Mikesfreetime

I was just sitting around looking up car values and wow C3 values have really dropped. Of course I did not buy either of mine thinking I would make money but its still odd to see values drop like they have..

Hope someone got a C3 for Christmas! HAHA

Capkunu

Where did you look for price info? Haggarty's valuation scale seems to suggest - overall - most C3 years are holding steady, at least for the latter half of this year. ePay's completed auctions - if averaged out - tend to agree. Afterall, ePay's sales (if actually consumated) reflect true wholesale market value. And these, too, have to be adjusted for season; 'summer-type' cars tend to fetch a few higher shekel in summer. Late autumn - not so much.

On the other end of the fantasy scale are the C3s whose (dealer) or wishful-thinking owners set ginormous asking prices. Those cars seem to languish on the market indefinitely - with certain exceptions, of course.

My guess: although slightly healthier, the discretionary spending market is still rather sickly.

DLN1223

I gave my wife her purple C3 this morning...

Roco71

Love it I bet she does too.

Capkunu

Stunning! Great gift!

mrvette

Looks like Plum Crazy, the early 70's MoPar color......

but as to values dropping, it will happen eventually just like tracing values of all old cars of other types over the years, like my old friend with a '35 Ford rumble seat convertible....NICE car V8 club winner....BUT when it was time to sell, he found no market, all the guys wanted a steel body HOTROD, not a resto.....bet odds the buyer who got it for a steal, made a HOTROD out of it.....

and even there, that hotrod type is still cool, ok, but damn rarely sold for much these daze, kids remember cars from their teen age years....

DLN1223

That is the color.....

Now I just need to replace the interior blue with black..

Mikesfreetime

I actually was looking at Haggertys values

Mikesfreetime

Too funny someone did get a C3. Did she know it was going to be there or was it a total surprise?

DLN1223

Total surprise....

I started the gifts with the kitchen appliances, socks, slippers, etc...ho hum....then when she went outside for something else it was pulled out in the driveway with the bow on it.

1974ta

I have seen nice examples of chrome bumper cars and those prices are up slightly or holding steady.

The exception is the base model versions especially an automatic.

Nice examples of C3 convertible bumper cars are definitely heading up with again the notable exception of base model with automatic.

Now if the numbers are not matching then values have fallen significantly.

Now if you have an L48 Automatic you may have to give it away. They made lots and they look great, but are very very uninspiring in terms of performance. The upside is there are some great deals to be had.

Bill

BBCorv70

Only for those who don't restamp..

Out of curiouslity, where are you finding sales data for non matching numbers? Ebay? Craigslist? Hemmings? 99% of all Corvettes I see for sale are either claimed to be matching numbers or a minority being restomods..

So far as Haggerty values are concerned I've seen the high end, grade 1 or 2 cars drooping in value. A 70 Corvette taken for a test case, grade 1 dropped about $10K in value from 2006, grade 2 dropped around $8k. Grade 3 dropped about $4k, grade 4 remained pretty flat if not a slight increase suggesting the high end restorations may sell for more but are also prone to dropping almost as much value as the price of a grade 4.

Another article posted by Haggerty stated one reason the values have dropped is over supply, too many on the market due to the general state of the economy. Some high performance Corvettes may have done better mainly because there are fewer of them, works for the few holding them.

Mikesfreetime

I do have the documentation for mine lucky enough with the exception of the tank sticker. But I do have one thing most people don't, I have the original title showing 0 miles. My friend paid cash and never retitled the car. When I bought it from him I asked him to get a copy so I could keep the original.

theblackvette

This thread is a complete mess. I had to check to see if it was one I started. Looks like one of mine.

Anyway, going back to the original post about values. Yeah, those prices have been slashed. Unbelievable.

This 1971 LT-1 pricing is just ridiculous. How much cheaper can it go. Year end sale!!!!!! This won't last long!



http://www.proteam-corvette.com/Corv...17E/1017E.html

1974ta

I guess it is all relative. That one is a 71 LT-1. Contrary to some claims is runs nothing like a 70. However, I am very tempted to offer on this one since I love white with red but I REALLY want a 70 LT 1 convertible some day. The other issue is the optional 3:36 rear. Very rare but the LT-1s love to rev. and came standard with 3:70 and optional ratio was typically 4:11. White is just not in high demand right now. Same car in the right color would be gone a long time ago. Most guys really don't like the PO2s either.

Every car has it's own story. A triple black or black/red 69 400 hp or 435 hp has not gone down much if any and may have even increased in price.

My evidence is purely anecdotal. Nice rust free higher hp bumper cars are still fetching a decent price. The key is defining nice. I did not look quite as long as you did but really nice rust free bumper cars are just not that plentiful. The base models kind skew everything to the low side.

The market is still soft no doubt, but the right car still gets top dollar.


Bill

theblackvette

Proteam has had this car for years. Even had it for sake mecum and I think they ended up buying it so they wouldn't take a bath on it. I am sure you can get it for less. Hey how different sites a 70 drive than 71? Is it like night and day?

Goin70

I don't know about the price dip you saw??? Corvette Magazine's annual pricing study shows C3's from 1973-82 holding stead or increasing slightly, and the 1968-72 cars are going up between 4 and 10% a year, depending on year and body style.

I wouldn't pay much attention to the "for sale" listings on various web sites. Corvette Magazine's survey is a good blend of sources and I have found them to be right on target.

1974ta

70 LT-1 has 11:1 compression versus 9:1 for 71.

The 71 just does not pull like a 70. The cam profile was designed to work with higher compression. Heads were better in 70 in terms of actual combustion efficiency and that is where the real difference lies. The heads alone were good for 20-30 hp.

Back in the day the 71 and 72 chevy guys would swap the heads for the earlier 186 heads from 69 and 70.

I believe the flywheel hp rating went from 370 in 70 to 330 in 71.

Bill

theblackvette

I have never ridden in a 70 but me thinks you are right on the money. Thanks for the comparison.

Paul L

You are making a generalization on all C3s. My 1974 L-48 convertible value (condition #3) has basically not changed since 2006.

http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtool...port?vc=655723