carfax reports the city it was registered. The city didn't change for each time "a new title was issued" aka loan paid off.

TBH, the only value of a carfax is to check for crashes/title history. And even then, it's not perfect. Your eyes and intuition are worth more than the Carfax, IMO. If a car looks clean, drives well, and has maintenance history, it's probably a solid buy.

 

I'm the third owner, I've had it since 2011. Car had 4k mi. now has 7k.

 

Owner #4 here. 18k miles when I bought a 10-year old '04; 48k miles now. No problems at all.

 

Owner #4 here as well.

Bought the car with 8,140 miles.

Owner #1 - 1 year - 3,000 miles
Owner #2 - 3 years - 2,000 miles
Owner #3 - 7 years - 3,000 miles

I appreciate the meticulous nature of the previous owners. If I ever sell it, the 5th owner will be just as lucky.

 

[QUOTE=Choreo;1594334480]It's a Corvette, not a woman!

That's funny and true.

 

Looking at these mileage numbers, a lot of the forum cars are garage queens.

 

This was discussed in a really good article back in 2005 where a major Corvette re-seller answered a good ownership FAQ.

Corvettes often go through many owners when they are new. You have to understand the situational aspect of the car. It's often a "second" or "third" car, at a higher price point than what most can afford, and rather limited in usage. What often happens is say people buy them new, then find they can't afford the payments, need more than two seats, upgrade to the newest model (happens especially with Corvettes, as they gradually upgrade within generations), etc, etc. So they get traded in. The cycle often repeats, sometimes with one or two owners but sometimes even further.

Knowing this situational aspect, my biggest thing would be service. If the service is up to date and documented then multiple ownership would not turn me away from a car.