Sorry about that,I guess I took your comment in the wrong way,is your Corvette an A8 and if so have you had any troubles with it? Miles?

 

Another data point - the cargurus graph only goes back to 2011:



2012 was a good time to buy anything but a Ford. GM filed bankruptcy a few years prior, the feds bailed them out (GM = Government Motors) and many were angry with GM in general (hence Ford's rising star). We were starting to climb out of the Great Recession.

I mean, look at that graph - the average used car price went from ~$17k in 2012 to ~$32k in 2022.

If we only consider inflation, $17k in 2012 is $21.5k in 2022, so used car prices have climbed a lot faster than just inflation.

Yes, the used car market is nutty right now, to the point where they appreciated for a period, rather than depreciated. Unless you get a particularly good deal or just want a particular car, it's probably not a good time to buy.

Do I regret buying my C7 in November and not waiting? Kind of ... mostly because it's been in storage since the day I've purchased it. But then again I got a good deal due to the seasonal affects on RWD cars in MN, and I still couldn't get it for that price today.

On a different side of the equation, some are taking advantage of the appreciation. Friend of mine ordered a Bronco Raptor a year ago; it was delivered in November. He paid $85k for it and immediately sold it to the dealership for $105k who put it on the floor for $120k. Then he ordered two more, and another friend ordered his. Now that prices are dropping, they might cancel their orders... but just last month I seem to recall seeing a Braptor at Mecum go for $140k.

It just shows that some vehicles don't depreciate like we would expect. Mr Ramsey is general correct, in that vehicles tend to lose a lot of value after a few years, but there are anomalies. If you're very budget-conscious and trade often, it certainly makes sense to pick a barely used Subaru Legacy and sell it within three years, than something like a Fiat 500 that will depreciate like a rock. But for most of us with C7's we can afford to buy the vehicle we want, and not barely afford the one we need.

 

A little more than 2 years ago, I bought a 2017 2LT Stingray with 1100 miles for $49K. That was a fair price at the time imo. A few options but not loaded and not Z51. After that, prices shot up and my car was theoretically worth $55K. $60K is a bridge too far. At best, that is a sub $50k car Dealers sometimes treat Corvettes the way Corvette owners treat Corvettes. “This one is really rare.” No reason to pay a premium.

 

ramsey is right a car will depreciate a bunch after a few years, but Corvette as with a few other vehicles is not a car.
80% of Corvettes are garage queens at some point in their life. Most are not driven daily, and most are very low miles for their age.
market conditions have been crazy the last few years for everything.
I bought brand new mustang gt pp1 and traded it Las summer for pu and the dealer gave me more than I paid new
same with my 2019 Nissan pu bought used in 2020 and traded in 2022 for more than I paid

 

Supply and demand, simple. Why is a 2019 zr1 selling for nearly double original MSRP?

 

And I paid $10k below sticker to buy it in September 2019 too.

I think it’s the cosmic way of balancing things out for me for the absolute bath I’ve taken over the years on every other car and motorcycle I’ve ever bought and sold. The rub for me is that I have no intention of ever selling the car, so the value of it kinda doesn’t matter.

 

My car is a 2017 Convertible Base w/A8. The valve body (a major component of the transmission) was replaced in mine right after I bought it. Noticed a hard downshift from second to first when stopping at a light, mentioned it to the service at CarMax and they scheduled my bringing it in to them so they could send it to Chevy for the repair completely covered by CarMax warranty. Because I came here before buying I was aware of things to look out for... To be honest, the downshift would have gone under my radar in any other car... It had just over 33k on the clock at the time. I think some folks discovered impending transmission or torque tube issues and offloaded cars to CarMax, Carvana, and etc. at the height of the used trade/sell market. Even so, CarMax has 90 or 100 days of warranty that would cover these types of things... so, it's kind of a win for the seller and buyer, if the new owner gets the car form somewhere that'll stand behind it.

 

.Something to consider regarding the price of C7s is the price of a used C8. MSRP for a base 2023 C8 is $64500. Good luck finding a used C8 for $64500. Three year old C8s are selling for at least $73K, and up.
Instead of used C8s filling the void of those who can't afford a new Corvette, they're actually selling to those who don't want to wait on line to get their new Vette. That creates a gap, a big one. Like any other gap, something fills it, in this case the C7. Instead of prices declining at typical rates, the C7 is depreciating very slowly as the C7 fills the gap of those who either can't afford a new Corvette or simply don't want to pay the price. Until the bottom drops out of the C8 market, the C7 will continue to fill the void created by natural marketing forces and that means higher prices for the C7. BTW, those higher prices have propped up prices for used C6s and even had some affect on C5 prices.

 

Where’s that Ferrari using that 60% logic.

 

Dave Ramsey doesn't know what he's talking about here. My 6 year old Corvette? I wouldn't take less than $65,000.00 for. But it's NOT for sale. I paid $63K for it new. MSRP in the upper $70Ks.

 

The 2019 Corvette ZR-1 that sold for what, @ 2X+ MSRP at auction, had like zero miles on it. Zero mile, or there abouts used cars are valuable.

 

The market, not Dave Ramsey, determines depreciation.

 

I think Dave Ramsey gives good general advice, like equivalent to what a Certified Financial Planner would. I grew my net worth high enough to feel comfortable buying my Corvette by real estate investing as a side business. The Dave Ramsey Network is completely out of touch with this concept. I dont think he's an idiot, but definitely on the financially conservative side. Like to the extent that your family, putting kids through college, retiring, leaving a legacy and so on is more important than expensive indulgences like sports cars. Also, I doubt the folks on that network are car enthusiasts.
The best way to assess a fair value for a Corvette is a use a combination of 'Blue Book' / Edmunds value combined with some searching on Autotrader where there are a lot of Corvettes to compare. Be mindful of difference in price with options, especially with Corvettes because the price varies dramatically. In my experience, location doesnt actually matter that much. If you're in Cleveland and your best "comps" are Kansas City and Minneapolis, you're fine to use those numbers then to ballpark the fair value.

 

Don't know the breakdown, but a goodly amount of us paid cash for their new 2014 - 2019 Corvettes. Don't know where the "seven figures" are, but a good amount of members here are easily well into your "seven figures." Not that it matters to anyone but you.

Dave is reportedly worth several hundred million dollars. He's a fool just as we are for paying cash for their new Corvette. You might want to do some research before thinking people call Dave an "idiot."

 

It took so many posts before someone posted this. Bottom line, when Dave Ramsey is cutting a check, he decides what he will pay. Till then, WGAS what he has to say? Look around. With this thing called the Internet, we can scour around and see roughly what it has SOLD for and not what the owner on drugs is asking.

 

I'd pass. There are so many corvettes out there. Don't get stuck on just one. Skip the overpriced ones.

A 2018 Grand Sport with roughly 7800 miles is for sale for $56k. Well it's sold actually. Pending funds. Priced to sell.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ck-dallas.html
.

 

I was paraphrasing something I’ve heard that idiot actually say. And yes I’m still calling him an idiot. The topic of this guy and car buying advice has come up before in the past, and someone linked one of his podcast/videos where he says something like that.

Not really sure why you seem offended, but good for you that you’re well into seven figures and you stroked a check to buy your car. And good for the “good amount of members” who are just as flushed as you. Really doesn’t matter to me at all. Tell me you’ve got it financed for 84 months at 18%, that doesn’t matter to me either. I work in the car business. And I know that Corvettes in particular are usually bought by people where it’s a bit of a reach for them so they are not millionaires. Just saying the facts here. Don’t need to research what I already know.

Dave is also the idiot who says you should buy a house only if you can pay cash. I suppose that’s maybe ok advice if you live in a flyover state where $150k can get you a fairly decent place. Where I live, that’s not even a down payment for a median priced house. If you rented and saved till you had enough to pay cash, that $1M house you wanted to buy will now cost double that if not more, not to mention all the money thrown away on rent all that time.

Like I said, he’s good for a decent nugget here and there. But unless you’re the type who is so financially irresponsible that you can only miss two paychecks before being completely ruined, you take Dave with a grain of salt.

 

Dave Ramsey is spot on with most things! I am certain he was speaking about most used cars in general. There are variations including current market conditions and supply at dealers is LOW right now. And, of course the OP is shopping at a stealership. After all, he is looking for a Corvette and the Corvette tax is built into the price.

I have been casually shopping to replace my F-150 with 208,000 miles and I am AMAZED at used truck prices. Wow!

Save the wave,