Hob

Contemplating a local 1 owner, Z51, M6, DSOM 05 Corvette, 104k on the clock for $18k.

My budget is 20k so I'm expecting a higher mileage C6. It appears to be well taken care of with maintenance history included. I enjoy the color as my only other options are red/white.

I've only been at my search for 2 months but it seems to be priced competitively.

geagle.2001

Some will try to tell you not to buy an 05, but I bought one last April and haven't looked back. Mine is a Z51 with a six speed as well. For sake of comparison, it had 19,000 miles and I paid $28,000. I probably paid a few grand too much but it was exactly as I would have ordering from the factory so I pulled the trigger.
The one nice thing about heavier miles on the one you are looking at is that all the usual early C6 problems have likely been sorted by previous owners. I'd offer $16,000, with an aim at $17,000. At that price point, if it's truly been taken care of and is already mechanically sorted, it's a hell of a car for the price. For $20,000, which is the top of your range, you won't do much better in terms of miles. Another option is a much lower mile C5. Or possibly a 1996 C4 with the LT4 engine. GM very conservatively rated at "only" 330 hp. However, thwy dyno'd much higher. GM couldn't have the last year C4 make more hp than the incoming and brand new C5, so they underreported. You could also pick up a C5 Z06 for close to $20,000. It all depends on taste and how you want to drive it. If you want a C6 for less than $20,000, the one you are looking at semms a reasonable point of entry. Also, a one owner car with those miles is hard to find and a plus. Best of luck and post pics of what you buy.

owc6

An '05, with even a fraction of that many miles, will already have any issues that are '05 specific, already dealt with.

At this point, the issues you have may have will be C6 in general, and old-caritis issues will be the same on any C6 with this many miles.

Hob

This is what I was wondering.

I originally started in the late model C5s and test drove one which sold quickly after. I noticed for only a few thousand more (and more miles) I was in early C6 territory so I bumped my budget to 20k which is where I find myself now. Thanks for input.

jrose7004

If you like it and will do the job for you, go for it!

Johnnynovo

That actually is probably a decent deal. Just for reference: 2 weeks ago I bought a 2005 3LT M6 DSMO 45k for $22,000. Yours would get more $ for the Z51 option but take $ away for higher miles. I would think that under $20k would be a deal if it's in great cosmetic and mechanical condition.

ant21b

Your better off buying an 06 or later.

Batman75

KBB private party value for what you describe; I bought an 05 one owner with same options only red with 59K miles in Feb. 14 for 22K


Good cond---$14,532
Very good---$15,496
Excellent----$16,768

1bdvet

I have 05 now with 50,000 miles and wouldn't trade it in, car is trouble free and wants to be driven.

Batman75

Love driving mine too It has 64,700 miles on it now.

GuyFromLeMans

Don't give any credit to any 05 bashing you may encounter, as said by OWC6 all the issues at this point have been taken care of or the car wouldn't be marketable.

On another hand (and if you can afford it) I would wait until I could throw a few more G's (about 4) and try getting one with half the miles.

As a few others here, I paid 22k for my 05 Z51 (1SB) at 42k miles.
The car has been flawless except for the HB that had to be replaced, but there's no way around this one, unless you're one of the lucky few.... (and regardless of year and mileage)

Good luck, keep us updated we'll be waiting for the pics!

geagle.2001

Wow. I'm surprised by those numbers. I believe that is what you found, but it seems low to me.

Keep in mind regional differences can play a big part of value. In the northeast, where there are a glut of available cars, prices seem a bit lower than here in the Midwest. At least that's what I found when conducting my search. But finding one for $15,000 I still think would be a challenge anywhere.

Batman75

I used the area code where I live in Southern California. I think prices of everything are higher here than most other areas.
You are probably right that it would be hard to find one for those prices.
I lucked out when I found mine a year + ago. The original owner I bought from was a retired female school teacher and need more than two seats because she was baby sitting two toddler grandchildren. At the time I bought it for around 4K below KBB value.

RicardoFors68

Color is nice, z51 nice bonus, trim level? I'd go for it. Your not buying this car to save it in your garage for future generations. It's a C6 and they are all meant to be driven. Have fun customizing it to your liking. God luck and have fun...

boraxman

Personally I wouldnt be looking at anything older than an 08

buckmeister2

I am just going to put it out there and hope I don't offend you, or anyone else. My bet is that you have not done extensive price research nationwide, or even statewide. That is a LOT of money for an '05 with 100K +. Yes, that is just my opinion, but backed up by daily research during the past year. There are 08's coming available for mid-20's to $30K with 60,000 miles. An '06 or '07 at $20,000 with under 100K miles is pretty doable. Check out cars.com, autotrader (my least favorite, but has selection), and cargurus.com (my favorite, by far). Also hit Craigslist for every large town within a reasonable distance, maybe 500 miles. If nothing else, you will get an education about what is available, and what is not. Good luck to you.

Hob

Not offended likely because I've been hitting each of those sites and attempting to get the price analysis on this gen the last few months.

Maybe it's because I'm quite choosy of options/condition when picking my cars but I find the comments that say "you should find one <$20k all day" never holds weight. Finding a red/dsom/white, M6, 1 or 2 owner, documented maintenance, no accidents, stock/or near, within 300 miles, and an owner who acts as if he gave a slight care about his car for <$20k sometimes feels like a task.

In this case I posted this car because it meets all of that while having the "1SB" package, Z51, and is 15 miles from my house. The miles is surely the one note I'm concerned with and why it's not already here waiting for me to go to work tomorrow.

buckmeister2

When someone posts incomplete information, and asks our opinion, we offer our opinion based upon the information given. Possible reason some of us made reference to there being a lot of $20K '05 corvettes is that, in your initial post, you did not make any qualifier other than color. That leaves a pretty wide range,and there are numerous cars available to satisfy it. In the above post, however, you have added, "M6, 1 or 2 owner, documented maintenance, no accidents, stock/or near, within 300 miles, and an owner who acts as if he gave a slight care about his car for <$20k", all of which greatly changes the chance of finding such a car for your price. So, go ahead, jump on the vehicle you saw. Sounds like it meets every requirement you have now established. You did not need our opinions, after all.

Dave S

I've had my '05/Z51/MN6 vert since new....43K miles & the only repair I've ever done, other than normal maintenance items, was replacement of the evap sensor valve which was an easy DIY fix. If you like the car & it's been well cared for...then go for it!

jdlew

bought my 05 Z51 m6 back in January with just over 87,000 miles paid $19k for it haven't had any problems from it. daily drive it also. go for it, you wont be disappointed.