Corvette Noob, What Should I Avoid??
04-19-2012, 02:01 PM
#21
Instructor
Member Since: Jun 2011
Location: Salem NH
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
All of the advice thus far sounds reasonable to me. I purchased a one-owner 2005, Z51, A4 with 36,000, glass top, 1SB and have not had any of the problems experienced by other owners of the first year C6. Purchase price in April, 2010 was $27,000 off the lot. All fees included.
I would think a better price now for a similar 05 would be more like $22-23K. Hard to fault buying the newest you can afford. Trading up is part of the culture.
I would think a better price now for a similar 05 would be more like $22-23K. Hard to fault buying the newest you can afford. Trading up is part of the culture.
04-19-2012, 02:04 PM
#22
Race Director
All of the advice thus far sounds reasonable to me. I purchased a one-owner 2005, Z51, A4 with 36,000, glass top, 1SB and have not had any of the problems experienced by other owners of the first year C6. Purchase price in April, 2010 was $27,000 off the lot. All fees included.
I would think a better price now for a similar 05 would be more like $22-23K. Hard to fault buying the newest you can afford. Trading up is part of the culture.
I would think a better price now for a similar 05 would be more like $22-23K. Hard to fault buying the newest you can afford. Trading up is part of the culture.
04-19-2012, 02:19 PM
#23
Navigator
Thread Starter
Member Since: Apr 2012
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's nice to hear good feedback from a couple 05' owners!! Ya I'm still working on the price but now I'm kinda leaning towards the base 07' or 08' but all the options on that 05' sure make it nice. Do you both have stick shifts or autos?? It seems to me like all the info I've found that most of the issues with the 05' are surfacing in the manual shift models.... It also seems like if it did go out I could always upgrade it by dropping in a diff from an 06+ C6. Seems as they are a direct swap. I feel so stressed paying this much for a car out of warranty!! 
04-19-2012, 02:46 PM
#24
Navigator
Thread Starter
Member Since: Apr 2012
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Another update and I found this one thanks to whoever told me to go to the Yahoo.com autos section. It's only 2 hours from me, 09' with 17,000 miles on it and its fully loaded with the dual mode exhaust etc etc it has everything. It's a little out of my price range but they seem very interested in my trade and said they have some wiggle room with the price for sure. We'll see what happens. It seems like everything I wanted other than the color. It's a Charcoal grey which isn't bad by any means but I really like the yellow, red and orange vettes .
.
04-19-2012, 02:56 PM
#25
Burning Brakes
Yes 2005's had (have) issues that later years did not. Obviously.
But at this point, a 2005 Corvette is getting so old that I would not want to pay what one will cost vs. a later year. Price compression means you could go newer for not much more.
But at this point, a 2005 Corvette is getting so old that I would not want to pay what one will cost vs. a later year. Price compression means you could go newer for not much more.
04-19-2012, 03:10 PM
#26
Team Owner
Member Since: Aug 2004
Location: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest
Posts: 24,129
Received 1,029 Likes
on
549 Posts
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09, '14-'15-'16-'17-'18
I was t h i s close to getting a silver one but I could not quite talk myself into liking it so I waited until I found exactly what I wanted...a beautiful, like-new, red one.
I promise you'll be glad you did.
04-19-2012, 03:19 PM
#28
I bought my 05 about 2 months ago it's a 6 spd manual z51 car, with cam, headers, tunnel plate, HUD, memory ...everything but factory Nav which is undesirable for me anyway. It had higher mileage, but it was in mint condition. I paid $23k for it. Coming from my c5 it was a huge upgrade and I haven't had any problems with it so far.
04-19-2012, 03:20 PM
#29
Team Owner
I want a C6 and I've been reading everything I can find about them. This would be my first Vette but not my first sports car. It would be my daily driver so I'm thinking more about an automatic plus the autos seem to go for cheaper. The best one I've found so far is about 5 hours from me and is a 2005 Victory Red coupe with the F55 suspension and navigation, HUD display, power everything, memory it's pretty loaded lol. It has 24,000 miles on it and is a one owner car. Has the Cashmire interior which isn't my favorite but it's not horrible I could live with it.
Are there any issues with this particular year since it is a first model year or did they do a good job the first time around? They are asking for $31k & so far I've got them down to $28k so far and they are giving me $4k more for my trade in than Kelly Blue Book says it's trade in value is worth.
I've read some people claim to like the 05' auto tranny better than the newer one if they are drag racing but havent found out why. Is it just as dependable for a daily driver and going cruising? Open to any and all advice suggestions don't wanna get screwed!
Jake
Are there any issues with this particular year since it is a first model year or did they do a good job the first time around? They are asking for $31k & so far I've got them down to $28k so far and they are giving me $4k more for my trade in than Kelly Blue Book says it's trade in value is worth.
I've read some people claim to like the 05' auto tranny better than the newer one if they are drag racing but havent found out why. Is it just as dependable for a daily driver and going cruising? Open to any and all advice suggestions don't wanna get screwed!
Jake
I still have my '05 daily driver, 28K miles, and have had ALL the engineering defects of that first year and fixed. Over 60 total shop days since Oct '04!
pm me if you want a list of all the potential troubles. I won't bore everyone here again.
I just put on set #3 of new tires and #4 battery, so mine's not for sale. But if I was a seller, I'd just love to get $28K!
04-19-2012, 08:10 PM
#30
Melting Slicks
Have you checked out Carmax? That is where I bought my 08 at in 2008. Got a smoking deal. Just have to kind of keep an eye out every once in a while on their site. I did find out after the fact that I could have emailed them with exactly what I wanted and price range and they would have contacted me..... Good luck on your first Vette!
04-20-2012, 02:15 AM
#33
Le Mans Master
I wouldn't get to hung up on the the models being loaded or not, as truth is, all Corvettes are well equipped, with most of the do dad's not meaning much, doing very little for resale. I'm, with the others. If going auto, go with an 06'+ for the six speed version. Anything clean, low milage you can afford, should be good from there.
04-20-2012, 08:35 AM
#34
Le Mans Master
Yep, buy the newest you can get.
Nothing wrong w/ 05....look for Z51 option as necessary.
Best would be 2008 or newer w/ LS3 engine and NPP exhaust valve option.
Nothing wrong w/ 05....look for Z51 option as necessary.
Best would be 2008 or newer w/ LS3 engine and NPP exhaust valve option.
04-20-2012, 09:34 AM
#35
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Jan 2005
Location: "Nowhere Man"
Posts: 6,179
Received 225 Likes
on
196 Posts
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22
Take your time. There are plenty cars out there. If it were me, I'd try for an 08 on up. I had an 05 and an 07. IMHO model year 08 brought some of the most desirable changes. LS3, NPP, improved steering, shifting and interior upgrades Hope this helps and good luck in the search. 
PS Both my 05 and 07 were great trouble free cars.
PS Both my 05 and 07 were great trouble free cars.
