2001 C5 wholesale!

[kingman]

Hi

My buddy has two C5's on his lot that he picked up at auction (Pa.) for $30,000 each at the beginning of August and is still sitting with them. He told me that he made a mistake by over paying for them as the market dropped like a rock.
One has approx 26,000 miles and the other aprox 36,000 miles.

This week he is going to pick up two more at approx $24,000 to try and price average them. There are too many C5's out there because the C5 was in demand and GM sold a bunch of them.

Right now the only ones that are moving are the 6spd's, 06's and convert's, the auto's have stalled.

Now this is for low mileage mint vettes not the run of the mill vettes normally seen at dealerships.
Forget the average 15,000 miles per year as a guide, that is for every other kind of car.

Keep in mind if you are less picky about condition and high mileage you should really be in the $22-24,000 range retail with a minimum 60 day what ever.

Remember the short term warranty is useless but a dealer can write up a GM warranty for approx $1000 depending on his mark up (normal 50%).

The price difference between years 97-01 is minimal.

Alan

 

[warren s]

Hi

Keep in mind if you are less picky about condition and high mileage you should really be in the $22-24,000 range retail with a minimum 60 day what ever.

Remember the short term warranty is useless but a dealer can write up a GM warranty for approx $1000 depending on his mark up (normal 50%).

The price difference between years 97-01 is minimal.

Alan

Alan-

How can a Corvette driver be "less picky about condition and mileage" ?
It took me 2 months to find the car I was looking for. I wanted as close to perfect condition as possible, and around 30k miles. I found a 99 for a few grand more than your mentioned "less picky" price. and with 20K miles.

The short term warrenty is VERY valuable. The car I bought was on the lot for 5 days, It had the same mileage when i drove it as listed the first day I saw it on the dealer website. If there is a problem with the car, even under my "gentle hand" it wont take very long to surface.

I found the model year to be a usless differance, as a mint 98 is as good as a mint 04, they are almost identical cars.

 

[kingman]

Mental Case!!!!!!!!!

Hi Warren

This was not aimed at a real vette person and there are a lot of people out there driving their vettes with little concern except looking kool.

One of my neighbors has an 03 red convert that could me mistaken for a 97 even though they didn't offer a convert that year. It is driven to a bus stop in any weather and left there all day. It has dings all over it and scratches on the front and rear bumpers from parking.

It is cleaned, l would guess once a week so that at 50 paces it looks good until you walk right up to it.

Many people really do not care because all it is, is transportation period.

Most local warranty's range from 30 t0 90 days, some times only paying for the parts and not the labor or visa versa.

The GM warranty is what you want because it covers most of the big items that can go wrong.

As far as a 98 being as good as an 04, on that point l agree with you 100%. My concern is always condition and mileage but l never bought a used vette from a dealer because l always wanted to see the person who had it before me.

To me it's very important where he keeps it (garage) and the kind of person who would baby it. Now this is no guarantee, but so far l'm batting 100%. By the way l would not buy a vette unless it was garaged and not his or her's main car.

Plus a car-fax and having somebody check it out. My biggest concern is a vette that has been in a wreck and fixed improperly where the paint looks great for the first year.

By the way how did you do with your 95 for a trade and how come you didn't sell it on your own? The reason l'm asking because l'm about 7-8 months behind you and besides saving on the Tax was there any other benefit?

Alan

p.s. The price's of the vettes really are different depending on where you live.

 

[warren s]

Hi Alan

In my previous posts I mentioned that was the biggest problem with the C5, there are a vast amount of them out there that are every day cars, the owners dont really car about them any more than their lawnmowers.

I looked at one C5 that had mud and salt inside, and this was in July.

My 99 had been a corparate lease car, than a private owner. I called a friend who works for a dealer to run the VIN and get the service history before I went down to Classic Chevrolet in Moorestown NJ to see the car. I noticed lots of problem areas in past C5s i looked at, but this one had none. It needed tires just like my C4, they had decent tread depth but were dry rotting. I am certain now that I had the car on a lift, it was never hit or painted. Though some one did try to jack it up from the wrong spot.

The car looked flawless inside and out, not a scratch or even a nick in any rim. Honestly I dont like Torch Red that much, but the condition sold me on the car. I didnt like White either until i bought my C4.

I was offered 12 grand by other dealers, they gave me thousands more, I didnt expect it.and the price on the 99 wasnt out of line. It was fair price, not great but fair.

They gave me a 3 month and 3000 mile warrenty, it covers the drivetrain and the electrical componets. I already alomost put on 2000 miles. I may need a throw out bearing, may not, the sound seems had gone away. Thats another issue i found with low mileage cars, sitting around doesnt do them any good.

 

[kingman]

Sounds good to me

Hi Warren

Out of any color the the vette comes in, Torch Red is my second favorite and Yellow is my favorite.

When l was looking l realized that the only color for a vette is red like a Ferrari should only come in red. My buddy has a F355 S Ferrari in a gorgeous Wine but when my Torch Red vette sits next to it, there is no contest. And my buddy is now sorry that he didn't get a red one.

My 64 & 76 vettes was white and l loved them but the Torch Red really stands out and cries out loud.

Your C5 really sound terrific and l'm sure you made a good choice.

As far as l'm concerned my local dealers are not really vette people and will pick up vettes at auction and put them on the lot to sell.

I will probably sell mine first and then pick up another one so l know how much l have to spend. Being that my vette is a third car, l can take my time.

Selling my vette should not be a problem where l live because most of the used vettes (C4's) around here go for top dollar and l'll be asking a fair price. I only hope a friend buys it.
But if l can't get a decent price l will keep it another year and then try to sell it once again.

I only paid $15,000 for it and if l get a couple of thousand less it won't make a difference.

And your are correct, a car must be driven. I drive my vette at least 50 miles a weekend, but as l mentioned l just put on last week a total of about 1400 miles and loved it.

My problem is that l cannot take it to a resturant, movie or a mall. Most of the time l only drive to and from somebody's driveway.

It's a sickness because my vette is the cheapest car that l have by far and care about it the most.

Sunday l let my nephew and first cousin take it out for a spin and my nephew just got his license andjust totaled his first car.

My cousin just picked up a new BMW 5 series with the big engine and 6 spd and told me he misses his old vette which he had years ago.

Alan

 

[warren s]

I know what you mean about not being able to park it at various places. I dont go out ot eat anf take the Vette. If we go on a raod trip and need to stop, If i cant park it by itself and in view of our table, its Wendys take out.


Sounds like you have all your ducks in a row, I assume you drove a C5 at lenght.
Goodl luck with the the search.

BTW - I actaully wanted the Navy Blue with the Oak interior.

 

[kingman]

Nice Combo

My wife loves the navy/oak combo and if l found that color l wouldn't pass it by.

And l didn't take a C5 for a ride for more then 5 minutes but l will over the winter. When l look at used vettes and find one that l can live with and only then will l take it out for a ride. And of course we must agree on a price first.

I have heard of guys who go around looking at vettes just to take them for a ride without really looking to buy them

Joy riders!

Alan

 

[warren s]

Well if you want to drive a 6 speed let me know.

The C5 does have its points, BUT I dont feel its a totally superior car to the later model C4s. Better yes, but it doesnt trash the C4

 

[Larry's Yellow Rdstr]

Red and yellow ???

It is a little known and closely guarded secret but the true Corvettes were painted black, the rest are imitations assembled from old Suzuki parts.
Hope I didn't start anything.

Larry
Black/Black 04

 

[Wisdom]

Sorry Larry - that original color was Red! There are books and songs written about it. But don't feel bad, I'd heard that they started using black to cover up the mistakes in the red cars.

- Wisdom

 

[01TriBlack]

It is a little known and closely guarded secret but the true Corvettes were painted black <snip>
Larry
Black/Black 04

I heard that, too, Larry.

 

[Pac-man]

Red and yellow are at the bottom of the list. Great for a teenage rich girl. Think about a forty year old man or woman driving up in a triple black vert. Now envision the same man or woman arriving in a yellow or red Vette. See the difference? Even the spiral grey, pewter and the blue and tan combo's are very classy. The only thing worse than a yellow vette is a yellow Hummer.

 

[Ncbosshoss]

Just a quick note about the references to the daily driven vettes. I bought our 04 Torch Red Convertible with every intention of driving it everyday. It is not going to be a garage queen. I keep it immaculate if it means washing it 3 or 4 times a week. I bought it to enjoy it and for me that is more often than a run to the grocery store with the top down. I know what was meant though and I too hate to see someone treat these amchines like they were a Geo (not that there's anything wrong with Geo's!).


I am picky but not picky enough to let her sit in the garage and dust her off once in a while. I bought it to enjoy it and that's what I do!!!!! The last 2 vettes I sold had well over 100K on them. I could let it look pretty sitting in my garage and drive something else but she always beckons me! (When the wife's not driving it that is!) It is always a tough call between my vette and the big block 502 in my motorcycle, though.