Selling a junk Chevrolet Corvette
Any Corvette sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Chevrolet Corvette
NHTSA has 5,962 owner complaints on file for the Chevrolet Corvette, model years 1995 to 2022, the 80th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are steering (1,135, 19%), fuel system (1,130, 19%), wheels (551, 9%). 216 complaints involved a crash, 40 a fire, and 68 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 37,000 miles. The 2005 model year has the most complaints (718). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is steering, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to deciding whether to repair or junk: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Chevrolet Corvette by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 48 | Speed control | 18 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 1996 | 63 | Electrical system | 3 | 4 | 1 | — |
| 1997 | 196 | Steering | 4 | 0 | 7 | 41,053 |
| 1998 | 466 | Steering | 16 | 1 | 4 | 49,000 |
| 1999 | 389 | Steering | 19 | 3 | 4 | 45,000 |
| 2000 | 360 | Steering | 18 | 0 | 4 | 43,000 |
| 2001 | 281 | Steering | 10 | 4 | 3 | 42,000 |
| 2002 | 191 | Steering | 3 | 0 | 3 | 43,195 |
| 2003 | 127 | Steering | 23 | 1 | 3 | 34,000 |
| 2004 | 257 | Fuel system | 7 | 1 | 4 | 35,400 |
| 2005 | 718 | Other | 21 | 9 | 6 | 42,000 |
| 2006 | 441 | Body and structure | 16 | 2 | 5 | 41,000 |
| 2007 | 435 | Fuel system | 9 | 6 | 2 | 44,000 |
| 2008 | 626 | Fuel system | 14 | 3 | 0 | 48,325 |
| 2009 | 178 | Fuel system | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36,000 |
| 2010 | 90 | Fuel system | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33,405 |
| 2011 | 99 | Fuel system | 4 | 1 | 1 | 28,000 |
| 2012 | 71 | Fuel system | 5 | 0 | 1 | 30,406 |
| 2013 | 94 | Fuel system | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19,550 |
| 2014 | 81 | Fuel system | 6 | 1 | 5 | 9,000 |
| 2015 | 73 | Transmission and drivetrain | 6 | 0 | 5 | 12,000 |
| 2016 | 115 | Wheels | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15,000 |
| 2017 | 273 | Wheels | 5 | 0 | 4 | 14,425 |
| 2018 | 53 | Wheels | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10,000 |
| 2019 | 153 | Wheels | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9,234 |
| 2020 | 43 | Body and structure | 2 | 0 | 4 | — |
| 2021 | 17 | Transmission and drivetrain | 2 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 2022 | 24 | Electrical system | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Chevrolet Corvette recalls
NHTSA lists 33 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for air bags (7), steering (6), seat belts (3). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2017 model year, steering (campaign 25V175000, Mar 2025): General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Cadillac CTS, 2017-2018 Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Camaro, and Chevrolet Corvette vehicles. The electric power steering (EPS) assist may fail.
- 2021 model year, transmission and drivetrain (campaign 22V091000, Feb 2022): General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Chevrolet Corvette vehicles. The rear half-shaft assemblies may be missing one or more ball bearings, which can result in a loss of drive power.
- 2021 model year, air bags (campaign 21V421000, Jun 2021): General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Buick Envision, Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Corvette, Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles. The communications gateway module incorrect…
- 2020 model year, seat belts (campaign 20V581000, Sep 2020): General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Corvette vehicles. The driver's seat belt retractor may not lock as intended during a crash.
- 2020 model year, brakes (campaign 20V588000, Sep 2020): General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac CT4, CT5 and XT4, 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and 2020-2021 Buick Encore GX vehicles. Sensor connection contamination in the electronic br…
What a Chevrolet Corvette is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Corvette on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
Should you junk or repair your car? 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Chevrolet models
- Chevrolet Malibu 29,279
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500 22,548
- Chevrolet Impala 15,194
- Chevrolet Tahoe 12,433
- Chevrolet Equinox 12,060
- Chevrolet Silverado 10,454
- Chevrolet Cobalt 10,115
- Chevrolet Trailblazer 9,175
All Chevrolet models · All makes · Cash for junk cars by state
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Chevrolet Corvette worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Corvette gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Chevrolet Corvette that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Chevrolet Corvette?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Chevrolet Corvette numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.