mikex7

Even at 149k miles? Blue book is WAY off then at $7k.. I'd love to get 13k for it and i would fix it all immediately if that was the case. It's going into the shop on Friday anyway to get the pulley replaced, new brakes, and to double check if there is actually a leak or not.

jdvann

Well maybe not 13k...but you pretty much have to deduct the cost of any significant repairs from the value. Good luck!

DetroitPlac

Blue book is WAY off on C5's. Check NADA, it'll give you a better idea. $13k is rather high, but I bet $10-11k isn't.

mikex7

That was my thought, which is why I posted it for sale for $6500.

Good call. I think I'll fix the bigger items and sell it for as much as I can. I'd be very happy with $10k. Which would honestly be crazy to me considering I paid $12,000 for it back in 2009 with 75k miles on it. And it wasnt a screaming deal, there were others in that price range.

DetroitPlac

2009 was the bottom of the C5 market, so you bought at the right time. Vette values follow economic performance rather closely. In many cases, values have increased slightly, so you probably won't lose much. I kick myself for not buying a C5 in 2009 because I was pretty close to doing it myself.

It's probably worth finding a cheap independent mechanic to diagnose the actual issues and offer a fair cost, then see if it's worth repairing and trying to sell. I would bet that you'll get more than the cost of the repairs back in selling price if you find someone reasonable to do them. At the same time, it sounds like you've been reasonably diligent with maintenance, and there's simply not that much to go wrong with these cars after you've addressed the problems you've described. You'll probably want to do a trans and dif fluid flush if you haven't done so recently, and other than general maintenance, the car could likely last you a very long while without much increased cost.

Vetteman Jack

Get the car in decent shape (without spending a fortune) and sell it for around $10K +/- and move up to something newer.

MotoJB

Get rid of it...

KoreaJon

I agree with this. If the car is paid for, and you can do your own maintenance, AND it has been as reliable for you as you say, then I say "keep it."

EVERY car, no matter the age or expense, WILL have issues....if there was a car that would NEVER have a maintenance issue, well, THAT car would be sold without a maintenance warranty! Why would you need a warranty?!! The car won't break! Ha ha!

The point being.....you can keep what you've got, no car payment, lower insurance costs due to the age / value of the car, spend a little money to get it "right," and drive it until you WANT another car. If you spend $ on a newer car, well....you might have a payment, you might spend more on insurance, hell, if you have to spend money on repairs, THAT might be more expensive, as well.

One more thing....how often have you seen a new model BMW or MB on the side of the road, or on a tow truck?! They break, too! New / expensive DOES NOT equal "more dependable!"

BTW, my DD is a 2002 BMW 330Ci. No BS, it has 313,800 MILES on the odometer. This car had 260,000 miles when I bought it, but there was no question that it had been well maintained. When I got it, the first thing I did was evaluate what needed done, and did it. I "base-lined" the car for the maintenance schedule, then very systematically replace ALL of the expected "wear items." The car has broken only one time since I've had it, and that was completely unrelated to maintenance...one of the tensioner mounts actually snapped in half.

My vote would be to keep the car, do what you need to it to get it where it needs to be, and drive it till you're ready to move on.

My $.02!

KoreaJon

F&Yb0dluvr

If you really feel like you want something different then now would be a good time to clean it up and fix what little you can sell it and take the money+the money you would be saving on major repairs and put down on maybe an early C6. If you still love the car, fix it and get your money's worth out of it. There really isn't a wrong answer it's really just a matter how you feel but I'm guessing since you posted this question you lean more towards selling it...

F&Yb0dluvr

bad455ta

tcrote5516 - You're an ***! You cant tell a Vette owner to go to an Aveo!

Dude, I don't know you but go with what your gut tells you. Your C5 days might be over. If you love the style and you have the cash (since banks wont finance 2007 and older) and you want another C5 just find you one. I did. I'm a previous owner of a C6 and bought a C5 cuz I love the style. Do whatever your heart desires

doc_cj

Maybe I missed it, and if so please forgive me. But can you tell me what you plan to get out of your current car and what you are willing to spend on the next one? I ask because for me that would be one of the big issues to solve before I made my answer. For instance, I had a 96 convertible with 89,000 miles on it that I owned for three years, and I was able to sell it for a bit under $13,500. At the same time, I was able to purchase my 2000 C5, with 62,000 miles on it, for $16,300. So you can quickly see that for less than $3000 difference I was able to get a four year newer car 27,000 miles less.

My guess is that you are ready taken the car in, or will soon take it in, to get some of the repairs done. My question would be whether you believe this would be the last round of repairs for an extended period of time (say a year to 18 months). If you believe that that I might suggest keep the car and get closer to the 200,000 miles you mentioned. On the other hand, if the car is just at that age one is going to need something done every 60 days then it may be worth selling after this next round of repairs. Regardless of whether you sell it now or keep it and sell it much later you're probably not going to get more than 8000 for the car (in my never humble opinion).

Using my formula from the first paragraph I'd say that if you can get 10,000 for your current car and you're only willing to spend 4000 more than you're going to be very hard pushed to get into even a medium mile C6 (40,000 to 60,000 miles). Around here, Seattle, the entry-level C6 is our easily in the 12 to 15,000 range and that would be with mileage like you have on your C5. I had a chance right after I bought 2000 to pick up a 2006 with only 27,000 miles for $20,200. The car was in great shape but I couldn't guarantee selling my 2000 that quick and not losing money. So I had to forgo the chance. After I left the guy I must've been a little too positive on how nice his car was because he reevaluated his listing price and soon raised it to over $29,000, and I believe he sold it for that in less than two weeks.

Either way, you're gonna end up with a car that will need to be Up in order to maintain some top quality, and given your experience I'm sure you're already familiar with that. So I'll simply say good luck and please let us know what you decide you make the purchases.

Evil-Twin

Dude !!!!! I can go out tomorrow and buy two 2000 C5 and have them both financed by my bank...

Some how this C5 forum that I've been on for so many years has turned into a completely different planet with alien inhabitants that are not of this earth. Where are all the Non-DUDES ?

sfc rick

Every banking institution and Credit Union around HERE will finance any Corvette no matter what the year or mileage is. I asked about that when I wanted to get a C6 Z and they laughed at me and told me Corvettes aren't like "regular" cars and they would back me with money on whatever I wanted no matter how old it is.

Fortunately... I came to my senses and just built the car I wanted out of my 98 Coupe. Whew...dodged that bullet!

S.C. vette

Evil-Twin

Rick, that's because, at the Bank , they took one look at you and saw that you were " NOT " a DUDE ! You were a grown Man and I bet they called you Mr. and Not DUDE.

Fcar 98

Evil-Twin

The problem is a Cheap local mechanic does not have the equipment to fully diagnose the seven modules and other expensive components in the car...some other information suggests both door modules are bad, some electrical gremlins that require time , patience, and experience to chase down and since the OP does not have that experience, the cost to chase down gremlins can be 60 to 80 an hour,. this is a nightmare that will only get worse over time. He has fluid leaks and a heart attack in the transmission @ 144K without ever having any maintenance that could be 5 grand all by itself. This car as at the point of no value return for the dollar. Find a car you like and see what the will give you for your car. I think you might be surprised.
I know you have the nickel an dime life saver approach but nickels and dimes quickly turn to thousands of dollars. Blow that trans and you car will sit on the side of the road.,

madmatt9471

IMHO!

I would sell and either get another low mile C5 that suites your needs or move onto and into a C6 and have fun with that -

There is so much you can do to them too - even if you get the LS2 motor you will be in for some fun because they can take a beating and some Boost should you want to go F/I ever!

Thanks,Matt

GTJim

Why not get another newer lower mileage C5? I bought mine for 18k and it has 32,000 miles on it. If you look you can find clean low mileage examples of C5's for reasonable money. Plus with it being winter, now is the best time to buy a sports car.

http://www.contes.com/en/for-sale/car/view/15/273