This Chevy's Resell Value Is Holding Up Much Better Than Other Cars

Buying a car in the United States gets tougher and tougher — new cars are now averaging $50,000, and even used cars are often not the bargains they once were. Vehicles from reliable brands known for reaching high mileages without issue, like Toyota and Honda, are holding onto most of their original prices for the first five years. Surprisingly enough, though, the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette is also one that holds its value remarkably well.

According to Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette has only lost 27% of its value in the last three years, with a current average used price of $54,400. When you consider that KBB estimates that an average vehicle will depreciate 30% across its first two years and then 8% to 12% in each of the following years, this is quite impressive. And it's weirdly not a Corvette thing, either — Kelley Blue Book has the 2022, 2023, and 2024 model years depreciating at a much faster rate.

The 2021 Chevrolet Corvette was the second model year of the Corvette's eighth generation, which debuted in 2020. The C8 was the first Corvette to have its V8 — a 6.2-liter LT2 — in the middle of the car. This put it in direct competition with high-performance sports cars like the Porsche 911 and BMW M4 — but at a much lower price. It had a base price of $59,995 at launch, and our review of the 2021 Corvette found that it "[drove] as well as cars two, even three times its price." 

While pretty similar to the 2020 C8, the 2021 Corvette introduced some trim and equipment updates that made it arguably a slightly better deal. The first two years of the C8 Corvette have held up well in terms of value, with KBB data suggesting that the 2020 model has only depreciated 28% over the last few years (just 1% more than the 2021 model). It currently has an average resale value of $51,100.

It seems like there is something special about these early C8 models that car enthusiasts appreciate. Maybe it's the fact that they were the first Corvettes with a mid-engined layout after 52 years, or perhaps it's their amazing performance for the price? The base 2025 Corvette Stingray, the cheapest new mid-engined sports car, has the same 490 hp as the 2021 model, but at a much higher price — it's still worth around $63,700, about $9,300 more than the 2021 Corvette. This might make early C8s pretty enticing, but the continued appeal may also cause them to hold their value better than expected.