RWC03

Greetings everybody!
I joined the forum last year. I was intending to buy a C5 but recently a buddy of mine bought a really nice C6 and he let me drive it while I was visiting with him. I was very impressed! His is an automatic, but I'm after a 6-speed manual. Recently I checked out an '05 at a small independent dealer. Drove nicely but the inside mirror was dangling by its wires and somebody stole the vanity mirrors from the sun visors. Latch for the arm rest was broken. 120k on the clock. A little under $18k. Yesterday I checked out a REALLY nice '06 at a local Subaru dealer. A bit under 19k miles. Took it out for a test drive and after a couple of miles I noticed a horrible clanging under the back of the car, and even under light acceleration, a loud screeching / grinding that I could also feel through the gear shift. I'm assuming torque tube bearings are shot? Clutch didn't feel so hot either. This car has a Corsa exhaust and an aftermarket rear sway bar (it's bright red). They won't go below $27k. I told them about the issues and they didn't seem surprised at what I pointed out. It's been on the lot almost two months. My theory is that Corvette people have been checking it out and walking away from it. The manager told me that $27k is their "break even point" and they can't go lower. I have a feeling that the owner got his pound of flesh out of it shortly before trading it in. I told him that if they sell the car it's going to come right back at them if they don't resolve the problems first, and they'll be in the hole anyway. I want the car but but I need some significant cushion to get it sorted. Offer rejected.
So, to cut a long story short, am I having really bad luck in my searching, or is this fairly normal?

C6ToGo

If your budget for an early C6 is in the mid 20s, then you shouldn't have a problem finding a good one. Good luck.

FAUEE

Considering you've looked at 2, one that was a high mile car, I'd say you just haven't really looked at many cars. The newer one it's surprising to have issues like that, but it may have just been sitting for a while and needing come wearing back in, could have been more major, kinda tough to say. I wouldn't have bought it, I can say that.

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Iceaxe

$27k for a 2006 would be absolute top dollar for a perfect ultra low mileage garage queen.

Lots of nice C6's in the low to mid 20's.

Something you should be aware of is the 2005-07 have the LS2, while the 2008-13 have the LS3. Nothing wrong or bad with either engine, but the LS3 cars do have a little more HP and usually sell for a couple thousand more. Good Luck :-)

Zero_6

I've spent 6 months searching until the right one showed up. $27k is LS3 territory, imo.

RWC03

Thanks!
When the car was first listed they tried $39k for it. I laughed and kept scrolling. But even at $27k it's not far from a Z06 with some miles on it. I'd much prefer a later LS3 car for the reasons you'd mentioned, but I've not seen many for sale so far. My main interest in this car has been the low miles and how clean it is. However it looks like it has major mechanical issues. Sad and ironic that a car with 18k & change on the clock is a ten-foot-pole car!

jimijam

Why are you complaining about shopping on dealer lots? They are in the business to make money. If you want an honest car, from an honest owner, at an honest prices, you should be shopping private party.

cdm747

Try Facebook marketplace. Lots of nice C6s in this area for a lot less money than that.

RWC03

Actually I'm not complaining; I do understand they need to turn a profit. We just got into a deadlock and that's that. Sadly they've got a lot dog on their hands and it'll be a difficult sell for them. I hope a happy medium is reached between them and whoever buys it. It might still be me if we can work out a solution, but I doubt it very much at this point. They're a great dealer and and have a very good reputation.

leebay

C6 prices are up but they are out there, good luck with your search sent you a pm

cadyshac

I don't know where you are located but the prices you mentioned are crazy high for those cars. 27K should get you a very nice LS3 vette, coupe or vert. It takes a while to find the right one, keep looking and educating yourself.

Topduarte

Patience. Found my 05 6 speed 7 months ago with 23k miles for $19980.

One will pop up

Santino

Agreed, be patient. I was looking for an LS3 coupe, stick shift. It took about 4 months but I found exactly what I was looking for at a BMW dealer no less. 2008 Base coupe, just under 50.000 miles. one owner, $23,800.
Keep looking. There are plenty of C6s out there with no stories.

Ahrmike

A lot of cheap C6s where i am locally...

madmatt9471

When I bought my '09 A6 4LT I paid $29,500 and that was in 2016 - there are plenty of Vettes out there for you to have for below what the high mileage 2005 that you are looking at and that the dealer won't budge on!

Thanks,Matt

LouieM

Keep on searching, it's out there in the low 20s.

buckmeister2

RW, you could start by telling us where you live so we will have an idea whether you are in a Vette Mecca, or a Vette dead-zone. The prices and condition you write about makes me assume the latter. Regardless of your bankroll...Go to cars.com and do a nationwide search for 2008-11 Vettes, using a ceiling of 20% over your budget. It does not matter if you are not willing to travel more than XX miles for a car...you need to see what is available, at what price. The two pigs you looked at would make any current owner run away.

Maybe I overdid it, but I was on the forum for over a year before I bought. I probably closely "viewed" 500+ cars online. I drove at least a dozen. By then, I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted...sub-model, options, color(s), etc. Maybe you can do none of that, and get exactly what you want. However, if you don't research, the odds are good that you will buy a car that, 6 months later, you will wish you had looked around more to determine what you really wanted.

good luck to you, RW. The journey will be worth it...

449er

OP, Don't settle for a car with any issues, there are lots of nice cars out there for 27k with no issues

Jeff T.

Shopping for a Corvette is supposed to be FUN!! Patience and find the right one. There are plenty out there and even more with fall here.

Good Luck and enjoy!!

Fast Dawg

I searched nationwide last year for six months before I found my 09.

The other thing that I don't think anyone has mentioned is that it's a seller's market as far as cars go right now. The virus stopped production. The virus shut down suppliers. I have a friend who has sold Chevrolets for over 30 years at the largest dealer in my area. Their lots typically have hundreds of cars on them. They might have 100 now. Nobody is trading in cars now because the dealers won't give them anything for them. The new cars aren't really selling either. I bought a new truck from him, and he gave me a suppliers discount, but told me that if he wasn't the fleet salesman for small businesses for that dealership he couldn't even give me that break. He told me the newer sales people are hurting financially right now because they aren't making any commission.

Patience!