Hello fellow Corvette brothers. I come to you from C6/4 land, my C5 experience is somewhat limited. I am helping a friend settle the estate of her late husband, among the cars he left her is a 99 Convertible. It is a one owner, low mile (20k) car, pretty much loaded with a Bose 12 disc CD changer, HUD, dual zone CC, power telescoping wheel, memory seats, twilight sentinel, and dual power seats. The car is in very good overall shape, with only a few paint chips on the exterior. The A/C compressor does need to be replaced, as it is leaking, but the blend doors and diverters all work properly. The tires and battery are brand new, and I just replaced the headlight module to fix a inoperable LH headlight. I will post some pics tomorrow, but do you think an asking price of $22k is out of line ?

 

People might be hesitant about the A/C needing a compressor, or want to shave off a lot of $.

 

You didn't say if it is manual or automatic. A manual will bring more money. The market has cooled down a bit lately. The '99 doesn't command the same price as say an '03-'04 car would. The mileage will help, but the issues with the car will offset the low mileage premium. I think that you are a bit on the high side at $22K.

 

Sadly it is an auto, I would be very tempted to park it in my garage if it was a stick.
I know the C4/C6 generations pretty well, but I am not as familiar with the C5. What upgrades did they make on the 03-4 cars ?

 

 

Thanks for the pics! The color is definitely in your favor. The Nassau blue was a somewhat rare, and reasonably desirable color.
To answer your question there were several small changes made throughout the C5 run that make the newer models more desirable. The biggest change was in 2001. They changed the intake which added an extra 5 HP. However, there are several other factors involved as well. The EBCM (electronic brake control module) in the older cars is a known failure point. These are no longer made, and it is not possible to repair them. If it goes bad, you're pretty much screwed. The newer C5s have an updated EBCM that can be repaired, and also still has new replacement inventory. Unfortunately, the newer EBCM is not compatible with the older C5s. There are other parts that are either more expensive, hard to find, or both for the older C5 models as well. For example. the TPMS sensors or the key fob. Then of course, there's that fact that the older cars came with the old wagon wheels. There are some sticky threads at the top of this forum that you might find interesting.
Given all the the various factors, I would probably list the car at $20K, but be willing to accept $18K for it. If you're in a hurry to sell, listing it at $18K with a bit of wiggle room on the price will get the car sold quickly.

 

Nothing wrong with wagon wheels, some think they are ugly, I have chrome wagon wheels on my 1999 convertible and think they look good.

Can buy the 2001-2004 “LS6” intake used and replace LS1 intake, apparently the stock LS1 intake only becomes a problem past 400 horsepower from book on LS1, then you just get LS6 or aftermarket intake.

The brake module thing sucks if it goes out, no new ones but mine still works, I got all scared years ago reading about them going out, there is a write up somewhere here maybe in a sticky, where someone swapped the later components over to the early C5.

Also if you were to keep the car, and get a complete 3.42 differential out of a wrecked manual transmission C5, swap out your 2.73 or optional 3.15 differential, it supposedly makes the auto cars quick, even more if you upgrade to a high stall torque converter and get a new tune.

Maybe you should buy it, it really is good looking, and you said you don’t have a C5, and this was your friend’s car.

 

To be clear, I'm NOT saying the '99s are bad cars. I was just explaining to the OP why the '99 tends to be worth less than the newer C5 models.

 

Are you saying the 99 is not the best car? You're saying the 99 tends to be a worthless car... Well, opinion has it that the best is the 99.
And chrome wagon wheels are cool!

 

It's a beautiful convertible....ask your $22k and negotiate from there. Advertise it here on this forum. Good luck!

 

I have heard of the ECBM issue, but I thought they were rebuildable ?

 

I agree that chrome wagon wheels are cool, but the car in question doesn't have chrome wagon wheels. I also certainly didn't say the '99 was worthless. I suggested they price it at $20K. That's far from worthless(and more than the car was worth prior to the pandemic). However, regardless of your own subjective opinion, the objective actual market values do support that '99 Corvettes of similar mileage and condition ARE worth less than a similar '03 or '04.

 

I really have no intrest in buying the car, I have a 89 convertible and a 13 GS 6MN in the garage already. I am actually trying to cut down on the number of cars I have.

 

Only the later EBCMs are rebuildable. On a '99 if the EBCM fails your only option is to try to buy a used one. These are very hard to find, and cost thousands of dollars. Even then, there is no guarantee that the used one won't fail a month after you buy it. The car is drivable without the EBCM functioning. However, the ABS, and traction control will not function.

 

that car is nothing special, light blue auto that needs about 1500 in work, maybe 15k,

 

Nothing special?.. "the car is nothing special"?... Wrong again... Any 99 convertible is something special as is this lovely blue convertible Corvette! Geeze...

 

let me guess, you have a blue convertible, like i said nothing special, 15k

 

LMK when you start finding low mile C5 droptops for $15k, I will buy a truckload of them from you.

 

The kid doesn't appreciate a one owner 99 Corvette convertible which is not understood here in C5 land! Probably a tie ota fan.

 

C5s are the best corvettes that were made IMO, there my favorites, looking to get back into a C5 Z06 soon, best value for the money and I owned most generations, and still do.