jessmorse

Hey guys,

This is my first post, but I’ve been using these forums this last week and they have helped a lot. I apologize in advance for the length, and thank you in advance for any advice you may have.

Here’s my dilemma: I’m not sure whether I should sell my car, part out my car, or store my car for the next 3-5+ years.

Condition
Background
Black 1985 Corvette
3rd Owner (previous owner a fanatic collector/mechanic who owned from ’86-’01)
99k miles
4+3 Transmission
Removable glass top
Almost the entire car is original, or I have the original parts
Clean title, no wrecks

Mechanically
Engine: Runs very strong
Transmission: Runs very strong
Non-functioning parts:
-antenna motor
-A/C (I think it needs to be recharged, am in process of determining if problem is worse)

Interior
Leather seats almost perfect
Original carpets in good condition except driver side

Outside
No cracks in glass
The kicker: Must have new paintjob, weather-stripping, back tint ($$$!)

Other
New tires
Major tune-up at 88k
Full records of every part change and gas fill-ups /w mileage and MPG
Have to add 1 qt. Mobil 1 oil every few fill-ups (since 15k miles)
18” hairline crack where gas tank/rear emblem is

Selling Background
I can sell, part-out, or keep the car in storage. I have a daily driver (Accord) that I use all the time. I don’t need the money from the sale anytime soon. I have one month to choose and a good amount of free time. I am currently in central Texas.

Sell
Pros: Invest the money and get a better Vette later. I would not have to spend anymore time or money on the car after the sell. Over time, I think I will probably do better financially investing the current value of the car rather than holding the car.

Cons: Paid $8500 and think I will probably get much less for the car as-is. I have a guesstimate but would like to hear your thoughts too. I justified the purchase as a car/investment that would not depreciate as much as other cars. I’ve read on here I shouldn’t think of it as an investment, but it is a financial decision. If I did sell, I could get it painted right and have every minor thing fixed beforehand ($5k at a local Vette service business), but that seems like a waste of money so would probably sell as-is.

Part-out
Pros: I might get more money than if I sold as-is. Thoughts?

Cons: Seems like a waste since I know the history of the car and it has been kept mostly original. I have decent tools but scant mechanical knowledge (but I can follow instructions in the Haynes manuals). It might be a huge hassle to find so many individual buyers. I’m not sure what I would do with the leftover worthless parts that nobody wanted. Shipping would be a huge hassle.

Keep
Pros: I could wait five years and see if the car or parts are worth more. I could also spend $5k at that time to make it perfect and have a nice ’85 Vette. It seems the older the original Vette the more valuable it is. It also seems the ’85 is still bottoming out in depreciation and is not yet a ‘classic car’. I like/liked the car and the Vette community. I would be willing to spend a lot of time to prepare it for storage properly.

Cons: I am not sure where or how to store a Vette. I could use my Dad’s empty barn and a car-bag but the barn is not temperature/humidity controlled.

Please let me know your thoughts, point me to the right threads, or if you have any questions I’ll try my best to answer them.

Thanks!!
-Jess

chucks88

Longest first post ......ever

03whitecoupe

You've got quite a dilemna there. You probably won't get anywhere near the $8500 you paid for it and a paint job, weatherstripping, etc would be cost prohibitive for the car and you likely wouldn't see much return on investment for it. Parting it out seems like it would be a real pain and a waste considering the car's originality. I think your best bet would be to try and sell it. Without pictures and with the description of the car I see somewhere around $5500 to maybe $6000.

Red Tornado

parting it out sounds more appropriate if you would have crashed it to smithereens.

storing it for so long will kill it.

i would sell it now - as is - and save the $$ for your next vette purchase. you'll certainly take a hit, but thats the way it is with 99% of cars. there is absolutely nothing special in keeping an '85 in terms of value, and it won't be worth much more in 5 years - and probably even less - than it is now.

take the pain/hit now, the sooner the better......in 6 months you'll forget about it and will start fresh for another vette when you're ready.

ZumZum

First I have a question. Why not keep the car and drive on weekends or other occasions? You can spend a little money at a time doing what needs to be done and eventually get it painted and have yourself one nice corvette.

Ok. Selling it If you're a smart investor, you could do better over 5 years with the money from the sale then you could get in 5 years for the vette. You will take a loss on the car and an even bigger loss if you paint it first. If you can't keep the vette you're best bet is to sell as is.

Parting out Too nice of a car to part out and besides, look at your list of cons. They're all dead on.

Storing the car You could store it, but in the 5 years it still won't be worth much more, if any, then it is now. And storing a car can sometimes be harder on it then taking it out and putting a few miles on it every now and then.

So back to my first point. Unless there is some particular reason you can't, I would keep the car use it on occasion. If you can't keep it your best option might be to sell the car now for what you can get.
(Never thought I would hear myself tell someone to sell their vette)

mikey whipreck

If I was in your situation...

I would advertise the car for sale at $8500.
Yeah it's high, but you don't seem too desparate to sell it. And someone may come along that really likes your car and is willing to pay $8500 for it. In the mean time you could keep using it as a weekend/event car. Until you are more decided on what you want to do.

Please don't part it out until its totalled.

89C4L98

Put ad in paper for $9,500 or best offer.. You will get your $8,500 back. In the forum the cars go for alot less then locally.

03whitecoupe

I don't want to be too negative, but an 85 coupe with 99,000 miles needing a paint job will not bring anywhere near that kind of money.

CentralCoaster

jessmorse

ZumZum - Unfortunately I can't take the car with me. I only get 1 parking spot in my new place in downtown Denver. If I left it at my parents in Texas, I would probably keep insurance on it and that would get expensive for not getting much use out of it (although I'm sure my parents would like to have it )

To everyone quoting prices: My ballpark figure was even lower than 1986PaceCar's. The car looks bad because of the paint and most people can't look past that. The guy who had it before me tried to use it as a bargaining chip with a dealer towards a new Vette and they offerred him $1000 on trade-in. That seems more than ridiculous.

I was really leaning towards parting it out or storing it, so thanks for the advice so far. I think now I'll probably fix a few minor things and get it ready to sell. I'm showing the private-party KBB price at $4000-4300 depending on if the A/C works perfectly.

I see everyone said to sell it with an ad in the local paper. Does eBay tend not to sell for as much?

65Z01

If you do some R&R, polish it up and sell for say $4,500, invest the $$ in an indexed fund, in 5yrs you will have $6,000-$7000.

jrzvette

If you can keep it at your parents house do that. You can cancel most of the insurance since it won't be driven. Just keep keep it insured against damage. If your parents decide to drive it, their liability insurance will most likely cover them in any car they drive.

Don't part it out. You say that you have scant mechanical knowledge. This means you may need some professional help taking things apart and that's going to cost you. Also, once you've sold one major mechanical or body part you're committed. Finally, no matter how well the car was maintained, how much do you think you're going to get for part that have 99k miles on them?

bdvdvh7

hummm... that is tough. i would not part it out. storage and time could be expensive too. not sure if selling it considered what you paid for it will make up for it. so it seems that storage seems to be your best option. good luck to you.

jjgkdg

Ask for more than you will take, the books are guides only and DO NOT reflect current market values accurately on special items like corvettes. Look at ads from different web sites like autotrader for similar vehicles in a 100 mile radius.

mikey whipreck

Alot of people are afraid to buy on ebay:
That causes their prices to be a little lower: but you could always give it a shot- just set a reserve on it.

I got a pretty awesome deal on my '85 on ebay... I think You'd get more then the 4,000 to 4,300 that KBB quoted you if you went the ebay route though.

JrRifleCoach

84-85's are at the bottom now. Will probably stay there for a while. Sell for a reasonable price to someone whos looking for that car. It may be a wait. Then when you can have another Vette you'll have enough cash to buy a C5..

cv67

Parting a car out is not worht the hassle unless its a real rartiy withhigh buck parts, and you have the time. Buy a classic ins. policy on it for say, $300 a year, park it and return to your passion when your'e ready. If you weren't attatched to the car you wouldnt have posted this.

Aquaman92

Parting it out could be very time and labor intensive.