njvetteguy1

Hi all, still on the hunt for my dream corvette. Been searching off and on for awhile now, waiting to find the perfect car, but not in any real rush. I found this car on craigslist the other day, and wanted all of your opinions on it.

Its a 2005 M6 Coupe, Monterrey Red with Black interior. Has just under 23,000 miles on it, and is currently under warranty (was sold as a certified used car to its previous owner) until February 2011. Has a HUD, but no nav system (dont care about nav anyway). Mods are GHL street exhaust, 2008 split spoke wheels, and drilled rotors (its a non-Z51 car). Seller claims no accidents or paintwork ever, and is offering a carfax. In his words its a 9.5 out of 10, and from the pics I dont doubt it. Asking price is $27.5k.

This is more than I had originally planned on spending, but its really a beautiful car with low mileage. Is the GHL exhaust too obscene for daily driving, or will I be okay with it? What should I be asking if I go to see the car? How difficult and/or expensive will it be to further extend the GM warranty? This biggest question is, how good is the price? I will be haggling him down either way, but I want to know how far I should reasonably expect to go.

Thanks for your help!!

AORoads

well, first of all unless that's a typo on your part, someone's already pulling your leg. those wheels are not '06s; they're at least '08s since that's the first year of that style.

next, unless I'm wrong, GMPP which is the extended service plan, depending on what coverage and how long you want it for will be expensive. to me, expensive is anything over 500; you choose but we have vendors to contact to find out. (and if you can get it, it could be up in the 1K-2K range.)

next, as I learned just yesterday, there is yet another "source" to check with any potential used car: your insurance agent. ask him/her to take the vin and see if it's had any claims. also, take the vin to any GM dealer and ask for their VIS computer system to see what warranty and other work has been done on the car. any dealer, not just a chev. dealer.

if you haven't seen the car in person and at least had it up on a lift, you have no real idea how good the car is from the pics. jmo, but I'd bet others will agree. and who is the expert who's going to look over this car with/for you?

finally, I won't comment on the price thing, but I've not heard (knowingly) the ghl on a C6. I have heard them on other cars. but from what I've heard, it is not to my liking for sound level, and wouldn't be one I'd want even for occasional and short drives. that doesn't jibe with some others on here. so be it. you decide. obviously, you haven't heard it yet. don't forget to take it on the highway at betw. 1400 or so up to 1700-2000 rpms, steady-state driving to see how it sounds then.

good luck.

njvetteguy1

oops, yea that was a typo on the wheels, they are 2008s. I will be checking the carfax and with my insurance company for the history on the car if i see it and am serious about buying it. I will probably have it in to a dealership before I buy it to have it checked out as well. Exhaust may well be an issue I can get him to lower the price on, and then swap with someone for a stock exhaust + cash? Could end up working out to my advantage?

TexasMadMan

Sorry, can't answer your questions, but in 05, the color would be Magnetic red. That's a nice looking car.

njvetteguy1

No expert, but was under the impression that there were some mid-year changes in the reds available in 2005? Dont know the complete history.

AORoads

I'll assume the cragislisting is in your area; otherwise, do the insur. co. ckg. first--why travel to see it if it's not a good car? see: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...er-beware.html

as to taking it to a dealership to have it checked out for you, not all dealerships are the same. since you joined earlier this year, you may have read some of the stories about dealers who don't know much about Corvettes in general, no pun. I'd pick my dealer to review my Corvette carefully, or since I'll make a wild assumption you're somewhere in NJ, you can choose one of the forum vendors nearest to you who work on Vettes.

at least it's a way to start out right, and for a few bucks' worth compared to the total tab for buying it.

Dans C6

There were a couple different reds available in 05. Precision red was an early model red, then victory red replaced it in fall of 05, and magnetic red metallic were the only available reds for the 05 year.

Monterary red was an 06-07 red color.

bulldawgred99

I agree; get it checked. I bought an '05 MY 1SB MN6 back in '08 when we were stationed in VA ... only had 9K miles on it and it was out of warranty. I immediately took it to a Chevy dealer for the complete inspection and was thankful. This car was pristine, but it had issues with the shocks leaking. The service manager told me the bill would run ~$3.5K and I died a little inside as I thought about how I was going to explain this to my better half after just buying the car. Fortunately, GM stepped in and agreed to replace them for free since the car only had 9K miles on it. Other than the dreadful battery issue and the rear end chatter, I didn't have any maintenance issues; it was an awesome car.

As for the exhaust, my '07 MRM 3LT A6 has a GHL system on it and it is quite loud. I love it; my wife -- not so much. As a comparison, my '05 had Corsa exhaust and I really liked the throaty sound, but it was definitely tame compared to this this GHL system.

Price: I sold my '05 in March of this year for $29.5, 13K miles. I bought my '07 with 6.5K miles for less money two months ago ... it's still a buyer's market IMHO. Good luck! thomas

usraptor

First of all the price seems a little high for an '05, even with the low miles.
Also, the '05's had a lot of electrical gremlins being the first year of the C6. There are lots of posts on CF about that issue, although some had no issues with their '05's. Just a heads up. You might want to look for an '06 or '07 instead, especially at that price. Good luck!

VettinFan

Sounds like you have your priorities in order... First,CarFax, VIN check, Second, personal inspection. 3rd, get it to a reputable GM dealer, preferably one that specializes in vettes. Also ask the dealer to double check to see if there are any warranty holds on the car. Like you mentioned in your post...take your time.

In regard to price...it's always negotiable. Good Luck.

Racer

Wow, not the thread I expected, here is why...
This is an M6



This is a C6

Never Say Never

Expected another BMW thread.

Good luck.

talon90

Not necessarily. There Were 717 Red Jewel Metallic (Monterrey Red) C6 Corvettes produced at the end of the model year in 2005. The color was introduced as a 2006 color but was actually tested in the plant and produced on production cars in 2005. Easy enough to validate, it is RPO 80U on the glove box tag.

Vito.A

I think the price is very reasonable. Someone always brags about finding one cheaper, but this is a beautiful car at half of what it sold for just a few years ago. I still see C5 Corvettes priced in this range.

Do the required checks and grab it up quick before someone else does.

You need to find out if the roof recall was done and should be aware that the 2005 differential is not up to severe service.

This will be one of the most fun cars you have ever owned!

lavla

There were 717 Monterey Red Corvettes manufactured in 2005. I bought one and after looking at the VIN, I think that I was on of the last 100 cars built in that year.
Anyway, I bought it from a Chevy dealer with 4k miles on it on Nov 06. It's been flawless and it's beautiful!!

Lou