Looks like the car has been wrecked and painted on. Few things I notice:

1: Hood allignment is very poor even for a C5. Especially the left side to left fender gap.

2. Rocker/door jamb area is missing the stick on black protector which means it was removed.... most likely for paint work.

FYI your payoff and the value of a car have nothign in common... a '98 is a $13-$15k car