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Many car buyers don’t think about residual value, especially when it comes to buying a car simply for pleasure, but there’s some good news for Chevrolet Corvette owners.
According to a study from iSeeCars.com, the Corvette falls below the industry average with regards to depreciation. The study looked at 3.6 million new cars sold in 2013 to calculate their 5-year depreciation value. A 2013 Chevrolet Corvette depreciated 44.6 percent on average, though it’s not broken down by variant. We’d imagine Z06, Grand Sport, and other special models didn’t depreciate nearly as quickly as standard C6 Corvette models.
On average, a sports car depreciated 46.6 percent over five years. The Corvette placed third for the way it held its value better than many other nameplates. The two other cars that depreciated less quickly than the C6 Corvette were the Volkswagen Golf R and the Subaru Impreza WRX at 43.3 percent and 35.9 percent, respectively.
It’s a slightly different story for the Chevrolet Camaro, however. The fifth-generation pony car depreciated 48 percent over a 5-year-long period, which is above average compared to the industry. The Cadillac CTS-V was slightly worse at 48.4 percent. Though, all GM cars on the list made out better than German brands.
Cars from BMW, Audi and Porsche were slammed with depreciation factors in the upper 50 and low 60-percent range. Premium brands’ used cars have to come down significantly in price to attract used-car buyers, so it’s no surprise they rank at the bottom of the list.
The C7 Corvette will be a more interesting story to watch unfold, especially if the upcoming mid-engine C8 Corvette pushes current owners into a new car. Should the C7 Corvette depreciate more quickly, it will make for one hell of a used-car bargain, even in base Stingray trim.
Acquiring only used Corvettes in the past (eight) I'm very close to having ZERO depreciation over many years with normal maintenance. It's easy to do that if you study the market and avoid modifications which sometimes detract from the resale value.
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The Corvette has had a pretty good track record of keeping its value over the years. Of course, a lot depends on options, mileage, and especially condition.
I've been looking at C5 prices about weekly for the last couple of years now. Prices seem to have pretty much stayed the same for the entire time (other than the usual being a bit higher in the spring and summer, and a bit lower the rest of the year)....I have noticed the price gap starting to widen between pre '01 models, and '01 and newer models though...word must have gotten out that the '01 and newer models are more sought after, which has resulted in higher asking prices for those models...
It seems like the statistics from this article are based both on one source and a very short time frame (2013) but one thing I often believe doesn't get mentioned enough is how specialized the Corvette market can be which often stymies any sort of residual resale value ideals. A good article I remember from 2005/06 is how Corvettes seem to often have multiple owners in a short time period early in the car's life. Many factors can push early sale of a two-seat sports car including not being able to make payments, life style changes (like having a kid and not being able to justify a specialized car), or simply believing the car is not suitable. Car then gets traded back in, which puts it right back into a young retail market. Cycle completes until it hits private market. This sort of market force for the Corvette can make it seem that Corvettes are holding value well because they tend to stay in the retail market for quite some time.
Comparably for example the two other cars mentioned in the article, the Golf R and WRX, are not in such a specialized market and have some, general, flexibility. They will more than likely not stay in the retail market flux as much as a Corvette would. For sure youth -hype and desirability are pushing their resale values, but accessibility also increases their value.
Probably the best example I have is personal experience. I bought a new full size Cadillac and a new Corvette in 2001. 4 years ago It was time trade in the Caddy.Despite the fact that it was a well maintained never wrecked, high end car, it was virtually worthless. The Corvette is still worth over $10 grand (I'm pretty sure) . The car cost within a couple of hundred dollars of each other when new.
I can definitely believe that, i've been an AMG Mercedes guy my whole life before owning this Vette and the depreciation is insane on the Mercedes, For example, previous car I just owned before the Vette was a 2005 CL55, supercharged M113K making 500HP/TQ, awesome car. I bought it off a guy bone stock for $8,000 Cash. It came with a stack of paperwork 4 inches thick with every document including the original window sticker, the guy I bought the car from paid $122,870 in 2005 and here I was in 2016 paying 8K for the same car, zero issues, flawless interior, never broke down on me once.
Now lets look at my Vette 2003 Z06.... Guessing the car started life around $55,000 new and in 2017 I bought it for $14,000 while I still see even cleaner examples going for 20K-25K. Almost half of its value new!
Hell even parts for the Vette seem to be more expensive than most things for my AMG, I swapped an M113 E55 Engine into a C43 AMG a few years back, bought the motor AND transmission with 100k miles for $900 off a guy, spent a few hundred more refreshing everything and bam 55 swap for under $2K, Motor blew up on my Vette and I spent nearly $8,000 Rebuilding the LS2. While the Vette is much more raw feeling and very fun to drive with the manual transmission, there are many days I regret selling that CL55, the interior, the amenities, and with 500hp/tq is was damn near just as fast, if not quicker on the highway.
I think when the C8 comes out not only will the C7s depreciate quicker but it will re-energize the C5 market and bring prices up a tick but this is all speculation until mid 2019.
Last edited by s2kpunisher; 11-23-2018 at 01:20 PM.
I think when the C8 comes out not only will the C7s depreciate quicker but it will re-energize the C5 market and bring prices up a tick but this is all speculation until mid 2019.
Not so sure. There are a lot of rumors floating that the C8 will be significantly more expensive than what the Corvette market has been used to. They are trying to get into the supercar price territory apparently = much higher profit margins.
I love having a $50,000 sports car I bought for $20K. It performs better than the day it came off the production line (mods).
It does everything I have the ***** to ask it to do on the track and it still hasn't gotten to the edge of it performance. I'll push it harder again next year!
Not so sure. There are a lot of rumors floating that the C8 will be significantly more expensive than what the Corvette market has been used to. They are trying to get into the supercar price territory apparently = much higher profit margins.
Even if that's the case, new models=old models depreciate faster, it's happened for decades.
11-14-2018, 03:20 PM
Corvette resale value article, good news!
