It's a 96 coupe, torch red with red interior, 5800 miles, auto, F45 selective real time damping. From what I can see excellent condition, 100% original, no mods, original tires. Dealer is asking $21,000. What would be a fair price?
It's a 96 coupe, torch red with red interior, 5800 miles, auto, F45 selective real time damping. From what I can see excellent condition, 100% original, no mods, original tires. Dealer is asking $21,000. What would be a fair price?
5,800mls is VERY low. $14,000?? Show me ONE that sold for that that wasn't salvage titled.
I am not surprised at all with his price...but I would guess $18k would be more "realistic" for this LT1. If it was 6psd (LT4), a typical dealer price would be high $20k range, with mid-$20's being more realistic, IMO...
96 LT1 coupes on Auto Trader (base Corvettes only):
4,300mls for $33k private seller (dream on, buddy)
9,860mls for $25,500 private seller
7,000mls for $24,500 private seller
5,855mls for $20,995 dealer (dat' be the one in question)
Last edited by RogerDeV; 02-24-2008 at 11:07 PM.
Reason: Schoolin' em'.
I think 14k would be a steal for this car. I would agree with Rodger that 18k is more like it for a 96 with 5800 miles. If you can get it for less, that's great. Good luck.
I'm suprised the dealer is only asking 21k. 18k seems about right for both parties. As for 14k no way the dealer probably paid more than that. If you expect a 5800 mile 1996 (in the condition you would expect at 5800 miles) for only 14k then you'll never have a car.
For example I sold my nice 95 last year with 64k on it for 12k and it was Dark red metallic with grey interior (yuck) not a desireble red on red.
I'm suprised the dealer is only asking 21k. 18k seems about right for both parties. As for 14k no way the dealer probably paid more than that. If you expect a 5800 mile 1996 (in the condition you would expect at 5800 miles) for only 14k then you'll never have a car.
$14k is more in line with a 58,000ml 96 LT1 coupe.
Thanks for all of your comments. Yes it only has 5,800 miles - very low mileage and very nice condition. That's why it's harder to assess a value and why I wanted input from people knowledgeable. I really appreciate your input!
Just curious- what are you basing this belief on? Do you have any examples of 1996 Corvettes with 5,800ml selling for that price??
No, but there's plenty of examples of C5's selling for 18-21K which is a much better car, better ergonomics, performance, gas mileage, less squeaks, rattles.
As far as 14K for a 58,000 mile LT-1 96. Have I got a deal for you! Local dealer, (Berger Chevrolet) (Red./red, can be scene on their website) has a 95 with only 50,000 mile on it for 13,900. They started off last July at 15,900, and it's still sitting there at 13,900. Last I knew they had it on e-bay listing at 13,900 but taking offers. I'm sure they'd jump at your 14K.
No, but there's plenty of examples of C5's selling for 18-21K which is a much better car, better ergonomics, performance, gas mileage, less squeaks, rattles.
As far as 14K for a 58,000 mile LT-1 96. Have I got a deal for you! Local dealer, (Berger Chevrolet) (Red./red, can be scene on their website) has a 95 with only 50,000 mile on it for 13,900. They started off last July at 15,900, and it's still sitting there at 13,900. Last I knew they had it on e-bay listing at 13,900 but taking offers. I'm sure they'd jump at your 14K.
Sure you can get a 70-100k driver C5 for the high teens, but a 5,800 mile C5 will cost even more.
Not to mention a 5800 mile C4 is an investment, whereas a 70-100k C5 is a driver. I know it's not a rare model but a last year example with a desireable color combo will one day be worth a pretty penny.
Sure a C5 is better than a C4, but a C4 is a better car than a C3 and go compare 80-82 prices to 84-86 prices.
Then this car is a bargain, it's 6 months worth of wear and tear,and you're buying it a half MSRP.
Welcome to the Collectible market.
The price is relative to how badly "You just gotta have" that car.
To those of you who say Yah but a C-5 is a better car, your right, but it's not a brand new 1996 Corvette at half price.
Each to his own.
I got my 95 last summer with 50K and the original tires- they are dry rotted for sure-replace them right away-and do not discard the original tires, people will still buy them on ebay even though there are from the last century
is original tires a good thing or a bad thing? to me, tires that are 12 years old would be more of a safety issue then anything.
The only thing good about the 12 year old original tires is that they give an indication that the mileage may be correct.
Hard to assess value on these off the charts low mileage cars, but I agree with others that $18,000 is not out of whack. Should be virtually a new car as long as it has been cared for properly. They tend to spring leaks when they sit. Once you start driving it and racking up some miles the car's value will fall to normal prices for the year.
$14k is more in line with a 58,000ml 96 LT1 coupe.
This is exactly correct, $14K would be right for a 50K-60K miles car. 5800 miles puts this one in an entirely different class. The dealer is right on this one by asking $21K which a first time Corvette fever buyer might do and leaving him some room to come down to $18K for an informed buyer.
The age old question as to what a low miles vehicle is worth.
To a certain degree I think it depends upon how much you've got to spend and what you plan to do with the vehicle.
If you want to make it a show car and plan on driving it occasionally to keep the miles down it is probably worth a slight premium. Several people have placed that figure at around $18K and I think that is a good number.
If you are at the other end of the spectrum and plan to make it a daily driver I personally wouldn't pay the premium for a low mile vehicle as the steady use will soon erase the "low-mile" status.
Beyond that I'm of the mindset that the 12 year old car with only 5,800 miles is actually going to require some serious maintenance sooner rather than later. First of all, the oem tires need to be replaced. Next, it is relatively safe to assume that the car has sat a great deal and that is some of the hardest use any vehicle will see. That means you will be replacing some hoses, seals and gaskets. Are these tasks that you can handle on your own or will you be using your local Corvette mechanic$$?
Per the Black Book there were 17,167 Corvette coupes produced in 1996 along with 4,369 convertibles. Out of these a total of 4,418 were torch red. They are great looking but not all that rare.
Corvette Store
What should I pay for this C4?
