Just my opinion, but they should be passed along and not resold for big profit. I'm also quite fond of my '94 HD Sportster. The sound, looks, and feel are priceless to me. And I couldn't replace them.

 

I should probably have stated my original post differently. By "profit" I really didn't expect to make huge returns or use it to flip quick. I was just thinking of having something to tinker with and enjoy for a few years until I can afford to take on a C6. I figured my current C5 is only going to continue to depreciate and I couldn't sell it straight up for a C6 without financing the balance. Something that I'm not ready to do today as I have my wife's car to replace soon and two boys not yet in high school.

But my C5 could sell for enough to buy a C3 outright right now. Assuming I put some work into it and values rise a bit I could come out at least even and have had the opportunity to enjoy a classic. By that time, I'd be ready to take on car payments for a newer model.

I guess my ask was really to understand what I would be getting myself into if I went down this road.

 

sales tax, acquisition costs ( transportation to see car and have it shipped or trailered), title and transfer fees, plates, and 1st year insurance was right around 2500 for me.

so I was immediately upside down 2500 for my car when I first took it out for a drive. given that I assume that I paid a repeatable market price for my car..
no way to really flip a car unless you get into it cheap and find a buyer that will overpay.

the appreciation curve will reduce your loss, but who knows how long you have to wait.

and if you buy a car in an auction, you are paying hammer price plus 10%. if you sell it in an auction, you are receiving hammer price minus 10%

 

I admit i dont know much about post c3 corvettes, dont want to, they dont get old and become classics but rather just old used cars, not being mean just the way i see it,

I would have thought that since the the c7 came out c6 prices likely dropped, if your c5s value is dropping so is c6s,
And i might be so askew in my thinking but if you actually want a c6, flipping your c5 and getting a nice c6 is gonna be money ahead for you , skipping that c3 middleman, a dollar buys more nice c6 than nice c3,

A project, c3 even a driver has to have some labor of love involved not to just loose your *** on it, so i would let that c5 drop in value as the c6s drop, enjoy the c5 and when you get the toad pelts right grab the c6 you desire, dont settle on a c3.

 

Cars as an investment:

 

On the other side of the coin... You will lose less money owning and working on a c3 (or other classic) than a c5/6 (or other modern car). You can't expect to make any great money on the car, but you can expect it to be worth around the same, maybe more, come time to sell. Whereas you could buy a c5 or c6, put similar money into improvements and/or maintenance/upkeep, and you'll still be guaranteed a reasonable financial loss when you sell it compared to purchase price. Forget treating it as an investment, but you definitely can think of it as a less financially painful hobby, which reading between the lines of subsequent posts may have been your real intention.

 

Very true,
I might have gotten the wrong idea that his real desire is a c6,
You know i dont care about cars as investments but rather i see them as what they are right now not down the road, people shouldn't settle but have what they really want...and work the straightest line to that end,
Im a poster boy for wasted time and money.

 

Both of the above are accurate to my situation actually. Metalhead outlined in the bolded text above where my original intent and reason for post was coming from. The C5 is only going to continue depreciating (as will the C6 noted earlier), but there will always be a gap between them that I need to cover. I figure I could possibly lose less in the C3 arena as values hold more steady and I watch my expenses.

But The13Bats is also correct in stating that I do really want a C6 GS. Just that right now isn't the right time for me to take on monthly payments to finance any balance that I would have after the sale of my C5. I can however afford annual or as needed repairs/projects courtesy of a work bonus, to which I can apply to a C3. Again, just thinking where to I lose less in the long run.

I could also just bank the bonus the next few years and apply it as one lump sum to financing the C6 later. So that is an option I need to consider. It won't satisfy my need to tinker with a car, but if it makes more financial sense, then it is what it is.

 

Pipe dream just wait to buy your C6 99% of the time youll lose money on cars period.

 

I have a friend who purchased an 1969 L88 restored by Jim Thorpe.. and purchased from Mike's Corvettes for $100,000..around 10 years ago.

The car is worth in the neighborhood of $700,000 today.

Now that is not a bad investment!!

 

I hope not! I am a millennial - at the tail end, born in '95, and I have a beautiful black '79. There is still a great love for these beautiful cars out there, even in us younger folk!

 

Yeah, well if that is true good for him, but does not represent the other 99.9% of the cars available.

 

Glad to hear that, but you are definitely in the minority of your generation. You alone cannot hold the market. My kids and all their friends have zero interest in anything I am interested in, so from my perspective....all I see if people fascinated with cell phones and video games, living with their parents and pretty much hate everything about my generation.

 

This gives you plenty of time to play with it before they start asking for the keys! My youngest has done quite a bit of the work on our 71 coupe, and he knows every nut & bolt on it. It will be his.... when I`m "done" with it!
Glad to see my boys so interested in our antiques, collectibles, and classic cars. I think you`re right about them being "out-numbered" though.

 

Yeah, well it is true... and I'm not so certain of your 99.9% statistic that you pulled out of your a..

However it would be a very high %.. That said.. Most of us cannot afford the cars that would increase in value through the years.

 

Actually less than 1% is probably a good figure.

500k+ C3s produced and if you looks at the high dollar big blocks, L88, L89, Zl1, LS6 I bet there were less than 5,000 produced.

edit math: if vette facts is accurate- there are 1,400 of the above options listed as produced, and 542k C3s produced. thats 0.0025% of C3s

 

I like your statistics ... however that would be .25%... not .0025%... Also when you include at least some of the LT1's of which almost 5000 were built the number increases to over 1%.

But in general when you consider Ferrari's, Lambo's, Cobras and other super cars which most of us cannot afford I would guess the 1% number goes up even more.

 

Well said and so true,

Its not the fun reply but the biggest bang for the buck is gonna be flip the c5 asap, it will only depreciate, put that in a car fund account like an xmas fund, saves also what you would have dropped into fixing up any c3 that the price you could have gotten for your c5 would have bought, then you will be money ahead, and the c6 you desire will also be dropping in price, it will likely meet sooner than you think,
Yeah, i know it leaves you without a toy to tinker on, ( and loose money on ) but i could almost buy a real l88 with all the silly money wasting car muck ups i have done....

 

I fully understand the urge to tinker....so much so that I bought a 74 TR6 to play with on my lift, I am pretty much done with it, what has also done is give me more confidence to now start working on my 81 C3. Just the C3 is much tougher to work on than an open English car. There is always something in the way of what you need to get at.

 

Lots of good comments here. From my experience on a number of classics over the years:

Don't be picky-buy on the bargin-rather than holding out for colors options etc. Not saying buy junk-look for a decent machine where someone is just ready to get the car out of the driveway. This will take time. Depending on your skills choosing a car with one major devaluing flaw that you can address is good.

Be careful and patient on repairs/upgrades-hard searching for good used parts. We all want to dive in to the catalogue and order like crazy-don't You have to buy good quality new for stuff that makes it run-cheaping out here is a false economy. But, interior stuff, and many bits and pieces can save you a lot of money if you are patient.

Do your own work-a must.

Hold the car for some years. If you bought right and were careful in your parts bargin hunting much of the cost will be in the first year-for instance tires, clutch,brakes etc. You amortize these cost over the years.

Then, here is the biggie-drive it. A lot All those miles give value as a pleasure for one and second mean you are keeping miles off your newer daily drivers, preserving their value.

You may not make money once you total the purchase price +costs versus your later selling price, but-you are not losing money through depreciation every month the car sits like a late model, and all those miles have value for the reasons mentioned above. Being able to use classic car insurance on an oldie is a big annual savings too.

It's hard work and not worth it unless you really enjoy driving a classic.

My two cents