This Corvette For Sale In Its Delivery Diaper Is Peak Cringe

If you’re in the business of buying and selling memorabilia like trading cards or vintage toys, your most sought-after pieces would be those that are undamaged, untouched, and still in their original packaging. The same applies to cars, with lower-mileage examples in pristine condition generally securing the highest prices. However, take that ideal to its extremes, and it gets a bit ridiculous, as demonstrated by this Corvette on Bring a Trailer.

Yes, this listing is pure bait for the New Balance brigade. It’s a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 convertible with the 70th Anniversary Edition package. Corvette buyers can’t get enough of special editions, so this one’s already an attractive specimen—even if it’s finished in the least interesting color option of White Pearl Metallic. It’s got the 5.5-liter LT6 V8 good for 670 horsepower, an electronic LSD, and the 3LZ equipment group, which gets you some nice leather touches in the interior and a better sound system. The real magic, though, is that this example is about as untouched as you can get. It’s still wrapped in its delivery diaper, it’s got just 4 miles on the clock, and it still has the plastic on the seats.  It’s the Extra Extra Virgin Olive Oil [EEVOO] of Corvettes.

As you might suspect by the car’s unspoiled condition, it’s actually being sold by a dealership. Rather than going through the usual sales channels, the dealer has instead elected to list the vehicle on Bring a Trailer. The idea seems to be to secure a higher sale price via the auction process than would otherwise be achieved by selling the car in the usual manner. It’s an interesting move, and one that perhaps was made in response to the prevalence of owners flipping high-demand vehicles of late.

Notably, the dealership hopes to guard against the buyer flipping the vehicle after purchase. The listing states that the car will not be sold “to a broker, a wholesale dealer, or a retail dealer,” and that it must be sold and registered in the US. The dealership also expects the buyer to hold on to the vehicle for a minimum of six months, or else the factory warranty will be considered null and void for the new subsequent owner.

Fundamentally, it’s a sweet deal for potential bidders. You get a Corvette in white (yawn), you get to pay over and above the recommended retail price, and you get an onerous condition placed on the vehicle for six months. What’s not to love? Plus, don’t forget the dust and dirt that it comes with, despite the original delivery covers being intact.

Oh, and before you get too excited about it being fresh in original packaging, just know that someone has been in there poking around before you. The cover has been lifted in places to take photographs for the sale listing, particularly at the rear. In response to questions about the condition of the vehicle under the cover, the selling dealer also noted that the car has been looked over. “We have fully inspected the car as it came off the carrier with three of our most experienced managers and are certain the vehicle has no transportation issues,” said the dealer in a comment on Bring a Trailer.

For a certain kind of buyer, picking up a car that hasn’t been through the usual pre-delivery process can be alluring. To be fair, there are some potential benefits. It does give the new owner the opportunity to have the car detailed for the first time in the manner of their choice, rather than leaving it to the whims of the dealership staff and their potentially dirty soap buckets. Plus, you can drive it to your golf club with the pre-delivery cover still on and listen to it rustling in the wind. Then you can bask in the jealous stares of your fellow clubgoers, none of whom have a unique 70th Anniversary ZO6  in White Pearl Metallic with the plastic still on the seats.

If you’re getting the general sarcastic thrust here, it’s because cars are supposed to be used and enjoyed. Carpenters would laugh uproariously at a fellow tradesperson who kept their special hammer in its original plastic, never to strike a nail. It’s the same case for cars; they’re born to run. They’re not supposed to be left in the packet like a limited-edition Star Wars action figure.

In this case, though, with such low mileage and the wrapper still on, this Corvette is in serious danger of becoming a… *shudders*… investment. Of course, most astute investment bankers will tell you that conventional investing strategies generally perform far better than a low-mileage car stashed in a garage. That doesn’t stop people from trying, though. There are plenty of beautiful, high-performance vehicles that get bought and then immediately laid up in the hopes that they’ll appreciate to a greater sum.

Even if they do, it often amounts to a few percent per year when inflation is taken into account. At the end of it, you’re left with a clean-looking car with rotted bushes and seals and you didn’t even get the joy out of driving the thing.

At the time of writing, the bidding stands at $137,341—a full dollar more than the dealer was asking for the vehicle on the window sticker. Here’s hoping that if it does sell, it gets fired up and driven with purpose. Oh, and let’s hope they actually take the plastic off first, lest it fill up with dust, dirt, and leaves, and spoil that utterly boring paint finish. Rant over.