grampi50

I cruise through a lot of the for sale sites (both in this forum and on sites like cars.com, cargurus.com, etc) on a daily basis looking at C5s for sale and I have been noticing the prices seem to be going up. Up until this summer, low mileage (I consider anything with less than 40K miles low mileage) pre '01 models were priced around $14-$16K, while '01 and up models were priced in the $17-$20K range. Now pre '01s are priced as high as $18 or $19K, and '01 and up models are well into the 20s. I wonder what's causing their prices to go up? I have also noticed it's getting more difficult to find coupes (which is what I'm looking for), while Zs seem to be plentiful. I'm also noticing that many sellers are asking as much for their coupes as others are asking for their Zs. That I don't get at all...

naturaldisaster3

Well, could be a number of things.. We all know many Corvette owners are delusional of what their car is actually worth, others may not truly be looking to sell. Also, it could just be negotiating tactics, they price it high assuming they are going to get negotiated down a little bit.. you can always lower your asking price but you can't raise it mid-negotiation. Just remember that just because the cars are being advertised for those prices, doesn't mean that's what they're selling for.

Brunello

jackthelad

I don't see it. Prices as far as I can tell have not moved very much for coupes. Personally as the owner of an early coupe with about 80k under its belt, I would not expect to get more than about $10k - and I certainly would not pay more than that if I was buying, unless the vehicle had ultra low mileage and was utterly pristine. In fact, as parts become more difficult, I would expect prices to continue down - there are never going to be replacements for the electronics; the early EBCM being a good example of that. Even a relatively simple sensor like the SWPS is not being attempted by the after market.

grampi50

While most wouldn't consider 80K a low mileage C5, I'm still seeing prices higher than $10K for those with similar mileage. I haven't quite figured out why, but most sellers seem to think if their car has less than 40k miles, it's worth thousands more. It is worth more, but with other vehicles I usually see a $1k to $2K difference in price for low mileage as compared to higher mileage vehicles...with C5s, sellers seem to think they are worth $5-$6K more...and I'd like to know where you guys are seeing the prices you've seen. Using sites like autotrader.com, cars.com, cargurus.com, craigs list, and the classified section of this site are all showing higher prices than before...

deejbee

QFT!
/thread

grampi50

...and what's with sellers asking C5Z prices for their coupes? They should know they aren't worth as much...

Ramets

Could also be because of the time of year. Summer seems to drive up prices.

ClipperFan

grampi50

That could be part of it, but I'm seeing prices higher now than last summer...

ArmchairArchitect

If they're going up, it's slow and steady, not drastic. Hagerty had an article last year on this topic: https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...5s-collectible

Don't look at asking prices, look at sold prices. Best way to see this is go to ebaymotors for C5s, and select the "Sold Listings" filter on the left side to see actual past selling prices.

Z06Berlin

I just bought my 2004 Z06 with 42,000 miles in December, the dealer wanted $24k, I offered $23K with him paying the registration fees. We settled on $23.5 and half of the reg fees. I also heard from the previous owner that he got $25k on trade-in. So bottom line prices are indeed negotiable.

SaxyVette

Never a lot of C5's for sale in Vegas, but I have noticed very strong asking prices lately for nice cars at the dealerships. $9950 for a '99 100K+ Miler up to $18.5 for a pretty 03 vert w/50K. I got my '99 vert with 56K for $14.5 two yrs ago. I don't think it's worthless anymore.

grampi50

I just got done doing a search on cargurus and I couldn't believe how many pre '01 models had asking prices of over $20K...that's just insane! I wouldn't pay over $20K for a pre '01 if it had 1 mile on it!

KnightDriveTV

I got offered 24k via pm on my Z06 with 61k miles. My car has the suspension/wheel/tire setup the guy wanted and figured it was a great deal for him. I bought the car in 2011 for 17.5k during the slump so, I was nearly tempted to go C7GS but...low and behold, my C5Z remains. Longest period, BY FAR I've ever owned a car EXCEPT for my Honda CRX Si (Y49 car). Bought and sold over 120 cars in that span but the CRX and Z06 survived longest...lol.

C5Z prices are holding well, because they are still HPDE and competition murderers depending on class and sanctioning body. Not to mention Danny Popp dominated Optima USCC two years in a row with his....so much that Optima USCC is thinking of categorizing Corvettes by the themselves, which is BS...if you ask me.

KnightDriveTV

I just rented a shop, sight unseen, in Boulder City man. Moving ALL my stuff from ATL starting next week. Hope I didn't mess up...lol. My gf has a red 09 C6 6spd and I have the black on black C5Z with yellow C6Z brakes/square setup, that's about to be one off widebodied for my YT channel series I am building. Maybe I'll see ya!

For real though...how hot is it...lmao? It was 99 here the otherday, but also like 91% humidity...I'm trying to really figure out if one is worse than the other.

dmsog

That depends on your point of view. Many people find the looks of the Z not as appealing as a coupe, myself included. I was willing to give up the horsepower and other things included in the Z06 package because I think that body style is an excersize in bad styling judgement.

jackthelad

The average car's annual mileage is about 8-12k. So, an "average" 20 year old car would be looking at 160k and up. Granted, Corvettes tend to have abnormal usage patterns, ranging from daily drivers to garage queens, but I would still state that anything under about 100k for a 20 year old car actually is low mileage. Even my 80k only works out at 4k/year. And, if you are not going to drive it that much, why bother to have a car like the C5, which was designed to be driven - "drive it like you stole it", as someone on here once said. My rule is simple, once it's warmed up and when the moment is right and safe, my right foot will be flat on the floor. Might as well have a Prius otherwise.

p.s. prices are always up a touch in summer - especially for verts.

grampi50

I am also one who prefers the looks of the coupe over the Z, but I fail to see how that makes the coupe worth as much as the Z...the Z was more expensive new, and it should have a higher resale value now...

grampi50

I agree, for average cars 100K miles for a 20 year old car would be low, but I don't consider that low mileage for a C5. I don't mean that they're close to being worn out at 100K, I mean there are a lot more garage queens when it comes to Corvettes than say your every day drivers, so most people consider C5s with under 40 or 50K low mileage cars. I do plan on driving mine as long as there's no snow/salt on the roads, and I mainly want a lower mile car because the cosmetics tend to be in much better shape as compared to higher mileage cars...I don't want to buy one and then immediately have to rebuild the driver's seat and or repaint the front end, which typically seem to be the problem areas for higher mileage cars...