This Week's Top Corvette Wholesale Auction Sales And Those That Failed To Sell

Greetings, readers, and thanks for joining us for another installment of CorvSport’s unique (and exclusive) bi-monthly series, where we analyze the Corvette wholesale market to help our faithful readers gather data while shopping. While not an exhaustive list, each episode will continue to give insights into market trends for the Corvette shopper (and curious enthusiasts who like to follow the market). Our analysis will also include historical wholesale averages, along with the Cox Automotive estimated retail values. We also track the sales ratios for each bi-monthly report, which are included in our summary section below.

A Quick Review Of The Process:

In preparation for each installment, I start a list of Corvettes from that week’s runlist that catch my eye. As a retired owner/operator of a used car dealership, I’ll use my 17 years of experience (and industry access) to give you insights into the market. My search is focused on the nation’s largest dealer-only wholesale auction, and all the Corvettes featured are from the Florida market. Corvettes end up at a dealer-only wholesale auction for many reasons, but most are trade-ins that the dealer decided not to retail on their lot. Some may also be repossessions or coming off leases. It’s also a common practice for dealers to dump problem (or slow-selling) units at an auction.

For Fun (and Insights):

Compare the MMR (estimated wholesale value) to the actual hammer price (if sold). It’s also interesting to compare the wholesale purchase price (if it sells) to the Cox Automotive estimated retail value, as this will give you an idea of the margins used-car dealerships are working with.

[8/15/2024 Edition]

Top 10: Corvette Wholesale Auction Activity Report

#10

2014 C7 Stingray Z51 Convertible 2LT

11,770 Miles

Condition Report: 4.3/5.0

Announcements: None

Autocheck History Report: 1 owner, 0 accidents

MMR: $42,200

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $29,700 (63,894 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $45,500 (11,468 mi)
Last Year: $43,100 (26,545 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $47,600

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: This is a rerun from early July. Time for this dealer to give up on the flip and throw her on his lot.)

#9

2016 C7 Z06 Coupe 3LZ

40,785 Miles

Condition Report: 4.7/5.0

Announcements: None

Autocheck History Report: 5 owners, 1 accident

MMR: $60,900

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $66,800 (23,023 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $65,500 (23,903 mi)
Last Year: $59,900 (31,088 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $64,700

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: The higher miles in concert with the accident on the history report likely led to the no sale.)

#8

2019 C7 ZR1 Coupe 3ZR

5,881 Miles

Condition Report: 4.6/5.0

Announcements:

Autocheck History Report: 3 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: Not Available (due to lack of transaction data)

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: Not available
6 Months Ago: Not available
Last Year: $152,000 (20,253 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: Not Available

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: With all those modifications, no telling what this seller wanted. It appeared to be a bank trying to dump this ZR1 at the auction.)

#7

2019 C7 Grand Sport Coupe 2LT

28,626 Miles

Condition Report: 4.6/5.0

Announcements: None

Autocheck History Report: 3 owners, 1 accident

MMR: $56,700

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $58,900 (21,603 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $60,500 (8,243 mi)
Last Year: $63,100 (7,651 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $60,300

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: This is a good-looking Grand Sport, so it’s likely the accident scared off bidders.)

#6

2020 C8 Stingray Coupe 2LT

5,606 Miles

Condition Report: 5.0/5.0

Announcements:

Autocheck History Report: 1 owner, 0 accidents

MMR: $68,400

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $64,100 (15,633 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $63,000 (15,014 mi)
Last Year: $73,300 (14,828 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $71,100

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: This is another rerun from the middle of last month, and my guess is the selling dealer’s reserve is too high.)

#5

2021 C8 Stingray Convertible 3LT

60,744 Miles

Condition Report: None given

Announcements: None

Autocheck History Report: 4 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: $59,700

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $70,400 (14,492 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $73,500 (18,657 mi)
Last Year: $84,700 (8,513 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $65,100

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $61,500

(Insights: With these miles I’m surprised this one sold, and over MMR to boot. But at least we got the first sale for the week!)

#4

2022 C8 Stingray Convertible 2LT

11,562 Miles

Condition Report: 4.8/5.0

Announcements: None

Autocheck History Report: 2 owners, 1 accident

*No other photos were provided

MMR: $69,200

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $68,900 (9,776 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $67,400 (20,326 mi)
Last Year: $81,700 (7,534 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $75,700

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: The accident likely scared bidders away, and/or the reserve was too high.)

#3

2022 C8 Stingray Coupe 3LT

6,211 Miles

Condition Report: 5.0/5.0

Announcements: Take Offers

Autocheck History Report: 2 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: $73,500

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $72,800 (8,308 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $71,500 (13,880 mi)
Last Year: $86,000 (6,169 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $78,300

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: We need a strong finish so we don’t tie our worst sales ratio to date!)

#2

2022 C8 Stingray Convertible 2LT

6,059 Miles

Condition Report: 5.0/5.0

Announcements: 1 owner unit!!!

Autocheck History Report: 1 owner, 0 accidents

MMR: $72,900

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $68,900 (9,776 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $67,400 (20,326 mi)
Last Year: $81,700 (7,534 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $79,400

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $73,000

(Insights: This one looked perfect on paper and in the pictures and was bought “right on the money.”)

#1

2023 C8 Stingray Convertible 3LT

14,035 Miles

Condition Report: 4.4/5.0

Announcements:

Autocheck History Report: 2 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: $75,800

(MMR=estimated wholesale value, based on vehicle, miles, condition, and recent auction sales)

Historical Wholesale Averages

Past 30 Days: $82,400 (4,292 average miles)
6 Months Ago: $86,200 (4,639 mi)
Last Year: $95,100 (1,155 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $80,000

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: NO SALE

(Insights: This was a sharp-looking C8, so it’s likely something on that lower condition report scared bidders away, and/or the seller’s reserve was too high.)

Summary: Despite being hot a couple of reports ago, the C7s have cooled off recently, with none selling this week. The C8s were also relatively flat, with only two of the six selling. These flat overall sales left us with just a 20% sales ratio. Thanks for joining CorvSport today and we’ll see you in two weeks!

Sales Ratio Tracker (click date for report archives):

[2/29/2024] Report: 30% Sold
[3/13/2024] Report: 30% Sold
[3/27/2024] Report: 10% Sold
[4/12/2024] Report: 40% Sold
[4/26/2024] Report: 10% Sold
[5/10/2024] Report: 50% Sold
[5/23/2024] Report: 50% Sold
[6/07/2024] Report: 60% Sold
[6/21/2024] Report: 40% Sold
[7/03/2024] Report: 20% Sold
[7/17/2024] Report: 20% Sold
[8/02/2024] Report: 50% Sold
[Today]: 20% Sold

Thanks for checking out our exclusive wholesale report. If you want to keep up to date with all the fresh Corvette news and maintain a pulse on the lifestyle and culture of this exciting, iconic brand, CorvSport has the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 171,000 followers (52,000 since January 2023!). Come join other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello, Douglas B.

*All images and information credited to Manheim Auction