Hello everyone! Newbie here lol just joined today. I’m looking to buy a C5 sometime this year and doing lots of research before I pull the trigger but they all seem to be way over what kbb values them at? I’m guessing cause it’s close to spring? Does the time of year affect pricing that much? Just curious and thought it might be a good first post 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

The majority are coupes - about $10k for a 97/98, then add $1k per year after that. Assumes good condition, no obvious problems. Lots of "polished every weekend" stuff on here, your call as to how much that is worth to you. Plus, some sellers think that because they threw $3-4k of wheels on, they will see some of that back - they won't, aftermarket parts do nothing for resale price. Bear in mind that it's not at all hard to get a very nice deal on an early C6, and price wise, that defines the top of the market for the C5's.

I have a '98 6 speed coupe - had it from new in fact - it's in good shape, but it's a regular driver not a weekend show and tell car. Maybe worth a little extra because of its known history, but I still doubt it would hit anymore than $11k tops. That's why I keep it - what else could I buy anywhere near that price for the same fun factor?

 

Try Kelly Blue Book?

 

As we say in the car business: KBB doesn't buy cars. Go try and get them to cut you a check, and then their value means something.

Anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

 

All true but does provide good guidance for average prices. Which was the question being asked.

 

He's saying they're above KBB. Meaning he already referenced them.

It's a reference, nothing less and nothing more.

Seasonality does affect pricing for sports cars. Easier to buy one in the winter, especially up North and you're willing to ship it or pick it up and drive it to somewhere nice.

The other thing is, frankly, a lot of C5 owners are disconnected from reality and think the cars are rare or extra special. There are lots of cars for sale with 80 to 120k miles on them for $7-9,000. If you want a driver, that's the way to go. I wouldn't pay the premium for someone's show car that they're overly attached to personally, because if I bought it, I'd drive it.

 

I fully agree, but there is also the flip side of this coin in what I'd call the people without cash in hand peanut gallery. Just as there are delusional owners that think their 1 of 6,200 in that color, year and transmission car is worth $20,000, there's also a sea of commentators that would claim they'd never pay over $5,000 for any car no matter what it was. There are people that believe no pre-2001 car is worth over $7,000 (some would argue even less) and no base model is worth over $12,000 and that's simply not true either. These are the same people who whine about some specific car not being made by the manufacturer only to happily announce they won't buy one new but will wait until it's available in the secondhand market.

Color, transmission and region can play a huge role in what any given car is worth. When I was looking in 2016 a manual car was worth $1,000-2,000 more than an equivalent automatic car. Red and Beige were typically $1,000-1,500 cheaper than a Black or Blue car all things being equal. Is that the case still, I cannot be sure, but it's definitely what I saw then.

The best thing to do is study your local market and see what cars are selling for and then decide if you want to jump. Opening up your search area can easily net cars that might be in a cheaper area, but travel right now will certainly be challenging.

 

I found NADA to be accurate in my area and numbers are based on actual sales. Expensive modifications add little value and frequently detract from the sale price. Z06 models while some what appealing are frequently over valued by owners. To answer your question there is some seasonal adjustment based on your location. Good luck in your search.

 

Your shopping .at a good time. Because. of the virus,
the used car market is flat. You should, be able to
come up with a great deal.
Good luck

 

that’s what I woulda thought but it sure doesn’t seem to be that way at all! They seem higher than ever honestly. But thanks everyone for the great input. Also FYI I am looking for 02-04 hatchback coupe 6 speed

 

What state are you in?

 

As a C5 Z06 owner, I want the prices to go up. I am not contemplating selling, but I still want values to go up. If a guy is asking what he thinks he can get, and somebody buys it for that, that is the price. It doesn't matter if you don't think it is worth it or not. The seller and buyer came to an agreement and so be it. If as a Corvette owner you want to sell your car for $100.00 what right do anybody have to say that is too low, or if an owner has priced his '98 C5 base coupe at $20,000 and somebody buys it, what business is it of yours what was paid? There are cars out there at all price points, but if we want to see these cars value go up, we need to support the higher prices. These cars are getting older and so more and more are leaving the road, either through mechanical, or accident. Although I don't think these cars will ever get the astronomical prices that the C1,C2, and early C3s are going for, we don't help ourselves when we tell somebody that they're out of their mind asking a higher price than average for their car.

 

Cars, in 99% of cases, are not investments.

They built way too many of these to be collectible.

 

I’m in southern Indiana but I’ve been looking across the whole country

 

If you want a specific car that makes it harder but in this economy a deal will come along soon. Back in the 08 09 collapse I saw a nice C6 sell for 8 grand because the owner had to have the cash or loose their house....

 

For what it's worth I JUST bought a 2000 coupe with a 6 speed on Sunday (May 3rd). I was willing to travel for a good deal, and it's not my primary vehicle so I can have it on jackstands for days at a time to fix things if I need to. I bought a high mileage car (155k miles) for $7500. The body is amazing, the interior is not amazing, but its pretty good. The items it needs are clutch master cylinder, A/C compressor, and a set of tires. I flew from Orlando to DC, guy picked me up at the airport, car was as he described, so I put it on the Amtrak AutoTrain and rode back to Orlando with it. I'm not an expert at these cars, but it seems like there are great deals out there if you willing to do some work on the car.

 

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...old-or-bought/

 

I agree with the comment that it's basically all in the eyes if the buyer. I recently got a clean bill of health from a battle with bladder cancer. My eyes were wide open...time to finally pull the trigger on my one and only bucket list. I bought a 1999 navy blue HB with only 31000 miles. I paid a whopping $12000.00 for it. After completely changing ALL the fluids, making some minor repairs (it is 21 years old), having a complete detail and upgrading the exhaust and air intake (a couple fun mods) I've dropped another $5500.00. AND, I'm not a bit sorry. She runs GREAT, looks sensational, sounds awesome and, like I said, my eyes are wide open. This isn't an investment, it's a dream. Live it up!

 

hmm very interesting read

 

I have been looking at C5 prices for several years now. I am also looking for an '01-'04 M6 base coupe. C5 prices seem to be impervious to the economy. Dealer listings usually have a price guide shown on their ads, and their asking prices are almost always higher than the prices shown in the guide. Private sellers aren't much better, some are even worse. This is especially true for low mileage C5s. I don't know why, but these sellers seem to think these cars are collector vehicles. I see low mileage base models priced in the C5Z and C6 price ranges on a regular basis. These cars were never rare, and even today, low mileage C5s still are plentiful. The only explanation I have is they must still be selling, even at these inflated prices. The only thing a person can do is keep looking for a good deal, pony up and pay the price, or look for something else...