Dealer Spends $800 On New Wheels For His 2018 Corvette Z06 Hoping It Sells For More At Auction, Then Admits Nothing Is Selling Because Sellers Own Their Cars For Too Much

A car dealer dropped $800 on a fresh set of wheels, hoping to squeeze a few more dollars out of his 2018 Corvette Z06 at auction. Three days later he had nothing to show for it.

Two black classic coupes parked on a street, a Buick Regal and a red sedan behind it

Craig from Flying Wheels took the 650 horsepower Z06 to a Corvette and classic car sale. The old wheels, he says, “were horrendous,” so he swapped on stock Z06 wheels and called it “a complete changeover just from the shoes.”

Then he walked the floor with his friend Nacho and watched what the market actually did.

“For $800, It Was A Nice Upgrade. Let’s See How This Sells”

Craig was excited about the new wheels. The car has about 20,000 miles on it and he thought it looked wonderful.

The auction had high-end metal everywhere. There was a Ford GT that climbed to around $1.42 million, Maserati MC20s, a Mercedes G-Wagon convertible, and a 2021 GTR with 8,000 miles.

He also spotted a 2024 BMW M4 Competition that started at $76,000 with no bids. He guessed $60,000, and Nacho guessed $45,000.

His Z06 Landed Second To Last, With A 2.5 Condition Report

Craig says it happens to him every time. Out of the lineup he was number 93, with just a couple of cars behind him. “That’s what happens to me. They just put them at the end.”

The bigger problem was the condition report. Craig says the auction gave his Z06 a 2.5 out of 5, while a rough 2020 C8 convertible with 36,000 miles got a 3.9.

“They tore my car apart in the condition report, which is going to stop people from bidding on it.”

A Dirty C8 And A “Deal Of The Day” He Missed

Craig walked up to that C8 convertible. It had worn seats, a gouged console and a dirty cabin. “This car is so dirty,” he said, yet he still wanted it at $45,000.

The auction wanted $53,000, and the car sold for $44,000. He later said that would have been the deal of the day if he had landed it.

He had also watched his own Z06 slide in value. A Z06 on the floor was bidding at $55,000, which he called a bad sign. “Values have dropped tremendously.”

A $14,000 Mustang He Never Planned To Buy

While waiting, Craig ended up buying a 1997 Ford Mustang GT with just 25,000 miles. He started bidding at $12,500 and went to $13,000 and then $13,500. The auction told him he was the high bidder at $14,000.

“So I gave them an extra $500,” he says. Because it was a specialty sale, the buyer fee was $1,000, so the extra cost came to $1,500.

He called the fee “freaking ridiculous.” He then raced a bank that closed in 11 minutes to get a check, because otherwise he would have had to pay to transport the car instead of driving it home.

“This Is A Time Capsule”

The Mustang changed his mood. It has cold AC, a working radio, a manual transmission, original floor mats and a 4.6 liter V8. “It drives like a brand new car,” he says.

He asked his father what the car was worth. Dad said he would pay $6,500, and a seller might hope for $8,500. A true Mustang fan who wanted one as a kid might pay $12,000 to $15,000.

Craig says he is now the middle-aged man who buys the cars he wanted in high school. “The sticker shock wore off. It’s amazing.”

The IRS, The Auction Fee And The Math Of Selling A Car

Craig was also sour about money that week. He says the government took about one third of his year’s work in taxes, which he compares to a new Range Rover, and that property taxes are due next month.

He says a Lexus his shop sold earned about $1,000, but after pay, rent, insurance, fuel and materials, it barely made anything. “They made a thousand just for facilitating the sale.”

That is the point where he said he should have just gone on Marketplace and lowballed everyone.

Three Days, And “No Sale” On Rolls-Royces, Porsches And Escalades

His Z06 got another chance the next day in a Highline sale, and a third on Thursday. On day two he ran as number 197 of 213, between Rolls-Royces and AMGs. Almost none of them sold.

On day three he sat in his office and read the list live. “The Mustang didn’t sell. The Cadillac Escalade didn’t sell. The Range Rover didn’t sell.” Then a long run of Porsches, Mercedes and Audis, all with no sale.

His Corvette did not sell either.

“I Own My Car For Too Much”

Craig’s explanation was blunt. “A lot of other sellers own their cars for too much, but the buyers aren’t willing to pay what we own our cars for.”

In his view, nothing will sell until sellers are ready to cut prices. “The car is worth what a buyer’s willing to pay, not what we think it’s worth or what a book says it’s worth.”

He says he should have sold a month earlier, because “things changed 30 days later drastically.”

What Sellers And Buyers Can Learn

The auction said his Z06 was worth $62,000 on the low end. Craig says he will let it go for $58,500 with the new wheels, which he says is below his cost.

Price to the market, not to the book value or what you paid.
Count the auction fees and the condition report before you sell or buy. A bad grade can scare bidders away.
A cheap upgrade like wheels can help looks, but it rarely beats a drop in values.
If a car in good shape is not selling, a lower price is the only thing that moves it.

His advice is simple for buyers too. Watch the auction fee, set your top bid before you start, and do not rely on a quick flip.

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