Featured Thread

LE BARON

Power User
Jun 23, 2017
2,925
7,320
FARNHAM, QC
VetteCoins
82,602
Car
STINGRAY 2016
Province
QC
Another reason why the C7 is probably an excellent purchase - residual value.
The C6 is classed as third for residual value - 2013 Corvette. We all know that the C7 has generated great revues since 2014 so it would not be surprising for it to retain an even higher value whenever you decide to change it out - maybe for that C8.

STUDY: Corvette Ranks 3rd Lowest in Five-Year Depreciation
Owning a Corvette is a reward in itself.
Now comes word that the 2013 model also ranks among the world’s leaders in holding its value.

According to a study by iSeeCars.com, the 2013 Corvette depreciated 44.6 percent on average over the five-year period, ranking behind only the Volkswagen Golf R at 43.3 percent and the Subaru Impreza WRX at 35.9 percent.

That’s much better than foreign luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche, with models like the 2013 BMW 7 series depreciating 71.1 percent in five years, Mercedes-Benz S-Class 69.9 percent, and the Jaguar XJL 66.4 percent.

It should be interesting to get this report at this time next year when the debut year of the C7 Corvette will be studied. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the 2014 Corvette at or near the top of the residual leaders based on our own unscientific study of C7 prices over the past few months. In addition, back in 2014, it was shown by NADA that the 2014 1LT Stingray retained its value better than any other vehicle for that model year, keeping a whopping 84.7 percent of its original value through to the end of 2014. Back then, NADA noted that the wildly popular and much-improved C7 retained 10.7 percent more of its value than the C6 through the first year.

Of course, the debut of the C8 could cause C7 prices to crash – bad news for current owners but great news for other folks who have been unable to afford the high-performance seventh generation supercar thus far.
 
After reading your report Richard it appears the C7 will lose a lot of it's value when the C8 makes it's debut in 2020. I assume if one is going to buy his last car and bought a 2019 C7 it wouldn't matter that much to them. I am assuming the C8 base price will be close to $ 75 thousand dollars, as base price of a 2019 is $69,000 and with options and taxes the C8 will be in the $100,00 range?
 
After reading your report Richard it appears the C7 will lose a lot of it's value when the C8 makes it's debut in 2020. I assume if one is going to buy his last car and bought a 2019 C7 it wouldn't matter that much to them.


Other than pure speculation (and my post is as well...lol), I don't see anything here (or anywhere else so far) indicating a huge loss of value for C7's.
Sure. We may see some good sales on the new C7's that are flooding the dealer inventories, but given that the used C5 and C6 values didn't over-depreciate whatsoever when the totally re-designed (and vastly improved) C7 came out on the market, and since those generations still retain a great percentage of value after the last 6 years of C7 availability, I would expect the same for the C7. (Note. I was one of those C6 owners as well).
If you're expecting your four year old C7 (or your four year Caddy) to sell for 10% less than you paid new, you will be sorely disappointed, but my prediction is that for the first bit after the C8 is released we will see a glut in the used Corvette market of all the C8 wannabe's trying to sell their used rides (C5, C6, and C7) and buy a C8. The guys that can afford it and just 'have to have a C8 will likely fire sale their rides to some extent, but once that is over and the craze (not Cruze) mentality levels out, life will go on as it has since the beginning of time.... or at least since 1953. JMHO.... And by chance if I'm totally wrong, I'm going to install a hoist in my Vette Cave, buy another Corvette for next to nothing and join @flyboy999 for fun in the sun.... AND fun in the snow.... :thumbs:
 
After reading your report Richard it appears the C7 will lose a lot of it's value when the C8 makes it's debut in 2020. I assume if one is going to buy his last car and bought a 2019 C7 it wouldn't matter that much to them. I am assuming the C8 base price will be close to $ 75 thousand dollars, as base price of a 2019 is $69,000 and with options and taxes the C8 will be in the $100,00 range?
Hi Cruzin;
That is the unknown factor - will people be accepting of the C8 styling. No doubt a lot will. Still I feel that the present Corvette styling is uniquely N. American and GM seems to have "perfected" just about everything in and on the car so it just might retain it's value as the last of its breed.
Will the C8 look that much different than a Lambo or Ferrari with the more European rear engine styling. It will not stand out as much IMHO.
Of course that is all subjective opinion
 
I've said it before, I think the practicality of the C7 will be the difference maker. The typical Corvette buyer, I would suggest, is on the "mature side", as the stereotype goes. We are middle aged men...............yes.....it's true. People like us consider things like practicality when making a purchase. Of course, it probably isn't the most important factor, but it is definitely a factor. Given the incredible performance of my C7 Z06/07 I find it hard to believe that the first iteration of the C8 is going to provide a marked increase in performance, and definitely not practicality, sufficient to warrant kicking my Z06/07 to the curb. I would say that probably goes for base, GS, and definitely ZR1 owners as well.

So why buy a C8? Because it's the latest greatest thing? Sure, but will that be enough for the "mature owners" of C7s to ditch the practicality and performance of the C7 for a massive loan payment, or massive loss with respect to their C7 investment? Uhhhh....doubtful. The C8 marks a dramatic departure from the formula that's made the Corvette "America's Sports Car". Not only are there devout Corvette owners that believe a Corvette should be a front engine rear wheel drive car, there is the fact that the C8 isn't going to be cheap. I've said this before as well. Anyone who thinks the new C8 base model is going to sell for less than $90K-$100K here in Canada will be in for a surprise. Who has that kind of money to throw down on a less practical, unproven, toy???? Who wants to buy the first generation of anything???? Typically not the best move. So, when I can drive my C7 Z06/07 throughout the entire winter here in Saskatchewan on snow and ice covered roads without any trouble, load 9+ bags of groceries into it without blinking an eye, crush pretty much anything with four wheels in the Summer, the car has been bulletproof dead reliable, and I don't feel like getting a new loan, where's the incentive for the purchase of the C8? I'm not worried about C7 depreciation........ Also, as the price of the Corvette rises, which in my opinion is inevitable, it starts finding itself in competition with other cars for your money. Since they stopped producing my Viper, which wasn't much of a threat to begin with, the Corvette has been enjoying a monopoly on the North American two seater sports car market. Now, moving to mid-engined, more expensive cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, etc. are in the mix. A lot of the depreciation of the C7 will depend on how the C8 sells, and quite honestly, for all the reasons I've mentioned, I'm not convinced the C8 will be flying off the showroom floors, at least not in the first year.
 
Before anyone writes off the C8 because of its lack of practicality, GM has a really nice surprise in store for us when it is revealed. Sorry I can not share more, but if you want a public ex-GM figure’s recent confirmation, it was when Bob Lutz said on Autoline about six weeks ago, “that GM has solved the mid engine storage issue.”

As to ease of entry and exit, we have the expertise of Shank who scaled from the only “hard fact known” measurement for the 2020 Corvette (it’s tires’ exact diameters), and with all his professional equipment, he scaled the height of the car and it is the same as the C7’s (within a 1/2” plus or minus). It’s height was separately confirmed to be about the same as the C7’s by separate, detailed work/calcs done by FVS.

To save money, I believe that the cabin itself comes directly from the C7’s (maybe messaged a little bit, though with a completely new interior), and as GM knows that the average American is growing in size, the chances of the ME’s interior being any smaller than the C7’s is close to minuscule IMO. In fact, calcs made by talented folks indicate that if anything, the width of the ME is going to probably be wider than the C7.

Finally, what if due to better packaging, the interior cabin of the C8 is better and bigger than the C7’s?
 
Before anyone writes off the C8 because of its lack of practicality, GM has a really nice surprise in store for us when it is revealed. Sorry I can not share more, but if you want a public ex-GM figure’s recent confirmation, it was when Bob Lutz said on Autoline about six weeks ago, “that GM has solved the mid engine storage issue.”

As to ease of entry and exit, we have the expertise of Shank who scaled from the only “hard fact known” measurement for the 2020 Corvette (it’s tires’ exact diameters), and with all his professional equipment, he scaled the height of the car and it is the same as the C7’s (within a 1/2” plus or minus). It’s height was separately confirmed to be about the same as the C7’s by separate, detailed work/calcs done by FVS.

To save money, I believe that the cabin itself comes directly from the C7’s (maybe messaged a little bit, though with a completely new interior), and as GM knows that the average American is growing in size, the chances of the ME’s interior being any smaller than the C7’s is close to minuscule IMO. In fact, calcs made by talented folks indicate that if anything, the width of the ME is going to probably be wider than the C7.

Finally, what if due to better packaging, the interior cabin of the C8 is better and bigger than the C7’s?
Mark my words: the C8 will have less storage space (all in one place which is what really matters), it will be more expensive than the C7 base model, it will have less power than my Z06/07 and it will be less reliable.

LOL, I would love to see the faces of people when the C8 is finally, finally revealed just to gauge their reactions. I suspect that the reactions will be like the reactions over the C7 taillights.
Exactly. Change can be a good thing but it isn't always welcomed. GM wants to appeal to a younger crowd, but other than the latest flash in the pan YouTube sensations, do they actually have the disposable income to spend on a toy? I say no.... and BTW has anyone checked out the current exchange rate lately? 1.35!!! So after our minimum 10% fed+prov sales tax (Alberta excluded) the C8 has to sell in the $50K U.S. range to keep it under $90K-$100K Canadian...hahaha...not a chance.
 
Not sure how you meant that 12 cents. For when 150 of us went over on three NCM buses to the private reveal, on the way over, there were many (for we had all send exact pictures of the car before it reveal via Jalopnik’s leak pictures), did not like the C7 taillights.

However, after we gathered together later that evening, there were just three of the 150 who still did not like the taillights, and in fact if I heard ten times, maybe twenty, “I went over there hating the taillights, but they fit and look good on the car now that I have seen them.”

And the same thing happened to me over the next couple of years, when folks would come up to me at a car show or similar and say something like, “when you told me that I would like the C7 taillights when I actually had walked around the car, I said to myself “BS,” but I like them now, and “you want to come over and see my C7 over there?”
 
Zora, not sure if I got my meaning across correctly or not. With all the noise everyone made over changing from the round taillights, the C7 has sold pretty well in my books. At the end of the day, the noise has died away and more or less disappeared. I suspect it will be the same when the C8 comes out, a lot of noise from a select crowd of people and the car will sell like the C7 sold in its early years.
 
Thank you and I am with you totally. You are right that there will be a lot of angst when it comes out (now for some), but down the road, I agree it will sell like crazy.

True, some C7 owners will never warm up to it (which is fine), but there will be many brand conquests from those who have never wanted to own a Corvette before. I talked to a dealer who is already not just getting calls from those folks, but quite a few ME deposits from the “not a Corvette for me” crowd.
 
Interesting conversation.
I was not a hater of the C7 taillights. There have been some photos here with conversions to the round lights on the C7. Looked ok but the with the new generation the angles on the C7 taillight shape suits the overall look of the car better in my opinion. Where the round taillights suited the C6 better. I’ve owned both generations and was perfectly happy with the look.
Like every evolution there are rigid purists and others who are excited to see the progression in tech and design. I’m somewhere in the middle. Let’s just say “open minded”
I don’t have the figures but the traditional corvette buyer is dropping in age. This trend ramped up sharply after the introduction of the C7 as the car was more gadgety and had more interesting tech the younger buyers wanted. Plus the reliability and affordable performance was there. Financing evolved to accommodate a bigger range of buyers (younger) as well. When I was 25 a new corvette was not even on the radar for financing a purchase like it is today.
I love my C7 but am certainly not closing the door on the C8.
I feel If the C7 production does indeed stop the C8 will be base priced only slightly higher if at all higher than a comparable C7. Otherwise GM will have destroyed their own market accessibility. If C7 production continues well... that opens up a whole new set of choices and satisfys an even larger market. The high end C8s we will see a couple years down the road will be insanely powerful, luxury filled and priced to match I would expect.
But that’s a great thing with current generation Corvettes. You’ve got a new C7 available priced from 62k to 168k right now. So choose.
Eventually the C8 will be the same.

Just my thoughts on this guys. I could be totally wrong or maybe; hopefully a little bit correct. 😀
 
Zora, not sure if I got my meaning across correctly or not. With all the noise everyone made over changing from the round taillights, the C7 has sold pretty well in my books. At the end of the day, the noise has died away and more or less disappeared. I suspect it will be the same when the C8 comes out, a lot of noise from a select crowd of people and the car will sell like the C7 sold in its early years.

For Corvette and GM's sake I hope you are right Fred but it might turn out that with a perfectly good, and damn near new C7 occupying a lot of VetteCaves right now, reaching 37,000+ ME sales (2014 C7) in the first year might be a stretch. Guess we will see.

C8a.jpg
 
Eric, It was pretty much the same situation with the C6 just before the C7 became available. I think GM is well practised in ramping up the interest on all of the boards and getting people speculating and talking. Some people got to have the latest and greatest or be the first and these people seem to be getting more and more common. I guess only time will tell, but I am certainly enjoying all the renderings and discussions in the meantime. I can hardly wait to see one in person. Our Chev dealership home is owned by a Corvette enthusiast and he seems to get his hands on special Corvettes from time to time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zora and ddgermann
Great conversation guys.
Different view points and a bunch of different angles to those views. And not a lot of trash talk.
Don't say I would dislike the C8, just that it might look quite similar to a bunch of other makes and not stand out so much.
Doubt that GM will take my point of view. In fact they seem to have pretty well committed to the ME.
Will have to wait and see how much drool, if any, I have when a C8 in in the showroom.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 100 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread