pantheman75

We can all agree on one thing... depreciation is our ally BEFORE we buy a car and is our enemy AFTER we buy the car. Thanks to years of C6 depreciation it appears that the purchase of one is "in the cards" for me in the not too distant future. What can you guys tell me about C6 depreciation... is it slowing? More specifically, I'm curious... are the 60th anniversary 427's more "depreciation proof" than other C6's? Any thoughts / feedback on this subject are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Torchsport

Fact of life.

Old Ben

I checked a few weeks ago and my '05 vert had dropped $4,200 since I bought it three years ago. The depreciation may be less when spring gets here and verts are more in demand.

vcheng

I bought my C6 for the sheer pleasure of driving it, not as an investment.

devnull

pantheman75

THAT is the right perspective to have Sadly, finances come in to play with a big purchase like this so I'd like to get a better idea of what the depreciation picture looks like with these cars.

FortMorganAl

Just do an Edmunds or KBB search for various years and models. That will give you as good an estimate of yearly depreciation as anyone here could give.

Atomic6

Every car hits the 'bottom' after so many years. C4 cars are still dirt cheap with no turnaround in sight, and the C5 models are heading in the same direction. Our C6 models will follow as well. "Specialty' versions can definitely tend to do better but even then, holding current value isn't likely. I just sold a 1996 low mileage C4 CE for much too low a price, but it is what it is.
So much also depends on how the car was maintained and how many miles are put on. 5 -10 years from now, obviously a 20k miles version of the car you describe will be worth quite a bit more than a version approaching 6 figures on the odometer. Many factors involved. A garaged one or two owner low miles car with a well kept documented history will always bring top $$$.

jackjohnson_218

I bought my c6 at 40% of the out the door price the previous owner paid. I'm expecting 2-3k depreciation each year. No different than another car really. Gotta pay to play!

jdk541

It might just be me, but the mileage seems to play a larger role in the depreciation factor on Corvettes more so than other cars. For those who have purchased the vehicle as an investment or are just trying to slow down their depreciation schedule, keeping the miles low is one strategy.

Every Corvette owner has a different reason for making the purchase that they did. Nobody's is more or less right than the next guy. But it seems if you want to one day sell it without taking as big of hit, keep it in the garage.

One final thought on this topic.... The depreciation schedule also appears to be different based on the version of C6 (Coupe vs. Grand Sport vs. Z06 vs. convertible, etc...) The more "special" the Corvette, the slower the depreciation. Or so it seems from my unscientific research.

jmpacker13

I own low mileage pristine one owner (previous) cars - C5 Z06 and C6 GS Vert- figure 6-8% per year depending on condition and miles- but from a lower base Y-Y. Used car depreciation is a quadratic- eventually stabilizing around 10-25% of purchase price at year 20- depending on condition and demand.

There is no way of keeping depreciation at bay- there is a cost of ownership- just look at low mileage C4 garage queens- a perfect C4 Z51 example could be had for $14,500 recently.

My suggestion is if you have to worry about how much it depreciates per year you shouldn't be buying it. Car ownership and depreciation has been the most expensive purchase I ever made- my house has appreciated the 20 plus cars I have owned- have not.

JMP

Atomic6

I certainly did the same thing. When I bought my 2001 Trans Am new way back in the day I thought I was insane to pay so much as the sticker was $33k. All these years later I still enjoy the car very much. If I got absolutely nothing for it and had to junk it (not likely with 60k miles and still real nice), my depreciation is $2k per year. An awful lot of enjoyment for that kind of money. I can think of quite a few things in life I have to spend on that give me very little in return, from insurance to taxes. Life needs to be enjoyed a bit.

KyJim

I agree....I did as well

GrandSportRob

I bought my 13GS new with a masssive discount($12,300 off). The 3LT cars were going for around $15k off. Most 13 low mileage Grand Sports are going in the mide 30’s to 40 range. I’d say it cost me a bit over $2k year in depreciation If I sold for $35k now. It’s irrelevant since I have no desire for a C7 or the coming C8 and will keep my car for at least 5 more years if not forever.

RobLo

At a point though they level out...bought my $53K MSRP '05 8 years ago for 30K, by your calculations mine would be worth $6K, LOL. I'm still thinking it's worth around $20K, a $10K rap in 8 years, not too bad! Heck I've had at least $2K a year in fun with it!

SHM

It's not like a Ferrari where they do a model change every year and just build limited number. GM needs to make $ on volume of sales. So they tend to over saturate the market. Which is terrific for model year end specials where one can get part of the first year of depreciation off the MSRP. And get piece of mind of all those factory warranties. This is what I did because what I wanted to buy used...well...too many had been dicked with. And I didn't want to buy anything that was 'hot rodded' by the owner.

Baysider

No different than any other car except most Corvettes have lower than average mileage for any given year.

jrose7004

It happens to all used cars, they're worth less every month.

Randy_in_MD

What's the old saying?

"If it drives, flies, f**ks or floats it will cost you a lot of money"

Bob Paris

[QUOTE=pantheman75;1596734074]We can all agree on one thing...

The minute anyone opens with "We can all agree on one thing" my defenses go up. I bought the car to have fun and have never considered depreciation on any vehicle I have owned. In general, cars are a losing proposition financially-speaking. That is something that many will agree on.