patentcad

'Low mileage cars carry a premium'? Dude, they're Corvettes. The AARP Poster Boy Car of Choice. They're all low mileage. Or more than half of them. My 2007 had 20500 miles after EIGHT LONG YEARS. The guy never drove it. I drove it 12,500 miles in 20 months. I consider myself a high mileage driver for Corvette owners and I'll probably only put 8K miles annually on the car, particularly with these tires that make it hard to drive much 3+ months of the year. I haven't started the car now in a week.

WhatEVER. Hey, they seem to hold their value. But I had to buy new. Actually if I had no trade and was free to surf the web and buy a car in Michigan and have it shipped here, I would have found one without much trouble. I'd see a car at some dealer 400 miles away - did I want to take a chance that if I drove 8 hours there (the have to SEE your trade really) I'd be able to make a deal? Um...no. So the the trade was ultimately what made it impossible. But odds are there will always be a trade. So it goes.

slickstick

Speak for yourself "dude". I drive mine daily for about 15k miles per year and there are many others out there that do as well.

pdiddy972

It's GM's fault - they name the engine LT1 and then name a trim 1LT? WTH were they thinking?

patentcad

The car has long had an AARP demographic which impacts how many of these cars are used - which often is not so much. Of course there are plenty of younger/more active Corvette owners. But it does impact the used car market.

Now take two Geritol and a Xanax and go for a drive and get off my lawn.

pdiddy972

And the majority of people who own >3000sf houses are also in the same demographic. What point is being made? That expensive things are expensive?

patentcad

Simply that the average mileage of used Corvettes tends to be exceptionally low, and that's because there are an awful lot of owners who seem to be obsessed with keeping the clocks as low as possible, and many owners are older folks like me (I'm 59). I drive the car (say 8K-9K miles annually) but many don't. They go out once in a while, they socialize with the car, take it to local shows.

No insinuation other than it impacts the value of the cars (i.e. normal mileage for other cars is high on a Corvette) Sometimes I get my ***** busted for driving a car that does carry a bit of an AARP stigma. I don't care about any of that, the car rocks. Chevy has been trying to figure out how to lower the buyer demographic age on the car for 20 years.

Corvettes are pricey, but they're not that pricey.

Kent1999

Except for the occasional typo, most instances are just a lack of attention to detail on people's part.

Even when the Corvettes were using the "LS" series engines (LS2, LS3 or LS7 engines), people were still talking about their "LT2" or "LT3" interiors.

thill444

The Corvette, for many people, is a toy. Most people (not saying none, just most) don't daily drive them all year long (this depends on where you live). I am looking to buy one with the expectation that I need another car as I still have three young kids (I am 45 and youngest is 6). My wife has a minivan but I would still need another car to drive during winter time, as well as when I might need to transfer a kid or two.

I agree with the above in that I am able to find lots of 2014-2015 used ones with less than 10K miles. I have seen several 2014's that have less than 5K miles.

Not really just a Corvette thing either many cars like GTR's, 911's, etc are similar in that you can find low mileage ones easily as many owners don't appear to daily drive them.

patentcad

Most high end sports cars tend to be 2nd, 3rd, weekend cars for most owners and hence have low clocks as a rule, it's not unique to Corvettes. That whole AARP demographic thing is harder to figure, one factor could be older people tend to have more money to buy such cars, but then the Corvette average buyer is like 61 and the average 911/Cayman buyer is 50 or something (and they're the same kind of discretionary purchase and considerably pricier) and it drives GM crazy. They're afraid the audience for the Corvette will diminish - kind of literally die off. I've read that was a factor behind the dramatic re-design of the bodywork on the C7 vs. the C6, trying to attract younger buyers, but I don't think it worked out that way.

patentcad

Part of what makes Corvettes appealing to aging boomers like me is that I grew up with the car, I've always wanted one, that was a big reason I bought one, there's a strong emotional connection with these cars. Still, even if you don't care about that, if you want a world class sports car and you don't want to spend $85K-$200K+, I can't really think of another option, and the only car in the lower end of that price bracket is the Cayman S.

joemessman

I believe the average age now is down to about 54 since the advent of the C7. But as hashed over numerous times on the forum there a lot of factors in the demographics of this car. I could go on and on about it, but what it boils down to after you pull the residue out of the rendered pot, is that the car is expensive and impractical until you get into an older age group that has all their life priority items behind them and now have time to play.

COvert-red

In my very unscientifically-derived opinion, I have a strong impression that the average "boomer" really doesn't negotiate aggressively enough when buying - particularly for an emotionally-driven purchase (Corvette). The main issue: they're in a hurry.

I have two acquaintances (friends, actually) who sell the Vettes, new and used. they consistently start out with very high markups because they consistently close the deals with higher margins when doing so (duh..).

Throw enough of "it" at the wall, you wind up with a new wall (price).

When buying: Try harder. You make your money and/or protect your asset when you BUY it, not when selling.

Kent1999

Another possibility is that people who have lived long enough sometimes discover that spending time fighting for every dollar is not how they want to live their lives anymore -- that amassing/saving money is not the end-all be-all of life.

Could I have saved another $100 or $200 when I bought my C7? Probably, but it wasn't worth it to spend my time/energy in that way. Many times I am satisfied with a *fair* deal instead of a rock-bottom, squeezed-every-drop-of-blood-possible deal.

There is a LOT of middle ground between "spending foolishly" and "wringing every penny from everyone you deal with".

thill444

Don't disagree with you. Corvette was not even on my radar... Never been an American muscle car kinda guy. Was planning on buying a Lotus Elise or a Cayman. Got to drive a co-workers C7 and wow... Loved the exterior, interior, features and power. And the V8 sounds? For the price you can't beat it.

I think Chevy has the right formula they need to figure out how to get people to cross shop more.

COvert-red

Totally agreed. In fact, any deal that results in a "winner" and a "loser" is a bad deal IMO.

MacMulkin

We couldn't agree more!

http://macmulkincorvette.com/2016/11...rera-s-decide/

Skid Row Joe

That pretty much hits the nail on the head - with me too.

I bought my first new Corvette 40 years ago @ 25 yrs old. (See <<avatar)

At 65 yrs old, I find that they (C7) appeal to me. FWIW - I had no interest in the C4,C5, or C6. For example, I can afford a new Porsche 911, but the Corvette, is my preference that I can relate to. I'm just trying to be smart about it cashwise, by finding a pre-owned C7 when buying.





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patentcad

I hope the average age has dropped that much. I'll do a little research.

The Corvette isn't that pricey or impractical. If they turn it into a $100K mid engined car it will be. They'll lose half their unit sales. But I don't think GM will go there.

tom1fastcar

If you want to save big check out offleaseonly.com. They have a pretty good selection and most are automatics. You can usually find something with low mileage and a year or two newer for much less than comparable on the open market.

LT4_CE

One thing they clearly weren't thinking about is the demographic of their typical buyer!