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yup. they are getting cheap, our cars arent work s&*% lol...makes me think I should stop dumping money into mine and sell it now and upgrade to a c7, but if c7s continue to depreciate into the mid to low 30s it all will equal out in the end...hmmmm
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
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For cars that do not have a lot of miles on them, are well maintained and in great shape, I think you will find that they are not going down in price anymore. For those cars, the depreciation cycle has pretty much bottomed out and prices will hold steady or increase as time goes by. Not saying they are going to appreciate rapidly in value, but if you are in the market to buy a low mileage C5, now might be the time.
Go try to trade in your car to a dealer, get an offer, and you'll see why. If you get an offer that's anywhere above $7K I'd be surprised. There also aren't many people that are going to pay much more over $15K for a C5 in the current market. Eventually there will be owners that will simply accept a happy "medium" of sort.
There's obviously a lot of other forces at play, but a lot of it comes down to two opposing forces working against one another to drive prices down.
If you want to be even more depressed I saw a 2008 C6 - that's the one with the LS3 - sell below $13K. Had six figure mileage, but still never thought I would see an LS3 C6 sell anywhere near below $15K.
As most of us say, C5's are fun cars but not investments. For the most bang for the buck, you have to drive them until the wheels fall off. People still look at my 2000 and say it looks great but at 150,000 miles plus, not much value....only to me.
I've been keeping a pretty close eye on C5s for sale and I've been seeing a lot of '01-'04 base models priced as high or higher than the same year Z06s. I don't know if the sellers are smoking some good chit, or if they're actually getting big bucks for them. High values are good for those who already one, but bad for those looking to buy...
Well the ones I've seen and watched here in AZ haven't sold very quickly. I have a couple I followed on CarGurus that have been on the market for awhile (granted, mostly looking at ZO6's, so they will go for more), but they are still in the $20k range.
To me...ANY normal (non exotic/super rare/collectible) car with over 100k miles is going to be in the $10k range.
Jeeps, Vettes, Audis, Camaros, BMWs, Mustangs, Cadillacs, etc - they would all be around that price with 100k miles.
Forgive me, but Im not understanding how you would say C5's are getting cheap when looking at one with 100k miles... Thats like saying diamonds are getting cheap, when Im looking at yellow/gray colored ones...
Are C5 prices coming down? Maybe a little, but most decent ones are in the $18k to $22k range (with lower miles)...
i bought a used C5 many years ago and I knew what I was in for when I had a C4. In other words it's cheap enough to keep. It runs well and looks half way decent that it's just not enough money there unless I was trying to seriously upgrade. Even then, what would I get that looks better with spending 25k or more ?
I might as well keep it and add another car I like
To me...ANY normal (non exotic/super rare/collectible) car with over 100k miles is going to be in the $10k range.
Jeeps, Vettes, Audis, Camaros, BMWs, Mustangs, Cadillacs, etc - they would all be around that price with 100k miles.
Forgive me, but Im not understanding how you would say C5's are getting cheap when looking at one with 100k miles... Thats like saying diamonds are getting cheap, when Im looking at yellow/gray colored ones...
Are C5 prices coming down? Maybe a little, but most decent ones are in the $18k to $22k range (with lower miles)...
That's what I'm seeing as well. I am looking at low mileage ones too. Most low mileage 97-00 models are ranging in price from $15 to about $18K, and 01-04 models are ranging from about $16 to low 20s. These are all base models as I'm not looking at Zs...
Speaking as someone who recently bought one, that $10k pice is pretty typical for that mileage, nothing exceptional, and I saw a couple asking less. I found a couple high mileage Z06s asking $16k and I'll bet they could be bought for less. Saw one with a bad 3rd gear go for $12k. I looked pretty closely at a 2000 coupe with 100k on it, asking $14 and in the end it was just too much money, should have been closer to 10-11. In the end I'm glad I waited because I found exactly the car I wanted, 2004 MY coupe only 38k miles, and I paid $15k - definitely on the high side for a standard coupe, but worth it to me.
I'm afraid C5s are "low-mid-teens" cars, except for super-low-mileage unicorns. Z06 might hit the 20's for stock low mileage examples. This is a great thing if you're a buyer!
It's been 6 months now since I bought my Z and I still look at the market here and there just for fun. Some of the lower priced cars that were for sale when I was looking are still for sale! I looked at quite a few cars and it was well worth it to buy at the higher end of the market, at least it was for me. Mine was in the low 20s.
Last edited by socal_Dad; Mar 21, 2018 at 05:23 PM.
From the chassis perspective, as prospective buyers of performance vehicles, the best way to enter a purchase is to assume the engine in the vehicle is trash and needs to be replaced. Enter the sale and pay for the chassis- but always expect the engine to fail and is worth less than the sum of it's individual parts, that none of those parts may be salvageable.
The price then reflects a minimum for what the car costs with no engine installed, and possibly no drivetrain at all. To consider an example such as this you would find used vettes with no/blown engines and compare their costs to isolate what the chassis itself is worth "in the minds of those owners" as the true value is a wild card based on human factors including spontaneity.
I don't really care what they sell for. I'm not planning on selling at all. We love our 03 vert and i plan on having it for a long time.
We bought it as a replacement fun vehicle and it serves that purpose very well.
When the time comes I will probably give it to one of my grand kids.
That being said, I'm not going to spend a lot of money on mods either. Keeping it stock and well maintained.
I wanted one because I view them as a lot of car for the money. Bought this '99 M6 vert with 53K miles a couple months ago for $12.5K. I know it's an earlier C5, but didn't think I was paying too much at the time.
C5 are getting cheap!
