Looking to pull the trigger on my first vette. Its a 1977 L-48. Has had a prior repaint about 8 years ago. Overall looks good with regular wear and a few scratches. Interior is really really nice. Has rally wheels.The biggest thing about the car is the air doesn't work. Says compressor is good just not blowing air. And he says one muffler makes a clanking noise sometimes. Says it could be a loose baffle? Overall its a really clean car. Engine is nice and clean and tidy with no surface rust on things like you see on some of the cars for sale. Without pics, is $9k too much to pay for a 1977 l-48? It is all numbers matching car. Assume frame and birdcage are good.

Thanks for the help.

 

I do NOT like the word ASSUME. I do not think anyone here, even with minimal knowledge will give you an approval to purchase for 9K without picturees or more information as well as an inspection. It is way to dangerous. I sure has heck would not guess or assume anything on one of these C3 cars. EVER!

 

The Hagerty Price Guide values a condition 3 at $9K. A deduction should be taken for non working a/c.

Without pics, not much else can be discerned.

http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtool...ort?vc=1079894

 

You tell us. We haven't seen the car; you have. Do you want this 77 for $9K?

 

Being a new corvette owner, I did it all wrong, we bought on impulse and even though we made out ok, take black vette's advice to heart don't assume anything. Around here you can swing a cat in any direction and find a late 70's corvette in that price range. We paid 3 for ours, was told it only needed a cam, armrest and tires. I can tell you we are Much deeper than that and We haven't driven it yet

 

Thanks for the input so far. Here are 3 pictures of the frame he sent me today as well as a few of the car. Let me know what you think.

 

one more

 

Engine compartment looks correct and clean including the wire shields. Front bumper paint does not match rest of body. It looks to me like it has New York plates on it... if so those photos were taken some time ago!

 

It is in NY. Bought from the original owner. Car has always lived within 50 miles of the original selling dealer, and told it was always kept in a garage and was a summer car. The frame pics don't seem like it was driven all over road salt or snow but the pics dont show tons of angles either. Why do you think the pics are old? He told me they were taken within the last month.

 

This is your first Corvette and you have inspected the numbers yourself and you are confident they match?

 

I am not going to beat around the bush. Simply put I don't like how this is playing out. The buyer is already talking about pulling the trigger on his first corvette. He has not seen it nor has an independent inspection been made. Buyer is already talking price. This has the earmarks of an impulsive buy. Not that you need my blessing but I do not approve on how this is being handled. Seems way rushed to me. I did not consider a purchase on my "red dragon" until I had ALL the facts. I seen way too many nice cars in pics and nicely described cars that were actually pieces of s$!#. I don't like this at all. It is only my opinion.

 

I would certainly have the car inspected before agreeing to purchase it. Many things can be lurking that are not readily apparent from pics and if you don't know exactly what to look for, it could lead to a rather costly surprise.

 

Frame towards the back in picture 1 does not look as good as the rest. What's picture two of....what's riveted in? Engine looks painted. Pictures miss all the critical areas. Ask for many more pictures.

What do the door hinge areas look like? Get some pictures of the bird cage. Get pictures of the entire frame front to back. Get some dead on pictures of both sides to see how the doors line up with the panels.

Long and short of it is the cars priced at the higher in the range. If its really nice and trouble free it could be a decent buy.

I would ask a member here to go take a look for you.

 

All NY plates from 2013 are the older Blue and Yellow colors .. Different style from years ago same colors. Car looks good .. I would go see it on the condition it can be driven and put on a lift. I am sure he can be haggled with some as well . . .

 

I apologize I think I used the wrong terminology in my OP. I did not mean to say pulling the trigger. I should have said strongly considering. I did not mean to make some of your frustrated or angry thinking I am going to just buy the car without any due process first.
I am more looking for input to see if the car is even worth pursuing. It is in upstate NY so it is going to be a challenge to get an inspector because of the winter season and lots of snow right now so before I really put effort into this car and get my hopes up, I wanted to put my feelers out...

 

WHOA stop the clock!!!!!

Nobody that I know of would get frustrated or angry over this thread/discussion.

I will tell you that nobody would like for you to make a huge mistake and end up purchasing a car for 9 grand and find out later it was worth 5 grand tops, especially if you did not get an inspection.

Your newest post here is a game changer now. You want to know if you want to put a real effort into this car? Only YOU can actually answer this question. Nobody else will be able to determine this.

I had a minimum standards list that a potential car would have to meet before I would even consider having the car inspected. I will be happy to share this list.

I required the following items from the seller:

1. Pics of exterior
2. Pics of interior
3. Stamp pad picture
4. Trim tag picture
5. Vin pillar picture
6. Pictures of the frame from different angles
7. Pictures of door jams
8. Pictures of top of windshield and a pillar areas
9. Picture of cowl
10. Any pics of documentation the car has.

If the seller provided this information I was able to eliminate 3/4 of the cars. 1/4 of the cars deemed qualified for an inspection. Inspections USUALLY discovered items that were not seen by the detailed pictures and information. Therefore, I was able to eliminate further.

Fortunately, my inspector on the red dragon did an excellent job. I knew the first minute while I was on the phone with him that THIS was the car I was buying. You will know it when it hits you. I was so sure it was perfect for me I didn't even bother seeing the car. I paid for it and had it delivered and it was even better than I thought.

I am proud to show it to ANYONE!!!! Even the most picky of the NCRS people. And they WILL point EVERYTHING out. It frustrates some owners but NOT ME. I am bringing it to the next major event. The corvette speaks for itself and I am all smiles.

 

I think he's implying they're old because the outside picture of the car looks like it was taken in the middle of summer. Unless your October's in NY are full of green grass and green leaves on trees.

 

Dude we have a CSI on our hands.

Hook line and sinker!!!!!!

Pics taken with the last month? PFFFFFT!!! Red flag number one. If he really told you this, it was a REALLY foolish thing to say. Right there alone I would start to wonder about this deal.

Awesome catch taylor34. You hooked a huge fish here!

 

If the owner sent jpg files for the pictures, you may be able to right click to see the properties of the file. Depending on the camera, it may tell you the date and GPS location of the pictures.

 

What Taylor said. I traveled New York from the southern border to Albany in mid October and it was past prime leaf season even then. Even South Carolina was past full summer foliage. I suspect "upstate" is under about a foot of snow today so you will be unlikely to get a test drive until spring. Please let us know where you are located as well so we can help you avoid long trips for little chance of return!