Hey guys, I was just wondering how much a three year old corvette coupe with low miles should cost. From what I've seen I've seen prices around 30-35k....would one be better off buying privately and paying in the high 20k range for a low mileage car. I suppose that next year a three year old low mile (2002) vette will be cheaper than what the three year old 2001's are going for now.....Just wondering what a good deal would be thats all.

Thanks

 

 

One place to check is the C5 for Sale section, it would give an idea of the going prices

 

You should also keep in mind that those of us on the forum are used to seeing "forum" prices - not at all related to what most people will be asking in your home area (dealers OR private sellers)!

 

I would say the price should be closer to 30K rather than the mid 30's, but that would be around here. Where you live could be much different.

 

IMHO, base the deal on how much flexibility you have in the color, options, mileage, etc. you want. If you are finding many cars fit your range than by all means visit the top choices and make offers and stay firm. That's what I did and found that it wasn't really that bad getting a "good deal". I ended up going with a private party on a '03 Z06 but visited about 12 people in a span of a few weeks before that one. But in the end didn't want the entire summer to go by without getting into my first vette. Hope this helps, I've also included some Manheim Auction prices below in comparing your deals. Good luck!

Here's what sold at auction for 2001 Coupe 6-Speed:
06/16/04 SO CAL $20,600 58,475 Below YELLOW 8G 6 No
07/06/04 DETROIT Lease $24,000 55,590 Below RED 8G 6 No
06/29/04 FAAO Regular $24,000 33,223 Below GREY 8G 6 Yes
06/29/04 LAUD/MIA Lease $24,800 41,697 Below SILVER 8G 6 Yes
07/01/04 CHICAGO Regular $25,500 39,740 Avg BLUE 8G 6 Yes
07/01/04 MANHEIM Lease $25,600 35,744 Avg YELLOW 8G 6 Yes
06/17/04 MANHEIM Lease $26,000 46,887 Avg MAROON 8G 6 Yes
07/07/04 DALLAS Lease $26,300 27,434 Avg BLUE 8G 6 Yes
06/15/04 BIG H Lease $26,300 25,681 Avg BLACK 8G 6 Yes
06/17/04 MANHEIM Lease $26,900 26,233 Avg RED 8G 6 Yes
06/10/04 NEVADA Regular $27,250 44,939 Avg BLACK 8G 6 Yes
07/02/04 MANHEIM Lease $27,600 9,715 Avg RED 8G 6 Yes
06/09/04 GTR N.O. Regular $28,000 5,035 Avg BLACK 8G 5 Yes
06/22/04 FAAO Regular $28,300 31,809 Above WHITE 8G 6 Yes
06/11/04 MANHEIM Regular $28,750 19,004 Above PEWTER 8G 6 Yes
06/08/04 STATESVL Regular $29,800 6,339 Above BLACK 8G 6 No
06/29/04 PORTLND Regular $29,900 22,011 Above YELLOW 8G 6 Yes

And for comparison, 2002 Coupe 6-Speed:
06/30/04 BALTWASH Lease $25,000 42,046 Below BLUE 8G 6 No
06/30/04 ATLANTA Lease $25,300 22,920 Below SILVER 8G 6 Yes
06/22/04 DETROIT Lease $26,500 36,242 Below RED 8G 6 No
06/10/04 GTR TMPA Regular $26,500 36,441 Below GRAY 8G 6 No
06/23/04 BUTLER Regular $27,000 22,944 Below WHITE 8G 6 Yes
06/30/04 NASHVILL Regular $28,400 13,811 Avg BLACK 8G 6 Yes
06/23/04 DALLAS Regular $29,100 13,062 Avg BLACK 8G 6 Yes
06/22/04 FAAO Regular $29,800 24,410 Avg BLUE 8G 6 Yes
07/07/04 BAY CITI Regular $29,900 35,529 Avg SILVER 8G M Yes
07/07/04 NASHVILL Regular $31,000 5,893 Avg BLACK 8G 6 Yes
07/02/04 NEVADA Regular $31,000 16,213 Avg WHITE 8G 6 Yes
06/15/04 OHIO Regular $31,300 12,515 Avg RED 8G M Yes
06/16/04 DALLAS Regular $31,600 16,200 Above SILVER 8G 6 Yes
06/11/04 MANHEIM Regular $31,700 24,640 Above SILVER 8G 6 Yes

 

Hey again,

After seeing those auction prices you can definitly find a great deal on a low mileage car that would otherwise cost more. The only downside is that you do not get to find out the history of the car from the owner, and meet the owner in person....It is probably more of a "blind eye" approach. What do you guys think?

 

 

You're exactly right about that. It's a sort of "sight unseen" approach that most occurs at auction when brokers/wholesalers try to customize an order for a client. It takes a tremendous amount of effort, dedication, knowledge and passion for the the cars to get a good car. That's especially true since vette owners tend to be extremely picky -- I'm no exception. But all of those cars in the Pre-Sale do have VIN's on them so at least the Carfax can be done on certain ones. But we know that Carfax is not 100% accurate so have to take that with a grain of salt.

As I mentioned, best bet is to work the private party route the hardest but also see if dealers have cars that they've had for maybe 30,45,60 days and want to move them out at a great deal.

Let us know what you're finding out there. Good luck!