Monday Musings: C7 Supply/Demand
If you’re lucky enough to be a C7 owner, your car is holding its value very well
As I sit here today (Sunday, 6/22/25) I’m pondering the current availability and prices for C7s. Since the advent of the C8 model, I’ve noticed that C7 prices haven’t really gone down significantly. Although I wasn’t particularly interested in the seventh-generation cars when they were introduced in 2014, I gradually started to warm up to the design and at one point even considered owning one.
In 2019, Chevrolet was trying to clear out C7 Corvette inventory and was offering rebates, financing deals, and discounts. I saw base models available in the mid-40 thousand dollar range and I remember thinking at the time that this was an exceptionally good deal. I didn’t act on my instinct that the C7 would hold its value and I kind of regret that now.
Bring a Trailer is one of the resources I check when trying to decide what Corvette-related items to write about for my blog. Looking on that site today, out of about 1,000 vehicles currently available at auction, there were only two C7 Corvettes, and they were both low-mileage high-end cars. The blue 2016 3LT Z06 pictured above had been bid up to $61K with two days left, and the orange 2019 3ZR ZR1 pictured above had been bid up to $161k with four days left. I also looked at the completed auctions and found that even most 2014 C7s were selling for over $40,000.
I’ve also noticed that in my area of upstate New York there are very few available and there are none under $40,000. This makes me think that the C7 buyers were either very astute or very lucky that they purchased this generation Corvette. It seems that they’ve been able to enjoy a very desirable car that has turned out to be almost depreciation-free, and I can think of a few reasons for this phenomenon.
From conception, this generation was well-designed and well-built with very few components carried over from the previous generation. This fresh design was the result of advanced computer simulations of components with particular attention paid to strength and weight. And even though every new offering has a few teething problems, I think this generation proved to be very reliable with relatively few problems.
I think another reason for the popularity is the more traditional styling with a long nose and short deck. It maintained many of the design cues of previous generations and it was appealing to the traditional Corvette demographic. Also, from the beginning, Corvettes always had the engine in front, and it seems purists were more comfortable with this configuration.
Finally, for people like me, a manual transmission is a big deal. When it was announced that the C8 would be offered only with an automatic transmission, I think it compelled some buyers to purchase a C7 with a manual transmission. In addition, owners of C7s with a stick shift were reluctant to part with their cars.
As a result, I think the supply/demand equation is skewed with the C7 generation. The supply seems constrained by current owners hanging on to their cars while the demand is still robust for this last generation with traditional styling, front engine, and the availability of a manual transmission.
Although I try to keep my biases out of my posts, I have to admit my “stick shift” bias does creep in lol. I grew up with them and learned to drive with a clutch and manual shifter. I didn’t need to look it up: I knew that most people are not like me and favor automatic transmissions. The “take rate” for manual transmissions has generally fallen to less than 10 percent and consequently there are many high-end sports cars that no longer offer the option. The point I was trying to make is that as a result, a dearth of manual Corvettes might be keeping the prices up on manual C7s. Of course, this is purely speculation on my part - I’m not a statistical analysis guy like the one who comments on my posts! 😀
I can attest to the residual value of C7 Corvettes. I bought my 2016 Z06 in March, 2019. When I traded it in 3 1/2 years later I received exactly what I paid for the car, even though it was undergoing repairs. Sadly, I didn't receive what I actually had in the car.
I do have to quibble with your view regarding manual transmissions. The reason the C8 is only available with an automatic is by the end of the C7 generation 85% of even the higher spec models like the Z06 were sold with an automatic. The manual devotees will pay more for a stick, but in actuality more Corvettes were sold new with an automatic than a manual every year since 1972. You can look it up.