13,000 miles. All original including the tires. Original owner considering selling my garage queen.



What is a fair price?

 

Moved to C5 General. When you have a price, repost in the C5 Corvettes for Sale seccion.

@4howard

 

$24,000

 

That is one gorgeous car...I have the hardtop version and depending on transmission around $24k is about right. I picked up mine a couple months ago with 37k miles for $22k.

 

You drove a sports car an average of 650 miles a year to still have it lose half its value. Sounds like a sound financial choice. Oh, and the next buyer is going to have to drop another $2k putting tires on it.

 

The car looks perfect... Probably is... I'd start at 30...drop down incrementally every 3 months.. until the winner claims victory... You got time on your side... It will only gain popularity and value as the new Corvette rear engine thing invades the mind and heart of the youngster "Vette" buyer... with the traditionaless dribble of "high tech"... Oooo! High tech...gigantic bonner. 🙄
None of that monkey business with C5.

 

For guys like me the purchase of a Corvette is not a financial choice, it’s more an emotional choice. While the financial return is not as rewarding as a savings bond, looking at the Corvette is far more satisfying than a looking at a portrait of a past president.
BTW, no dry rot on the tires…they’re still good for the 650 miles of summer cruising next year.

 

A lot of truth in your sentiments. Still, have to, respectfully, disagree on the tires.They start rotting as soon as they’re made. Wasn’t too long ago there was a discussion on this forum and one poster said his old tires looked perfect, but decided on a new set anyway. When the first wheel was removed and set on the ground it blew up shortly thereafter! Just laying there.

When I bought my car three years ago it had the original tires. I had read about the looks perfect-old tire tale and did some research. Found a lot of horror stories about fatalities, etc. A common theme seemed to be a tire would not pass a safety inspection after seven years. We don’t have inspections in FL, but I had read enough to go right out and buy a new set. That’s just me.

Sounds like you have a fun trip planned. Have a great time!

 

Sorry man, but you're absolutely wrong about the tires. You are testing your luck every time you drive the car and putting in danger anyone in the car with you and the people around you.

 

These are Hagerty's Oct. '24 prices on an '04 CE Roadster...

#2 excellent condition..$32,300
#3 good..$20,500
Subtract 10% if it's an auto..

 

Here in Ohio that car would be around $30K give or take $2K. The low miles and the color are putting a premium on the car.

Bad time of year to sell. If you wait till spring it would sell pretty fast. Might take a while right now.

As for tires you need to know what to look for and it depends on how and where they were stored. Time lines are given as a general guide as not all tires are equal in protection.
I have Tire engineer buddies that will roll on older tires but they know what to do and what to look for. Generally they will not blow out but they will be hard and grip could be compromised. Also heat on long trips can hurt.

If unsure change them.

 

I would think you could sell it fairly quickly at $21k on the old tires, or $23k on new ones.... which it needs, desperately.

 

I was told by Discount Tire they couldn't work on my tire's because they were 10 years old. I just wanted a sensor put in and they said they couldn't. I still have great tread on them.

 

Many tire shops will not touch old tires unless you are removing them. Same on non stock sizes. they do not want the liability of it.

Tire age and condition can be variable. Some can last much better if stored in proper conditions. Some can aged even faster in the wrong conditions. Your results may vary.

I have a number of tire engineers who know what to look for stretch things out but the general public have no idea of what to look for or the tools to test the grip.

The other thing is where you live. Down south a tire will fail on a long trip much faster than up north. Heat will destroy a tire as will electric motors and sun light.

The thing to keep in mind you are generally not going to kill yourself unless you are driving at a high rate of speed. But in a Corvette you risk losing a quarter panel or fender. The tires will let the tread go and it rips anything in reach.

I have run old tires but they were stored well and my issues were they did get flat spotted from sitting and the compound got hard so they lost grip. They looked great and no issues with cracking but the new tires were much smoother and they had much better grip.

Look this is a clean car and a set of tires is not a big deal if you want a good car. The low miles is where the value is here and generally it adds to the value. $21K will get you 28-35K mile car. This car could start at $30k and sell at $28K but that is a spring price. This time of year people are looking for bargains. In the spring they will pony up more for the good weather. In Florida it would be less as they have more Corvettes there.

 

I spoke with a Michelin engineer a couple years back about some 15-year-old LTX truck tires. Very few miles on them, no cracks, looked perfect, stored in a climate-controlled environment, spent almost no time in the sun, never ran hard enough or far enough to build a lot of heat, etc.

All he heard was "15-year-old tires", and he didn't care about the rest. He said there are no circumstances under which a 15-year-old tire is safe to run.

 

Any tire representative will stick to the general time lines. Lawsuits are a major fear of every tire company.

Many shops won’t even change tire size or speed rating on tires even if you never drive over 100 mph.

Many people destroy new tires by running too low of pressure. That is why they put tire sensors on.

Years ago the used tire industry was big in low income areas. Old tires were installed daily and few failed but once in a while one would. No one checked dates then. While the chances increase with age the failure rate is low but with lawyers companies will play it safe.

Heat is the greatest factor and another thing is the quality of the tire.

Tractor tires never see heat just heavy loads and they can last for decades. They also were quality tires. But lack of heat is the major factor.

Always best to error to safety. But knowing the factors also keeps it honest.

 

Two other things that aren't directly related to the age of the tire:

Those goodyear runflats were crap when they were new.

Technology has improved lightyears in the past two decades. A modern day all-season pilot sport will run circles around those high-performance summer tires even if they were brought here in a time machine.

 

No doubt when the lawyers get involved, the party line will be on the conservative side in order to cover their butts from liability. If they say seven years is the limit, then it's probably more like 10 before the trouble starts. But TWENTY years?!
On the flip side, if they offered a tire that could safely go 15 years without replacement, you had better believe that fact would be part of their marketing strategy.

I've shared in beating the tire topic to death. I'm done now. I love the car and would be interested in purchasing at a reasonable price... whatever that may be.

 

OK
Ive been convinced about the tires. Seeing as the car is 100% original, go to Chevy dealer or a qualified tire shop to replace them with the same brand and model? Should the sensors be replaced or are there batteries in the sensors that should be replaced? Save the originals for any future reason?

 

The OEM sensors are available and should be replaced. The tires are junk and should be replaced. In addition to safety concerns, the rubber is hard and lost traction. I bought two 2002 verts and immediately replaced the tires. If you plan on driving it consider buying non-run flats and check all the rubber hoses, belts and change fluids, None of the old stuff is worth saving. I had another vehicle (not a Corvette) in NY and at state inspection they made me change eleven-year-old Michelins that looked great. Good Luck!