IMO analog means carburetors. But really this is a BS magazine word that means nothing. I have even heard journalists say mr2 (ehpas) or s2000 (epas) have "analog" steering. So what does hydraulic pump have to do with it?

I think instead C5 has "goldfish brain" where it can't remember what it was doing before or what it wants to do next, it just lives in the moment. Computer memory was just too expensive back then.

 

Look that is what the market watchers and those in the industry call this. You may have your own opinion but it is what it is.

I work in the performance aftermarket and I can assure you the cars of the 80’s and 90’s are much easier to do things with. This leads to cheaper HP and tuners love this.

Also a C5 is a 13 sec car before you even start to modify. Big bang for the buck.

FYI FI existed before computers too.

The C5 is a simple mass air system that responds to modifications. You get a later Vette and you are stuck at a tuner and his lap top reflashing the computer to accept even the most simple mod.

 

This is probably the wrong forum to bring this up but if you know anything about Ford Mustang 5.0L’s look at what the ’82 - ‘93 Notchback cars go for… especially low mileage late models bring. For the Ford people that is kinda the ’holy grail’ cars for the Mustang like the ’01 - ‘04 Z06’s are to the Corvette people.

 

After hunting for about 2 weeks here are my results:

Under $8k - Cars with serious problems, part outs, wrecks
$8k-$11k - Mostly pretty beat 2-3 (out of 5) star cars. Most need something (paint, body work, horror show interior, or trans work). Though can find an ok one with higher. miles and/or salvage title.
$11k-$14k 2.5-4 star cars. Start to see some really nice cars here. Lots of automatics, Cars with mods, well maintained, but driven cars. This seems to be the sweet spot, most listings don't last for more than a week. Lots of movement in this price range.
$14k-$16 - Lots of really nice, lower mile coupes here. Also where you see some Z06s with miles start showing up. C6s too. The listings for these coupes hang around for much longer than above.
$16-20k - This is the range for the 4.25-4.75 star Coupes. These sellers must be patient. Start to see lots of Zs in this range, tons of early C6s.
$20k+ - Garage queens and Z06s - These listings don't seem to move.

In my opinion, with about $14k, you can have your pick of C5s. Colors, options, you can find it for this money, and you can be picky. (unless you want a Z, then you need about $18k to have choices).
If you're a patient type and willing to hunt and put in some work, you can usually find what you want in the $12s.

 

Everything is going up now.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-...et-Corvette-d1

 

I’m curious to what general area you live in. Anything within a few hundred miles of my SE region seems way higher.
I look almost daily and never see a Z under $20k unless it’s 100k min on mileage and certainly not very clean. With under 70k on the clock maybe $24,000 or so. They may sell a bit lower but they did sell pretty quick at what I assume is $21-22k.
Coupes can be had at a much better price than last year unless you want a 6 speed.
Now when I talk to my buddy in Ohio he seems to find the deals. Nothing crazy, but at least reasonable.

If someone has a clean 02-04 Z with under 70,000 miles and under $20k PM me

 

They are always cheaper somewhere else and I’m in Ohio.

 

I'm in New England, but when I wrote my post above, that was based on nationwide searches on FB Marketplace (Though mostly East of Mississippi, and no further west than Texas). Just a quick search now as opposed to 2.5 months ago tells me the prices have ticked up slightly, and there's a bit less inventory. 02-04 Zs with lower miles are gonna be over 20k, there's just no way around that. That's what I found searching some time ago. Can easily find Zs for under 20 if you are OK with a driver, a car that needs some kind of attention mechanically, weird interior/exterior mods, or rebuilt/salvaged.

 

I stopped following the cars posted on C5 Modified. I finally broke that negative trend. I have no direct feel currently but it does seem there are more sellers asking absurd numbers.

 

I had to look at the date on this post as that was the prices in Ohio 5 years ago.

 

Now this is what I see in Ohio. And after March they go up.

Now keep in mind I was shopping for fully functional cars with no dash lights on.

I do see one real buys in FL and NC.

You occationalky finds sone deals but they are Silver or Pewter and Yellow here is not a high demand car.

One thing I also find is private sales are much rarer today than in the past.

But there are many just flat over priced car sone really nice and sone really bad.

 

The prices always are up in the spring and summer just like boat prices.

 

I’ve had my 03z since 2011 and I’m still in love with the car to this day. It’s pretty much everything I could want out of an ‘affordable’ high performance car. Lightweight, high hp v8, M6, great looks, phenomenal handling and performance even by today’s standards.

It’s really no wonder to me why they still bring good money. Plus they really are the end of an era now. GM or any other automaker is never going to build anything quite like this car ever again. Nothing like it for the money since they came out.

Got mine as a one owner bone stock car, added just LT’s, vararam, shifter and a tune and ran a high 11 with it in complete street trim without much trouble. Put a new LS7 clutch kit in it recently and fairly certain I could hit a mid 11 second 1/4 mile time with it now. Pretty amazing cars to this day.

 

This subject... "prices going up" the subject brings to the table a question of comparison.... to WHAT other car in its league is it being compared too? ... or base car for that "comparison"? 🤔Eh

 

We used to call this "Pinto plus parts".