The13Bats

Reminds me of the spoiled rich kids in school who would take for granted the cool new cars their parents would buy them.

So a "rich boss" gives you a car for free a 73 corvette but you are worried how much is it / will it be worth because of a re-issued VIN tag,
Really?

I know a heck of a lot of people out there would love a free car of any kind and a free corvette would be a dream come true.
in between worrying about how much the "free" gift was or will be "worth" do you actually appreciate it at all?
Perhaps if you hate it pay it forward, give it to someone who would love it until they died.

I'm perplexed and must be missing something...

Okay, I derailed from your original question "how much is the car worth now?"
Not 1 person here with the limited details can tell your what the car as it sits is "worth" if you meant how much will the replacement VIN hurt value, then you have to consider the cars condition, was it a rare car, is it otherwise pristine?
unless it was in really pristine shape going for ncrs stuff I really do not see a state issued VIN tag hurting a "driver" all that much, might take a little longer to sell but shouldn't really hurt....

bj1k

What took you so long to come to this conclusion ? You got the car for free and if you put some money in it then it would take a long time to consider that you are in the red since you will also be using it and having fun. Start using the car and forget about the value .

BBCorv70

Seems to be a question of which is cheaper, bringing this car up to the level where the owner wants it to be or buy another. Starting at zero initial cost helps. Restoration, paint, body work, parts, etc gets to be expensive. I suspect many people who restore these cars do not get their money back.

I had a 73 with a state issued tag many years ago, didn't seem to have any effect on value though the prices were relatively low back then. A future buyer would likely be looking for a driver only. I could only guess what price it may bring in today's market, pure speculation.

How much do you estimate it will cost to bring this car to a level where you'd be happy?

qwank

your wife's boss must really like her....

The13Bats

LS4 PILOT

Not sure I understand , the hate for a replacement vin. How does that change anything concerning the car as it stands. Still has the original drive train, If it runs and looks good, passes inspection.....the right vin number is now on the car ....it's all perfectly legit .....who would give a rats behind about something like that?

Smh ......sounds like your boss really likes you a lot

a replaced vin tag.....a correct replacement is there and looks ok and legal ....everything is good .....kinda of a silly question ....if it's really about something so trivial? I see no reason to devalue the car for that.... If there was NO legal tag and was missing ...this is a red flag .......it's there now ...big deal
Beautiful car .....drive and enjoy ....for free !

CodyPrince

With the engine, and tranny needing work right off the bat, and weather stripping, and paint being next on the list, i could see 6-10,000 going pretty quick to get it back to "nice car".

i just wanted to make sure this wasn't a bad idea to put this kind of money into something that had a replacement vin. many of the things i read lead me to believe it lost up to 50% value right off the bat.

CodyPrince

A couple of you need to grow up your selves. Sounds like a couple little jealous kids to me. LOL. (back at ya)

I never mentioned all that my family did for this sducidal, yet very rich, man while he was going through his separation. I also didn't say much about the anniversary of my dads death.

He feels forever grateful to my family and this was just one way he could bless me and my family back. We are a christian family and its always been hard for worldly people to think that someone can do nice to someone and want nothing in return.

CodyPrince

a few of the things I read said the car lost like 50% of the value. i was simply asking the question... does one spend 6-10,000 bucks on a car that will only be worth half as much as the same car right beside it?

he is a very good guy. very "non materialistic" for a rich guy. likes to be a blessing to others.

it could be years from now, but when i sell it to get something else, i hope its to someone that thinks the same was.

Thanks, Cody

BBCorv70

If you were given the car for free, sunk $10,000 into it to get it to where you'd be happy with it, do you think you could buy another already done for $10,000 or less? $10,000 is not a lot of money for a 73 in great condition, state issued VIN or not. Let's assume the value turns out to be $6000. I sold my 73 for $6500 some time around 1981, I'd think the values went up, not down so this may be a rather low figure. It had a state issued VIN. You'd lose $4000. You may not do much better buying another which is already done, risk of possibly overpaying $4000... Getting the car for free helps quite a lot.

If you're estimate is very low, then maybe you'd be better off with another. Most important is what makes YOU happy.

tokim

People can say state issued vin is no issue, but I for one would be skeptical.
Skeptical would make me pass on buying it..there always are a various Corvettes for sale at any given time, so peace of mind for me would be to pass (warranted or not).
I don't know what the difference in price would be, if any, I just know it would result in a no sale to me, if I were a buyer.
Keeping and enjoying it seems to be the right course of action.

scrappy76

To start off , how bout posting some pics. Would love to see this corvette.
I would say there are a ton of owners on this site who have sunk more time and money into their vette then what they would ever be able to sell it for. You say you love vettes. Well keep it and have fun. unless its rusted out beyond repair I am sure its worth it if you have to put some money into it. Your starting off with a free vette, and that the biggest plus of all.
I am sure you have to understand that you cannot get onto a corvette website, tell them how you got corvette from a rich boss for free, that your love corvettes, and do not supply any pictures or information about the corvette, then ask such a vague question on how much its worth with a state appointed vin number without any information why it even has a reissue vin number, and not expect a hard time from a few of us.
That's great how your family helped a rich suicidal boss thru hard times while his wife was leaving him. He showed you some appreciation by giving you a corvette. Since you love corvettes, that worth more than the car itself.

vettebuyer6369

I'm just going to disagree that the idea is silly. At the very least, a person has to know that a state issued VIN can and will cause a large percentage of buyers to devalue the car significantly.

Its not trivial. Some cars receive new VINs when they have been totalled. Some get them because they have been stolen. It depends on the state. If an owner doesnt care and the car works perfect and he can do whatever he wants to it... thats great. Perfect for that guy. But when the time comes (if it comes) to sell, the car is significantly devalued in the market, whether thats fair or not.

Beyond the % loss, whatever that may be, there's a large % of buyers that will not consider buying a car like that at all, at any price. I wouldnt, and if I was helping a friend buy Id steer him away from it. Many people would say there's too many cars out there to buy, to get one that you might have a nightmare trying to sell.

Yes its absolutely possible that you could bump into a buyer who either doesnt care or doesnt know any better. People buy Corvettes that they know nothing about and pay tons more than they should every day. Those stories are on this site every day. But I sure wouldnt count on it.

In your case, you get to start at 0 because its free. Whatever. but if you are calculating how much money to put into a car based on its potential market value, you are asking very legitimate questions.

It doesnt matter if it was free. If you get a car for free and you spend $10k on it and when you are done, its worth $6k, then you are in the red. This bothers some people. However you calculate getting into the red is a reasonable concern.

Procrastination Racing

There was a time where some states would rip the old VIN off and slap a state VIN on if there was anything they didn't like about it. For example, if their state manual said you needed rosette rivets, and yours didn't because the factory didn't know 10 years later a state thought it should have them, your original VIN came off right then, even if the frame numbers matched, the engine number matched and there was nothing to indicate the car was stolen.

Also, many did it automatically on a recovered stolen car. The original VIN could be intact and unharmed, but they often still did it for who knows what reason. Only when the restoration craze got going really big, and these state issued VINs made a monetary impact did the public push back with force to stop that practice in most states.

And Corvettes were frequently stolen once upon a time, even if only for a night of joyriding.

Don't sweat the VIN. Enjoy the car. The joy of them is supposed to be the car, not how much it is worth. If that is what you are worried about, go join the Barret Jackson Auction forum.

BBCorv70

A local Corvette shop told me there was an inspector at the CT DMV who took perverse delight in chopping up VIN tags and assigning state IDs. Sounded like a small man with too much power. It does make a difference when it comes to value, makes some buyers nervous. Best defense may be to find out why the state VIN was assigned, get some documentation if possible.

530planeman

Cody
I lived in Calif for years and found DMV's were not very constant.I went to a small out of the way country DMV and got way better results .I will be back out in Ca.Next week moving My son.

The13Bats

Yeah my dad just passed too, it's very sad, sorry for your loss,

You are mistaken,
I never told you to grow up I compared how you come off to a group who happen to be younger than you, but that type can and are all ages.
Me, I will never grow up...takes the fun out of life for me, what I suggested is the impression you have given me that you are ungrateful someone handed you a free corvette and this reply from you further confirms my feelings on that. you come off like kindness done to others by you should be rewarded that you deserved the free car and that you are only in it for personal gain....this whole thread is you all concerned how much your free gift is worth.....ever heard of humility or modesty?
I can honestly say I am not jealous of you "IF" someone gave me a free anything my first move would not be to go seek it's value so I actually feel badly that you simply don't get it.

Nothing against the 73's but we all have our favorite car, mine is the 69 convertible I have a 69 bb convertible, which is built the way I desire with zero care about the money invested or it's value so I am content as far as that goes.

This is how forums are we can all post our so called opinions and do not have to agree with one another, and yes, the state issued VIN will in way hurt value and sales so sure it doesn't matter if the car was "free" invested loss is loss but do you really even want a corvette? is it the year and model you like? if not then each moment of time thinking about it is wasted just as much as one penny invested if you do not 100% like the car sell it, perhaps give the buyer a great deal ( not as good as you got lol ) but don't waste any time or money on it if you are in doubts or just worried about end value of it, lifes too short and hard to just settle....