siidman

I've been into Corvettes for a long time, owned an 88 and an 08 Z06. After selling the Z, I want to get a C3 but I'm just jumping into this era of vettes and I'm not too familiar with the what a good price should be yet.
Here is a link to a car I'm interested in.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141414216463...84.m1426.l2649

I talked to the owner and he is wanting 22.5k What do you think?

Skid Row Joe

No. Too much money.

Were I interested in buying a C3 - it wouldn't be any newer than a 1973. Preferably a 1970 - 1972.

AkrHack

I have to agree with Joe. While it does look like a nice car, $22,500 is way too much for a '79.

Donny72

WAY too much! You can get a good chrome bumper car that kind of $$$!

68ragtop69

I'm with everyone else! Way too much $$ for this car, but I'm not surprised since it's at a classic car dealer.

Good luck with your search for a C3!

tokim

A very nice example of a '79..but, it's still a '79.
Too much money for a '79, they will be keeping it at that price.

siidman

Ok thanks for the insight. What do ou think a fair price for this car would be?

F22

You shouldn't just jump into buying a C3, like a C4 or C6! There is a sticky at the top of the forum, "Ten rules for buying a C3". Don't just buy the first one you see, or unless you're very lucky, you'll rue the day you purchased it. These cars need an experienced eye or a knowledgeable inspection, before even considering pur basing said vehicle.

siidman

That was a good read. Anyone ever pay one of those companies to go out and do an inspection of the car? I just heard about them myself. Last car I bought was an 08 Z06 out of state and had it taken to a shop i was referred to by some people on here and the car checked out and was what the shop said it was. Using one of these inspection services seems a lot more efficient since I'll probably be buying a car out of state.

74Ken

IMHO, I would start at 15k and work your way up from there. It's a company, so you are not going to insult the owner.

The motor is worth 5-7k. a nice paint job is 6k, the car is in great shape, but there are no pics of the under carriage, so you would have to inspect that.

My guess is he wants 20, but you can see if he will budge.

BBCorv70

What do you want from a C3? Is it for investment where appreciation is most important? Corvette shows where originality trumps all? A driver which you can customize? Chrome bumper or rubber? This should guide you to a general class of C3, go from there.

Bottom line I believe is whether a car fits all of your parameters and whether the price is within reason. Reasonable price being what a comparable sells for or how much it would cost you to buy one which is close and bring it up to your specs, assuming you're not looking for originality. A car without rust for a starter. Good paint next IMHO.

MCMLXXX

I think it is way over priced for what it is. In 1979 production numbers peaked, so there are more 79s than any other year. So you have a lot of 79s you can choose from and find a much better bang for the buck.
I agree with the others here that say a C3 is a whole different deal than a C4, C5, etc. lots of areas that you cant see where rust may be growing, so get someone exp with C3s to inspect what ever C3 you are interested in.

siidman

I'm not looking for a collector's numbers matching car or a fixer upper. I looking for a super clean 78-82 with a newer crate motor, not a rebuild, with at least 350hp and that has a very clean interior, body and frame all around; basically a restomod I guess. I'd like to have the option to bring it to shows, not for originality, and be able to drive it every day if I want. So I know what I'm looking for but I'm not going to pay more than the market price, which is why I do a lot of comparisons and come to you guys for another opinion,

I'll definitely be having whichever car I decide on inspected by a professional. And I put a separate post on here asking if anyone had used one of these inspection services that specialize in classic muscle cars or even just vettes. Anyone have experience with one of these services?

Tooonz

I think the opening bid is a good price for that car, he does say NEW seat covers,

John 65

Its a great deal, but for the seller. Have to agree with the other's about the cars value. Thinking around 12k. 22.5k sounds like 68-72 $$$ to me.

Its smart to have any possible car purchase checked out first, but if not, then at least do yourself a huge favor and have a seller show you copy's of the title prior to the sale. That 50k ebay Vehicle Buyer Protection service is a joke. Good luck.

lurch59

Based on what you said here, I'm going to differ with the prevailing opinion. You will likely lose money if/when you resell, but so what? Do you want to do the restomod yourself and lose even more money? I can tell you from experience that a car this old will cost 10k in suspension repairs/brakes and miscellaneous to make it a safe daily driver. Add paint, interior and motor and I think you can see the value for a car you want to use every day and one that you like. Just because there aren't many people out there who will pay that money for a '79 doesn't mean it's not worth it to you. That being said, I'd certainly offer him less because there aren't many buyers and it's not likely it will be gone soon. Take it from me, restomodding is very expensive, so compare it with other restomods you see. As they say in the real estate business, show me the comps!
BTW where are you looking for someone to check the car out? I know of a good place in Colorado for instance.

lurch59

I think a nice black paint job will be more than 6k, I just painted my car and it was a 2.5k premium for black. I paid more than 6k for non black. It's just expensive....
The car will likely need drivetrain upgrades or run the risk of IRS/diff damage and transmission damage at 500 hp. I didn't see that those upgrades have been made anyway...

siidman

Looking at the comps is what I've been doing. I think I searched every city on craigslist, ebay, different online classified web sites and the classifieds here. And from what I've found with this car should be going for 18-19k. I don't expect everyone to agree, but with the paint job and the new crate motor and the quality of the interior and pending inspection on the quality of the restoration and no issues with the frame or anything else, I think this is about what the car would be going for.
And the car is in Florida, but thanks. But if you know of a good place there i'd be appreciate the info.

siidman

I totally agree. I'm waiting for the seller to give me the info, and if the tranny hasn't been upgraded to accomodate the new hp I'm not going to look at this one anymore.

pawpaws toy

The rear body on that car is not a 1979. Google 1979 vette images and you will see what I mean. It looks like 80-82.