okie dokie, here i go...

my mom owns a low-mileage (~17,000 miles) victory red (i think...) 2001 c5 vette with an automatic transmission. i think she's past her mid-life crisis, and now wants to sell it and get back into one of those "status" sedans... that's irrelevant.

what IS relevant is that i'm finishing up med school and moving closer to home, and, as a result, will be selling my toyota mr2 turbo soon. of course, i'll be needing a car... [sm=happy046.gif]

what i'm thinking is this: sell the mr2 and take my mom's car so she has room for what she wants. i've always had a soft spot for the c5 vette, and i even like the color, but since i prefer to row the gears i KNOW i'll be frustrated driving hers daily. would it be reasonable for me to trade the auto c5 for a similar six-speed c5 (i'm thinking yellow....)? realistically i can't see a six-speed c5 owner trading for an auto c5, so if i sell hers and buy myself one, would i be able to do so without a lot of money out of my pocket?

thanks in advance. i'm excited as hell to be here because now i get to learn about a new type of car/motor... and i can't wait to get my iteration.

 

With that kind of mileage you should be able to sell hers and buy another one without having to spend a dime out of pocket (maybe taxes and tags at the least). You can find some low mileage cars in really great shape that are price to move. Even if you don't buy another '01 you can always get a '99 or '00 with low mileage. I purchased my '98 last year with only 22,225 miles on it. Good luck.

 

beleive it or not the 5 speed is concitered a non option,the automatic is a option.so i think you will have no problem trading it for a stick,and remember the c-5 was designed by a women,for easy acess getting in and out and roomy,so the women out ther who are looking for a c-5 are looking for a aoutomaticthey do not want the hasel of shifting,check the blue book on a 5 speed verse a aoutomatic.. hope this info helps.

 

the info definitely helps. i love this idea more and more every day. i spent some time looking at 01-04 yellow c5s for sale and 01 red automatics... the price range is very close for either car, and i even found a pair of low mileage yellow z06s well within my price range (but i really want a removable hardtop like my mom's). i appreciate the input from both very much. i think it's time to list the vette for sale... [sm=teetertooter.gif]

p.s. you guys have A LOT of smilies...

 

Well good luck with everything and be sure to let us know what you end up purchasing and post some pics of the new beast.

 

well i did some more searching and thinking and analyzing and stuff....

i found a yellow 2002 z06 with 17,700 miles at a nearby dealership, and they're asking close to $34,000 for it. according to kelley blue book the trade-in value on my mom's c5 is close to $25,000. so, i'm thinking i'll head down to said dealership and offer them our vette plus ~$6,000 in trade for theirs... i'd like some opinions on that idea.

i do feel like that might be over-paying for the z06, and that i'd be better off selling ours to a private buyer and purchasing the z06 in full. on the other hand, wouldn't i save thousands on taxes by trading for the majority of the purchase price? based on the quick math i did, there seems to be only a small difference in gain/loss between those two options.

thanks in advance.

 

Well here in Maryland you would still have to pay taxes on the total sale price. So if you buy it for $34,000 no matter how much your trade-in is your going to be paying taxes on $34,000. As far as the sale price of the car, I would try to dictate how much profit I would allow them to make on me. I would ask them how much they own the car for and then offer them a $1000 profit. On a vehicle like a Z06 they probably won't let it go for that but it gives you a starting point. In the end I would try not to give them more than a $2000-$2500 profit. In my opinion (and I sell cars) that is a far profit for the dealer to make, because believe me they take lower deals than that on a daily basis. Once again good luck and let us know what happens.

P.S.: None of what I just said will work if its a one price, no haggle type of dealership.

 

would you (or they) give that kind of information out? i mean, that sounds like shooting yourself in the foot..... it's a proper chevy dealership, by the way, so i'm sure a little negotiation won't be a problem.

in the end i essentially decided that paying blue book for the car would be acceptable to me. i just ran a search with this car's info on kbb.com and came out with:

kbb suggested retail: $38,800
kbb private party value: $35,000

and they're asking just under $34,000.... i don't know if the yellow color increases or decreases value, but the way i'm currently seeing it the only place i can over-pay for this car is in the trade-in of our car.

i'll have to ask them for an offer on our c5 and see what they come up with, and i'll definitely have to look into that bit about the taxes.

thanks again.

 

based on those numbers that you just gave me from Kelly Blue Book it seems like you are already getting an excellent deal on the car without even having to negotiate. The only reason I was telling you to shoot for a $1000 profit is that its a fair price for both the dealership and yourself, but the car is already priced pretty good. All I can tell you is "buy the car." Good luck with everything.

 

okay, okay... i'm goin [sm=burnout.gif]

one more question, though.... here
(different topic, so i made a new thread... hope that's cool.)