540 vette

I was looking in the same price range and everything in my area was junk. But like someone said I may see junk and you may think it is alright. I wanted to spend that and then have some left over to do some things to it. I ended up buying one on E Bay for $12,000 that was said to be in great shape. When I got it it needed work. I would have been batter off with the cheaper car.

73Corvette

It's possible to find a C6 for under $8k, but, not very likely.....some scorned women wanting to get even with her X..... stranger things have happened.

Krystal

........ I drive an '02 Thunderbird as a Sunny day "Daily Driver" and even that is making me a little nervous for what might go wrong now that it's 10 years old and any break downs happen on my nickle rather than a warranty.

A lot of what happens to Modern cars are well beyond the capabilities of my husband to fix without big delays. A daily driver can't be "down" for long or it's not much of a "driver".

The older cars like C3s are very old now and if used as a sunny Saturday/Sunday ride only they can still provide plenty of fun......but the nicest part is found in the idea that in the last 20 years of this kind of use my car has seen everything from massive amounts of steering, suspension and brake work, one new engine and some replaced wiring harnessess..........none of the work was done by an outside Pro in a shop. That's the beauty of C3s.

On the down side? Not sure if the rate of break downs could be managed well enough to qualify the car as a "daily driver" unless you were dealing with a car that was near frame off restored, very recently, from front to back.

Such cars are out there........but......

Seems very unlikely that you'll find the car in the modest price range you're looking at though. It'd almost certainly have to be some sort of fire sale priced financially distressed seller.........and you'd need real luck to beat the many other buyers who'd be attempting to acquire the car along side you.

Krystal

.........true enough!!

The sarcasm is heavy in your post but I agree with your point.

This is just my opinion but "Daily Drivers" should really be cars with a warranty or at least new enough that the odds HEAVILY favor no real chance of a problem.

If it has to get you to work on Tuesday but broke down on Monday and you aren't off work 'till the week end.........it's nice to know that in most cases before the end of the week the car will be fixed and you won't have to be making alternate plans.

Today there are a few '05s that are still less than 10 years old but they won't be for long from here. My idea of a Daily driver Corvette really would have to be a C6 too.

tdle22

Hmm, I may have been a little off with my description for a "daily driver". I know I should have said something else when I used that term but I couldn't really think of anything. I do not intend on literally driving it daily.

I'm a college student who rarely drives anywhere. I live on campus so commuting is not an issue and when going to work, I cycle because I enjoy the exercise. I really only plan on using it to go out maybe once or twice a week if even that much because when I do go out, its mostly with a group of friends, and driving around in a coupe with a group of 4-8 people isn't really optimal.

What I'm actually looking for is a fun, reliable ride that I can fire up about once about every one or two weeks. Sorry if I shouldn't have used the term "daily driver" to describe my needs.

jet37ski

If you are firing it up once every week or two, you are still going to have the same problems as if you are driving it everyday, they'll just happen further apart. If you want a car that will start 100% of the time that you want it to (whether that's every day or once a month) it will be tough to find any 30 year old car that will do it without putting in constant preventative maintenance. I have been shopping around a lot lately in this price range, and there are a few out there that should do what you want them to most of the time. I do think it is possible to find a decent car for $8k, but just be prepared to do a little work here and there and don't depend on it to get you where you need to be 100% of the time.

Triumph8750

I bought my 74 for $8k about two months ago and I think it is similiar to what you are looking for. It not a show car but it looks nice and there is very little rust. It seems to have been well maintained by previous owners. I drive it, at most, twice a week and I probably haven't put 1000 miles on it since I bought it but she hasn't failed me yet.





I will echo what several others have said. Get a good inspection, and expect to end up putting more money into the car. In this price range you are not going to get a fresh restoration so you are going to be dealing with 30+ years of wear and tear. Also under no circumstances should you buy the first C3 you look at. Try to look at a few above your price range to see what a good one looks like and a few cheap ones to see what can go wrong and then be patient until you find the right car.

jet37ski

Great looking car, Triumph. Did you find it local? Internet? How many did you see before you found the right one?

Big Block Dave

Please dont take this the wrong way, but if you have no automotive mechanical experience, a C3 Corvette is a very unwise choice in transportation, regardless of the nature of your definition of a daily driver.

These cars are tight to work on, and have some very specific and expensive to replace components, as well as common problematic issues that would not be easy to repair for the novice, and in some cases non-corvette indy shops.

I really dont mean to sound like a jerk, but you will likely get a fast education on how to fix things, or empty out your wallet if you buy one of these. For 8k I would recommend looking for a stock 80's g-body with super low mileage...ie Monte SS. Cheaper parts, less expensive problems, great looks, and probably all accessories will work.

No matter what, please dont jump into anything.