why in veryones opinion are C3 vettes so underpriced compared to some of the other muscle cars of the era. I have had everything from older camaros and gtos as well as a couple of chevelles and even in rough shape were bringing premium dollar, i really havent noticed them going down with economy. I had a 73 bb vette with original engine a few years back and it to sold for less than the last car i sold which was a 69 rs/ss camaro. i just recently bought a 1975 L48 with a 4 speed all original for 7500 and am having it painted now but wonder if value of this will ever increase. Paint was only thing not original on this car. I kinda hope if I finish it for less than 11k total and hang on for a few years i might at least break even, thoughts?

 

...for one thing there is many, many more Corvettes left of all the ones produced in the C3 years mainly because they weren't used as daily drivers, so there are quite a few out there in existence compared to how many nice Camaros & Chevelles there are left out of the tens of thousands of those produced. Camaros, Chevelles, Mustangs, Dusters-you name it were daily drivers. A lot less of those models surviving today compared to the number of Corvettes surviving.

 

Also remember these fiberglass bodies don't rust out.

 

 

Steel cars you can recycle, worth more for scrap.

1) I think is because the vette has always been around and some of the steel cars stopped production, when somethings not around people want them so they look to the older ones. or
2)Wait 20 years then you will see a rice rocket gas powered cars as a collectors items and we are all driving electric powered cars.
by then 16 18 20 year olds will have the money to by the car of there youth.

like us now.

Todd

 

It's an interesting question.

5 minutes on the IntraWebTubes showed me that production numbers for '72 Camaros were 68,651, two door + vert Chevelles were well over 200,000 (!) and Corvettes of all stripes accounted for 27,001 cars. I use '72 'cause that's what's in my garage

So if so many of these other cars were made, there must be more of them even after the attrition of years. This makes me doubt the numbers available question.

I think that it might be some other things. Most of us hotrodders are a bit older today and that may push us toward the cars with back seats, and trunks, and something safer than that sports-car feel that you get with a Corvette. The Vette also doesn't enjoy the working-man's hotrod reputation that the Camaros and Chevelles enjoy.

Also, the C3 body style has been controversial from its inception. A lot of people love it, but a lot of people hate it too. (I'll let you guess which side of that question I fall in on).

Another thing is reproduction costs. Vettes are just harder to work on. There's a lot more engineering than other muscle cars of the day. Parts are also more expensive as there's not a million of them on the road.

In the end it's all about desirability, and there are a lot of factors, both mechanical and emotional that factor in to classic car values. It ain't rational, but if it were we'd all be driving station wagons.

My $.02.

Schaggy

 

out of all the old rides i have had i always thought the mecca was when you made it to a vette. the shark style of the c3 was the vette look. from what i have experienced parts are not a lot higher and overall they were cars ahead of the others for the year they were built.. i just find it crazy that a total ragged out 69 camaro will bring more than a decent driver 75 or 76 vette. dont get me wrong i love the look of the chevelle and camaro just doesnt make sense why the vette takes back seat to these

 

I did a quick check on ebaymotors, and noted the following numbers of cars up for bid...

'72 Chevelle - 32
'72 Camero - 13
'72 Vette - 19

... I did the same thing for '75's, which is what the original poster has...

'75 Vette - 17
'75 Camero - 4
'75 Chevelle - 1 (malibu 4 door)

Now these are just numbers that I pulled from ebay. Do they say for sure what is still out there, or how much attriction there was? Scientifically, no it doesn't, but it does paint a picture that there could possibly be more supply of vette's then other popular models of cars. This extra supply, keeps the price down.

 

There were a lot of Camaros and Chevelles sold, but they were not all muscle cars. After 71 or 72, with lowered compression ratios, the muscle car era was over. A 69 L88 is worth more than a DZ 302 Z28, I believe (both are totally cool but too expensive). It is hard to compare a 67-69 Z28 to a later shark. Anyways, markets change and are unpredictable. Otherwise I would bought a Hemi anything, and I don't particularly like the looks of the Dodge product. Just mt 2 cents...

 

All points listed are very valid. another one is production no's of Corvette's by all generations.

C1 - 69,015 over 10 yrs
C2 - 117,966 over 5 yrs
C3 - 542,861 over 15 yrs
C4 - 358,180 over 13 yrs
C5 - 248,715 over 8 yrs

Clearly the C3 generation had the highest production no's and ran for the longest time.
I'd find it hard to believe that ANY Corvette generation of the future could last such a stint and sell as many cars!

 

well I know an older person selling their vette cause it doesn't have a back seat to ride the grand kids around in. another could be after owning something for awhile, for some its just time to move on...but that's for anything I guess.

 

even crazier question

when did sports cars and pony cars become muscle cars?

 

That is one of the factors involved.... Many folks don't see the C3 as a "muscle" car; they view it as a "sports" car...and that's not what they want. Also, the demand level for older cars ebbs and flows from one era to another and from brand/models over time. Muscle cars are "hot" now because of all the TV time they're getting. But, C3's will always be in style. If you keep a C3 maintained, it will always be worth what you paid for it.

Besides, you have an everyday car that loses money every year, don't you? Even though you put money into your C3 to keep it up, maintaining value is still a good thing.

 

This may not be a real popular opinion but - a lot of the people buying these cars for say over $15k are older (like myself). I am only speaking of my own experiance but as I get older I find myself driving my 72 big block el camino more then my vet. Yes I still love the vet and use it frequently but if I am just going around town it is in a full size vehicle.

When I went to high school (72) all of my freinds and I drove Chevelles, Camero, GTO ect only one rich kid had a vet. People of "my age group" will know the year of my Camino within a year or two but they are way off on the vet. Just what they remember and that is what a lot of people buy.