Why C7 Corvettes Could Eventually Become More Valuable Than C8s

The Corvette has a reputation as a difficult car to buy used. Why? Because their owners love them dearly and they know what they’ve got, damn it! And yet, something curious is happening with the C8 Corvette. As Hagerty noted in its piece, the C8 seems to be depreciating faster than expected.

The C8 Corvette was a bit of a game-changer for Chevrolet. The All-American sports car finally made the transition to a mid-engined layout, said goodbye to the manual transmission, and even adopted hybrid technology. Indeed, it’s an altogether different beast from the Corvettes that came before, and it’s apparently behaving rather differently in the secondary market, too.

As reported by Hagerty (an insurance company that spends lots of resources on valuation), a used C8 is still more expensive than an older C7. But the headline here? The gap is apparently closing faster than you might think.

Big Money

When the C8 Corvette landed in 2020, it was the new hot car on the scene. An American icon had transformed itself into something shiny and new, and customers were banging the doors down. The only problem was that Chevrolet spent the rest of that year tangling with COVID-19 and the ensuing supply chain issues, which drastically hurt production figures. As with any hyped new launch, dealers also saw the opportunity to tack on some hefty markups.

Basically, in the years after launch, if you wanted a C8, you were going to pay big to get one. Hilariously, in those same peak pandemic years, C7 prices were going up too, as the constricted supply of new cars across the board pushed used prices to new highs.

Fast forward to today, and Hagerty notes the situation has changed somewhat. The C8 production lines are humming along nicely, and supply is, by and large, meeting demand. There’s also a smattering of used C8s on the market from owners who have had their fill and moved on. The market distortions from the pandemic have similarly eased, pulling some heat out of the market. C7 prices have cooled too, but not as much. Hagerty currently puts the average price of a C8 Corvette at $72,090, while the average 2014-2019 C7 comes out around $49,180.

Head over to Classic.com, and you’ll find similar figures. The site lists the average used C8 Corvette Stingray sale price as $77,977 across 2024. Meanwhile, the average C7 Corvette Stingray is going for $46,858. But let’s look at a longer range—from 2020 to 2024, and make some graphs.

There’s the real tell. Ignore the blue-line moving average, which is skewed to the past, and look at what the cluster of blobs are doing. They represent sales in the used market. C7 prices have remained almost flat over the last four years, right around the $50,000 mark. Meanwhile, C8 prices have dropped a good $30,000 or so in that same time period.

Flip through the used classifies and you’ll find plenty of cars around those numbers. Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind that a high-mileage Stingray will cost you less, while special models like a Z06 will cost you more. You can find C7s around the $40,000 mark fairly easily, but what is really compelling are the older C8s that are dipping into the mid-60s.

So What’s Going On Here?

It’s hard to say what prices will do in the long term, but the C7s are the last front-engined Corvettes and the last with a manual transmission. As Hagerty notes:

It’s still quicker than many newer and more expensive performance cars. It’s also the last Corvette with the traditional front-engine layout and silhouette, and the last available with a manual. And when a car is the “last of” something, it tends to have staying power in the collector market.

One of the recent trends, both online at auctions and in-person, is that the hottest thing right now is a car with a manual transmission. Those examples could become more valuable over time now that the Corvette line has moved on.

At the same time, C8 prices could level out in time and hold their higher value for a while.

There are some exceptions to this. The rarer high-performance models will continue to command a premium. Indeed, examples of the 2019 Corvette ZR-1 are listed for $250,000 and above—though a few C8 Z06 models are approaching that territory too.

[Editor’s Note: It’s worth noting that some of this may seem a bit… obvious. You expect a new car to depreciate most in its first few years of ownership. That the gap between C8 and C7 is large when the C8 is newer, and shrinks over time is not surprising. But this isn’t just some news outlet reporting on this, it’s insurance company Hagerty writing “C8 Corvettes Are Depreciating Faster Than C7s.” What they’re implying with this piece is that, over time, it’s possible that the gap between the C8 and C7 will continue to shrink, and as the models become dated, who knows, maybe C7s will end up being the more valuable cars, in part for the reasons enumerated here. -DT]. 

The choice between the two models is a tough one to make. On the other hand, you could buy yourself the last example of America’s classic sports car, with a manual transmission and the traditional long-hood, front-engined layout. It’s good old-fashioned motoring at its finest. Alternatively, you could ride the new tech wave for just a little more cash, and get yourself objectively more power and performance to boot. A base C8 comes with 30 more horsepower than a C7, after all, and shaves the zero to 60 mph time from 3.6 down to 2.9 seconds. If it’s outright numbers you want, see if you can save for the newer model. If it’s nostalgia, the C7 is likely your best choice.

In any case, whichever way you go, you’re getting a great car. Ultimately, the best Corvette is the one that’s parked in your very own driveway.

Image credits: GM, cars.com via screenshot