I suggest people list prices of cars with the understanding that most buyers like to negotiate to “feel” they got a good deal.

the cars were 50 grand new give or take...and you have 20 years of depreciation.

dont be afraid of miles as garage queens have more problems than well used vehicles...

50k miles on a 20 year old car is 2500 miles a year...

not terrible but kind of low.

 

Over priced by a couple grand. Check to see if the rear glass has detached and then glued back,also look at the door just above the top hinge for stress cracks. Good luck.

 

Not called the 'Stealer' for nothing!!!

 

I don't see this as a silly statement at all. You can almost be guaranteed that if that car was a trade in, it would've brought less than $12,000 to the poor soul who was buying something from the dealer. BUT-As long as the retail price the dealer is asking is competitive, it's really none of our business what he pays for the car, unless we are the ones the dealer is buying the car from. FWIW, I still have no confidence in dealer honesty. There are good reasons for it, I might add. To the OP; If you like the car, and the price is reasonable, go for it..........

 

I spent 40 years actually owning dealerships and would love to know how an amateur such as yourself "knows" exactly what an individual dealer puts in a car. There is a huge future for people with that talent!!

 

Update: I appreciate the advice; I finally test drove it. I loved the color in person and the style. It certainly had been in storage; I had made an appointment the day before according to the dealership's policy but the car was not ready; when they went to start it, it had to be jumped. The trunk also wouldn't release, he claimed the door had to be closed first. Though when he closed the door and hit the button the truck sort of unlocked but had to be pryed open as it only barely rose up from the main body. The sales force didn't know how to do the manual top either. Possibly nobody had ever test drove this during the winter months. I lifted up some of the storage areas in the trunk and found some garbage from a previous owner, and noticed leaves in the windshield cowl. The front tire dates were 3020 I think but they did not look new.

I am not experienced much in manuals having never owned one but have practiced a bit on cars like Minis and believe I can safely drive one in traffic. I have never drove a corvette before though. I found it had a difficult to gauge bite point on the clutch and the clutch was super lightweight, like a feather. When I slowly let the clutch out the car didn't move at all and required a bit heavy use of the accelerator to move.

I drove a bit without incident, was in second at around 3000 rpm and salesman said I better shift to third; then later he said to take a u turn, I went into a driveway but it was rather steep, as I went up it just a little to turn around it scraped the bottom of front (I'm not used to low clearance perhaps), the salesman then said be careful, I put it in reverse to get out (unlike the mini, feathering the clutch in reverse doesn't seem to move it), went back as slowly as I could, and it scraped more, he was wincing crazily at the sound, asked me to stop driving. He got out and looked at it, I saw no damage visible to the nose, the scraping sound came from underneath, but he insisted on driving back, which he did rather in a hurry.

I later test drove a c06 at a mainstream dealer to compare, I found the clutch pedal also lightweight but the car shifted normally and the engine engaged so I was able to drive and shift it smoothly and had no problem with the salesman. The steering is a bit light, possibly on purpose at slow speeds, or perhaps speed sensitive? I am used to heavier clutches and steering feel. I couldn't get the power top to work (I unlocked the roof handle and twisted it but the power switch wouldn't function); I found the c06 interior far superior and the driving mechanics far more evolved, but it may be the older c05 was not typical in its performance.

 

The clutch sounds suspicious. Having a 'lite' feels to you could be the difference between a hydraulic and a manual clutch. Hydraulic basically works like your braking system, manual requires your leg muscle power.
From what you describe as to the engagement point, have the car looked at by someone else. Search the web, take it somewhere that you have had work done before...even to a dealership to have the whole car inspected. I've paid to have it done before on a car my wife wanted and I wanted to be sure it wasn't going to strand her when I was working out of town.
Bite the bullet, it's worth the peace of mind to know whether the car needs work or not! If it does need something, then negotiate the price down to cover the repair.
If they won't negotiate or say they will fix it, be wary! There are alot of Corvettes out there, don't shop with your emotions!

 

It might be a bit high, depends on the condition. I've seen Z06s with like 75K in VA pop up for less than 18k from a dealer but that was like 6 months ago and the condition was not exactly flawless. Yellow is not the easiest color to sell and you might want to make him an offer of like 17K but you are getting into "Vette sales season" and dealers are going to be looking to cash in so check the private market too. I hate zuckerberg but FB Marketplace has a lot of Vettes. I bet you could find something as nice for 15-16k if you look around for a bit.

 

The scraping sound you heard were the skid pads under the nose of the car. They are designed to take this abuse and save other, more delicate, parts from harm. Chances are that you hurt nothing. They look a little like sled runners and are replaceable if they get too banged up.

 

Lots of good advice on here - sometimes the 'common' problems can sound overwhelming but don't let them back away, all cars have problems but it's good to research. I got an 01 vert 4 years ago and paid about the same but the dealer gave me a great trade-in price on a Gold Wing I was selling - but mine only had 32K on her - and had a new roof and the mag wheel option and was a manual which I wanted - the clutch does seem a little heavy and there are times when parked I'm not sure it's always in gear.
Forgot to add the struts in the back can be replaced fairly easily - just had mine down while the local Corvette shop put in new seat foam. My only concern is you said you haven't had a manual before - not sure a Corvette is the first one I would choose.

 

Totally normal you need to keep them on a battery tender when they aren't being driven... but the dealer should have had it ready.

Totally normal on these, you have to roll up the windows, pop the trunk then lightly slam the door and from air pressure it will rise up enough to comfortably lift open. You can try silicon lube to fix it but it didn't do much for me. Probably need to replace the hydraulic lifters and I'm not going to.

Vettes are real easy to drive as far as manuals go (they have tons of torque across the entire rev range, so you can basically be in whatever gear you want + hill starts are easy when you have all that low end grunt), the clutch feels pretty average to me, not super light but definitely not as heavy as the Subaru (AWD eats clutches) or my old Ford Ranger. At 50k it could need replacement if it was driven hard. A good way to gauge it is to get up to highway speeds and then stab the gas and feel for slippage. Also if you drop the clutch from like 3.5k+ RPM or whatever the tires should let go not the clutch (dealer ain't gonna like that though).

Shifting at 3k is a pretty relaxed way to drive these but 2nd gets up like 90 mph if you rev it out, they make you shift the new cars because of break in but this ain't a new car. Definitely rev it out at least once make sure it holds up in the high range. Just tell the dealer "I'm gonna bring it up to high RPM for a little a make sure the top end feels good." He might have wanted you to shift because he knew the clutch was going to slip :/

As far as scraping, they are 'bottom feeders' and have a little air dam on springs that hangs down below the bumper, it gets scrapped all the time. Try to take steep driveways at an angle, it will help reduce scrapping. Don't let the dealer freak you out on that though, it happens constantly. It happened on a low point in the road when I was test driving mine (and it's still at stock monster truck ride height) and I started apologizing and the guy looked at me and was like "Yeah that happens every single time, you're good!"

You mean a C5 vs a C6 or you drove a C5 Z06? C6 should feel more refined/comfy than a C5, if it was pre '08 I believe they have the same clutch/transmission as the C5 (in '08 they get the LS3 and a beefier transmission). My C5Z feels heavy in the steering at low speeds but I'm coming off driving AWDs for years, you won't feel that once you get moving just when parking and taking slow 90 degree turns, etc (BIG tires, weight up front, drive in back it's par for the course).

 

-If you get to the stage that you want some one to check out a Corvette your planning on buying, try Tony's Corvette shop in Gaithersburg, MD. All they do is work on Corvettes.

 

It's very close to what I paid at the end of January, for my light-pewter 2001 Vert with 35,000 miles. (From Pohanka Lexus in Chantilly, VA)

If you are a member of AAA, take it to the AAA Car Care Center at 9400 Main Street, just a few blocks away. They will conduct a good thorough pre-purchase inspection for about $115. Another option is to get on the AAA site and search for a nearby AAA-approved auto repair facility, which is what I did with the 'Vette in Chantilly.

I got two previous pre-purchase inspections, searching for my Corvette. It saved me from "buying a box of trouble on wheels." Money well spent, and the third time was the charm.

Was wondering how I missed this one? Then I realized -- I thought the yellow was "too bright". OTOH, the Light Pewter is as "inconspicuous" as a Vette can be ...

 

https://upload.facebook.com/marketpl...9386852997153/

Saw this 2003 convertible, $12,500 at 98k miles. Been listed 2 weeks. Says "Sometimes the active handling light comes on.". How big a problem is that?

 

$12,500 is a pretty good price. The active handling light is "probably" the EBCM going bad. The good news is that it's a 2003 and those EBCM can be repaired. https://www.ebay.com/itm/DELPHI-CORV...53.m2749.l2649 It's best you pull the DIC trouble codes to find out what else might be wrong.

 

Update: Dealer jacked up the price, still not sold. https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ngId=580758705

 

not sure where you are located but Bairds automotive on washington Blvd in arlington is a good place for a pre purchase inspection. Joey is the owner and corvette guy.

 

Not unreasonable, given options and mileage. If you have the money, the car passes inspection and test drive, it makes your guts tingle when you drive it, pay for it and go live!!! (And don’t ever think about whether you got a great price ever again.)