havesometo

Looks like you ready for next month maintenance.

John Ulrich

Just a few repairs will make the $12,000 car a "best buy". Look for a car with updated brake calipers etc. That will save you. You will need to learn to work on it yourself or you will be spending a lot of money on labor this is free when you or I do it.

Priya

Its not like owning a ferrari or a BMW or Mercedes where any part you buy is going to be extravagently priced even on an old car, most parts aren't any more expensive than a regular car so if you get one in good shape maintenance isn't going to be a big budget item. Of course any old car can have need a lot of repairs that can get expensive but I'd say the 82 Corvette isn't any more risky to buy than any other ordinary old car.

I hate that advice. Might be right for a lot of people, but not everyone. I bought a really nice 79 for 12k and now I'm changing interior and exterior colour, putting in a 5 speed, converting to TPI, and so on. I'd have been a lot further ahead to have bought a 6K car needing motor, trans, paint, and interior rather than a nice car needing nothing as I'm changing all those anyway.

slickfx3

and a few of charlie sheen's entourage

454Luvr

I just bought an '82 that generally fits your description, both for condition and price. The concern in most cases with a Vette this old isn't necessarily maintenance, but more the up-front cost to get the car into reliable, roadworthy condition. Otherwise, it'll leave you without transportation for days or weeks at a time, and you'll still have to work on it every stinkin' weekend. I knew this going in, and I have the budget to handle it. I also have two other vehicles that are much newer for daily driving. As for total cost going in, I'll spend another $2,500 to $4,000 on the car quickly, and that's doing most of the work myself. These funds will need to be spent within the next six to 12 months, and the amount of work (labor) will be pretty intense. Corvettes aren't like other cars, and that's one reason certain years hit such low prices on the used market. They're much more complicated than Novas and Chevelles, and much more expensive to refurbish. Just check the prices for drivetrain and suspension parts at Duntov Motors if you want an idea of what you're in for. You can drop $3-4 grand on parts for one of these in the blink of an eye. For that reason, I couldn't possibly recommend this as a first car to anyone. With a budget of $8,000, you can buy a modern, medium-mileage commuter a few years old that will last five or six years with very little maintenance. For someone who needs reliable daily transportation, that's the only way to go.

bashcraft

The question was about maintenance, not customization.

Priya

Yes, but the same advice is universally offered to everyone looking to buy a Corvette as though it was an indisputable truth. I'm just pointing out that its not. And the op didn't mention his future intentions for the car so at the point I made that comment we don't know if he wants to customize it.

softwarejanitor

It is very hard to predict what maintaining a car like that will cost you. It depends on how many miles it has, how it has been maintained and how much you drive it plus a little bit of luck...

For the most part these are pretty simple (by today's standards) cars that don't really require a huge amount of maintenance. Compared to cars of the day they had a little more in them due to the independant rear suspension and the 1982 Vette was the first fuel injected Chevy (American car in general) in a long time, since Chevy dropped their previous fuel injection systems after 1964.

Anyway... typical wear items are going to be pretty much the same as any other older car... other than the Cross Fire Injection the engine is a basic old school 350 Chevy V8 and parts are relatively cheap and easy to come by. Properly maintained the SBC is very reliable. Things like alternators and water pumps are readily available and not ridiculously expensive. The Cross Fire system isn't even a big problem provided you keep "bubba" away from it. The stock fuel pumps are weak, but the 1985+ pump for TPI is a good and cheap upgrade. Injectors and other parts for Cross Fire can be found so not an issue. The transmission is a TH700R4 which is very common -- although some people will tell you the later ones are better - the 1982 was the first year in the Vette for the four speed auto. The C3 for brake pads and rotors is odd for a car of its age only in having rear discs and the parking brake is a particular difference for maintenance on C3s compared to other cars of that era since it is a small drum inside the rear rotors... Master cylinder and all the brake parts are readily available and pretty easy to work on. Front suspension on a C3 isn't that different from most 1970s or early 1980s GM... recirculating ball steering box, simple twin A-Arm with coil springs and plain old shocks. The rear end is the difference with the IRS having all the extra U-joints and the fairly unique transverse composite mono-leaf spring. The diff itself is a Dana with posi and pretty solid for the kind of power the car came with.

Anyway... a C3 that is in good repair will often go quite a few miles between need of repairs and if you can do the work yourself it can be pretty cheap to repair. Even at a shop it shouldn't be crazy expensive compared to a lot of other sports cars. There are quite a few Corvette specialty shops around. I have one that I trust here in Austin. If you find one that can make a big difference in how your experience will be.

LS4 PILOT

Amen to dat brother