Hello everyone,

I'm in the market for a C5, after looking for a while I found one pop up for sale that i'm pretty interested in and I was hoping you guys could help guide me onto whether or not this would be a good purchase.

So the car is a 2004 silver C5 coupe (with removable roof). It's a manual and has 126,000 miles. The clutch is original and the whole car looks pretty clean from the pictures. The seller said that he is very firm at $12,500 cash for the car. It has a borla exhaust, new tires, and seat covers.

Assuming it's mechanically sound, do you think i'm getting a fair deal? I heard the clutch is a big job but after doing some research it appears I can pay someone like $1000 to do it for me which honestly isn't a big deal imo.

Anyway what do you guys think? He's an older gentleman who garaged the car and seemed like he took care of it. It is listed about $1500 over high KBB value but honestly i've been looking for a while and I think the KBB values are just not close enough to the actual value of what these cars are going for.

I'm located in the New England area for what that's worth.

Thanks!

 

C5 prices have been going up lately. That actually seems like a pretty good price for the car you describe. You will definitely want to get a pre purchase inspection from a mechanic that is familiar with C5 Corvettes. I would advise that you read everything in the sticky threads at the top of the C5 forum. There's a TON of very useful info there. There was a recall done on some of the '04 Vettes for a fuel tank issue. I believe you can find the VIN range for this in the sticky posts I mentioned. If the the car you're looking at falls in that VIN range, you'll want to get confirmation that the problem has been fixed as it can be very expensive. Go check the car out, and give it a good test drive. If you like it, and it passes a pre purchase inspection, then I say go for it! Let us know what you decide. We'd love to see pictures if you do decide to buy it. Welcome to the forum. Let us know if there's anything you need. You're gonna LOVE the C5!!!
Don't forget to SAVE THE WAVE!

 

Prices, especially in New England are seasonal. The asking price is close to the actual cash value. If it is what you want, buy it. I wouldn't hesitate to make a lower offer this time of year and walk away for a while to see if the seller is hungry.

 

Here is the vin range 45110258 to 45125500

 

Hopefully, you have research this forum on the anomalies involving electronics and mechanical associated with the C5. If not, please do. You have to have mechanical and electronic skills with a DYI attitude or a pocketbook to pay someone to fix things,. The C5 is a great car that is a lot of fun to drive. But the engineering and lack of oversight on the manufactures that produce the critical parts to make this car function IMHO, was lacking. I did research about the stuff failing (as I suggest you do) that many people opined about but made decide to by anyway. I knew what I was facing if things broke. I have no regrets even though I had to repair items I never I had to repair in any of my previous cars. Whatever you decide on a C5, IMHO, you need to have a #1 C5 mechanic do a through inspection. This is not a car to just take a gamble on.

 

The VIN is 45104XXX so I think i'm good.

 

Thank you so much!! Glad I decided to join the forum seems like a great little community. You've all been already super helpful!! I'm going to pay for a VIN check and make sure it isnt a flood car or have any accidents.

I agree with the price it seems high at first but it's literally the cheapest car (with what I want) on auto trader I could find within 500 miles from my house.

Yeah you make a good point. I'm not too worried if I over spend a few bucks. I don't want to lose out on the car I've been watching marketplace for months now and this is the best deal I could find. I bet you I could enjoy this for 3 years and end up selling it for close to what I paid at worst maybe at a 2-3k hit which honestly I'm fine with.

Yep! I've been going crazy with research. I found out that the electrical issues and oil burning issues are not affected in the 02+ models. 04 is the last model year and besides the fuel tank recall (which this cars VIN doesn't fall under) it's pretty much flawless reliability wise (unless something is specific to this corvette which I doubt).

The miles being 127k is kinda a minor concern because at that mileage you can expect bushings, bearings, and clutches to start to go. But for the amount of miles i'm going to drive it i'm not too concerned at all. And I do have an RX 350 that's my daily so it should be good.

 

I have an '04 and I've had 0 mechanical issues in almost 13 years. Ridden hard and put away wet she never lets me down. 12.5 seems fair on this market. Good luck!

 

The price is not bad if the car checks out OK. The C5 is a fun car and is still a performance bargain all these years later.

 

Hey guys! Little bit of an update but i'm going to check out the car tonight! Sucks it's going to be dark out when I check it out but i'll just bring some flashlights.

I'm going to get a VIN check today before seeing it and i'm bringing my mechanic friend to come check it out too (He also owns an 06 Z06). I have the cash in hand and will hopefully be coming home with a Corvette tonight!!! Pictures and updates will likely come tomorrow if I buy it since it's a 3 hour drive I won't be home til probably midnight. I'm so excited though last night I could hardly sleep! Nervous too though I've never shelled out this kind of cash on a private sale before but my excitement is making me not think about it too much.

 

Very well said and I could not agree more!

 

Just pulled a VIN check, no accidents or thefts reported. All 4 recalls have been completed (steering lock, steering linkage, exterior lighting, headlights). It's a 2 owner car right now. With the original owner having it from brand new through to 2017. He sold it for $13,500 and it had 110k miles. Now this new owner is selling it for $12,500 with 127k miles.

A 2 owner car isn't that bad actually and I like that the original owner had it for 13 years! I plan on doing the same thing as the last owner did, use the car for 3 years, sell it for probably a $1000 loss ($11,500) with around 140k miles. When that time comes.

I guess it's worth noting that this car has been for sale for now 3 months and hasn't sold. Maybe a good negotiating point.

 

If you have cash in hand you may be able to get that price down, it’s a little high for 130,000 miles. If it’s riding on original shocks they will need to be replaced. Tie rod ends and suspension bushings are also probably worn out by this point if not replaced. Remember it’s one thing to get oil changes and wax the exterior but parts need replacing too. Check tire date codes. Make sure AC, heat, HUD and all electronics are functioning properly. There are so many things that can wear out like sun visors, seats, and carpet with an older car. I would also advise you to try to look under the car. With a higher mileage car in New England that would lead me to believe it may have been driven in the winter. Check under the rear bumper right near the exhaust tips where the rear frame impact bar is. If it was driven in salt you’ll see lots of corrosion here and that’s not a good sign for the rest of the frame and undercarriage. Just stay prudent and don’t get blinded by the excitement of buying a Corvette. Good Luck and let us know what happens.

Also no offense but it’s extremely doubtful you will sell the car for $11,500 with 140k miles. Unless you dump money in and freshen up everything. Even then it will probably be very tricky. That’s why I really recommend negotiating. People usually give the tough talk about a firm price because they get people making low ball offers online or the phone. If you show up with cash you should get some kind of discount.

 

As long as the title is clear and the tires are not that old, $12.5 is a good price. 125K miles is not a big deal.

 

Thanks, actually I just bought a real carfax and there was actually 3 previous owners. But the car spent it's first 11 years of its life in Atlanta Georgia. So it's be only been in New England for about 5 years now.

I'll spend most of the time looking underneath. Rust and rot are what i'm most concerned with. If there's any i'm prepared to walk or offer considerably less.

I know i'm not getting a crazy good deal but I do believe it's a fair deal, your market is probably different from mine but this is the cheapest 03+ I could find with a manual. All the rest are north of $15,000.

And I think i'll at least get 5 figures for the car, hell even if I sell it for $10,000 flat with 140k miles in 3 years that's completely fine. I'm only losing $2,500. Which for 3 years of the corvette experience is worth it. And hell, who knows maybe i'll keep the car even longer than that

 

I agree.

 

As a potential seller early next year, I like this post. If that is the going rate for late model C5s with that much mileage, I should be in good shape. KBB says the top end for my good condition 99 A4 Z51 with 50k is about $14K at the high end but that doesn’t seem to be where the market is. We’ll see how the market is here in southern New England (CT) in April.

 

I hope the car checks out. I know it is very exciting. Look forward to hearing how things went.

 

Sorry not a very exciting update. We ended up changing our meetup day to Saturday afternoon. Which will be better since I can see the car in the light. I'll be sure to update once I check it out! Update incoming probably on Monday.

 

Drive it. Make sure to test everything - wipers, turn signals, headlights, heat/AC and the various HVAC settings - also the cruise control. How are the brakes and tires? Does it pop out of gear/hard to get in gear? Does the clutch pedal stick to the floor? Assuming the seat covers are covering some wear - what's your plan for the seats? You could read the codes from the computer as well....

Just like the rest of us demented wackos - assume you'll start throwing money at it immediately