MRANT212

Big2Bird

I find that craze interesting. When they were new, dealers couldn't give them away. Now, big $$$$

Currie was up the street from the gas station where I worked in HS. The head dude at Currie drove one in. We teased him about the clown car. He got pissed and layed rubber down Ball Road as far as we could see. Lol

F22

I always had thoughts about the C2 vs C3 market. The C2 production only ran five years versus fifteen for the C3. Having worked on C2's, the dash was pretty simple and easy, compared to the C3 and another plus, was the battery was located in the engine compartment, versus behind the seat. I think for just the production difference, you'll always see C2's sell at a pretty good premium over most C3's. As some have mentioned, there's no money to be made, owning one of these, unless you are a pro at wheeling, dealing and getting bang for your buck. I've easily got double what mine, would ever be worth, but that's not the point of owning it, is it?

DKM-106

I think the rare, desirable option cars will still find buyers but as we just witnessed with the two black 69 l88 cars, even those prices are down. The truth is the midyear market seems really soft to me. There are a lot of restored cars that have been sitting on the market for a long time. It is about supply and demand. More cars than buyers and the market for classic cars drops. Also, the next generation just isn't into the 60's cars and when there is no one to pass these cars down to they just end up on the market. I think we are heading for bigger drops over the coming years, all the reason to get your c2 and c3's out and enjoy them........

Iceaxe

It's easy to make a small fortune buying and restoring C3 Corvettes, just start with a large fortune.

derekderek

Next thing you know a Civic hatchback with a coffee can exhaust tip will be worth 25k...

Richard454

These are close to $25k.....
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-honda-civic-13/





https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-honda-civic-11/

M4A3E2

Personally, I prefer driving my unrestored car over a restomod, as a 16yr-old.

That said, yeah, the C3 market seems to be a little soft/volatile atm.

Doug1

Rusted40

People like and enjoy cars for different reasons.
Investmant grade cars are just that, an investment. Not to say they cant be enjoyed.
I appreciate the preservation of things to inspire the kids and maybe make them more appreciative of what they have.

I also love scorching tires and the connected to the road feel the older cars have.
So do many others as indicated by the strong prices of restomods and clones.

FAUEE

As a younger guy, heres my take.

People in my generation have no attachment to the cars by and large. We may find them cool looking, but they're not relevant to our worlds. They were out of production years before we were even born. People will buy cars because they look cool, but not for big money. Then factor in that many c3 lack things that are beyond a minimum expectation to us (power steering, brakes, windows, a/c... not having these is unfathomable to us even on hoopties). Most people in my age group dont even know wtf a carb is, let alone are willing to deal with the complications of one.

I think all the guys who had attachments to them spent the money to lovingly restore them. They spent a lot on them, but the reality is the people who will buy them now dont place the same value into them as what was spent.

Older muscle cars like this will all go down.

F22

This ^^^.
That sums it up, really well and thanks for your honesty. You're absolutely right. While it may sound weird, there's actually a deep personal connection that I have, with my C3, because I've had my hands on every inch of that car. There is no fly by wire cable to a throttle body, instead a steel cable connects directly to the butterflies that let the air into the intake. No hydraulic clutch, but a z-bar piece of pipe and your foot is connected right to the pressure plate. It is primitive, it can be a pain in the ***, you might have to teach yourself something new to deal with whatever it dishes out, but you'll never be more intimate with a mechanical object, than that feeling of love, yep, love that emanates from it. You can feel it, you know it. You love her and she loves you back and she's got a personality to boot. In fact, I don't even like anyone else in that car, when I'm driving it and rowing the gears on a Borg Warner Super T10 on a warm summer night. You'll never get that in a newer car.

Al.

M4A3E2

I say give it a few years. A lot of up-and-coming enthusiasts, who simply can't afford a C3 (or anything more than a miata) at the moment show a lot of interest in these muscle cars, just for the longest time they've been inaccessible. Are these cars going to remain as time capsules, a remnant of the era they were from? Likely not. There's still going to be purists out there who never experienced cars in their era, but still wants to know what that's like to really drive a car that thrashes you as hard as you thrash it.

Sure, my generation and the past two prior have no real attachment, but there's still respect, and for some, a classic like this, even with the lacking of features that to some is unreasonable, there's just this appeal, allure that makes it more desirable than anything else.

Jebbysan

25k for a super clean 350/200 72' is not a stretch at all.......IF it is a 4 speed......Autos do not bring near as much.
When I was shopping for mine in 2015....there was a LOT of junk out there.....I mean JUNK! Stuff that looked ok but had signs of being boogered.
Cars that sit all wrong....bad gaps, questionable mods....etc.....I shopped from 15k to 25k and settled on a 19k car that needed an engine.
C3's are skill level 10 to restore.....and many can't get a skill level 5 car right.....you see a LOT of this in the community.........
The cars that are solid and out there are worth the 20-30k they ask.........then you jump to the NCRS stuff and the Super Rare big block cars......
The market is holding steady....but it remains to be seen what will happen........I for one am not holding my breath, but the Millennial thing is a bit of a farce as there are a whole generation of X'ers whose parents owned these when they were new.....like mine!!!

Jebby

joewill

corvettes are hard to work on, hard to paint, very low quality replacement parts. but beats some of the other classic cars out there that do not have parts available on the market.
cars are not necessarily overpriced if the seller has time to wait for that special buyer.
I have sold junk for a high price in 2 weeks, and I have sold really nice, high price, in 2 years, waiting for that one buyer.
just sit back and wait.

Stev-o

Check eBay for sold listing for a pulse on the market. Here is a snapshot priced from $5900 - $37K, and every price in between.

I think the market is there for good cars.


https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...ete=1&_fosrp=1

jrs 427

68-75 convertibles are always in demand . Prices have to be less than 25k for a nice example , 14-19 k for the soft bumper versions. There will always be flippers trying to make a buck at the higher limits. Most owners who have had custody for years don't expect gold in return. I purchased a full option 75 convertible four years ago ( 42k original owner ) for the asking value of $6500.00 At least two other buyers passed offering thousands less. Its our summer driver with a base engine and automatic. Friends borrow it for a sunny day drive. I don't mind because it is not the Mona Lisa in the event it is scratched or damaged. Looked at many coupes in the 5-7k range but held out for a convertible . Too many put a fifteen thousand paint job on a ten thousand dollar car, wash the engine, and call it rare. I see them in the ads all the time.

joewill

selling prices are usually very nebulous. one does not know where the data comes from. Sure, you see auction end prices, but so many sales are without a public knowledge of what it sold for.
some buyers have thousands in acquisition cost, skewing the price they will pay.. buyers are afraid to talk to sellers, take test drives, discuss history, then settle for buying without full due diligence.
rusty and needing paint, and varying degrees on non-originality are value killers, and that is exactly what is wrong with the low priced ones..

EBAY is nothing but what a buyer will pay for a car sight unseen and with little or no discussion with the seller. they want to email or text their way through the transaction.

pltmgr

Hagertys show both coupe and convertible 72 base engine, for example, holding steady over the past two years. I believe part of the challenge of determining classic corvette pricing is due to small number of sales. Blue Book has an easy time determining the value of a 2016 F150. When I look at C3 prices I don't see much softness but I'm looking at asking not selling prices.