In a video published July 6, a Toronto car buyer has his eye on a modified Corvette and a Mustang to put toward it. Before he can leave with the Chevrolet, he has to persuade the dealer that his Ford deserves a little more money.
The customer brought his 2014 Mustang V6 manual to Toronto Auto Brokers to trade for a 2001 Corvette C5 Z06. He said the Mustang was his weekend car, kept in the garage while another vehicle handled trips to work.
With about 77,000 kilometers on the clock, or roughly 47,800 miles, the Ford had seen fairly light use. Its owner said the engine and exhaust were stock, though he had fitted different wheels and new tires.
He had already found plenty of reasons to want a Corvette. While working as a window installer, he kept spotting them, then visited the dealership and found the one he wanted. “I’m going to buy this,” he recalled thinking.
A Little Apart
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The Mustang needed a wash, and a bumper scrape drew attention during the walk-around. Its owner blamed someone who had scratched it in a Walmart parking lot, but the dealer liked the low mileage and manual gearbox.
Price was harder. The buyer wanted about C$18,000 to C$19,000 for the trade, while the dealer opened around C$12,000 to C$13,000 and pointed to the car’s age.
That argument had an obvious weakness: the customer was there to buy a 2001 Chevrolet. He brought that up, prompting the dealer to explain that a Mustang GT would command a different price than this V6.
The two worked toward a C$14,000 trade allowance, with the dealer counting potential tax savings as another benefit. That figure was for the Mustang, rather than the Corvette’s sale price. The buyer still had to sit down with staff and work through the rest of the numbers.
A full tank of gas also came up as they settled on a price. The dealer agreed to provide one, then made his own request.
A Parting Request
The dealer told the buyer the Corvette’s previous owner had spent heavily on modifications. He asked him to be careful: “You can have fun, but not too much fun.”
“I want to promise this thing to myself, too,” the buyer replied. It was a good promise to make before taking the keys.
After the departure, the dealer sounded shaken. “The customer just left with a Corvette and he almost crashed,” he said, adding, “That thing was spinning.” His account does not identify the upgrades or establish what caused the scare.
Back at the Mustang, the dealer had another choice to make. Sending it to wholesale might only recover his money, he reckoned, while cleaning it up for a retail sale offered a chance to earn something on the trade.
The manual gearbox helped win him over. He told staff to detail the car, fix the bumper scratches, and check it over before listing it. “Let’s not advertise it before it’s perfect,” he said.