Greetings all you happy people. Brand new member to the Forum. I am a recently retired "old guy" and as this qualifies me for entry into a second childhood and therefore the natural right to seek all those things (toys) I could not aquire before now, I am seriously considering the purchase of a Corvette. I like the C3's, mostly the 1982 solely because of the body style. I have been researching all over the net and to me you people obviously are the most intelligent and informed on the subject of Corvettes. I have checked with Proteam who have great cars but I don't want a show car and I am not looking for an investment car. Rep from American Sptscar Ctr in Atlanta even called me after a courteous email inquiry a couple of times and was very polite. They seem to have the best inventory of C3's near my home in Kentucky. I have purchased many cars in my time but a Vette is totally new to me and I have dealt with too many shady dealers in the past to be trusting. This is where you all come in. Which dealers do you suggest I look at for an '82 Vette? Where should I look beside dealers? What mileage range is considered to be "low miles" for an '82? What price matches what mileage? I am looking for guidance from those in the know. First post and looking forward to hearing from you all. Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome! I dont blame you at all for wanting a Corvette, once you get one you will wonder how you did without it all those years.

A few dealers to stay away from are Pro Team, CnV, and any business associated with Michael Montrief (usually Unlimited Vettes, USA Vettes, and any rendition of), he also likes to use "Nu Paint" in his ads.

The best place to buy a Corvette is from someone on these forums. Check out the for sale section and scroll through the last few pages. There are always cars that members have for sale and one of the good things is you can search the history of the person selling the car from the posts on the forum and kinda get a background on the car in some instances.

Welcome and good luck!

 

Welcome! I think Corvette dealers are a great place to shop, but probably not to buy. The nice cars are way over-priced and the well-priced cars are cheap for a reason.

You mention wanting an 82 because of the body style. 80, 81, & 82 all had the same body style and essentially the same interior:

80: No engine computer (easier tuning / modding), 2 engine choices (3 if you include California), manual & auto trans.

81: Rudimentary engine computer, manual & auto trans, power seat option can greatly help comfort.

82: Crossfire injection (blessing / curse), no manual - only new 4-speed auto trans with better low-end performance and lower revs when cruising, power seat, collector edition units have unique appearance and opening rear hatch.

I started out wanting a 79 - 82 and eventually narrowed my sights to an 81 manual or 82 auto. I ended up finding a nearly pristine 81 auto in the right color from another forum member with only 28K on the clock.

Buying from another member is a good idea, but be aware that anyone can join and put their car up for sale. The posting stars under the person's name and the member since date will help you sort that out. (Some very good folks around here don't post much.)

Buy a copy of the Corvette Black Book to help in your search:

http://www.corvetteblackbook.com/purchase.html

Good luck, and don't forget to wave.

 

Welcome to the club...best place to buy is from a private owner. As mentioned above, the dealers in question have a notorious track record.

 

Here's a good place to look...my first corvette was an 82CE. I found it after a fairly wide search a couple of miles from my home.

Good luck with your search.

http://usedcorvettesforsale.com/sear...s_by=&a_d=desc

 

Whats a retiree doing up so early in the morning?

Welcome to the forum. My advice is don't get emotional about this purchase. If you will be patient, the right car for the right price will come along. Don't buy the first one you look at, the first time you look at it. Take your time and you will be better off in the long run. If you have questions use the search function and/or ask. We love spewing info around here. Good luck!

 

Welcome to a great forum.
You will find lots of great people here and much good advice.
As has been previously stated, buy from a private party and do a little research so you don't buy the first thing you see that looks good but might not be as good as it seems.
Also, many times there are members here who will go with you to look at a specific car to offer advice and another perspective. If you buy a Corvette in good shape there will be less that you need to do to get it exactly where you want it. Stay away from dealers, you will likely get burnt.
Congratulations on your decision to join the Corvette community. Corvette owners are a particularly good bunch of people and always willing to help a fellow Corvette owner.
Keep us posted on your search and ultimate purchase.
Kurt
(old guy, semi retired with a 68 coupe)

 

Welcome from another retiree.....I spent a year looking for my first Vette..(78).and a year looking for the second one..(69)..take your time..
Rich

 

Well it looks like the boys above have about given you all the buying info you will ever need. So from the dark side of the third planet Welcome to the CFC3

 

Took the words right out of my mouth. Gain as much knowledge as possible before you buy. Since I am not much of a wrencher I bought from a dealer. I paid a premium price, but I got a car that I couldnt find locally. Good Luck!

 

lot of old farts here.....welcome....look at a dealership but do not buy from them and take this oath and stick to it............."i will not buy the first, second or third corvettte i drive....i realize that they made hundreds of thousands of them and that they are not rare.....and i can wait for the right one...."

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Remember, searching for your car is the cheapest part of this addiction.

 

First let me say: I hate your guts! But don't take it personally, I hate everybody who's retired. Its because I'm an old guy who is not retired. OK, mayby its more like envy. Anyway, I agree with everything thats been said.

If you don't like to wrench, buy a good stocker.

WELCOME TO THE FORUM.

 

I'd be retired if it weren't for my full time job but that hasn't stopped my 2nd childhood.

Here's Zoomin's law of Corvette hunting: You will pass up a perfectly good Corvette to think about it, and check a couple others out. Then you'll call back and offer him $1000 less than he was asking, only to find out it's sold.

My advice: pay for one that's had all the work done to it - you'll be miles ahead.

 

Great advice! You never get out of a car what you put into it for things like mechanical repairs or upgrades, so if you can, get the one with all the work already done. Much cheaper than getting a fixer-upper and paying for the repairs yourself. Plus you can go out and enjoy it from the start.

 

I wouldn't/couldn't do a brake job or any major work to my car, so I bought one that was basically "done"...I'll learn to wrench, but at least it'll be a slow process. People may not think as highly of me because I didn't put in the time or elbow grease, but while they sweat over 1/2 assembled cars this weekend, I'll be cruizing with the tops off... Wheter it's a fixer or a show car, you'll know it's "the one" when you see it. Happy hunting!

 

Lot of good advise above.

If you're new to C3's, it's important to know about frame and "birdcage" rust. (Birdcage is the metal frame for the windshield, door pillars, and T-Top bridge.) The problem is that you can find a C3 with a "perfect" looking body, the interior can be nice looking, relatively low mileage, etc, etc, but the car can dangerous to drive since the frame can be about ready to just snap in two.


Hit the Search function. Look for terms like "frame," "frame rust," etc.

 

Welcome!!!

I'm not sure I'll ever get to that 2nd childhood because I haven't let go of the first one and I'm 45 As everyone has mentioned best to stay away from dealers and buy from an individual. Looking is sometimes one of the most fun aspects, so take your time. Get whatever you pick out inspected before you buy. You've come to the right place for advice, many here will even offer to look at cars for you, etc...

Good luck and happy hunting

 

I had looked around for months before I decided to buy mine. I bought my '82 last year from a local dealer that deals only in Vettes and that was several weeks after the first time I had seen it.

As has been stated, do your research and look around before you buy. You will be able to find a very nice C3 for $15K. Look in the C3 for sale section.

A forum member "PCfred" had a very nice red '82 for sale a few months back. You may want to look it up in the for sale section.