sorry…forgot to add the mileage. 46,000

I’ve owned this 99’ C5 since 2001. Having put less than 1,000 miles on it in the past 10yrs (other priorities/cars) - it currently just sits on the lift. I start it up every month, drive it around once or twice a year - up to the gas station to put a little fresh gas in it, take it for a rip, and back on the lift - put some Stabil in and shut it down. The prices for these things are all over the map - I am looking for the Corvette community for guidance/feedback. Thanks in advance!

Details:
- 1999, Pewter, 6sp, Z51 package, dual power seats, HUD. Purchased the car with about 10k on it, from a Chevy dealer near me.
- location, central Florida
- mods and all were circa 2001-02, installed at The Vette Doctors on Long Island. Around 400rwhp
- Ported/Polished heads, upgraded valves/springs, LS6 intake, TPIS full length headers, Corsa Indy’s with a GTR tip (I think that is what it was called), Hurst shifter
- Polished (not chrome) ZO6 knockoffs, 265F,
295R.
- Lowered front, a couple bushings cutoff, and rear lowering bolt.
- Harness bar
- Blackwing

The car sounds great and pulls hard. I’ve tossed around modding it more - I think the C5 is a great platform to work with, but I’ve gone a different direction in cars. I still have a 63’ (since 97’) that’s a keeper, so I wouldn’t be completely getting out of Vette’s.

Condition:
- this is not a show car, but always mechanically maintained. Back in the day I’d take it to the drag strip a couple times of year and down to Watkins Glen, and Pocono for driver days.
- 10ft out, looking good. I wash all my cars by hand so I know where all the faults are. There are a couple knicks and passenger door repaint by the dealer before I purchased it. There were no records on what happened, but they re-sprayed it (again, circa 2001) and 20+yrs later, it is noticeable to me (up close)
- this car was a GM Exec Lease vehicle, that was purchased back by GM - I will have to dig up the paperwork (yes, I keep all of that stuff) on what the buyback was for, but I can assure that whatever GM did to fix, it was never an issue for me. As a result, the title has a “buy back” note on it.
- interior is good. Leather is good.
- all gauges work, including HUD
- rear diff has a small wet spot. This was repaired by the dealer under a recall, around 02-04. Assuming the lack of driving hasn’t helped. Either way, a common problem
- tires, old F1’s with 15k on them
- the AC has never been charged and blows warm. The compressor kicks on though
- the smoked glass roof is delaminated
- missing the wagon wheels, but I have an extra set of rough looking Magnesium wheels that I was goin to use for track days.
- missing the plastic corvette engine covers.

That’s it, the good and the bad. I can send pics and all that fun stuff, but I was looking for a $$$ range. Also, I don’t mind fixing somethings that would be deal breakers - I am just out of tune what those might be, e.g., maybe the AC, tires, or?

 

Wished I had seen this about 6 months ago. Sounds like a great car to get back on the roac.
i have a 02 Z28 in pewter and it is a great color.
I picked up a 03 z06 about 6 months ago and it has problems lol.
Good luck with the pricing and the sell. Hope it goes to a good home.

 

This car is in my opinion kinda tough to price because it has the low mileage that makes cars sell for far more money but it is modified to the point that it will hurt the value along with the cosmetic flaws. It in the end my opinion is not that relevant as I am not looking for a car at the moment. I honestly see this car bringing somewhere in the vicinity of 20k but I am sure others will chime in if I am off base.

 

Hard to price things you can’t see or in other parts of the country.

In this area Ohio similar cars are around $17k-$22k average with mods. Some less if not in clean condition.

Just saw a Mallet convert go for $26k with 30k miles.

Like they say many mods don’t always add much to value on a Corvette. In some cases they can hurt if they are not well documented. I get guys all the time calling work trying to figure out what they bought.

Might help if you put together a note book of all the modes and part numbers documenting what all is in and done to the car.

Hate putting a price on a car I don’t know.

 

Many will normally pay more for a low mile un mod car and build it themselves to know what they have and how it was treated.

Buy a modified car often has added risks. It could be well cared for and better than new or it could be a mess of abuse.

Too often what was done was lost and guys are trying to sort out what cam was installed if or when a clutch was installed and what kind. Then when things go wrong just what is causing it? Bad part bad parts combo etc.

If you can do the work yourself you are ok nut if you need to pay a shop it can cost you extra on some mods.

Buyers don’t always see them as best case often it is worst case.

A book of photos, part numbers and receipts go a long way to show what was done and how well it was done. This can help add value much like repair records on a stock vette.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I guess because I’ve owned the car for 20+yrs and all the mods were done within the first 1-2yrs after I purchased it - all the mods seem fairly straightforward or were at the time, e.g., a heads/cam/headers package from a reputable tuner. Everything is very familiar to me, but I get the point - it’s not to others and the type of info below needs more detail.
- heads are ported/polished LS1 heads
- crane cam, don’t recall the spec, but it is mild
- LS6 intake

Again, thank you for the feedback. IMO this is not the car for someone looking for a show car. Though I used to take it to Corvette shows, in the same condition it is today - at the end of the day, this is a solid drivers car that has been maintained and will hold its own in spirited driving. All the mods are mild, which lend themselves to a stable/lengthy/reliable vehicle that can be driven without headaches of mods that put the vehicle on the hairy-edge of daily driver or track only.

I’ll dig up the receipts for the mods. I can post more pics. The car sits on a lift so I can take them from all angles.

I am not looking to squeeze every last penny out of the car - just looking to be directionally accurate with a sale price and go from there.

Thanks everyone!!

 

I hate trying to value someone else car without being there.

But I feel you can make a better price and impression if you give all the details on how it was built and the quality of the work.

My buddy taught me this a while back. He has a Camaro SS that was built to the max. It was a 9 second street car.

He had a book with every part number and price of it used on the car.

The engine was built by Hutter performance with all the details and Dyno tests.

He took photos of the work that was done to show how the car was built.

When it came time to sell it got top dollar and sold pretty fast. There is value in documentation be it a performance build or just a restoration.

Sounds like a good car and I expect you will do well but gather up the info you have and it should only help.

As the saying goes it ain’t bs if you can back it up.

 

Bought my 02 with 55K miles, bone stock and I mean bone stock (even the exhaust) in excellent condition in Jan of this year for 19K. I looked at 4-5 (2 were Z06's) and all were around 40-75K miles in similar condition and they were 20-25K. Z06's really weren't much more than base models. I went with the 02 because it was totally bone stock, but would have been happy with 2 of the others I looked at. If you have all the receipts for the work done, make sure you provide/show those will help some since you had it done and have been the owner since. I'd ask 28 and go from there. C5's will eventually start to go up, they are relatively easy to work on and maintain.

 

Note the latest Corvette magazine has the most recent value guid in it this month.

Now the prices are on totally stock models for the most part and will give the average range.

Show ready for a 1999 is $25k Good, $20k Average $19.3 Low $11k on the coupes that is up 29% over last year.

Roadsters are up $2k to $4k over the coupe and 99 hard tops about the same as a coupe

The early cars take a his for known issues.

As for mods no listing as that is where the owner and buyer have to thrash it out. Too many variables.

But C5 prices are up all over the model.

the Z06 in stock clean condition is rising fast and averages $10k over the roadster and 12k over coupes.

There is a local dealer that moves C5 models regularly. They just sold a lowered coupe with 40k miles it had wheels and a spoiler. Nothing else. $24k.

They have two roadster now.

https://www.donsitts.com/inventory.php?type=Sports

They average 1-3 weeks to move a C5 and their prices have risen since last winter.

They generally only have clean descent cars but these are some of the worst I have seen. The silver is missing radio buttons and the red it higher miles than normal they get in. Getting used Vettes in good shape is not as easy as it was.

 

From your description, I would put your C5 in the 'Good' category. To me, lower mileage is taking away from its provenance, ( too much time sitting. ) And as most have stated, accurate documentation of all service and mods is a value to some buyers. But, ask for the moon. Worst case, you get no bites,,,,
.


Hagertys posting as of today,,, 👈

 

It seems like a nice car, but you have several things working against you, and some things in your favor. The fact that it is a 6-speed will bump the price a bit. The mileage is on the low side. However, I feel like the mileage would need to be about half that in order to really bring up the price. The fact is, a '99 just isn't worth as much as some of the newer C5s. You also have the fact that the AC is blowing warm, and the tires need to be replaced. Then throw in the title issues on top of that. I'll admit it sounds like a nice car, but I really think that you're in the $15K range. The right buyer might give $18K-$20K, but I think that's really stretching it. You'll have to wait a while and get lucky to get that. To put things in perspective, prior to the pandemic, this would have been a $10k car. Good luck with the sale.

 

As you can see the C5 market is volatile.

While demand is good volumes are high for what is on the market.

As you can see two different value assessments can even show variation.

The mileage is going to be great for another buyer and maybe less for another.

I would watch the car sales web sites in your area and see what is selling. Target a bit over and you can have room to negotiate.

I have seen a number of cars out there that are way over priced but they do sell. It may take a while.

Then I see people not willing to pay over $15 then dump $10k into the car to get it to where they could have been at $22k.

Fix the AC and tires.

If not in a hurry play the long game and in time that one buyer will come along.

 

Good points and agree with all - thanks.

Further thought:

At this price point, does it make sense to fix the AC and slap some new tires on it? I presume the trade off is that I might limit the pool of potential buyers without those two things addressed. Maybe the AC is more important. I personally would prefer to select my own tires and if I do put tires on it to sell it, they won’t be the tires I would buy normally - they will be a value tire.

Title issues - would it bother me, depends on one’s value criteria. This saved me 10% in 2001 and allowed me to get into the car at the price point I wanted, and it never let me down. The title issue type is probably a key indicator when/if someone is considering a non-clear title. Being a GM buy back, GM fixing the source of complaint and me driving it over 35,000 miles to prove that out - that kind of mitigates the technical concern related to the original defect. This really depends on desired usage and budget. I can see both sides of the title thing and wouldn’t try to convince someone one way or the other. Fact is, the title has a mark on it, just what that does to the value today - time will tell.

Where to list - These days, where do people recommend listing the car? I haven’t sold a used car in many, many years. Again, thank you in advance for your input.

 

For the AC, it really depends on the issue. AC repairs can be VERY expensive. That's one of the big reasons that it lowers the value of the car. If you can fix the issue for not too much money, that would be worth doing. I think you would at the very least make that money back, and expand your pool of buyers in the process. On the other hand, if the repair ends up costing a bunch, it might not be worth it for you. I wouldn't bother replacing the tires. You are right about the new owner picking their own being better. However, be aware that most buyers will want to knock $800-$1000 off the purchase price to compensate for that (I was already factoring that discount into the $15K price I gave you earlier). As for the mark on the title. As you said, some will care, and some won't. However, ALL will want a lower price because of it.

As far as where to sell it, you can start with the for sale section on the forum. If you want to throw a wider net, Ebay is a common option, but watch for scammers.

 

Based on the description you might be better off just donating it to Good Will and taking a tax break on the donation. I didn't hear anything in the description that makes it sound like a desirable used car. I wouldn't value it over $9,000 if sold outright -- might get a more inflated value as a donation.

 

I suggest you list it here first. Potential buyers can see all your honest postings about the car that you have made over the years, and how it was cared for throughout your ownership. I believe that's why many do sell from this forum. And your smart enough to smell a 'rat' if they unexpectedly show up on the forum. I think you have plenty of good information and suggestions to proceed from here. GLWS.

 

Dumbest post in this thread yet.

 

As a potential buyer (which I am in the market) the A/C is the biggest flag to me due to the unknown cost and general hassle.... followed closely by the "buy-back" thing. Is that a mark on the title or just something attached to the VIN? Tires? Meh.... would be nice if they were new/newer but whatever. That's a reasonable and negotiable thing. I've worked as a home inspector with homebuyers for 25+ years and unknowns are the worst. It needs a new roof..... +/- 20K. Okay, I can wrap my head around that. Siding and water intrusion problems of UNKNOWN extent? Everyone freaks out. Get the A/C fixed and get a good explanation of the buy-back and you should be good to go with most buyers. Just your general presentation and having a bunch of cars (money) presents very well. Basically, you're not a bottom-feeder guy trying to sell in a parking lot to make rent. A little effort and some explanation/information and you will get the best bang for the buck.

 

Look just about any old car purchase is a risk. Rarely do you buy a car that needs nothing or has a needed repair.

Even low mile cars an abundance of work.

The buy back at this point is not a likely issue unless it was the AC. But even that can be repaired. That is why I would have if checked before selling to remove all doubt. .

I have seen guys pay $10k for rodent infested messes here and turn them into good running cars. Not something I recommend but just proves there are buyers for Al, types and condition C5 models.

Name a price out it out there and it will sell.

The Corvette buyers today in the C5 segment are very diverse some have to buy the most complete car they can because they can’t turn a wrench while others have the skills to rebuild about anything tossed at them.

We see this in the post. Good photos and an honest description will get it sold. If you can fix the AC and tires it will open the door to more buyers.

I wager most of us here had a few things to fix on the cars we bought. @ 31k miles I had to fix seat bushings, change fluids, put a new foam in the drivers seat and side bezel. I negotiated new tires from the dealer since they were from 06.

Today I have a damn good car and it has performed well this summer.

This was the first used car I purchased in years so I had concerns but taking the time to know what it needed and fixing them were worth it.

There is a group of buyers for this car they just need to find it.

Start high negotiate a fair deal for both.

 

The ac should be an easy fix just find a friend that has bought a ac recharge kit in the past and see if you have any pressure in the system. I am willing to bet it just needs recharged and you can do that yourself for less than $50.00. When charging the system you have the ac on high with recirculate on and shoot for 30 psi on the gauge when engine is idling. Over that and your high side pressure will get to high on hot days and below that you can run the risk of freezing over the evaporator core.


you still need to look at the relative bargain that the c5 is compared to others in its segment. This car has the right mods to attract potential buyers where as it would be a huge negative if it had aftermarket body panels and crazy paint scheme.