Forum regulars know too well the frequency with which we get queried for Corvette C3 values. Corvette Magazine just published its Corvette Values 2022 and I found it most interesting that 1978 Pace Car values (with L82 & four-speed) now rival those of early C3s. Take a look...early vs. late models.

 

i take it the 268,000 value for 68 coupe in good condition is a typo?

 

$26,800 is about right.

 

Have you done any comparisons to the app, Corvette DNA, which has more options to establish a value.

 

It's a guide...there is no authoritative source. I'm only posting what CM published and my other goto source would be Hagerty...without having to research the methods each uses and how frequently each updates. I suspect Corvette DNA data is dated but I don't know that.

 

Thanks for posting!

 

Hagerty updates every 3 months.....last was the start of Oct.
Here's what they show for a L82 Pace Car. They have 4 levels...
#1 concours which no car is...$61,800.
#2 excellent....or what I'd call show ready for CM...$43,300. Hagerty adds $3,500 for a stick...so almost the same!
#3 good...$24,300.
#4 fair...$15,300.

 

Interesting, thanks for posting

So if I spend $5K to add tri-power carbs to my 427 I can sell it for $15K more... sounds like a good investment

 

 

No mention of 4 speed or auto, or original drive train.

 

You can never go by these magazine price guides,they are NEVER a representation of real world prices.

 

Whether or not the magazine prices are reliable, as a 32 year owner of a '78, I cannot understand why they are priced so low, and always seem to have been. Can't be numbers, as there are/were more '79s....
Academic to me in a way, as mine's nit for sale and, prices here in France are waaaay higher!😄

 

💯%

 

These price guides are never accurate and never reflect real world prices.

 

Indeed. Same deal with KBB or NADA. They are just guidelines, and do not reflect real world prices. I've been following real world prices on Corvettes (and other cars I'm interested in) since childhood, and that takes diligent work, as you have to regularly look at actual ads, and see what sells and what doesn't - what sells quickly, and what takes a long time, etc etc.

It's not an exact science, as the value of anything is really based on what someone is willing pay for it, and there are so many variables to consider in valuation. Sometimes there are flukes - cars that sell for much less than the perceived value, and some cases where people pay way more than something is worth. But that is across the board, and not limited to cars. Following the 'trends' allow you to easily spot the 'flukes'.

Over the years, I've seen both insignificant and vast swings in value (both up and down), and everything in between. I've seen slow-linear increases on some cars, and then BANG! - a huge upswing (over the course of a year or two), and I've seen the opposite.

In theory, cars are kind of like a more stable version of the equity market, and like stocks, a car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it - and values can be 'hyped' up or down. The swings aren't as volatile as the equity market - they generally happen over much longer periods of time (months or years) as opposed to hours or days for equities, but they do happen.

Follow the market using a variety of sources - BAT, Classified ads (auto trader, CL, etc) eBaY, etc etc. I even watch the Mecum and Barrett-Jackson auctions. Although auctions can be somewhat unpredictable - you know that when an original, one owner, low mileage, 63 split window coupe rolls up, it's gonna fetch a fairly large sum - it's just a question of how much exactly it sells for - That's where I've been seeing restomods going for crazy money the past few years - even more than their completely original/fully restored contemporaries, which boggles my mind, but it is true.

That same 63 coupe as a restomod may fetch double than if it was completely original. Bizarre, however, I believe that it will once again swing back to the originals being worth more some day. Restomods are the 'rage' right now, and like most trends, they have their hayday, and then recede into history.

Only dealers (and some private sellers) use these silly guides WHEN THEY ARE SELLING a car. Not so much for buying, ironically, unless in their favor. If they do, they'll just nitpick the car to death to lower the value. If you show a dealer any publication that shows values not in their favor, they just roll their eyes. There's always an excuse as to the particular car THEY are selling doesn't apply to those guides. I've seen this over and over again...

 

It's just a matter of opinion, for me as soon as the bubble back glass started, I lost interest. Some folks like them better, go figure.

 

Loaded #1 Pace Cars have always listed at strong numbers. That’s not news.

It doesn’t draw any of the majority of the later C3s to the early cars.

 

the best deal you will ever get is when you buy it