Stingray Alley

Stingray Alley is a used car dealership on South Staples Street in Corpus Christi, Texas, that is best known for Corvettes. The business calls itself "The Corvette Place," and its own materials describe it as one of the oldest and most prestigious used car lots in South Texas and a Corpus Christi landmark. The Better Business Bureau lists the owner as Bobby R. Moore and records a business start date of January 1, 1984, which makes it a long-running name for Gulf Coast Corvette shoppers.

Who runs it and how long it has been around

Stingray Alley is registered with the BBB as a sole proprietorship under Bobby R. Moore, and the BBB opened its file on the business in 2002. The 1984 start date is a registration record rather than a statement from the dealer about when it first sold cars, so treat it as a rough guide to the company's age. The company describes itself as family owned, and reviewers on third-party sites mention both Bobby Moore and his son by name. Its site also says this is one of the last places where you do business with a handshake, which is the dealer's own characterization rather than something we could verify.

How the business works

Stingray Alley is a traditional dealer. It buys cars and resells them from its own lot, rather than selling on consignment for other owners, and we found no sign of a consignment program. That matters for buyers in one practical way: the cars on the lot are the dealer's own stock, so questions about history, condition and paperwork go straight to the seller. We could not confirm whether the dealership offers in-house financing, shipping or trade-in appraisals, so ask about each before you plan a purchase.

What Stingray Alley sells

Corvettes are the core of the inventory. Listings seen during our research include 1970s and early 1980s C3 Corvettes alongside newer cars such as a 2011 Corvette Grand Sport, and a recent snapshot on the dealer's listing page showed around 18 vehicles with prices starting at $8,500. Beyond Corvettes, the lot has also carried a 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible, a 1971 Dodge Challenger and modern used vehicles such as a Jeep Wrangler, plus a motorcycle. Inventory turns over quickly, so treat any example here as a sample of what was listed, not a promise of what is on the lot today.

Shoppers should also know that the mix leans toward used sports cars as much as true collector classics. A 1988 convertible or a 2010s Corvette is a different purchase from a numbers-matching 1960s car, and it is worth deciding which kind of car you want before you visit. If you are weighing options across the state, browse classic Corvettes for sale on Classic Cars Arena to compare prices and condition.

Buying a car here

The dealer's own channels include a website with online inventory pages, social media accounts under "The Corvette Place" name and a small apparel store with Corvette themed T-shirts. As with any dealer purchase, ask for the title status and VIN, request service records, and consider a pre-purchase inspection by an independent shop that knows Corvettes. For a walkthrough of what to look at, see what to check before you buy from a dealer.

Reputation

The picture from public sources is mostly positive with some caution. The BBB lists Stingray Alley with an A+ rating, although the business is not BBB accredited. The BBB page shows one complaint closed in the last three years and no customer reviews. A Birdeye page that gathers reviews from Google, Facebook and other sites shows a rating of roughly 4.5 stars from well over 100 reviews. Many reviewers describe long relationships with the Moore family, while some recent reviews raise concerns about how vehicle condition was disclosed. That split is common for used car lots and is a good reason to inspect any car in person or through a third party before paying.

Visiting Stingray Alley

The lot is at 4354 S Staples St, Corpus Christi, Texas 78411. Different listings show different phone numbers and opening hours, and we could not confirm either on the dealer's own website, so call ahead to check that the car you want is still available.