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Douglas Barton·
Auctions
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Corvettes At The Wholesale Dealer-Only Auction: How Are They Performing?

CorvSport's exclusive wholesale market reports give you the dealer data and insights from the largest dealer-only auction in the country

How many of our C8 Z06s will sell today? Photo credit: Manheim

CorvSport is your only source for bi-monthly wholesale market reports, with insights from a used-car dealership owner with 17 years of experience buying and selling thousands of vehicles. Why should the Corvette enthusiast care about wholesale dealer-to-dealer Corvette transactions? For one, if wholesale auction activity is vibrant, with lots of Corvettes hammering on the lane, that translates to a busy retail environment. An active used retail market could mean less negotiating leverage, which is especially important if you are shopping. Also, these reports will give enthusiasts a glimpse of the margins that used-car dealers are working with. And the spread between what a dealer pays and the retail price is not as large as one would think. Lastly, knowledge is power. The next time market talk comes up with your enthusiast friends, you’ll have data that will dazzle them.

What to look for at today’s wholesale auction:

  • How many Corvettes will our super seller, Texas Auto Value (TAV), sell? They have five running through today’s auction.
  • What are the successful sales trends between Florida and Texas, the two markets we cover and compare? Our full sales tracker for all 42 installments is below today’s Top 7.
  • How many of our three C8 Z06s will sell? Is the fallout from the fire-risk recall and stop-sale still affecting sales?
  • The Bigger Picture, NEW Expanded Data: In addition to our Top 7 Corvettes, we give the total ‘Vette sales from today’s featured market, Dallas. How many of the 28 Corvettes offered at the large Texas wholesale auction will sell? What generation has the most sales? We break down each one.

A Quick Review Of The Process:

CorvSport’s resident retired used-car dealership owner/operator handpicks the top Corvettes and draws on his 17 years of experience and industry access to provide market insights. The search is focused on the nation’s largest dealer-only wholesale auction, and all the Corvettes featured to date are from the Texas or Florida market. Why do Corvettes end up at the wholesale auction? Most are trade-ins that the dealer has decided not to retail on their lot. Some may also be repossessions or coming off leases. It’s also common for dealers to dump problem (or slow-selling) units at an auction. Lastly, there are popular wholesale super sellers who offer purchase services like Carmax, where they will buy the vehicle directly from you.

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.

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[10/23/2025 Edition]

Top 7: Wholesale Dealer-Only Auction Activity Report

#7

2017 C7 Stingray Z51 Coupe 2LT

43,793 Miles

Condition Report: 4.8/5.0

Announcements: AFTM exhaust, no cats, tuned, procharged, heavily modified, leather, NAV, turbocharged, sport package, sharp, performance coupe

Autocheck History Report: 2 owners, 1 accident

MMR: $35,300

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

Historical Wholesale Averages

  • Past 30 Days: $34,300 (49,847 average miles)
  • 6 Months Ago: $38,400 (37,494 mi)
  • Last Year: Not available

Estimated Retail Value: $41,600

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $34,300

(Insights: Heavily modified vehicles, especially Corvettes, typically don’t perform well at the wholesale auctions. This one, at $1000 under MMR, was well bought. That is, assuming the build is a solid one.)

#6

2019 C7 Stingray Convertible 3LT

56,949 Miles

Condition Report: 4.5/5.0

Announcements: 3LT pckg, NAV, Clean Carfax

Autocheck History Report: 4 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: Not Available (due to limited transactions)

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

Historical Wholesale Averages

  • Past 30 Days: $39,300 (56,949 average miles)
  • 6 Months Ago: Not available
  • Last Year: $33,600 (62,381 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: Not Available

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $39,250

(Insights: With four owners and a marginal condition report, this was a favorable sale for the selling dealer. As we used to say in the biz, resell red never lets you down.)

#5

2019 C7 Grand Sport Coupe 2LT

46,830 Miles

Condition Report: 4.6/5.0

Announcements: Minor Carfax Caution

Autocheck History Report: 3 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: $46,300

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

Historical Wholesale Averages

  • Past 30 Days: $53,600 (25,297 average miles)
  • 6 Months Ago: $59,600 (5,178 mi)
  • Last Year: $50,400 (36,927 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $49,700

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $44,500

(Insights: Yet another ‘Vette that sells below MMR. This is definitely an indication that the wholesale market pricing is cooling off.)

#4

2020 C8 Stingray Coupe 2LT

9,340 Miles

Condition Report: 5.0/5.0

Announcements: Performance exhaust, 2LT pckg, NAV, Clean Carfax

Autocheck History Report: 2 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: $60,600

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

Historical Wholesale Averages

  • Past 30 Days: $57,300 (20,909 average miles)
  • 6 Months Ago: $53,800 (32,609 mi)
  • Last Year: $58,400 (24,138 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $65,600

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $59,000

(Insights: The deals were flowing at today’s auction, with yet another one below MMR. As someone who has owned and sold  multiple red Corvettes, resell red is a real phenomenon.)

#3

2023 C8 Z06 Coupe 2LZ

821 Miles

Condition Report: 4.9/5.0

Announcements: 2LZ pckg, Clean Carfax, GT2 seating

Autocheck History Report: 2 owners, 0 accidents

MMR: $98,400

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

Historical Wholesale Averages

  • Past 30 Days: $95,800 (821 average miles)
  • 6 Months Ago: $109,000 (5,420 mi)
  • Last Year: $114,000 (8,243 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $111,000

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $95,750

(Insights: I’m still amazed we are talking about 6-figure numbers for used Z06s. At $2,650 under MMR, I’m sensing there are going to be some deals on C8 Z06s today!)

#2

2024 C8 Z06 Convertible 3LZ

1,435 Miles

Condition Report: 5.0/5.0

Announcements: 3LZ pckg, NAV, 1-owner, Clean Carfax, ground effects, carbon fiber painted carbon flash, spider design machine face forged aluminum wheels

Autocheck History Report: 1 owner, 0 accidents

MMR: $119,000

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

Historical Wholesale Averages

  • Past 30 Days: $118,000 (2,343 average miles)
  • 6 Months Ago: $122,000 (1,937 mi)
  • Last Year: $128,000 (983 mi)

Estimated Retail Value: $134,000

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $120,000

(Insights: What a beautiful Torch Red Z06, with all the desirable options, and the price reflects it. Did you notice how much the wholesale price has dropped over the past year? Does $8,000 seem like a lot?)

#1

2025 C8 Z06 Coupe 1LZ

2,997 Miles

Condition Report: 5.0/5.0

Announcements: 1LZ pckg, NAV, 1-owner, Clean Carfax

Autocheck History Report: 1 owner, 0 accidents

MMR: $103,000

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

Historical Wholesale Averages

  • Past 30 Days: $101,000 (1,990 average miles)
  • 6 Months Ago: Not available
  • Last Year: Not available

Estimated Retail Value: $112,000

(Based on Cox Automotive retail transactions)

Auction Results: Sold for $99,000

(Insights: What a difference trim and options make, with a $21,000 price difference between this 1LZ and the previous 3LZ. If I were on the block winning this one, I would be very happy with a whopping $4,000 below MMR–not bad for a nearly brand new 2025.)

The CorvSport Takeaway:

Whoa, in the 86 weeks we’ve been doing these exclusive wholesale reports, there have only been two installments with a 100% sales ratio. Today’s perfect seven out of seven is in rare company! That perfect score indicates that our super seller, Texas Auto Value, sold all five of its Corvettes. Also, it appears the dust has settled on the C8 Z06 recall and stop-sale fallout, as every unit sold to a new dealer. However, did you see some of the deals on those C8 Z06s?!? This is probably our most revealing wholesale market report to date.

The Bigger Picture, NEW Expanded Data:

  • 28 [Total Corvettes offered at Dallas this week]
  • 20 [Sold Corvettes from Dallas]
  • 71.4% Successful Sales Ratio

Sales By Generation:

  • C8: 10
  • C7: 6
  • C6: 4
  • C5: 0
  • C4: 0
  • C3: 0
  • C2: 0
  • C1: 0

See All Our Exclusive Dealer-To-Dealer Wholesale Transactions

Sales Ratio Tracker (click date for report archives):

Thanks for joining us today on this Corvette journey. We’ll see you in two weeks! Did the 100% sales ratio surprise you? Join the CorvSport movement!

*All images and information are credited to Manheim Auctions.

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