C3 Purchase Decision
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 17
Likes: 2
From: North Carolina
C3 Purchase Decision
Hello All,
I am excited to have the opportunity to buy a C3 this week. I am thinking about purchasing a 1980 C3 Vette with 93k miles in red, with a candy red interior. I saw and drove it yesterday, and loved it, but wanted to ask this forum.
It is a red 1980 C3 with the base l-48 engine (according to the vin) with headers and seemingly new intake/carb. Also aftermarket stereo. It has 93k but it has some issues.
Known issues: (I know it is a 40+ year old car so these are expected but wanted to document)
-Leaks a bit of oil
-Brakes were spongy/didn't stop the car that well
-headlights won't go up/down
-Speedometer doesn't work
-Virginia owned, could see if there was rust on chassis, may have seen some surface corrosion? Is that something to worry about?
-Steering slightly loose
-Spots where clear coat peeling
Anything else to look for?
I loved driving it, especially with the headers. Windows worked. It was 1 hr away and didn't have time to complete a very thorough inspection but it seemed great, I want to maybe do a 383 stroker kit. He wants 9k, I was planning to offer 7, is that too low?
Thanks for your time and I would love to hear your thoughts. I am strongly considering purchasing it.
I am excited to have the opportunity to buy a C3 this week. I am thinking about purchasing a 1980 C3 Vette with 93k miles in red, with a candy red interior. I saw and drove it yesterday, and loved it, but wanted to ask this forum.
It is a red 1980 C3 with the base l-48 engine (according to the vin) with headers and seemingly new intake/carb. Also aftermarket stereo. It has 93k but it has some issues.
Known issues: (I know it is a 40+ year old car so these are expected but wanted to document)
-Leaks a bit of oil
-Brakes were spongy/didn't stop the car that well
-headlights won't go up/down
-Speedometer doesn't work
-Virginia owned, could see if there was rust on chassis, may have seen some surface corrosion? Is that something to worry about?
-Steering slightly loose
-Spots where clear coat peeling
Anything else to look for?
I loved driving it, especially with the headers. Windows worked. It was 1 hr away and didn't have time to complete a very thorough inspection but it seemed great, I want to maybe do a 383 stroker kit. He wants 9k, I was planning to offer 7, is that too low?
Thanks for your time and I would love to hear your thoughts. I am strongly considering purchasing it.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2007
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From: Indiana
2025 c3 ('68-'73) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
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2024 C1 of the Year Winner - Modified
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2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
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If you can live with the paint, 7k might be ok. If your budget will allow, you might want to look for a finished car. New paint will be very expensive. Good luck, no matter what you decide.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 805
Likes: 260
Hello All,
I am excited to have the opportunity to buy a C3 this week. I am thinking about purchasing a 1980 C3 Vette with 93k miles in red, with a candy red interior. I saw and drove it yesterday, and loved it, but wanted to ask this forum.
It is a red 1980 C3 with the base l-48 engine (according to the vin) with headers and seemingly new intake/carb. Also aftermarket stereo. It has 93k but it has some issues.
Known issues: (I know it is a 40+ year old car so these are expected but wanted to document)
-Leaks a bit of oil
-Brakes were spongy/didn't stop the car that well
-headlights won't go up/down
-Speedometer doesn't work
-Virginia owned, could see if there was rust on chassis, may have seen some surface corrosion? Is that something to worry about?
-Steering slightly loose
-Spots where clear coat peeling
Anything else to look for?
I loved driving it, especially with the headers. Windows worked. It was 1 hr away and didn't have time to complete a very thorough inspection but it seemed great, I want to maybe do a 383 stroker kit. He wants 9k, I was planning to offer 7, is that too low?
Thanks for your time and I would love to hear your thoughts. I am strongly considering purchasing it.
I am excited to have the opportunity to buy a C3 this week. I am thinking about purchasing a 1980 C3 Vette with 93k miles in red, with a candy red interior. I saw and drove it yesterday, and loved it, but wanted to ask this forum.
It is a red 1980 C3 with the base l-48 engine (according to the vin) with headers and seemingly new intake/carb. Also aftermarket stereo. It has 93k but it has some issues.
Known issues: (I know it is a 40+ year old car so these are expected but wanted to document)
-Leaks a bit of oil
-Brakes were spongy/didn't stop the car that well
-headlights won't go up/down
-Speedometer doesn't work
-Virginia owned, could see if there was rust on chassis, may have seen some surface corrosion? Is that something to worry about?
-Steering slightly loose
-Spots where clear coat peeling
Anything else to look for?
I loved driving it, especially with the headers. Windows worked. It was 1 hr away and didn't have time to complete a very thorough inspection but it seemed great, I want to maybe do a 383 stroker kit. He wants 9k, I was planning to offer 7, is that too low?
Thanks for your time and I would love to hear your thoughts. I am strongly considering purchasing it.
Advanced
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 58
Likes: 39
I'll repeat what Geralds57 touched on above^^. Paint and body is the single most expensive component of collector cars today unless you can do it all yourself, but even then materials have gone through the roof the past few years. If you are certain you can live with the peeling clear coat long term then offer what the car is worth to you. (If it is indeed peeling clear coat then the car has obviously been re-painted already. I believe 1982 Vette's were the first factory clear coated cars) If you feel the paint will begin to bother you in months/years, then you are much better served finding a similar car with a nice paint job, even if it's $5-10k more. You'll be money ahead in the long run.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 17
Likes: 2
From: North Carolina
Thank you all for your advice on this purchase! These are some good things I had not thought about, specifically the paint. They were small patches in the rear/ two in the hood and to be honest I am not too concerned with the overall look of the car as long as it is not mostly eroding away, I can definitely live with the spots present. If I wanted to fix these spots would it be worth taking to a paint center or trying to DIY? My last car had a peeling clear coat on the trunk and I just left it. Thank you for your opinions.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 805
Likes: 260
Hello All,
I am excited to have the opportunity to buy a C3 this week. I am thinking about purchasing a 1980 C3 Vette with 93k miles in red, with a candy red interior. I saw and drove it yesterday, and loved it, but wanted to ask this forum.
It is a red 1980 C3 with the base l-48 engine (according to the vin) with headers and seemingly new intake/carb. Also aftermarket stereo. It has 93k but it has some issues.
Known issues: (I know it is a 40+ year old car so these are expected but wanted to document)
-Leaks a bit of oil
-Brakes were spongy/didn't stop the car that well
-headlights won't go up/down
-Speedometer doesn't work
-Virginia owned, could see if there was rust on chassis, may have seen some surface corrosion? Is that something to worry about?
-Steering slightly loose
-Spots where clear coat peeling
Anything else to look for?
I loved driving it, especially with the headers. Windows worked. It was 1 hr away and didn't have time to complete a very thorough inspection but it seemed great, I want to maybe do a 383 stroker kit. He wants 9k, I was planning to offer 7, is that too low?
Thanks for your time and I would love to hear your thoughts. I am strongly considering purchasing it.
I am excited to have the opportunity to buy a C3 this week. I am thinking about purchasing a 1980 C3 Vette with 93k miles in red, with a candy red interior. I saw and drove it yesterday, and loved it, but wanted to ask this forum.
It is a red 1980 C3 with the base l-48 engine (according to the vin) with headers and seemingly new intake/carb. Also aftermarket stereo. It has 93k but it has some issues.
Known issues: (I know it is a 40+ year old car so these are expected but wanted to document)
-Leaks a bit of oil
-Brakes were spongy/didn't stop the car that well
-headlights won't go up/down
-Speedometer doesn't work
-Virginia owned, could see if there was rust on chassis, may have seen some surface corrosion? Is that something to worry about?
-Steering slightly loose
-Spots where clear coat peeling
Anything else to look for?
I loved driving it, especially with the headers. Windows worked. It was 1 hr away and didn't have time to complete a very thorough inspection but it seemed great, I want to maybe do a 383 stroker kit. He wants 9k, I was planning to offer 7, is that too low?
Thanks for your time and I would love to hear your thoughts. I am strongly considering purchasing it.
Thank you all for your advice on this purchase! These are some good things I had not thought about, specifically the paint. They were small patches in the rear/ two in the hood and to be honest I am not too concerned with the overall look of the car as long as it is not mostly eroding away, I can definitely live with the spots present. If I wanted to fix these spots would it be worth taking to a paint center or trying to DIY? My last car had a peeling clear coat on the trunk and I just left it. Thank you for your opinions.
