DarkSpeed

Hey guys, Narek aka Darkspeed here.

Before I get bashed for thinking of selling my C5, I have to admit my finances are not looking too good right now

How low do you think the C5 market price will fall when the C7 comes out? I feel its a better time to sell now (if I do) then to sell later on. I will be back in another corvette though soon as I can...most likely a C3 78-82 and drop in a 572BB

What do you guys think? P.S. Flame suit is on

Chicago

I think the ones that have to worry more are the C6 owners. C5 prices have really dumped in the past few years, but how much lower can they go? Hopefully not too much.

65GGvert

There would have to be a lot of people buying a C7 to have an impact on C5's. I'm not sure enough people have enough money to put into a C7 to make a dent right now. I know I'm not interested in one, and will keep my C5

jrose7004

Just like any used car, the prices will fall when the new model comes out.

Tom/99

If C5 prices go any lower, we will pay someone to take one off our hands.

srs244

themonk

There's an a$$ for every seat, C5's have pretty much bottomed out, they'll never be a 10K car (as long as it's in good condition), they are, after all a Corvette (and one of the better gens). I wouldn't worry too much about it, I can still get 20K for my '03 vert if I'm willing to wait.

bumr

There will always be fans of the C5 just like there are for the C1, C2, C3 and I suppose the C4 although I've never been one of them Frankly, I don't personally see any cars from that era that will ever be considered classics but that's just my very subjective opinion. Anyway, the C5 is a beautiful sports car and will always attract an audience if it's in top shape.

QCVette

C5 prices have already dropped quite a bit. I think they may drop a little more, when the C7's come out, but I think most of the drop has already happened.

I think the ones that will drop are the C6's. The early C6's seem to be overpriced right now and I expect a correction drop when the C7's come out.

BLKS2K

Used car prices are cray high across the board right now.

Used cars have hardly depreciated in the last two years(in the market to upgrade my DD).

Might not be a bad idea to sell off and replace in a year or two.

my 2cents.

AaronDoud

I don't think the C7 will cause much difference but C5s will continue to naturally drop. I believe they will be sub-10k in some cases but with inflation they might not get there.

They will never IMo get as low as early C4s have gotten(aka $4 to 8k) but I do not believe they have bottomed out.

Though personally I wonder when and if C4 and C5 vettes will begin to appreciate if ever. They may simply bottom out but never rise again. I'd say for C4 vettes that is just under $10k for a late model and as low as $5k for say an 84. The C5 models will likely hold a little better I expect a $10-15k bottom for them.

One of the problems is Corvettes has always been the age of the owners. Our demographics seem to always tilt towards older which normally means more expensive and newer. This means the few younger owners or deal hunters will always be able to get the "old" but not "classic vettes they want for less because as vettes age there are simply less buyers. The outlook on C4s is an example of this. They are not veiwed as classics, they are simply "old". The C5s and likely the C6s will be treated the same. The worst case is they are never viewed as classics.

Sure we see guys as young as their late teens buying vettes but they are not the norm. I'm 33 and I would still say I am a young owner compared to the demographics. I am on my second but had a 6 year period between vettes. I will get my third likely in 2 or 3 years but not sure if I will get a C5 or go straight to a C6 since with the C7 out they will drop in price nicely. Also I may just keep this C4 depending on maintence and insurance costs and have two vettes at once.

f6john

I can't see the C7 having an impact on the C5 market unless there is a wholesale dump of C5 cars by their owners to move up to a C7. Not likely!!??

Grimlock

Don't go price out a C4 Grand Sport then. In nice condition, those go for BIG money.

Silverbullet00

Sorry you are having $$$ troubles like so many millions in our country and millions more around the world.

Having said that, the last thing I sell will be my C5. Best gas mileage vehicle I own.

If you need cash I would sell now,,,rather than later.



Use the money to buy food, guns, ammo, etc. It is gonna get ugly this Summer!

AU N EGL

Keep your C5, you might not sell it for you hope to get

But Good Luck

98DC231

Its really hard to project what's going to happen as there are many different variables at play when it comes to the fate of C5 values.

I'm sure there are many different schools of thought when it comes to how much further these cars are going to depreciate, so I'll take a stab here.

There are a few main factors when it comes to where values are gonna go.

1) Number of C5 "fans" who have always aspired to own a C5, perhaps not previous vette owners. DEMAND

2) Number of C4 "disposers" who will upgrade once C5 values dip to a level they are comfortable or able to pay (I believe we have already reached this point for the most part) DEMAND

3) Number of C5 disposers who will get out of the C5 and "upgrade" to the C6 once it depreciates to a comfortable or able to pay price point (I think we're already at stage 1 of this) SUPPLY

4) Number of C6 disposers who will upgrade into a C7 (Supply for C5 disposers)

Provided that the supply part of the equation does not exceed the supply coming in, I would say you can count on values staying pretty solid.

The unfortunate part is that we know cars generally depreciate over time, and if there are significant numbers of C6 owners trading / selling to get into a C6, this will depress C6 values, becoming more attractive to C5 owners looking to upgrade, who dump their cars leading to a "Sell off" so to speak of C5 supply, flooding the market and depleting values.

How likely is this to happen? The good news is that overall C5 production numbers and C6 production numbers are pretty close in terms of volume. Broken out by generation, it looks like this:



The garbage economy over the past 4 years helped keep production low, which is good for vette values in general, but of particular mention is that because of the relatively low amount of C6's in the market, there are fewer people who can possibly "upgrade" to a C7, leading to a relatively minimal amount of C6's that can come into the market and ultimately depress C5 values further. Of course, we're talking 200K+ units (these are worldwide figures) so they are extremely far from rare, but a C6 should fare better than a C5 did when they really started to fall.

If you look at the yearly production, you can see that on a yearly basis, surprisingly the C4 sold the fewest units, but because of the length of the production run, there are a ton of these cars in the market. Despite this, and their relative "civility" they were suitable daily drivers vs the C3 and values have held on relatively well. I'm still surprised to see these cars sell in the mid-teens for decent lower mile (sub 100K) examples.



At this point, I would think that if a decent C4 can command in the neighborhood of $10K, a C5 in the same condition is easily worth a $5k premium (non Z06). The issue now is, what is the ceiling of C5 values, which as C6's get down in the mid 20's, the same valuation holds true in my opinion. Is a C6 worth $7.5K more than a C5? Depends who you ask, but I think so. There will be a few exceptions, but I think as time goes on, a new buyer into the vette world won't see a LS2 C6 as only worth a slight premium over a C5Z, they are going to see it as an "old" vette vs. a "newer" vette because one looks new and the other looks "old". From a specs perspective, they are virtually the same, but we all know better....

As I see it, the best way to hege yourself against depreciation is to buy a limited production colour, unique colour combination and that's pretty much it. due to manufacturing limitations, automakers are offering less and less unique combinations, meaning its harder to own that "one of a kind" car with an odd combination of options.

Overall, these things are not investments, its a safe bet that you will be hard pressed to sell the car for even what you paid unless you got a smokin deal. I purchased my Z for what I felt was a great price and the stance that I will only sell it to get into a C6Z, but its going to be a loooong time until those cars are sub $30K for a decent example. I bought my Z when it was 10 years old, so it will probably be another 5-6 years until I can look to selling it for a C6. At that point, who knows what it will be worth. One thing's for sure that the enjoyment I would have derived from it at that point far exceeds the depreciation.

To finalize, here's where I see things going, of course there will be exceptions on the low and high end a few years out (next 2-3 years)

97-00 coupe/frc - $9k - $14K
97-00 vert - 10k-15k

01-04 coupe - $11K-17K
01 Z06 - 14K - 16K
02-04 Z06 - 15K - 18K
04 Z16 - 18K - 24k
01-04 vert - 14K - 23K

Feel free to disagree / discuss.

momo20

i look for the early 2005-06 c6 vettes with the ls-2 to take a bigger hit then the c5's will..the c5's have hit the low..and like others said i highly doubt they will drop below 10k

RetiredSFC 97

The C7 will have an impact. But not as much as past generations. That's not saying the C5 is special because the C4 is/was special maybe even more special in it's day. But right now, as was stated, used cars are staying on the high side because of the economy and the POSIC's cash for clunker program.

But most vette owners are older people who have saved up for their vette purchase, or have enough cash to afford one new.

The people left to buy a C5 will be two groups. People who want a vette they can afford, or those who are C5 loyalists. There will always be both groups.

Every vette generation ever produced eventually became the vette no one wanted and then the vette everyone wish they had. It has never failed.

The C5 will depreciate just like the rest of them and become yesterdays news. Buyers will change and so will their preferences. You can't stop change.

And to those of you who may say bad things about a C4, get a clue. The C4 may have very well saved the Corvette from the dismall performance of government mandates to the C3. If the C4 didn't restart the performance most of us here would not be in a vette at all. That talk gets tiresome and shows your ignorance when it comes to cars and the history of the Corvette.




I will make a bet right now with anyone who wishes, the C5 has not bottomed out yet.

egrand333

A couple of hours ago I wanted to bet my room mate than you would post a reply defending the C4 before 10:00 pm. She wouldn't do it.

Vetteman Jack

C5s are still depreciating and I really don't think the C7 launch will have much of an impact on the price. If you really need to sell though, I would say sooner is better than later as the value of your car won't be going up anytime soon.