rapidroy

Hello everyone,
This is just an fyi, as I have seen other postings in the Forum re. CarMax paying what seems like pretty high prices on some Corvettes.

I'm selling my 2005 C6 (l just bumped it up - Sacramento C6) as I want to move up to a Z06. I just bought the C6 six months ago and when I started to add up what it would cost to fix it up a little (catback, wheels and tires, CAI, tune) it just did not make sense to me. Luckily, I found a gorgeous Z06 on the Forum from a fellow member so I am pretty motivated to move mine asap. I just sent the seller a non-refundable deposit good for one month - once he receives it he will anotate his listing that a sale is pending and until he does I will respect his privacy.

Back to CarMax. I started asking $28,900 for my 2005 and got ZERO responses in this Forum. Lowered to $27,900. still nothing. So since I have found my dream car, I decided to try CarMax this morning. To make a long story, after a pretty comprehensive review and test drive of the car, I was offered $27,000 - which is $1000 more than I paid for the car six months ago. I was kind of amazed.

And for a comparison - I tried the buying service from Autotrader and was offered $24,500 - sight unseen, and right after the CarMax offer I tried a local Chevy dealer just for grins and was also offered $24,500. Even after I told him I had a firm written offer from CarMax he asked if I wouldn't take $26,000 cash. I guess he thought I was lying to him, or else he was on drugs......

So - just to confirm the expereince of others in this Forum - if you are up against a timeline to sell your car and you are not having a lot of success you just might try CarMax, and you just might ber pleassantly surprised.

For now, I will continue to see if I can get better than $27,000, as the offer is good for one week. I'd rather see it go to someone for a decent price, but if I have no luck, it will be available on the CarMax lot next week for around $30,000ish.

Freakazoid

carmax is the wild card in all areas. sometimes their deals for both buying and selling can't be beat.
but it's a rather time intensive process and if you're not close to one, it can also be a massive disappointment.

rapidroy

Dear Freakazoid,
For me the process was a walk in the park, everyone was very courteous and nice, and they are 15 miles from home.

Freakazoid

nice, that's definitely useful How long did the process take? If I recall it took an hour or two for my car when I took it there years back..

Regardless though, morale of the story is if you're near one, definitely worth having them give you a quote and even check what they have in stock.

rapidroy

They had warned me that the lines can get long in the afternoons, so I got there before they opened and was the first guy in line, and my advisor was a fast typist, do I got the first appraisal. All told it was maybe 45 minutes to an hour, and as I mentioned, they do a very comprehensive review of the car and a test drive. Worth it to me.

erick_e

I was debating on selling my 02 Z to Carmax, until I got their offer. I was expecting it to be low, but not that low. I was almost heartbroken. If they even offered me a price somewhere close to what I was looking for I would have sold it to them. You can literally walk away with a check in less than an hour. If I were you I would take the offer they gave you, and not have to deal with a perspective tire kicker or empty promises from deadbeat buyers. Its a royal pain in the ****....

geebutbut

So you bought this car 6months ago for 26k. Now you turn around and try to sell it for 28.9k and you wonder why you get no interest...?

rapidroy

geebutbut,
Not sure how much you keep track of 'Vette prices but they have jumped up a fair amount in the last few months. When I bought my car KBB was around $26-27k for a private party sale, and now KBB is showing a pp sale at $30,695. Please note:
1. I am NOT saying KBB is the holy grail of prices.
2. I'm not saying KBB is right.

But I am saying prices have gone up, and I would think the fact that CarMax is willing to offer $27,000 for a WHOLESALE price is pretty indicative of that. Based on that, I think my price of $28,900 was in the ball park for a private party sale, and no doubt if I sell it to CarMax they will put a retail price of just over $30,000, and they will get it.

ohfiver

How many miles on your car?

rapidroy

21,600, and while this may sound kinda trite, it really does look as good as new

Pruettfan

Used car values are up because of a tight market for used cars in general. That might be a factor.

philip_g

I'd guess its more summer but who knows.

Freakazoid

summer's a LOT more of it with sports cars like these. they'll drop a few thousand in a few more months

ramairvert

I just sold my 2006 SRT8 300c to them I bought it for $18000 in february needed brakes and tires $2000 , never did the tires or brakes went to carmax to see what they would offer they offered me $20000 I took it very easy process 30 minutes in and out, cant deal with them, then they put it on the lot for $25000 still sitting there, they did the tires but no brakes. I was happy

E74BS

This nothing new this year or any year for Corvettes. December and January are always the cheapest time to buy and June July the best time to sell. It is almost 'natural'

jcapps

Maybe in the north and the east but out west its always a good time to sell

E74BS

When the average drops it drops across the country. Most of the Vettes I have bought in winter are from the south and west. I would not pay a premium on top of the higher shipping costs so they must be pretty close.

At least that is my experience others may see it differently.

jcapps

Difference is we do not need to sell to someone in Ontario, we can sell to someone down the block who does not have to ship and can enjoy the car as it was meant to be all year long.
Maybe you would not pay the money but most west coasters would not buy a used car from the north or east. When they can buy a car here and pay the equivalent of the east coast price plus shipping

Blown

How did their offer compare to KBB trade in price?

rapidroy

KBB says $28,500 trade in, which, imho, is out to lunch....

Real world is there are not even nibbles or offers at $27,900.