I found a 1979 Corvette for $4000. Inside is rough , Radio looks like it was ripped out by the terminator , needs all new int. paint OK , not great. air breather missing but it runs. 145,000 miles. I was thinking about getting it as an investment. Any guess of what these cars will be worth in about 10 years ? I'm thinking $4000 to much to make it worthwhile as an investment?

 

79 is one of the more common vettes around, about 55k made I think making it one of the most produced. That said it will probably never be an investment. More than likely it will never be more than what you want it to be and thats how you should look at it. You can buy 79's all day for 7 or 8 grand in pretty nice shape. I paid 4500 for my 79 2 yrs ago that had decent paint , needed a cam which turned out to be a new motor, needed interior work. I'm still not finished and now I have 10g's in a car that worth 8g's tops. But, I love it, it's my first venture into the vette world and I'm happy. Would I do it again, probably not, for 10g's I could have bought a bumper car or maybe a vert. Buy it, 3 grand would be better, fix it, drive it and enjoy it. Just my .02,
ESU

 

 

That’s about where I’m at with my car…
I have about 13K into her and I think I would be lucky to get 8 or 9 thousand, if I tried to sell her…but I’m not so It’s ok

 

Not a bad price for that car, but NOT as an investment.

 

I paid 3.2k for mine,needed interior work, but its fine to sit in. Driver side door didnt work(trurned out to be a 2$ fix) had new mufflers on it, engine is just leaking oil out of the valve cover (another small fix) body decent shape, Car ran and paint just needed buffed. I feel i got a steal on it. Its not as bad as i thought now that me and my dad buffed half of hte car out arready, ill have pics posted of my project this week. O ya needs breaks, the calipers are leaking. Its drivable and just needed tlc for 3k.

I feel never feel about what its going to be worth, i never plan on selling my car, I dont feel you should buy a car to just think of reselling for a higher price. That shows you dont really want hte car you want the money, so let that car sit for someone who wants the car for that and not the money.

Dont be in a rush, we bought a 66 imapal ss survivor car owned by a old lady who just went into a nursing home, all original Needed a front fender, Interiors perfect rest of body and drivetrain was very goodfor 2k. Bought a origianl 327 4speed 65 impala ss for 1k needs interior and engine work, but bodies exelent. Also a van for 500(my bros ill have pics) and a 93 steath rt for 3k in very nice shape.

Dont be in a rush deals are out there, and think is it a car you want,because if you want the profit dont buy it. If you want a deal on a car keep searching the papers... Just my .02

 

2 schools of thought...for investment buy it as close to completed/pristine as you can afford. You'll never get the money and time you put into it back out so take advantage of the previous owners time and money. Parts is 'spensive for these beasts. Hang onto it and it may mature, otherwise you can sell with little time and money invested and recover your costs, enjoying the ride along the way.


The alternative is to buy one that is too far gone and part it out. If you're patient and have the means you will likely make more money in the long run. Even used parts is 'spensive!

 

I do not consider a 1979 Corvette in rough shape an investment. I drove the one in the pic below for 17 years and never recouped the restoration costs. On the other hand, it was a wonderful machine that gave me many, many hours of enjoyment. And what price can you put on that?

If you wish to invest, put money on energy stocks before the June 1 hurricane season begins.

 

LOL, Paul thats funny. I might suggest investing in Generators and blue tarps too

 

I paid $6000 for the one pictured below back in January. Had to put about $1500 into it with tires, general maintenance (since it sat for a while), a few odds and ends, etc. It still needs paint in my opinion - although some say no. Anyway, I basically have $7500 into it so far. You have to figure if the car you are looking at needs interior that is $1,000 at least, general maintenance maybe $350, tires another $500, figure maybe another $1500 in engine work and if you paint it as much as $4,000. This does not include suspension work, transmission rebuild, cooling system, A/C issues, fuel system issues, electrical, etc. You can see by the time you are done you will probably have more than $14,000 into the car if you are lucky. And I think my estimates are actually low and I am assuming you do most of the work yourself - except for the paint of course. Like others have said, don't rush - keep looking - and do NOT expect this HOBBY to be an investment. Do it for the love of the car. If you are looking for an investment save your money and spend the big bucks on a chrome bumper matching numbers car that is nice to look at but you wouldn't pile the kids into for a ride over to the local ice cream store. I wanted a "driver" that I was proud to ride around in but if it got a scratch or a ding it wouldn't mean $2000 off the value. Know what I mean? Good Luck!!

 

Add some numbers and you tell me.

Corvette .............................$4000
Interior
leather seats
- you cover .................$300
- buy covered ..............$800
carpet.................................$ 300
door panels .........................$300
gauge/radio panel .................$200
misc. interior stuff ................$200 (you think not?)
Exterior
paint $2000 - up..................$4000 average

Mechanical
air cleaner (don't laugh).........$200
1978-1980-CORVETTE-AIR-CLEANER-ASSEMBLY-Good-Used_itemZ8057101117

You are probably missing the plastic ductwork if the air cleaner is gone.
Air ductwork .............................$75
Misc mechanical items ...............$500
===================================

Total ==>>



Now finding one in good shape is not too hard at $7000 - $9000. there are a few selling higher, but few. I just sold one that I really liked and shouldn't have sold (but needed to) for $7000. Since the guy buying it is on here, I hope it is still doing well for him and it hasn't had the bad manners to do something awful, making him think I'm not above board.

Now for my Crystal Ball.
Now in 10 years, we will be coming on a Presidential election, at least one and maybe two Presidents away from this one, either Iraq and Afghanistan are history or the new Viet Nam, quite possibly a Democrat administration, taxes will be up, wages should be up about 10-15%, COL will be about 20% higher than now, and car prices will be generally up.

The 40-60 year old Corvette buying population will be 50-70, meaning 25-30% will no longer have or buy them. The bulk of money will be in the 35-50 age (25-40 today) and will lean to the import cars. L88 and 435 hp will mean something that someone spent way too much money on 10 years ago. C4s will be the "cars of their childhood".

Original '79s (survivors and restored) will be up, maybe $15,000 but $8000 to $15,000 in ten years is a lousy investment.


Back to today. Investment? Buy it now for $4000 or less, drag it home, clean it as much as possible, advertise on ebay and sell for $5000.

Repeat every 6 months. In 10 years, you will make $20,000 instead of $7000 on a silly old '79 Corvette.

 

As another '79s keeper, It is not an investment car. You drive/rod a '79. They will never be a real collector till there are only 10 left. If you like the look, get it and drive/love it. The best part about them is they are a (some what) easy to work on car that can be modified and made to run with a craftsman mechcanics tool set . You can do whatever you want to them and not loose much in value, and they still have looks that kill.

 

Oh and a few more things, not aware of your prior vette experience, buy an AIM, A GM service manual and get catalogs from ecklers, corvette america, corvette central, riks corvette parts etc etc.
ESU

PS another thing you'll find out like I did, Every time I took a part off, when I went to put it back on I'd say dam it looks like crap, lets buy another, gauge cluster, speedo lens even the dam door lock thig a ma bobs. That started to add up too lol.

 

I have this for sale with a asking price of $7,500

 

I paid $4300 for mine with a blown tranny...52000k.... good intereior.....Tranny rebuild cost me $800 ran cost to $5100 ...Guy who rebuilt the tranny restores corvettes and offered me $7500.......so in that respect at that point "good investment" ..... Now that I'm into it and changing allot of things...going to paint and do all the work myself... might be spending more $ but that doesn't matter to me.... I'm getting a lot of practice wrenching on it and learning a lot from the guys on this board..Knowledge that for me Is invaluable.... can't imagine what the monetary value of that is ...I plan on keeping this vette for the long haul (forever)...and I believe it's value will rise in that time if in the end it's in great shape...but more important is the knowledge and practice I gain as I plug through it all... which will prepare me for the chrome bumper vert restore I hope to take on in the future as a sibling to this 79'.....

 

I'm going to try to get it for $3200.

 

I'm going to try to get it for $3200.

 

I bought my 79 for 2400. Paint peeling,interior needs everything. I drove the h.ell out of it for 2 years and enjoyed every minute. Every part I put in it just made it better. Gonna ride it in primer this year and going big block. Invest in stocks, drive your car.....

 

Well did u get it????
ESU