corvette value -C5 FRC

[donnyj08]

i have a chance to trade my Rx8 R3 for a 2000 corvette FRC (fixed roof coupe) with 48k miles on it. the car is mint. what are your thoughts? Obviously the vette will hold value better than the RX8. my Rx8 is nice, but it does have a handful of minor hail dings, and ive had no luck selling it on Cl the last couple months. its priced at 17,500. thoughts?

 

[95busa]

That frc is way cool. Clean, low miles should be around 17-22k ish

 

[donnyj08]

their offer is my 09 R3 35k miles. minor hail dings. plus $1200+TTl & fees. so about $1800 OTD for the FRC it is currently owned by a local Louisville man the dealer is selling it for. they are asking 17988 for it. is it a good deal to bite on? I was a buyer at 1500 OTD but turned down 1800 OTD. I walked out at a difference of $300, but kinda wish i had bought it. My main concern is value.

 

[GMBoy]

Remember that the FRC's were a base model value priced Corvette so they will not hold value as much as a coupe or convertible even though the production numbers are lower. My personal opinion is that I won't have a Corvette (I own 2) without some type of removable roof be it targa/t-top/convertible since you miss out on one of the best things of sports car.

My opinion is skip the FRC and look for a targa car.

 

[Mykl]

From poking around looking at C5s recently I think maybe that car is priced a touch high. I found immaculate examples with similar miles for less.

 

[donnyj08]

I own the FRC now. Im not a convertible fan. i like it if the top is down, but not for highway driving. I like the Targa cars as well. but i drove a few and they creaked a lot on bumps. It could have been the cars i drove. The fixed coupe rides quieter than the vert i test drove and the coupe.

I originally started out in march wanting to buy a C5 since it was my dream car since 1997 when i was only 9 years old. i had 13k to spend. i couldnt find anything C5 clean title and worth owning. so i bought a 2004 s2000 70k miles for $12900. 2 months later i traded even for the 2009 Rx8 R3 with 27k. simply out of value difference. I didnt realize it is almost impossible to sell an RX8, even though it was gorgeous and low mileage. its a car everyone loves to look at and compliment on how pretty it is, but wouldn't buy one. I had it for sale for 2.5 months priced at $17500 OBO. Nada was $19,200. after almost no luck i traded for the FRC. they gave me $15,800 trade in. The RX8 did have some minor hail dings, and a loud aftermarket exhaust and i paid $1200 out of my pocket.

So in reality i have the price of the S2000 at $12,900 plus $1200 outta my pocket into the FRC. I only really have $14,200 tied up in the Corvette. I think that is a good deal. i also drove the S2000 5k miles before i traded it and the Rx8 8k miles. so i think im still sitting in a good spot.

The FRC has 48k miles. Red in color 4 new tires and in beautiful shape. Garage kept. its very clean. I drove it from Louisville to Cincinnati today and back to Indiana, a total of 256 miles. it used a half tank of gas and the DIC shows 30.9 mpg average. avg speed was 42.8 mph, as i tooled around florence, KY and NKU for a couple hours in traffic. That is incredible fuel economy. Im happy with it so far. It rides very good and pretty quiet too.


I'll post pics to the picture section when i get a chance!

 

[dailydriver]

Next to a C5 Z06, the FRCs are the hard core Vette PERFORMANCE enthusiast's (road racers, open trackers, autocrossers) favorite choice, due to the factors you've mentioned, plus; slightly lower weight, no leaks, stiffer structure, etc.

One does give up a little aero advantage with these vs. the targa top coupes, but that only comes into play at > 130 mph or so.

CONGRATS on a GREAT car (so many import enthusiasts are AMAZED at the mileage an LSx engined, T56/TR6060 gearboxed combo can get on the highway, and even in town if driven sanely, which is mainly because one does not have to rev the p**s out of them to make great power

)!

 

[Cujet]

I always liked the FRC, especially with a wing on back. Typical of a track car.

Nice trade. Make sure you put quality tires on it, as they like to "tramline" or follow road grooves aggressively with lower quality tires.

 

[donnyj08]

thanks dailydriver and cujet! it really is impressive. ive been driving uder 2k rpm and outrunning traffic and the fuel economy is great!

Cujet, it has 4 new Dunlop Sport Maxx tires on it now, so far they seem very good. When they wear low i will probably replace them with Michelin Pilot sports. I love the wet weather confidence of a good Michelin tire.

I got caught in a bad rain storm yesterday and the Dunlops did very well, but not quite as confidence inspiring as the pilot sports i had on the RX8. I love the Vette, im so glad i made the trade! next up will be a tranny fluid change in a week or two and some fresh fluid in the diff!

 

[whip]

I've always liked the FRC. I thought it was the best looking C5.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver


CONGRATS on a GREAT car (so many import enthusiasts are AMAZED at the mileage an LSx engined, T56/TR6060 gearboxed combo can get on the highway, and even in town if driven sanely, which is mainly because one does not have to rev the p**s out of them to make great power

)!

My best MPG so far in my 6 speed manual Corvette is 37.0! I got that driving at a steady 60mph for one hour on a perfectly flat stretch of highway. The AC was off and windows down (probably could get 1 more MPG if they were closed) I was running non ethanol gas though, so that helped tremendously. Early reports on the new C7 have some people getting over 40 MPG on the highway, thanks to taller gearing and cylinder shutdown technology.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Originally Posted By: dailydriver


CONGRATS on a GREAT car (so many import enthusiasts are AMAZED at the mileage an LSx engined, T56/TR6060 gearboxed combo can get on the highway, and even in town if driven sanely, which is mainly because one does not have to rev the p**s out of them to make great power

)!

My best MPG so far in my 6 speed manual Corvette is 37.0! I got that driving at a steady 60mph for one hour on a perfectly flat stretch of highway. The AC was off and windows down (probably could get 1 more MPG if they were closed) I was running non ethanol gas though, so that helped tremendously. Early reports on the new C7 have some people getting over 40 MPG on the highway, thanks to taller gearing and cylinder shutdown technology.


That is impressive indeed! Nothing I have ever owned was capable of that type of highway MPG, except my ultra slow Diesel Jetta.

Even a "tuned to be as fast as a 'vette" S2000 cannot achieve such excellent MPG's.

I'm really leaning towards getting a Corvette. The only real issue for me is the seats.