Hey Group I am having to replace my C5 that got wrecked two weeks ago and I am leaning towards a C6 . The only real price difference is around 5,000 dollars. Sometimes I can see even less of a gap in cost just depends. I ddi receive a check from Allstate for the cost of my C5 as it was totaled. I received 14,800 from Allstate and I have a little saved up but would like to hang on to that for any mods or repairs that will need to be done. It is exhausting looking at all these different Corvettes and Im in California land of the Vette. It is just hard to not go look at a C5 that I notice while searching as it might be a Z06 c5 that has like maybe 60000 miles and is in practically perfect shape as most vette owners really do take good care of them no matter the number of owners really, if a vette had 5 previous owners I would wonder why but not really. I ve noticed they are pretty much the same no matte the amount of owners. So the only real factor that I ve noticed is Miles on the car. If I see a vette that has a asking price of somewhere in the great buy range it will usually or always have high miles i dont even have to look. So I do look at miles on a manual vette a bit more carefully due to the clutch possibly needing to be done and that is very costly. If it is an automatic then the high miles dont worry me too much. Make sense? Anyways I am looking for a great deal because almost every one for sale is a good deal I can go out and buy a vette for a good deal but it would be a C5. A great deal is where I can purchase a C6 for around that same price .. Thats what I am looking for. I am not really sure if I want to make payments again on a car so if I can get that great deal I can stay away from payments. I also am not to sure that if I do find a C6 that is the One and it is a couple thousand or three more than what I have to spend than will the place finance the three or so grand ? Not many will make money on the sale that way but I heard if I wait till the end of the Quarter then the vettes must be sold that have been sitting there with the high price tag on it to make the quarter end numbers and the price of that particular vette isn't important as the big number overall .. the quarter number is the number they want to have met. So I can wait till end of december and that is best time to buy. If anyone hears of a smoking deal on a C6 out there please reply to this as I will travel to pick it up anywhere almost. Because prices here in California are inflated so I will save in another state.. Thanks for listening and let me know if you have anything to ad

 

Go with the C6 vs the C5 if it makes financial sense, its a better car

 

It sounds like you answered most of your own questions. If you’re looking at only spending $14k finding low mile garage queen will be difficult. I’m sure you are a nice person but no one is going to give their car away and right now it seems like prices are up from what I’ve read on here.

You might be able to find a 2005 or 2006 in your price range due to age. I don’t think you will find a newer 2008 and up with the LS3 engine in your price range unless it has high mileage or other problems.

id probably look at getting the best 2004 Z06 I could find with the $14k I had since you said you don’t know if you want a payment.

best of luck to you.

 

You don't mention it, but I assume you are looking at the C6 Corvettes for sale in this forum. There are always several listed for sale there. Also check Facebook Marketplace. I have seen lots of good deals there.

 

14k doesn't buy you a decent c5z or c6. It doesn't even buy an OKish one. Thats crap box money that's gonna cost you another 10k in issue.

So you're either gonna need another 7 to 10 k for a decent car, or a base c5.

 

^^^ This ^^^

 

If you can bump your top dollar to 20, and can travel, you will find a lot more options. Most used cars are high right now, and it has nothing to do with the "quarter". COVID caused all kinds of work slowdowns/stops, so there are fewer new cars available, which bumps the cost of nice used cars. If I were you, I would look for a nice C5, maybe a nice 50-anniversary model. It sounds like you will be happier knowing it is paid for, and still have a little money, than if you go out on a limb.

As for waiting for Dec because of the "quarter", forget about that. Dealers are not going to dump their nicest cars. But, Dec through Feb always brings a reduction in price in about 60% of the country, due to cold weather. If you can travel for the right car, that is a good time to buy.

 

prices are up quite a bit right now. I'd wait until Late Jan. or Feb. You should get more car for your $.

 

Not really sure where the importance of quarterly used car sales came from.

 

Hey man thanks everyone for your awesome advise i just needed to hear from some veterans out there and I did so Thanks alot .. I just wanted to bounce my thoughts off you guys as I know I am not going to find a decent C6 for under 20,000 thats just the reality but like you said I should be able to find a nice C5 and maybe a Z06 C5 that is in good condition still and with less than 80,000 miles? I wanted to move up to a C6 but just dont have the cash and your right also about the C6 i might find for minimal cash might give me repair costs that I cant afford. So ok then I am back on the ground again thanks guys I like this Forum and all the fellow Vette owners who seem to look out for one another and thats a really cool feeling !! Ill keep you all posted just for fun and who knows a C5 Z06 could be just right for me !! Again thanks and happy holidays to you all!

 

I don't know your financial position but if you if you were to take your 14.9 from the insurance co and shop for a base C6 in the mid 20's you would be happy. Itraded a 2015 Mustang Ecoboost for my 2007 base 3lt auto just over three years ago.
Paid 26k for it in 2017. I financed about half of the purchase . The car had depreciated a very small amount in three years. I had been looking for a 2002 Zo6 in Lemans Blue and ended up in the next generation C6.

 

Just a thought might look at Nissan 370Z. Should be easy to find a nice one around $15000. Reliable and a blast to drive.

 

Yeah. Or a Miata.

 

Thanks for the advice but i am definitely buying a corvette guys !!

 

Now that is just cruel!

 

In the North East they are going for 17-21K right now, anything below 17K will have over 100,000 miles.

Vettes in general sell worse in winter, they should already be getting pretty cheap in November but I think you and I both are going to be waiting on the virus/stimulus/dealer shortage/C8 publicity bubble to end. Just going by the cargurus data It looks like the prices are clearly declining again now but the market is taking it's dear sweet time adjusting back down to where it was last year (though I don't know if it will plateau at some higher value as the money machines brrrrrr along inflating the dollar).

You probably want to buy in Dec/Jan or something at this rate (or hold off for a big crash if **** goes south), don't wait until spring if you want it for next year though, Vettes interest peaks in the early summer and the dealers know that.

 

One thing you need to realize is that it's a seller's market right now because of Covid and will stay that way until the auto industry can get back on it's feet from being shut down for so long this past spring. New cars weren't being manufactured and if you didn't notice most new car dealers didn't have a lot of new cars on their lots after about March 2020.

Example: I sold a 14 MB E350 AMG Cabriolet in July for $3,000 more than Auto Trader, Carmax, or Carvana told me it was worth. The guy who bought if from me off of eBay Motors flew from Baltimore to Atlanta to pick it up and drive it back home.

Bottom line: the winter months, which are usually the best time to buy a sports car, aren't going to be that way this winter. Used car prices are inflated now and seller's won't back off their prices because they know they can sell their car for what they want. If you have less that $15k to spend on a C6, plan on getting a high mileage car that most likely has not been taken care of properly. You had better save the money you want to use for mods to do repair work.

I hope you prove me wrong. Good luck!

 

From what I've been seeing, the 03 and 04 Z cars in good shape are right around mid 20's. Cream puffs are over 30K.

 

Yup. Gotta be a special kind of person to pay that for them vs a nice c6 for that money...

 

I have an 09 C6 with 85k which I have been looking to trade. I should have traded about 6 months ago because I just repaired to torque tube, balancer, hood struts, and a new radiator. I have also repaired the dreaded transmission cable. About $12k in repairs. These are common issues and the car is 10 years old so I don't really have a problem with the repairs. It is a corvette and when you look at a 10 year old BMW, Jag, Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche, or anything along those lines you are going to be spending that and more. But if your looking at a C6 look and see the condition of these items. If they haven't been fixed they likely will be needing replacement soon. I still need new shocks and a steering wheel sensor replaced. There is a pretty good you tube vid on the common problems for C6's. I just wish I had traded about 6 months ago, but the car was running soooo good then. LOL