69rag

The other one I like is just "testing the waters"....in other words don't want to sell just seeing if there is a fool out there that will pay a silly price for a car, so I can make some money and buy something else...or the guy that buys a forum car for a certain price then a week later posts it for sale again for 5-6 grand more than what he paid....are we not all on this site...is that really going to happen.....and then there's the guy that has a 97 (example) with 20000 in upgrades and wants to sell it for 5000 over fair price plus the 20000 he spent on it. The car is what it is....a 12 year old car in a crashed market, let's be real....just like when you buy a house, if your house is landscaped with a finished basement, you might get 10-15 thousand more than the guy down the street who has not done a thing...not the full 50-70 grand it cost you to do so....that was your choice for your enjoyment. Someone else will appreciate that but will not pay your bill for it...come on... oh and by the way a 2-3thousand dollar lower offer is not lowballing, it is making a good business deal no one is firm....its called negotiations..why do people offer 250000 on a house listed for 285000, because the deal might go through at 270000 and everybody is happy....food for thought boys.....if the seller and the buyer are serious a deal will be made..emotions and stupidity usually get in the way....

DikEd

If you trying to buy a super low mile car based off of a book value good luck. There is only so much a book value can take into account. There are so many factors a book can take into account on cars that are older cars (7 to 10 years old). You have to look at enough junk and add up what its going to cost to make them as nice as a super low mile car to begin to see the value in a well preserved car. For those that like to quote auction figures/black book pricing, well anything truly super nice has been going out of those pricing guides.

Remember these are just ballpark figures, again its up to you too judge for yourself. Yes these are taken off of real world figures but I just simply went into KBB it tells me for a 96 LT4 Coupe w/10,000 miles to 50,000 miles there is no add for miles? It wasn't until I put in 70,000 miles did it subtract $50.00, thats right. Again its a ballpark. I've had some over the years only add $1,000 for 30,000 less miles on newer cars. Thats not accurate to me. When these cars reach 10 years+ in age every car is going to take on its on value. Most love to quote prices on car cars they have never seen. Go look at enough cars and you will soon find what things are worth.

HIGH_INTREST

I disagree. I have sold five corvettes on here. The longest I've ever had one listed was three weeks. In fact I sold one within two days. The point I'm making is that this is a board of enthusiasts that are educated and are not going to pay retail. I priced the car at what I thought it was worth and it sells. There really are buyers on this forum and as we all know there are sellers. Price the car right and it WILL sell.

69rag

100 % CORRECT....

builtfspd2

I agree. You know the cars that are overpriced (No need to list them) because they are still for sale. A lot of sellers would rather "keep it" rather than sell it for less than they think its worth. Then you see the car for sale a month or so later at the price most peeps wanted to buy it in the first place. Some peeps will give you "this is what the dealer will give me" for a trade-in. Thats a good place for a start. Although each case is different since a dealers price may depend on the car your buying.

69rag

damn straight.....

Rickman

Builtfspd2: Cute kids. What's a peep?

Only59: Enjoyed reading your novel . Just kidding. Prospective buyers (especially newbies) should read your post to better understand the sales process.

I find it amazing (I am in sales also) that price is all-important to many when making a purchase. As Only59 was explaining, what a buyer SHOULD be looking for is the best overall VALUE. All C5's are now used cars and vary enormously in condition. Were I in the market, I would consider buying from Only59 because I can tell that he has taken great care of his car vs. a dealer who usually hasn't a clue re: the history of the C5 he is selling.

Allow me to give an illustration from my medical industry: I know of a cardiologist who lost one month of revenue from his new nuclear camera ($900 x 30 patients = $27,000) to save $3,000 on a used stress system that he continued to shop for and finally found. So he saved $3k and lost $27k for a net loss of $24k. Plus, the used stress system will NOT be upgradable to link w an EMR (electronic medical record) system in the coming years. Just my .02,

Rickman

Mopar Jimmy

1000% Exactly the way it is here!

radstom

I'm learning alot from this thread, from both buyers and sellers. Thanks all.

HarleynVettes

I 100% agree with this statement....My car has been listed here for over a year and only tire kickers have asked about it.

azcanuk

ABSOLUTELY!!! People don't get it.. I've had my 01 convertible advertised here for a while.. tire kickers all.. Its a ONE owner 62K (Hm.. how many miles a year is that? OH MY GOD.. IT'S BEEN DRIVEN!!!) with all documentation yet they rush down to some dealer to pick up one that has had 3-4 owners, no history and in most cases for $ with more miles..

Hey.. I put it out there at a fair price but like you had said.. I'm not giving it away, I still enjoy tearing around town with the top down.. I'm not the one losing out on a great car.. I still have it and love driving it..

Navyvette04

Just as in the housing market, there are alot of people "upside doun" on their car loans. I'm thinking.... the government ain't going to bail out the car owners though.

only59

Additionally there are many reasons for a person to sell a car, it's not always about " I need the money " . You cannot second guess this.

t

blazer427X3

Likewise ....

cor28vettes

You made an excellent observation and I agree with it. But let me counter with a few points -

You're from NC and you found a FL car. Fine, that's a quick drive going down I-95 some will say. But isn't that why you contradict yourself? The distance involved vs. a local 50 mile run? You yourself low-balled sight unseen. But it's understandable in my view, esp dealing w/a dlr. And here on CF we deal nationwide and even cross border sometimes.



There a 3 guidelines on how & when to make an aggressive offer:

1. Determine how motivated the seller is
(i.e. he took delivery of his new Z a month ago)

2. Make your case w/hard facts -
Explain where your number is coming from
i.e. Comps - (just like in real estate)
and Inventory (supply vs. demand).
I'd put it in writing via a PM, never a post reply.

3. Prepare for reject or negotiation -
On a super aggressive offer there's a slim chance there will be a + response. Still, there's a potential for a counter-offer so make sure the seller has your number along with your explanation. Sometimes, after time elapses, the seller comes around and decides to negotiate.

Sellers, esp in todays market (involving real-estate & cars), should not view low offers as an insult but as "a sign of interest." They should make every effort to be grateful that an offer has come in. This is esp true in real estate.

And, if you're within a reasonable driving range, go see the car first out of courtesy, as 'only59' suggests. Then plant the seed if the car is right but price is wrong.

Q for the OP. You know you're in the C5 For Sale section although you mention "here on the C4 page, and elsewhere...", right?

Mod: Is it time to move to Discussion?

builtfspd2

by the way.

peeps=people.

thanks

WLDHRSE

Hi yall,

There's been a lot of dumb comments made in this thread, and a lot of very good ones. I was going to quote a few things, but there really is just too much for that. What I see is nobody is buying these cars right now, anywhere. There really isn't any buyers for anything it seems. A bunch of people said "price it right and it will sell". WRONG! The right person still has to see it. You aren't going to get a better deal than my car, here or on eBay. It's currently listed on both, here for about 3 weeks and eBay for 2 days.

My car is out the door Thursday night (they finally found me a C6, 07 2LT) this week at auction value to the dealer. One nice thing about my super low price is I'm not getting any tire kickers and no low ball offers. It is kinda funny that my listing says at least 3 times that my trade offer at the dealer is just over auction value at $14.5k, and I have had 3 people ask me what the bottom line on my car is. Let's see, Thursday night it's going to the dealer at $14.5k, quick and painless. Or maybe since you asked, I'll go through the extra work of a private sale and let you have it for $12k. But at least there's only been 3 to ask that stupid question.

I wasn't even planning on trying to sell mine because I wanted it gone quickly. I was just going to trade it in and get it over with so I could get my C6 and truck. I know I can get good money for it if I sit on it until the big car show in Ocean City Md the third weekend in May. I've taken it down there the last 5 years and I have received no less than two serious offers for it each time. Unfotunately, I can't wait that long. I am an impatient person and I want a C6 and a crew cab Super Duty diesel truck. I had planned on buying the truck first and was thinking about selling the C5 to help that along or trading it in for the C6, but would not have to sell it at all to buy the truck. But about a month ago I realized that if I buy the truck first, I will not be able to swing payments on a C6 no matter what the situation. So after a little thought I know that if I sell/trade my C5 and buy a C6, I will be able to buy a truck also, just not as new as I was originally planning. So that is why I had planned to trade my 02 coupe in 3 weeks ago.

I was not interested in taking the time to find a serious buyer. It was not worth the effort. The C6 (I was supposed to buy) having a pinhole in the upper radiator hose (for who knows how long) and over heating is the only reason I even offered my car for sale privately. I've been waiting for them to find me a similar C6. Now I'm a month behind and have no truck yet even though that is what I wanted in the first place.

But in the 3 weeks my car has been for sale on here, my car has only received two serious offers (one from a poster in this thread, what's up Tom!). That just didn't work out because of distance and getting together. The other was bad comunication, I thought he was checking flight info, and he thought I was waiting for a better offer. By the time we got together two days later, he had bought a Z28. At $14.5k, my car is definitely priced right, and while I'll be thinking about offers up until Thursday (unless someone hits the "buy it now" on eBay) I don't even have an offer at that price.

Anybody looking for a C5 would be a fool not to consider my car. The only thing on it that should be a deal breaker for any body is the tranny, some people just have to have a 6-speed. Other than that, my car is the best priced "quality" C5 on this forum or eBay for the money. And it's one of the prettiest C5's on here at any price. But even with the great price on my car, no buyers, not even lookers. Nobody is buying anything, especially corvettes.

As for "lowballers", with the exception of cases like mine where the bottom line is clearly stated, I think anybody who doesn't make a lower offer just has too much money in their pockets. I will never offer full price on anything, ever. Not a house, not a car, not even a refrigerator or VCR! It just ain't gonna happen. Some people may not like my offer, but I'm still going to ask. That's the only way to know for sure that they won't accept it, and also a point to start negotiations from. Like some have said, I'm more interested in what exactly I am getting for my money, than the bottom line price being paid.

Well that was long but I really have nothing better to do right now sinse it's raining and I can't get my car out to take new interior and engine compartment pics.

Last thought, it's clearly a buyers market and there are good deals to be had. Anybody trying to get retail out of a C5 hopefully likes their car, cuz they're gonna have it for a while. New vettes can be had $10-12k off sticker all day every day. That is really driving the value down on used vettes as much as the economy.

Have a great day yall !

Cliff

yooper

thank you to all forum participants for sharing both information and opinions. Yes, at 55yrs old I will be purchasing my first vette for summer vacation road trips.

option1: 2004 Z06 silver no mods other than exhaust
option2: 2008 Z51 coupe silver 3LT no mods

just to let you know there are serious buyers monitoring this site
thank you

Greg Gore

Two years ago an all original 1972 LT-1 Roadster w/ 4-spd and AC in nice shape was advertised here on the forum for $52,000 and sold in short order. The buyer did some restoration work to the car and hauled it up to Bloomington Gold where it was bid up to $125,000.

bencini231

Very interesting thread here. I probably will never sell mine on here because I have promised it to our little girl. I have never had any problems selling other vettes because I have always priced them reasonable and always have a list of history to go with the car.