With all of the current hoopla over the '08's and it's refinements/changes, also with the later release date of the C7, what does this do to the value of the '07's and '06's? Will they be lesser than normal in value? Not that I'm even ready or able . . just curious from a financial standpoint.

Anything historically different from any other year?

 

Any time the new model has major improvements like the 08 Corvette, the older ones do devalue more than normal. Our 05, 06, and 07 Vettes are worth less. Note I said worth less, not worthless!

 

What! You're saying my '07 is worthless@#$%^&*().

It is worthless to me since my wife won't let go of it. Her license plate says GRMSVT (gramies vette)

 

Yea but my color is no longer in production. 36Hp isn't much either.

 

A new model year seems like it generally produces a decline in value of the earlier years, but a new model - -eg, the C7 would seem to have a larger impact on the C6 market.

Although certainly debatable, from the perspect of an `05 owner, there just haven't been that many sustantive differences in the short C6 run to date to cause anything other than the normal and predictable year-to-year depreciation- in my view.

If the underlying point of the OP's question is whether there will be signficant or abnormal price declines in 05-07 C6 market because of the `08 release- I'd guess not- no more than usual annual drops.

I view that as a good thing . . .but I think there are a lot of C6 owners that are looking to the premier of the C7 car as the time for change- and that may see the larger drop in C6 values.

Just my .02.

 

More because of the improvements in a few key areas (however slight they may be).

 

Remember I said worth less, not worthless. Really like the license plate!

 

The 08 is a "major" improvement? How? The C7 will be hopefuly be a mjaor improvement in my opinion.

 

A few months ago, Forbes did a thing on luxury cars holding their value after five years. Corvette ranked no. 1 at 47%. Don't know about timing of info on the '08's. It was posted, frequently, on this forum.

I sold my C5 for 48%, after five years. I'm not worried about getting a fair return on my fun dollars on my C6. If I hold it until the C7 comes around, I'm still expecting a better than average return. Heck, my C5 held decent value to top Forbes list and I sold it two model years after the C6 was introduced.

Besides, I didn't buy it for an investment. Bought it to have fun!!

 

The original poster's question is a difficult one to answer.

The typical buyer is not going to know the difference, so if you sell your '05, '06 or '07 yourself, to the typical first time Vette owner, you might not get hurt as badly.

However if you go to trade it in, especially on another Vette, be it C6 or C7, the dealer is probably going to know right away what it is. And offer you a good bit less for it because of the engine change and other improvements in the '08.

 

Be careful what you plan for the C7 to be. In '67 the '68 could have been hoped to be a substantial improvement but, IMO, it was not. And...by the mid 70s vettes were not even a shadow of what they had been in the mid to late 60s.

36 hp is , IMO, a big deal not just for the hp but also for the considerable technical refinements in the LS3 vs the LS2.

If someone spend mod money and were to get 36 hp they'd be dancing in the street at how great all the extra power feels.

Faster than normal devaluation of the 05, 06, and 07 C6s IS taking place IMO. However, I don't believe the reason is solely the enhancements to the 08s. There are many many other factors at play today that overshadow the 08 improvements. Little things like: gasoline price today, fears about gasoline prices and availability tomorrow, too many C6s being produced ( and also apparently too many Z06s going to market ), too much consumer debt, the sub prime thing, outsourcing, layoffs, inflation ( which supposedly is low lol ), medical expenses, insurance costs, consumer debt loads, overborrowing in recent years for nonessential consumer goods, ARM interest rate increases and.....

C7 and SS/Blue devil impact on the market.

So, I think the enhancements to the 08 might be 20 or 30% of the reason for lower than predicted values for the prior year C6s....

little things like fear over the permanence of coupe roof repairs might also be in play.

just my opinions.

 

Very interesting and, in my opinion, astute observations. Hadn't thought about all that. I don't think I'm ready to toss in the towel, however. We don't know if all the situations you cite will be sustained. I, personally have a "half full glass" perspective (and not insinuating you don't!!...) but good points!

 

To your second and third questions:

Look at a couple of things.

The 1984 C4 with the Crossfire fuel injected L83 vs the 1985, 86-91, L98 tuned port.

The '84s are still among the least desirable Vettes out there, and their value still suffers, but not solely because of the engine. But the new engine which showed up in the '85s, certainly did not help to preserve the value of the '84.

This was probably the straw which broke the camel's back with regard to the value of the '84. It's value tanked in '85 and has remained in the tank.

But going from the LT1 in 92 to the LT4 option, well the LT4 became more desirable though it was an optional engine and could be ordered. It became the engine to have in the C4 and hurt the resale of the LT1 and L98s. Indeed, many people shopping for a C4 right now, are probably going to look for an LT4.

Also consider the C5 FRC and what the '01-'04 C5 Z06 did to it's value, again, with among other things, an increase in power. Many people right now looking for that body style, are going to go ahead and get an '02-'03 Z06 as opposed to a 99 FRC.

 

I'm not worried, when it's time for me to sell the car (future C7 buyer) it'll be in the mid 20's range. Which is right where it should be.

Any current value drops beyond normal in the 05-07 C6's are strictly being caused by worried owners devaluating their own cars looking for a quick sell.

 

With 5k miles on my 07 3lt coupe, 6speed, blk on blk with Chrome rims, I bet I could fetch $43-44 large on the used market. In my opinion, getting all the goodies with a 3lt, less than 10k miles on it, there are many buyers who are attracted to the "under $45k" price range.

Me thinks that's pretty good

 

Supply and demand......period!

 

This topic in theory is a bit skewed......Its like your 18 dating a 15 year old.....Right now its a big deal, after 5 years of dating no one cares that theres a 3 year difference.....Your resell value will depend on how low your mileage is and how well you maintain the car....I have had 5 vettes and I have done well selling them on my own. I gaurantee that I will have no problem selling my 07 LMB coupe in 5 years and get in the high 20's for it...I treat my cars like gold and only put about 4-4500 k a year on them..This is why I went with the 1LT, better value later when I sell. One thing is for sure, all the options you pay for new devalue quickly.........

 

While I generally agree with the above, there are almost too many outside factors that impact as well. Look at the state of our economy, the number of Vettes produced (up last year for the first time in awhile), possibly the saturation of the market (look at jeffhardy), etc.

Beyond any of the features of the '08, I think the biggest factor to drop the price of new or used Corvettes today (not even six months ago) is the "perception" of the economy by potential buyers. And I know I'll be "told" that those who can afford a Corvette aren't suffering financially, but that's not the case from a perception viewpoint.

 

Right or wrong, I consider myself pretty astute at understanding resale values. My opinion is that it will have virtually no effect.

As an example, go to KBB (I consider them slightly high, but pretty damn close based upon the dealings with my dealer - who I know very well and deal with the owner). Look up resale value on like equiped Corvettes with automatic transmissions (you'll see why in a minute) and load in a consistent number of miles/year for each one. Go back to 2005 on this.

Now, do you see a strange drop in value for the '05 - more than the 06 and 07 drop? The reason I put it that way is that the 05 had a four speed automatic and the 06 and 07 a six speed automatic. I have not done this, so I don't know what the outcome will be. But I'm betting the drop is no more than a normal year drop in value even though it has the "old" transmission.

Most people don't really understand resale value. There are people who only want to (or can) spend so much for a vehicle. The fact that a newer year car has some improvements does not change how much they want to spend. The other thing many forum members forget is that we are not typical Corvette buyers. Most of them don't even know how much horsepower their car has, or they don't care if it has 30 more hp.

Case in point on my example on the transmission. I personally know two people pretty well who bought 2005s with automatic transmissions. One of them bought it well after everyone on the forum new that the 2006 would be out in matter of weeks with a six speed. But he did not know it (he did not call me first!).

The second guy actually bought a leftover 05 three months after the 06 was out. He knew all about the six speed automatic, and he and I discussed it a lot. He bought the older one anyway, and his big concern was that the six speed was new and might be prone to problems.

My answer remains - the improvments to the 08 will have virtually no effect on the values of the previous models.

 

Most of the "hoopla" regarding the 08 is created right here on this forum. Many or probably most Corvette owners don't even read the forum. And what dealers want to give you top dollar on a trade anyway. The trade value on any C6 will probably be as good as your negotiating skills. If I still had my 05 I would not feel the need to trade up to an 08 just for the model year improvements.