PLE submitted the following Corvette pricing question via Yahoo! Answers and we decided to take a look at it. Two days later we received an email from Yahoo stating that our answer was his favorite.
PLE’s Question:
I need to sell this car very soon. Would rather use online auction other than ebay. Need help from corvette collectors out there. Matching numbers, all original 36K miles, car is sweet. Asking $23,000. Is this too much or too little? Thanks!!
Our Answer:
Unless your Corvette has a 454, is a convertible and is in show condition, then you are asking a a bit too much for your Corvette. 36K miles though is great for a 74 and a matching numbers to boot!
eBay will give you a good idea of where your Corvette should be priced based upon demand. Our annual price guide puts the high around $19K although an average price can be half of that.
If your Corvette doesn’t sell on eBay, you may also want to consider a corvette-only site like VetteFinders.com or usedcorvettesforsale.com or list it on one of the Corvette forums.
Source(s): VetteFinders.com’s Corvette Price Guide
Technorati Tags: Corvette | Yahoo Answers | values
Corvette Values: 1974 Corvette
More On Corvette’s Win at LeMans
This year’s 24-hour endurance test reprised the drama of last year’s battle. The No. 63 Corvette C6.R and the No. 009 Aston Martin DBR9 were in lockstep from the start, separated by less than a lap in the running order for hour after hour. The turning point came in the 22nd hour when the green Aston Martin went to the garage with a mechanical problem. At 2:09 p.m., Jan Magnussen officially took the lead – a lead that Corvette Racing would not relinquish. The winning Corvette completed 355 laps, made 25 faultless pit stops, and won by a five-lap margin of victory.
“You have a one-lap cushion, the Aston is in the garage, and you are five laps ahead of the next car,” crew chief Ray Gongla radioed Magnussen when he took the point. “Do you copy? Can you hear us?” “Yes, I can hear you,” the Dane replied, “but I just can’t believe it!”Joining the three Corvette Racing drivers on the victory podium were Luc Alphand, Patrice Goueslard and Jerome Policand, who finished third in their independent Corvette C5-R with 346 laps completed. The No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell and Max Papis finished seventh after encountering drivetrain problems. The No. 63 Corvette’s star-crossed weekend continued when it pitted at 1:20 p.m. in a cloud of smoke from the transmission. The crews from both cars went to work, removing, rebuilding and reinstalling the overheated gearbox. One hour and nine minutes later, Johnny O’Connell rejoined the fray. “The rules don’t allow you to replace the complete transmission, but you can rebuild it,” explained team manager Gary Pratt. “We had a gearbox issue in Sebring, but we didn’t expect it here, and it might have been the result of one problem creating another problem. Corvette Racing Quotes: Olivier Beretta: “The key to our success was to never give up. Once again Le Mans proved to be race that isn’t won until the checkered flag is out. We had a difficult moment during the night when Ollie hit an LMP car and we subsequently got some vibrations. Then we had a refueling problem and all of a sudden we were almost a lap down. We decided to push and a couple of hours from the end we started biting big chunks out of their lead. Then they hit problems and the race fell back our way. ” Oliver Gavin: “As always it was a fantastic race, super hard all the way against the Aston Martins. And once again everybody dug deep. This race is a testament to everybody involved who has worked so hard. It’s been a truly remarkable result to win three in a row against a super professional team like Prodrive. There were moments when you thought, this is going to be tough, when you felt the race falling away from you, but we just hung in there until it came back to us.” Jan Magnussen: “It was a very tough race, all 24 hours of it. We pushed all the way, and after we hit problems we didn’t sit back. We didn’t want the race to run away from us. By daylight we were almost a lap down but we just kept pushing and pushing until the Astons failed, and eventually they did. We never got any presents, we earned this win!” Source: CorvetteRacing.com
Photo Credit: Philippe Chemin – ACO/Nikon
Technorati Tags: Corvette | Racing | LeMans | Podcast
Corvette Racing Wins The 24 Hours of LeMans
This year’s running of the 74th annual 24 Hours of LeMans featured only a few lead changes as it became a battle between the #009 Aston Martin and the #64 Corvette. The Corvette was leading after 6 hours in the race, but a slightly longer pit stop allowed Aston to get out first and take the lead of the GT1 class. The Aston then lead with a 1 lap lead for most of the night and into the day when they developed a problem with their clutch. That pit stop allowed the #64 Corvette driven by Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen to take the lead for good.
The #63 Corvette ran into problems early in the race. A spinout dropped the Corvette driven by Fellows/O’Connell/Papis down to 7th place in the GT1 class where they stayed most of the race. Finishing second in the GT1 class was the #007 Aston Martin. 5 laps down from the #64 Corvette, they were never a threat to Corvette Racing’s 1st place finish. A European team racing the C5.R Corvette finished 3rd.
This is Corvette Racing’s 5th GT1 class win at LeMans in 6 years.
Photo Credit: Philippe Chemin – ACO/Nikon
Technorati Tags: Corvette | Racing | LeMans | Podcast
Podcast: Final Preparations for the 24 Hours of LeMans
What a great weekend for Corvettes. In Illinois, the 34th Annual Bloomington Gold Corvette show and Auction is now in full swing, and for racing fans, the 24 Hours of LeMans starts today. I’ll be tuning into the Speed Channel often throughout the day and into the night for updates on Team Corvette and their quest for the 5th win in 6 years.
Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction Preview
Today begins the most significant Corvette auction of the year and the one that sets the Gold Standard for all other Corvette auctions to follow. Yes, I’m talking about the 34th Annual Bloomington Gold Corvettes USA show at St. Charles, Illinois. Mecum Collector Car Auctioneers is once again handling the Gold Auction and from taking a look at the list of Corvettes already consigned to the show, I can tell you that that this is going to be a good one. Here are six of the most valuable Corvettes to go through the Bloomington Gold Auction. Click the photo for a larger picture or click the link to view the description:
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| 1953 – #005 | 1955 – #009 | 1967 – L89 |
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| 1967 – L89 | 1967 – L88 | 1969 – L88 |
Technorati Tags: Corvette | Auction
Corvette Assembly Plant Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Back in 1979 when word got out of a possible move of the General Motors Corvette plant from St. Louis to Bowling Green, workers thought it was a ploy during contract negotiations. But GM was serious about moving the home of the Corvette and after considering sites in Waco, Texas, Wichita, Kansas and Montgomery Alabama, the General settled on Bowling Green, Kentucky. Two years later, the first Corvette rolled off the assembly line. The date was June 1, 1981.
This month the Bowling Green Assembly Plant celebrates its 25th anniversary and the Bowling Green Daily News has put together a special online section detailing everything from the ups and downs of the plant to how the city has become an automotive mecca since the building of the Corvette Museum.
Along the way we learn about the four general managers who have guided the plant during the last 25 years and the challenges each of them faced as well as some of the stories from the 900 workers from St. Louis who made the move with Corvette.
Click here to read Celebrating 25 Years of Corvette in Bowling Green presented by The Daily News. The section is presented as printed in the newspaper, but all the pages are clickable to enlarge for reading.
Technorati Tags: Corvette | GM | Bowling Green
Ten Things To Do After Buying Your First Corvette
I received a call today from a guy who just bought his first Corvette. He was very excited to finally own the car of his dreams and he wanted some advice about getting involved in the Corvette hobby. I rambled off a couple ideas and then thought this might be something that can be expanded on. So if you have some ideas, please let me know. 1. Get insurance. More is better than less:
If you just bought a classic Corvette (1953-1982) check into insurance companies like Hagerty or Parish Heacock. Also check with your current insurance provider. I have my ’66 Corvette insured with State Farm for under $300 per year. You may need an appraisal to get the most accurate “stated value” policy. If buying a later model Corvette for pleasure and not as your primary vehicle, let your insurance company know. You might get a break on rates.2. Buy a custom-fit Corvette car cover to protect your investment, even if parking in the garage. 3. Join one of the Corvette message boards like CorvetteForum.com, DigitalCorvettes.com or the CorvetteActionCenter.com. You are going to have questions and the forum members will certainly have answers. 4. Subscribe to a Corvette Magazine (or two) like Corvette Fever
Technorati Tags: Corvette | Insurance | Auto Parts
Corvette Scores Top 3 Ranking in JD Power Quality Award
JD Power’s Annual Initial Quality Study measures new-vehicle quality at 90 days of ownership and once again Corvette scored very well in its class. For the Premium Sporty Car Category, Corvette tied for third with the Mercedes-Benz SL Class. Leading the category was the Lexus SC 430 and second place went to the Porsche 911.
The annual survey was redesigned for 2006 to capture problems experienced by owners in two categories: Quality of Design and Quality of Production. Chevrolet as an automaker had an average of 124 problems per 100 vehicles, which was also the industry average. Porsche had the best rating at 91 and Land Rover was the worst at 204 problems per 100 vehicles. In ranking the Big 3, Chrysler scored a 120 and Ford came in at 127.
Source: JD Power & Associates
Image Credit: CorvetteImages.com
Technorati Tags: Corvette | JD Power | Chevrolet
Auction Results: Mecum Spring Classic
At the 19th Annual Mecum Spring Classic Auction held at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Belvidere, Illinois over Memorial Day weekend, 48 Corvettes ranging from a 1954 Polo White Convertible to a 2004 Black Z06 crossed the auction block. Of the 48 Corvettes, 30 were sold for $1,122,714 in total Corvette sales.
The highest selling price went to a 1967 Sunfire Yellow Convertible (pictured) with a 427/435 engine which sold for $147,000 while the lowest price paid was $7,500 for a 1976 T-Top Corvette. A black ’67 Corvette had the highest bid overall but was a no-sale at $200,000.
Corvette Auction Results:
| Lot # | Year | Description | Sales Price | Status |
| S21 | 1954 | Corvette Polo White | $60,000 | Bid |
| F125 | 1957 | Corvette Red | $71,000 | Bid |
| F126 | 1958 | Corvette White | $40,950 | Sold |
| S587 | 1959 | Corvette Red | $63,000 | Sold |
| F50 | 1961 | Corvette Maroon | $64,575 | Sold |
| S64 | 1962 | Corvette Maroon | $61,950 | Sold |
| S9 | 1963 | Corvette White | $43,050 | Sold |
| F87 | 1964 | Corvette Red | $39,500 | Bid |
| S33.1 | 1964 | Corvette Red | $49,000 | Bid |
| S41 | 1964 | Corvette Red | $47,500 | Bid |
| F64 | 1965 | Corvette Maroon | $59,850 | Sold |
| U559 | 1965 | Corvette Blue | $61,950 | Sold |
| M8 | 1965 | Corvette | $16,800 | Sold |
| S31 | 1966 | Corvette Silver | $95,550 | Sold |
| S53 | 1966 | Corvette Blue | $68,250 | Sold |
| F164 | 1967 | Corvette Maroon | $36,750 | Sold |
| F532 | 1967 | Corvette L-89 Silver | $115,500 | Sold |
| F573 | 1967 | Corvette Blue | $150,000 | Bid |
| F581.1 | 1967 | Corvette Red | $170,000 | Bid |
| S59 | 1967 | Corvette Marina Blue | $83,000 | Bid |
| S553.1 | 1967 | Corvette Black | $200,000 | Bid |
| S560 | 1967 | Corvette Yellow | $147,000 | Sold |
| T44 | 1968 | Corvette Red | $21,525 | Sold |
| F40 | 1969 | Corvette Red | $31,000 | Bid |
| F132 | 1969 | Corvette Silver | $20,000 | Bid |
| F165 | 1969 | Corvette | $32,000 | Bid |
| F578.1 | 1969 | Corvette Yellow | $37,275 | Sold |
| S91 | 1969 | Corvette Black | $46,463 | Sold |
| U22 | 1971 | Corvette Red | $12,600 | Sold |
| U24 | 1971 | Corvette White | $26,250 | Sold |
| S506 | 1972 | Corvette Red | $31,500 | Sold |
| U134 | 1972 | Corvette Silver | $40,000 | Bid |
| S161 | 1973 | Corvette Gold | $28,350 | Sold |
| U30 | 1975 | Corvette Orange | $10,763 | Sold |
| U60 | 1975 | Corvette Red | $14,700 | Sold |
| T133 | 1976 | Corvette Red | $7,500 | Sold |
| T89 | 1979 | Corvette Dark Blue | $8,500 | Sold |
| F149 | 1979 | Corvette L-82 Red | $20,475 | Sold |
| F57 | 1982 | Corvette Silver/Green | $17,000 | Bid |
| F35 | 1986 | Corvette White | $15,750 | Sold |
| F129 | 1988 | Corvette White | $15,750 | Sold |
| F11 | 1990 | Corvette ZR-1 Black | $24,000 | Bid |
| U525 | 1990 | Corvette ZR-1 Red | $24,500 | Bid |
| S16 | 1991 | Corvette Red | $16,013 | Sold |
| U8 | 1991 | Corvette Red | $15,000 | Bid |
| F58 | 1994 | Corvette Copper | $16,800 | Sold |
| F48 | 1996 | Corvette Silver | $17,325 | Sold |
| U10 | 2004 | Corvette Z06 Black | $39,000 | Bid |
Technorati Tags: Corvette | Auction