Previous owners
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4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2023
Posts: 4
Likes: 14
From: Galveston, Texas
Previous owners
I bought my 2004 about two months ago. Carfax mentioned the previous owner had the car for sixteen years. What would be the correct way to contact this person? I sure would like to see what he’s done to this car besides what Carfax says.
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From: The Sunshine State
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Not sure what the correct answer is, however maybe post a couple photos of the car and the area where you live or purchased the car and maybe the former owner is a member here on CF. You might get lucky.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2013
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From: New Jersey
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St. Jude Donor '25
Was there any recent dealer service noted on the CarFax, might be worth reaching out to them.
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2023
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From: N.Y.C.
Similar situation, I just picked up a salvage 03 C5Z and saw that the car was owned by one owner since new. I found the PO's info and left a voicemail, no response yet. Might write a letter to them next. I'd probably suggest you do some googling on the VIN or the area in which the car was previously owned.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2013
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From: New Jersey
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St. Jude Donor '25
Similar situation, I just picked up a salvage 03 C5Z and saw that the car was owned by one owner since new. I found the PO's info and left a voicemail, no response yet. Might write a letter to them next. I'd probably suggest you do some googling on the VIN or the area in which the car was previously owned.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2023
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From: North Coast
If you can get a email contact them but move on.
People often trade cars due to issues they would like to forget.
Now what may be a major issue to them may just be a simple fix for you.
Mine had a mouse nest in the AC. I was ok with that as cleaning it out for them may have been an issue but got me I had it done in no time.
It also had the seat rock. That would be expensive for them but it was 30 min fix for me.
The car fax had nothing major and I could see the. Car was just in need of detailing and never been in harsh weather conditions. .
People often trade cars due to issues they would like to forget.
Now what may be a major issue to them may just be a simple fix for you.
Mine had a mouse nest in the AC. I was ok with that as cleaning it out for them may have been an issue but got me I had it done in no time.
It also had the seat rock. That would be expensive for them but it was 30 min fix for me.
The car fax had nothing major and I could see the. Car was just in need of detailing and never been in harsh weather conditions. .
Safety Car
Joined: May 2015
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Cool subject... My previous owner was my sister.. Her C5's car history, interesting, was a dealership owners personal Corvette for the first 2years of its life before he placed it in his dealership sales department front and center with a big red ribbon attached! What a cool car.
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Unfortunately many dealership sales and service departments are very hesitant to disclose prior ownership info - privacy concerns. You can give it a try and if it works great, but don't be surprised if that approach fails. As mentioned, giving the VIN to the service department may yield any service work, both normal and warranty, that may have been done.
Running Guns & Moonshine
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From: CT
Reach out through your local state's Corvette Club(s). Chances are moderate (maybe 30%?) that someone may know of someone to point you in the right direction while also being able to broach the privacy question politely.