completely
Looking for your feedback on 1981 condition!!
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
I want to express my thanks to each of you for your feedback. It is invaluable. Yes, it is fair to say I am smitten with this car in the sense that it was definitely THE ONE based on color combination, great driving experience and overall condition as could be seen on the ground (wife likes it best too!). I was greatly disappointed in the report once up on the lift and the rest of the story was told.
I will continue my search. Anyone who is aware of a nice 80 - 82 in the San Antonio area I would appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I will post same in the Sale forum.
Thanks again and have a great week!
I will continue my search. Anyone who is aware of a nice 80 - 82 in the San Antonio area I would appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I will post same in the Sale forum.
Thanks again and have a great week!
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,924
Likes: 6
I want to express my thanks to each of you for your feedback. It is invaluable. Yes, it is fair to say I am smitten with this car in the sense that it was definitely THE ONE based on color combination, great driving experience and overall condition as could be seen on the ground (wife likes it best too!). I was greatly disappointed in the report once up on the lift and the rest of the story was told.
I will continue my search. Anyone who is aware of a nice 80 - 82 in the San Antonio area I would appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I will post same in the Sale forum.
Thanks again and have a great week!
I will continue my search. Anyone who is aware of a nice 80 - 82 in the San Antonio area I would appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I will post same in the Sale forum.
Thanks again and have a great week!
but, this is from an admin at another corvette sight
a premium price, but a C3 in premium condition
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...uct=317&cat=11
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,058
Likes: 27
From: Eastern North Carolina
The price is a bit high. You could fix everything for way under 4k if you do most of it yourself. I paid 10k for mine about two years ago. Sounds like the one you are looking at is in a little better shape then mine was. Good paint is a very big deal, so if you don't need to paint it for awhile, you might be alright. I don't purchase cars to make money on them, I just like having fun in them. But, I don't like paying too much either. Good Luck Tim
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
The price is a bit high. You could fix everything for way under 4k if you do most of it yourself. I paid 10k for mine about two years ago. Sounds like the one you are looking at is in a little better shape then mine was. Good paint is a very big deal, so if you don't need to paint it for awhile, you might be alright. I don't purchase cars to make money on them, I just like having fun in them. But, I don't like paying too much either. Good Luck Tim
$14,800
$14,900
$18,000
I would love to find that good to very good condition car that others have mentioned finding for $10,000 or less, but in months of looking so far I haven't seen it. Yes, the fact that this car I am considering has within the past three years benefited from receiving new paint, new interior, new cooling system, and new braking system, I am sure the existing owner has far more into the car than what he is trying to recoup and perhaps his asking price is not too out of line. Again, thanks to everyone for the nice feedback. The more information, the better the ability to make an educated decision.
Have a great day!
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 19,350
Likes: 654
From: Tampa, Florida
Fellas
I appreciate all the good advice. I expected to receive a number of responses like this. And let me preface by saying that I know everyone is trying to be helpful, but I have yet to see a car priced below $10,000 that is not in need of much more than this car, and I have seen many of them. I have also yet to find a car with good paint, good interior and reasonable mileage for less than $15,000. A quick browse through the web sites of the used Corvette specialists or even the for sale forum here will confirm this. In fact, there is a Corvette specialist who I know personally that referred this car to me. He offered the owner $10,000 wholesale to place on his lot, which of course the owner declined.
Please, I am not trying to justify the price. It may be way too high and I will have to ultimately determine that. Let me rephrase my questions in a different way:
1) For a 27 year old Corvette, is there anything unusual about the issues this car has - leaking PS, need for valve and pan gaskets to be replaced, A/C beginning to fail, pinion seal needing to be replaced?
2) Is it reasonable to assume that these issues can be addressed for well below the $4,000 estimate?
Thanks again for your help. If you can take a minute to address the two questions I would greatly appreciate it.
I appreciate all the good advice. I expected to receive a number of responses like this. And let me preface by saying that I know everyone is trying to be helpful, but I have yet to see a car priced below $10,000 that is not in need of much more than this car, and I have seen many of them. I have also yet to find a car with good paint, good interior and reasonable mileage for less than $15,000. A quick browse through the web sites of the used Corvette specialists or even the for sale forum here will confirm this. In fact, there is a Corvette specialist who I know personally that referred this car to me. He offered the owner $10,000 wholesale to place on his lot, which of course the owner declined.
Please, I am not trying to justify the price. It may be way too high and I will have to ultimately determine that. Let me rephrase my questions in a different way:
1) For a 27 year old Corvette, is there anything unusual about the issues this car has - leaking PS, need for valve and pan gaskets to be replaced, A/C beginning to fail, pinion seal needing to be replaced?
2) Is it reasonable to assume that these issues can be addressed for well below the $4,000 estimate?
Thanks again for your help. If you can take a minute to address the two questions I would greatly appreciate it.
I understand where your coming from. Last February I looked at every bumper C3 for sale bewteen Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale and what I saw amazed me. My advice is to keep looking, they are out there.
Post and ad in the C3 for sale section with a WTB: '80-'82 heading and be very specific with what your looking for.
Leakinging PS and diffs is very common...depending on the extent of the leaks most leave them as they are and check fluid levels every now and then.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
Rattler, if you like this car then go for it. It is a bit high, but its not terribly high. I agree with you that the same car for under $10k would be a better deal and that car might be out there somewhere, But, how long will it take to find it? I think you will be happy with this one.
I paid $3k for mine about 6 years ago and it needed a Lot of work. i am about 2/3 thru a full body off restomod, have not driven my car in almost 3 years and will have about $16k in it when I get it on the road later this year, IF I am lucky. I don't consider mine to be a bad deal either.
Get the car, fix the fire hazards, drive it a bit, figgure out what you want to do with it and enjoy. Its driving season
I paid $3k for mine about 6 years ago and it needed a Lot of work. i am about 2/3 thru a full body off restomod, have not driven my car in almost 3 years and will have about $16k in it when I get it on the road later this year, IF I am lucky. I don't consider mine to be a bad deal either.
Get the car, fix the fire hazards, drive it a bit, figgure out what you want to do with it and enjoy. Its driving season
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Instructor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 190
Likes: 0
From: Henderson Ky
if it's the car you want and you can swing the dough, then buy it. sound high to me. just for comparison, i paid $6000 for this one. but, it's brown and the guy needed to sell so i'm not sure it's a real fair comparison.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
From: Chandler Arizona
I say if YOU like the car and think it is worth it then buy it. Everyone on here for the most part will tell you it is not worth it. They say most cars are not worth the asking price if you check other threads. Just because they bought a car with 20K miles for 9 grand does not mean you will find one.
If you like the car, buy it, fix it and enjoy it.
If you like the car, buy it, fix it and enjoy it.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Just be aware that the "ball joint repair" will turn into replacement of all front steering components, the "brake leak" will become the full brake re-do, etc. etc. If you have someone else do the work, it will probably cost another $6-8 to get it like you expect it to be. Or, you can keep looking for a 'well cared for' car that has already received those repairs for the same selling price or a bit higher. Good luck with your decision. 
Pro
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 716
Likes: 1
From: Albuquerque New Mexico
I honestly think you have fallen in love with the car already and are hoping somoene agrees but I would agree that it's high and you could do better when factoring what you'll have to put into it. Maybe you could provide a low offer and explain that your research substantiates your offer and feel it's fair. If he's reasonable he should accept it or counter somewhere that is acceptable and more reasonable price. He should realize that offers are becoming more rare these days with everyone cutting back and want to sell the car for a fair price. For Comparison sake: My recent purchase was a 1982 w/original silver paint in very good cond. (a few nicks) but not faded and no cracks. The interior needs new carpet, seats and a couple minor fixes. It could also use some new mufflers and has 87k miles. The car cost me $7,500 (was asking $8,800) and I've spent $1500 to get everything I need to make it almost perfect. This amounts to $9k for an excellent car w/new interior. Some may have done better and some a little worse but I just think your scenario is still on the too high side.