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Miles, not miles per gallon-
Looking around at comments on this, it almost seems like Corvettes are considered spent when they get any significant mileage on the odometer, is this just perception on the part of buyers or any kind of mechanical factor?
Some other cars will have owners taking pride in having reached 200k miles, while it seems Corvettes with over 100k get devalued significantly.
As I was looking around considering different cars, there were some with relatively higher miles on them, which doesn't really bother me since the actual condition would matter more, and how it was driven and maintained. 100k on highway cruising vs. 2k on a dragstrip.
Curious if there are any owners that have successfully racked up the miles; what's typically the miles driven per year? It would necessarily tend to be lower since they're not out in the winter, but maybe the winterless states take up the slack to bring up the average-
Miles, not miles per gallon-
Looking around at comments on this, it almost seems like Corvettes are considered spent when they get any significant mileage on the odometer, is this just perception on the part of buyers or any kind of mechanical factor?
Some other cars will have owners taking pride in having reached 200k miles, while it seems Corvettes with over 100k get devalued significantly.
As I was looking around considering different cars, there were some with relatively higher miles on them, which doesn't really bother me since the actual condition would matter more, and how it was driven and maintained. 100k on highway cruising vs. 2k on a dragstrip.
Curious if there are any owners that have successfully racked up the miles; what's typically the miles driven per year? It would necessarily tend to be lower since they're not out in the winter, but maybe the winterless states take up the slack to bring up the average-
I average about 15,000 miles a year and now have over 107,000 miles on my 2007 daily driver. I recently had my car appraised and was told it's worth about 20k retail / $15k wholesale. A comparable low mileage vette is retailing for around $30k. So I'm taking a $10k hit for mileage. Maintaining a 2nd car as a daily driver would absorb that $10k difference but will cost more than $10k over the course of 7 years so I think I made out ok.
You can't win with a car my C-5 has 336,151 miles on old blue.Repairs $52,000 over 14+ years. Blue was my DD for the 14 years.My C-7 Z-51 has 5995 miles 9 months old today.Selling old Blue this month. I have come to the conclusion life is to short drive the best car and sell it at just under 100,000 miles.I hope the C-8 is out before i hit the 100,000 miles.R
I just sold my 2000 C5 with 230000 miles for $10000. Had the car for 12 years. Autocross , HPDE's , long trips, and daily driver to work. I miss that car as I am now driving around in a female sports car ( Mercedes SLK 350 ) till my Stingray arrives.
Drive the car. Have fun in it. Use it. It is absolutely worthless sitting in a garage all
nice and clean.
I average about 15,000 miles a year and now have over 107,000 miles on my 2007 daily driver. I recently had my car appraised and was told it's worth about 20k retail / $15k wholesale. A comparable low mileage vette is retailing for around $30k. So I'm taking a $10k hit for mileage.
Imo, even $15k would be high for retail for a 2007 C6 with 107,000 miles on it - the only 2007 C6 getting close to $30k retail would have less than 15,000 miles on it and be a showroom clean garage queen.
I put 4K miles on my C7 in one year. My 1st year we had a lot of snow here on the east coast so this year should be a little more. Obviously not my daily driver.
The real value is what it gives back to you as you pull out of the garage and start another trip whether it be to the grocery or a road trip. The internal feeling and smile is priceless.
Own your car, drive her with passion, clean her with love, store the memories in that special place in your brain, and whatever you get years down the road in $$$ is a bonus.
A friend(school teacher) has close to 150,000 miles on his daily driver 2003 C5 Z06. Another friend's wife has over just over 100,000 miles on her daily driver 2010 C6 Grand Sport.
But, most of my friends don't use their Corvettes as daily drivers and have relatively low miles. I drove my 1998 C5 for 30,000 miles in 10.5 years, but I have driven my 2009 C6 Z06 for 39,000 miles(90+% being long road trips) in the past 6.2 years.
Like anything else you pay to play. Mileage significantly impacts the resale of any vehicle, Corvettes are not an exception.
Unless you drive them for a long time. My 1999 Mercedes has under 60,000 miles(and is my daily driver, but I'm retired). Because of it's age, it's resale value isn't that great(maybe $2,500 trade in) and if it had 150,000 miles on it, it would be worth maybe $1,500 less.
But, since I've had zero problems with my Mercedes, and it looks brand new, I'm keeping it until it's worth $0. A brand new one only gets a couple of MPG better gas mileage. Why spend money on a replacement new car, that could end up being problematic costing me money after the warranty runs out. I pretty much know what I've got with the car I have. But, when the first major expense occurs, it's gone.
Miles, not miles per gallon-
Looking around at comments on this, it almost seems like Corvettes are considered spent when they get any significant mileage on the odometer, is this just perception on the part of buyers or any kind of mechanical factor?
A couple of things that factor into a high miles Corvette. IMO, they are not spent, but many guys are looking for a low mileage car when buying used.
High miles takes away that extra dollar value some are willing to spend for a low mileage car.
Guys will tend to spend a bit more for a 2 year old car with 7-10K miles than one with 35- 45K. Although if the low miles were put on one 1/4 mile at a time, this could also impact the car's value.
Corvettes are certainly capable of clocking hundreds of thousands of miles if not abused and properly maintained. The higher mileage basically puts them into the "book value" pricing category when sold rather the "value added" price brackets IMO.
My '64 has just under 64,000 miles on her. She celebrated her 50th birthday on Oct 7, 2013. Most everything is original including the paint, with original sales document and original registration. When I pass, the next owner is going to get a great little Corvette.
Well, I'm happy hearing of you guys getting some serious drive time from your Corvettes- good to know! While certainly the resales aspect of 25k miles on a 8 year old car is there, having it relegated to the garage all the time just to preserve it seemed a bit less than fun.
10-21-2014, 05:28 AM
High mileage Corvettes?
All in how one cares for their cars 
But unless you plan on selling a car, the Vettes have proven themselves to be pretty reliable well up in the mileage category. Drive it and enjoy.
