Corvette Performance - trade my trans am for c5, is this worth it???

ok, I have been giving this much thought and I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I am thinking of trading my trans am for a guys c5 corvette. It sounds like a good deal on my part right, but the vette has a rebuilt title and I have a clean title. It would be a straight trade. here are the specs of both cars:

My Trans Am:
1999, basically stock, have LT and full cat-back but not installed yet, m6, leather, 63k miles, overall good cond. inside and out, clean title

His c5 corvette:
1999, 11 sec car, bolt-ons with H/C/I with about over 400hp to the wheels (thats what he says), 94k miles, built auto a4, looks good over all from pics, rebuilt title.

So guys, do you think that I should do this or keep my trans am, install my headers and cat back and call it a day? I am really confused here :eek2:

Trading your Trans Am for a C5....great idea
Trading your Trans Am for THAT C5....ehhh I dont know.

That C5 has a rebuilt title...not something I would go for. Also, its Auto...another thing I wouldnt want, esp coming from a m6 fbody.

As far as difference in the vehicles in general, the C5 is better.
The rebuilt title on this c5 would steer me away. Then again the value of both cars is probably crap. Fbodys and C5s (non-FRC/Z06s) have low values so I guess it doesnt make much of a difference.

yeah, the value of my car is only like $8-8.5k on kbb and would think that the rebuilt c5 is about the same. the rebuilt title is what is making me leery about it. From what I read and researched, I can be a big winner or a big loser on rebuilt titles and the resale value is about half of a clean title with the same specs. and I know, I would much prefer a m6 but then again I love the vettes in general.

Just me but I would steer clear of that car. There are just too many things that could cause you problems down the road when you get into cars with rebuilt titles. But like Black8Banger said getting out of the T/A and into a vette is a good idea, you wont regret that.

if the vette dose not have a cbl u will need one, about $60 and 1 hour of your time

Your car sounds like the better deal. Keep it.

this might be a stupid question, but what is a cbl?

and here is some more info on it about the rebuild: it needed the bumper cover one headlight and a hood no frame damage no air bags deployed ......car has 94k on the cluster and about 1k on the motor and trans (thats what he says). if there was no water or frame damage just cosmetic like he said it might not be that bad right? ill pull up a carfax when I get the vin to check it out, how in-dept is carfax when it comes to things like this? thanks guys.

if its only 1k on motor and trans (like he says) i wouldnt hesitate to get it despite the rebuilt title! All rebuilt title cars aren't bad! Some are great and you wouldn't even be able to tell unless you looked at the title. Carfax it.. what motor did he replace it with? ls1?

I just got my Vette and i love it much more than my f-body and honestly havent drove my f-body since buying the Vette. If you dont mind having a "auto" then i say go for it but inspect it and test drive 1st.

hell if you dont take it i will im just up the state

yeah, im going to check it out and test drive it. if everything checks out, ill most likely get it.

if you dont want it send him to me. ive been wanting a vette forever

if you dont want it send him to me. ive been wanting a vette forever

I hear that! Once you get one trust me you will have no regrets! The build quality/ride etc kills the f-body. Plus its just something about telling ppl "i got a Vette" especially females lol.. I will always have love for the f-body though

Is this the one on CF with the fixed headlights? I wouldn't do it if it is because I hate the fixed headlights and wouldn't want another a4.

save for a C5Z06 it is worth it, just my 2 cents

is this the one on CF with the fixed headlights?
yeah thats the one, im not to big of a fan on the fixed head lights either but i think i can live with it..... or sell/trade them for pop ups if i really wanted to.

yea the fixed headlights are kind ehhhh in my book.

I looked at the car on CF. It sounds like its got some solid mods. Check it out in person and it could be worth the trade. It would def look 10x better with stock headlights.
I would take the rest of that side molding off it was painted underneath it.

Best bet is to check it over in person. Take your time and look at every detail. Check out the sellers other posts and threads on the forum. Im always nervous about dealing with people who post in all caps and say generic mods like...aftermarket comp cam and racing clutch bands in 4l60e. He also said he had to sell the car because of a divorce but then states that if it was an M6, he would keep the car.

I also noticed he posted the EXACT car for sale in September asking $17k and said it had a 6.0L motor in it. Now this newer thread says 5.7L motor.

New thread: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-corvettes-for-sale/2454236-divorce-forces-sale-11-sec-orange-corvette-1999-11-500-a.html

Old thread: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-corvettes-for-sale/2415147-99-corvette-custom-orange-6-0-500hp-for-sale-trade.html

sounds like this guy maybe blew up the 6.0. i don't know about this deal. i would walk away from this one.

I had a 1998 and 2001 TA and now have a 2007 Vette. I love the C5 Vettes also but your TA has 60,000 miles and this C5 has 90,000 and a rebuilt title. Keep the TA until you can find a nice vette you like. they are comming down in price. you will find one that has a clean title.

I bought a 2002 black ram air ta with a salvage title years ago....regreted it from day 1....don't do it!

I wouldnt do it you never really know what happened and i wouldnt want to start out with a car that has engine mods unless i knew who did it just to make sure it was done right.

yeah, im kind of second guessing it now. I might still check it out in person real good and go from there but defiantly dont plan to rush into it. I got all my performance parts up for sale though and plan to put my car up for sale and just try to save up for a c5. any one interested in buying a 99 trans am? lol

Do not trade, you will regret it. My previous car was a 2000 SS with a bunch of performance mods and it was a piece of junk and it didn't even have a rebuild title. It looked nice but the person who worked on it was a monkey with a wrench. Be careful buying a car with mods and not knowing who worked on it. I only had that car for a year and sold it to buy the stock c5 FRC I currently drive. I did the mods myself so I knew it was done right. The c5 is a better car hands down but I would definatly keep your fbody. Just wait for a nice looking stock c5, best decision I've made.

The C5 is obviously the better car not to mention that it's a heck of a lot quicker H/C than your stock f-bod. That being said as mentioned the 90K mile rebuilt title brings the value down a good bit compared with your current car. Also the fact that the seller might be suspect would be another negative. For me the biggest turnoff is the fact that it's an auto. There's no way I could go from an M6 f-bod or M6 vette to an auto. Unless you've driven an auto sports car before then I would seriously think that over more. Nothing against autos (they're great for the strip) but I LOVE having total control over my trans.

Looks like your going for it ... good luck with your new vette! Sometimes vettes make you do crazy things ... I know the feeling.

UPDATE!

just thought that I would update everyone thats replied to this thread and have given me some advice. I have decided NOT to trade for this vette. I have my car up for sale and am just going to sell it and save up my money and buy a nice clean title c5 and of course 6 speed (i really cant do an auto lol, to boring for me). I already have a few people contact me about the car, and at $8500 it shouldnt last long! thanks every one

UPDATE!

just thought that I would update everyone thats replied to this thread and have given me some advice. I have decided NOT to trade for this vette. I have my car up for sale and am just going to sell it and save up my money and buy a nice clean title c5 and of course 6 speed (i really cant do an auto lol, to boring for me). I already have a few people contact me about the car, and at $8500 it shouldnt last long! thanks every one

Good decision.

the deal smells like low tide where i live stinky.save your money and get a clean c-5 and dont be afraid of the a-4 tranny certainly if you want to track car havent broken any drivetrain parts to date in mine and have 488 rw check corvette forum in performance section pg 1 of sticky performance results. 4 of 5 cars running in tens na stock bottom end ls-1 are autos

I went from a 2002 WS6 to a 2002 Z06. Best decision I've ever made.

But I don't know about buying a pre-modded C5. I would buy a mostly stock C5 if I were you.

Just my two cents.

the deal smells like low tide where i live stinky.save your money and get a clean c-5 and dont be afraid of the a-4 tranny certainly if you want to track car havent broken any drivetrain parts to date in mine and have 488 rw check corvette forum in performance section pg 1 of sticky performance results. 4 of 5 cars running in tens na stock bottom end ls-1 are autos

yeah im not going for this deal, im just going to save my money and get a nice clean c5. I know the autos are fast, especially on the track, but I just like the feel of the 6 speed, much more fun imo. drop the clutch and get side ways or ripping through the gears on the highway lol :cool:

yeah im not going for this deal, im just going to save my money and get a nice clean c5. I know the autos are fast, especially on the track, but I just like the feel of the 6 speed, much more fun imo. drop the clutch and get side ways or ripping through the gears on the highway lol :cool:

the shifting is cool but with my right hand free i can usually put it somewhere it doesnt belong on the lady sitting next to me :), or change a cd:) or do this to a slower car:wave-fing usually a stick

Trading your Trans Am for a C5....great idea
Trading your Trans Am for THAT C5....ehhh I dont know.

That C5 has a rebuilt title...not something I would go for. Also, its Auto...another thing I wouldnt want, esp coming from a m6 fbody.

As far as difference in the vehicles in general, the C5 is better.
The rebuilt title on this c5 would steer me away. Then again the value of both cars is probably crap. Fbodys and C5s (non-FRC/Z06s) have low values so I guess it doesnt make much of a difference.

Perfectly stated.. :thumb:

the shifting is cool but with my right hand free i can usually put it somewhere it doesnt belong on the lady sitting next to me :), or change a cd:) or do this to a slower car:wave-fing usually a stick
Both of my cars are manuals with CD players and [sometimes] good looking girls in the passenger seats. I have no problem changing CDs, feeling thighs, giving the finger, drinking coffee, or anything else for that matter with my right hand while driving.

Honestly, it's not like your hand needs to be on the shifter at all times cause once you're going, you don't need to shift anymore unless you really want to. And on a T56, it's only 10 seconds (or less) before you're in 6th gear.

IMO, you can't beat the funnability of a manual.