Flipping Mad: Why Flippers Are Bad for Corvette Enthusiasts

Car flippers are not new, but since the C8 was released we have seen many more in the Corvette world. It is not a good sign.

Oh, I have heard all the lines by now. “It is none of your business how someone spends their money.” “A car is worth what the market will bear, it is simple supply and demand.” “It is none of your business why someone is selling their car.” And on and on. And you know what? I’ll concede those points, and most others from the pro-flipper crowd. That doesn’t change the fact that flippers are bad news for the real Corvette enthusiast. Every time a near-new C8 Z06 sells for $100K over MSRP we all lose. Except maybe the seller. I am surprised that so many people seem to be accepting of it. That is probably why it will continue with the E-Ray, ZR1, Zora and whatever other special Corvette that Chevy decides to produce.

And to be fair to the flippers selling these cars at marked-up prices, it takes two to tango. The folks buying these overpriced Corvettes are just as much to blame. If people would stop paying these outrageous prices, then the markups would go away. You take the incentive away from the folks looking to make a quick buck. They now have to sell the car at a loss or have to actually drive it. Perish the thought. So, let’s take a closer look at what is happening and why this practice has been common and how it is destroying the Corvette enthusiast.

Case Study

As a case study, I will use a C8 Z06 Convertible with 11 miles on it that recently sold on Bring a Trailer. Sticker price was $128K. Including the $5K buyer premium, the new owner paid a staggering $232K for the car. I am simply using this as an example, but rest assured there are plenty of similar C8 Z06 transactions out there. I don’t know the seller’s personal situation. He claims that when he got on a Z06 list three years ago, he didn’t plan to sell, but he is now in a different situation. Be that as it may, this is what flipping looks like. I also don’t know any background on the buyer. I am simply using their transaction as an illustration of how this hurts us all.

More Dollars Than Sense

Let’s start with the folks paying the money. The buyers paying this kind of insane markup likely have a bank balance that far exceeds what most of us have access to. So, they really don’t care. $100K, $200K, $300K, $400K, it doesn’t matter to them. No one on a reasonable budget would go so far over MSRP on a car that, while new, will have a voided warranty. Especially when the exotic engine powering it has had a few issues reported. These buyers simply don’t care. But the average Corvette enthusiast is not this buyer. What this buyer is doing is pricing the average enthusiast out of the market.

The Corvette has always been the attainable sports car. Even in Z06 guise. At $232K the C8 Z06 becomes a plaything for the very wealthy only.