Edv92c4

Hey guys! I just popped in to ask a few questions about the 82 CE values. I've been considering one for a while now but notice prices are all over the board. Now I know people will ask whatever they think a car will bring so I decided it would be great to hear from some folks who have recently bought or sold one...to hear about real transactions. Please state condition and mileage when commenting. I'm looking for a turn key car...one that needs nothing or very little so not much interested in values of "projects". We all love original paint cars but I'm ok with ones that have been painted with a high quality job. All help or comments are appreciated!

See 3

Former Owner here. I searched for a long time before buying my 82' CE back in 1998, found one with about 16,000 miles on it, pristine condition, even still had the original Eagle G/T's on it, paid $25K. That was back before the internet days and I traveled to Springfield, the Daytona Turkey Run, all over and finally bought what I thought I wanted from a shyster in North Carolina. After getting the car home I was so afraid I was devaluing it by adding miles, I probably put maybe 1000 miles on the the entire 5 years I owned it. Of course I invested probably $8K after I discovered he had knocked out the catalytic convertor that I had to replace so it would pass inspection for tags, then upgrading the brakes to SS, a set of new eagle G/T II's, then replacing all the hoses the squirrels chewed up while it sat in the carport so I put it in garaged private storage ($$$). I sold it for $25K in about 2003 or so to a guy from Miami who intended to drive it daily. Learned my lesson. No more "garage queens" for me, so in a few weeks I'm picking up my (new) 72' C3, already frame-off restored, which I intend to drive the crap out of.

KingRat

CE's are very nice. Excellent examples sell for $18-$25. I have a very nice one with 48k miles that I would ask $13,500 for. I have seen others similar to mine in that price range. My friend sold one last year with around 30k miles for $15. I have seen tired/ high mile examples for $8. I saw a couple still in the "wrapper" with the window sticker still on the window, plastic on seats with less than 20 miles sell for $35 at auction. This past summer I saw one that had been backed into in the door and fender - big crack- but repairable sell for $1,700! The back window alone is worth more than! Good Luck!

Edv92c4

Thanks guys...all great info...keep em comin...

Bigredwing

Interesting post in that I have been trying to put a value on mine with a thought towards selling. My issue is with the actual market value verses emotional value. Mine has around 150K+ miles on the odometer. Bought in 1990's as a project for about $7K it was in pretty bad shape. Probably not my brightest moment. Anyway the paint was shot, the interior was intact by shot, rear glass did not fit (I thought it was a minor adjustment but learned about weak hinges later), oil leaks, ran good though.

In the early years (mid '90s) I replaced and refreshed the interior, weather stripping, all worn suspension components, brakes, tires, rebuilt swing arms, rebuilt power steering. Pulled engine and replaced or repaired everything but the short block and fuel injection. Also had the transmission rebuilt but it has never felt as crisp as I would like. Unfortunately I missed that the Oil Temp sensor was sheared off at the block (my ignorance). I was on active duty military and could not afford paint and repair of the one small crack at the left front wheel well so I just drove and enjoyed the car.

Next I was convinced (peer pressure) to strip the paint to save some money getting it painted. That turned into a mess and I learned that there were two types of plastic/fiberglass used which gave me fits. I then had the car baking soda blasted to finish the job and that did not go well as the soda media took off a lot of the clear coat before I could stop the operator. It made me ill because now I had a bigger mess so the car sat in this condition for several years before I could get back in to it.

By the time I got back into the car a few years ago the radiator was leaking and it was replaced with an aluminum unit, the differential was leaking and I had it rebuilt with 3:55 gears. That has not gone as expected as there is still a slight weep from the pinion seal after taking it back to the vendor three times. One of the forum members was fabricating hatch hinges and I was able to get a set. My brother-in-law is an artist, fabricator, painter, hot-rodder and took on my paint and body work. We replaced the front and rear bumper covers with flexible fiberglass units. He airbrushed the stripes instead of using decals and I am happy with the look.

Current plans are to rebuild the throttle bodies and replace leaking valve cover gaskets. The fuel sending unit has decided to stop working after replacement of the fuel pump so that needs to be troubleshot. And after all these years I need to re-look at the suspension and steering component conditions for leaks and aging.

That's probably not everything but gives you an idea of the path an old car in actually pretty good condition can lead you. So I wonder what its worth or what it would sell for?

Edit: I should also add that the A/C was worked on back in the 90's but only lasted for a year or so. Probably a leak in one of the coils but it never showed up during testing. The cruise control has never worked but all the vacuum lines have been replaced, and the security system is flaky probably due to old worn out micro switches in the doors. I'm not really interested in trying to figure out that jigsaw puzzle so the security system is disabled. All of this adds up to a drive-able project car.

After re-reading this post maybe I should be considering a donation to Goodwill for the tax write-off? - Nah!

L-46man

I have spent 7 years looking and pricing 82 CE's. FINALLY one popped up 3 towns over....so patience pays off.

There are two down here for sale...You'll see them if you do a search. One guy with 63.5k is asking 18.9k, the car has been for sale for two years continually advertised....so the upshot is EVERYBODY who looked at it decided to walk away.

I have flown to various parts of the country looking. Prices are depressed in the 'heartland' and high in the northeast.

I bought the local one . 18k stored 26 years, Second paint job, second decals....99% interior. A few little things not working, cruise control, the back hatch was locked in position...see my thread on how to fix that. I will not post what I PAID for the car....but I'll IM that to you.
I have the car insured for agreed value for 18k....I think that's fair.

Search, look, look search, research, check prices of repair and replacement parts.
Some things to put into the hopper.

Replacing interior =$3500
New paint and decals $6-7K
New rear glass hatch $3-4k
New body gaskets $1000-1500
Wheels= $2000 (no tires)

Get one already done! Lots of guys are asking in the 20's....better be mint and NOTHING WRONG WHATSOEVER if you're going to 'ask' those numbers.

good luck...welcome to the brotherhood.
Unkahal

cv67

Nice, looks every bit of an 18k car dont see em too often esp nice ones.
Most have been off the road a long time & not worth screwing with.

See 3

If that's a repaint it looks great.........I thought the original was not a decal application but a specialized tapered painting technique they devised. There used to be a guy local here who was supposedly a master at re-paints like this, but yours looks great. Beautiful car, reminds me of why the 82' CE was the first Vette I ever owned.......

rrbnut

the way I buy cars that I like:
look at all on web , get a feel for the price range. Then pick the color I want. That I match with the money I want to spend. Say you want to spend $15K, then I try to find the best one for around $11-12K, that leaves some money for needed repairs and if all works out I have the best car for the $15K I wanted to spend.

L-46man

.I thought the original was not a decal application but a specialized tapered painting technique they devised.

SEE3...The 'appliques' (can charge $23,000 for that!) Decal is so 'monogram'...LOL

All the CE's were two different set of Applique's....pin-stripe package (now $399 on re-pop)
And Decals the hood and two doors= $1200-1300 set. So the decals were $1700 ALONE.

Most of the money in a CE is interior and paint and body. Yes it's a VERY nice car.
Was a HOU car....last one out before the flooding...NOT LOL-ing.

Edv92c4

Ahhh....this is why I see some cars with the pinstripes and some without! Were the pinstripes optional when cars were new? Or did they come on all CE's?

L-46man

That is a good point (you didn't actually make). All CE's had the stripes that's what made them CE amongst the hatch, interior, carpet, dash and cloisonne' emblems, turbine wheels.
When I was looking...looked at 23 of them before I bought 'Mako' almost all of them that were under $20k had the stripe ruined...buffed off, cracked, paint crazed....just not worth paying $7-8 grand to have the body redone.

good luck....stay the course, they're out there.

I have a good line on a 24k mile one...about $16,000 here in PHX
Nice car....in indoor storage now in SCTS AZ.

Edv92c4

@L-46 man...I PMed you

L-46man

Good luck with the search...contact Neil...you may just 'scoop one'.

UnkaHal

terry82

I went to the auction in auburn this year.there was two 1982 vettes there, the regular 1982 vette went for 18,000 and the ce 1982 vette was try ing to get 30,000 and did not sell.both were nice drivers.