Is it tougher to sell a C3 than a C2? It seems like there is a lot more competition out there. Lots of #s matching cars too, are you all concerned about that as much as the C2 guys are, or are you more about just getting a nice, fun ride regardless?

What are the opinions here?

 

More of getting a fun ride for me. No tougher. I think getting a C3 is easier to get than a mid year vette.

 

Same guts, but better looking car, IMO....cheeper on parts as more of them too... spanning '68-82 instead just 63-67.....

prices are down across the board, remember that anyone wanting one of these cars because they remember them new is by now either got one or selling his....it's only been 30 years since the last one was made.....

I observed this happening with the old mid 30's Ford V8 coups, and convertibles....as a perfect resto, the bottom fell out about 20 years ago, because museums were full of them, and all the owner died off....

now you get one for a STEEL bodied hotrod....you still have a market, but not with that old flat head..../etc.....

same thing here, eventually....hey, I"m age 66....

 

Background: I've never owned a C2, and my last C3 was back in 1985. I am now 50 years old FWIW......and looking to buy a C3.

I think a C2 is a brutally tough sell today as opposed to a C3.....and that there are 3 reasons for this.....

1- The vendors perception that those cars are worth what they think they are.

2- The number of guys trying to unload their rolling retirement plans on the market.

3- The demographics of the owners......and prospective buyers, is much different than that of C3 folks.

I find C3's to be plentiful and not overpriced for the most part when compared to the C2.....as well as you have a buyer profile that still plans on driving them versus trying to sell their "investment".

It's a different mindset.....

 

I got into C3's ~ age 50. That was 14yrs ago. Ive got to much $ in it to sell at this time

 

Me too - bought at age 50 - can now afford to do some of the things I always wanted to do a car - Yeah, was a matching no's car, but no where near concours - have kept all the bits, haven't chopped or modded anything irreversably - just getting big cube fun from it while A, I am still able, B while I can still afford a tankful of UK gas, and C before we get legislated out of existance

 

so me being 22 i must be one of the younger guys owning and restoring my 76

 

I had a C2 (66 BB Vert).

Couldn't stand the looks of the C3's back when they were new....





Drove my C2 on the weekends, and my 66 VW Beetle to work and back during the week (worked at GM building at a Camaro & Firebird assembly pant)..


How the years have changed things....

 

I bought my 1976 for my 14 year old daughter and WE are restoring it.........it's never too early to start!
Here she is happy after we got her Vette engine to fire up (when we bought it, it was sitting in the back of a house for 10 years-untouched)

 

I bought my 80 with the hopes of getting my teenage son involved. It didn't work . But, he doesn't want me to sell it, so there might be some hope. Good luck with your project and how about posting some updates?

 

Thanks to Barret Jackson, people with numbers matching C2s, ESPECIALLY a big block, think they have a 60,000 dollar car.

Fact is, stuff is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it, no MATTER what you see on some nationally publicized auction, or read in some appraisal book.

I'd much rather have fun with my money pit, than treat it like a 401k. I have to believe that with that mindset, I'll get more value out of mine, over the years, than those who look at it like an investment. No offense meant to anyone with cars that have value. I drive a 76',

 

In the Wall Street Journal recently, there was an article on what people are doing with their fun money (if they had any left over that is).

Vehicle purchases were down 46% from previous levels, amongst the 65-74 age group......which is a good chunk of most of the C2 owners, or prospective owners left out there, in my uneducated opinion which is merely gauged from reading posts in the C2 section of the board where people reference their age directly, or you can surmise what it is from what they are saying.

The C2 is a demographic price bubble about to burst big time. And as is with all bubbles, a supply of product with firm and high asking prices precedes the crash.

The C3 market is full of middle aged guys with pocket money looking to have fun, and lots of cheaper product around. Ergo, an easier sell in general terms.

 

I believe the term C3 Market is kinda an oxymoron. Markets are for Civics and Taurus', because you can get one anywhere; the main differentiator is price. For our beloved Sharks, you got your originals, restored's, customs, bumper cars, etc - all over the map. If you are selling, you need to find the right buyer; if you are buying you need to find the right car and go from there. But overall, prices must have dropped just like everything else. And, in the old days, the SF Bay Area had 3 or 4 used Vette dealers (Park Performance among others), today I don't know of any. Just my 2 cents...

 

personally i dont believe its tougher to sell a C3. Supply and demand is what sets the market...as well as the economic times in which you buy....and sell.What Ive seemed to notice is that there are alot of C3s out there that are being modified....engines being replaced with crates.....suspensions being updated.....interiors being replaced with C4 and in some cases C5 interiors. although its all up to individual taste when it comes to this I do beleive that such cars will become tougher to sell as time goes on, while a mostly stock...good condition C3 could become tougher to find therefore the values of them could possibly increase. I recently purchased what I'll call a survivor 78 Silver Anniversary ...L82 auto....red leather...Pw..Pl...tilt /tele...c/c....a/c...255RWLs and an option that was popular in this era .....am/fm cb radio w/ power antenna...all intact and working well...its a 32000 legit car...#s maching and although its not perfect I am pleased with it and its performance and although I purchased it to drive and enjoy I do think that if the day comes to sell it...my investment of 10k will comeback...and perhaps more....

 

bump

 

I sense a lot of C3 bias and anti-C2 sentiment in the comments thus far. I would take this with a grain of salt since this was posted in a C3 forum!
I happen to own both - a 68 vert and a 63 SWC.
Both are beautiful.
Market is down about equal on both, proportionally of course.
I'm 46. The midyears don't appeal only to the 60 yr and up age groups. Pretty much ALL ages of "car guys" know and appreciate both cars, perhaps the 63 SWC a bit more.
While the market is down on both, it will revive with the economy, assuming our economy ever gets back on its feet.
Doesn't matter much to me since these cars are for my enjoyment. I drive 'em both regularly, do all my own restoration and maintenance, and even love to just look at 'em sitting in the garage.
If they hold value or make money over time, that's just gravy. Won't change a thing.

Fred

 

No anti C2 bias here. I used to own a 67 Convertible with a big block. IMO one of the best looking Vettes, clean lines. The down side for me was it felt a bit too open in the cockpit, interior styling was a bit outdated for my tastes. Something to be said for both generations. I like the feel of the C3 a bit more but prefer the exterior styling of the C2.
The 67 I owned really needed a body off restoration to get it tight again. No garage available at the time so I sold it and bought the 70 which I've owned for 27 years.

The C2s are classics, icons. Valued much higher than C3s in general. Maybe a reason for some resentment?

 

I like midyears a lot......and I'd buy one if they were priced right......but they're not, and the C2 market indicators are all saying one thing to me.........

I don't care if the C3 I eventually get goes up or down in value over time as I drive it......as I am buying it at a price point where am prepared to lose 50% of it's value should I be wrong. I think the C3 market will be flat or decline over the next decade.......and am not concerned about what happens after that.

I am not prepared to lose 50% of a C2 purchase over the next decade however, due to the current much higher cost of entry today.......which I think is a very likely occurance due to what I mentioned above........

FWIW it is also the reason why I won't buy a brand new C6 for $53-57K CAD.....it will lose 50% in 3 years........

To me a C2 or C3 have the same degree of cool factor.

 

I hate to say it but the C2s have a wow factor and MOST of the C3s all get lumped into the disco-vette pile. Investment wise? I wouldn't bother with either, go buy a good Chinese car company stock.

If I had to do it again, I would have bought a non-matching car for no other reason than I like driving it and will probably be buried in it. The thought of what it is worth and what the market is doesn't interest me anymore (it did 21 years ago, I was 26 years old when I bought my 1970 LS5 hence the BB matching #'s). But, I personally would still stick to the bumper cars no matter what. Chrome is cooooooool and very non-disco. No offense to you non-bumper car owners, I am not a hater.

The looks thing though used to be C2 all the way for me because they were retro when I was growing up and C3s were still new, but now I have really fallen in love with the shape of the Miura, GT40, Dino and the C3 really looks like it has the 1960s euro-trash shagadelic thing going on with the swoopy fenders long hood and gothic flying butress C pillars (like the new 599 GTB Fiorano) just really works for me now. Looking at a C3 next to a C2 at this point the choice is clear, the C3 looks like its purpose is speed, and the C2 is really a hodgepodge of random thoughts that happens to look great.

Maybe its my age, but the C2s tend to be driven by old guys (I'm 47 so I shouldn't talk) on sunday afternoon. I beat the crap out of my car, if something breaks I just call the AAA flatbed, I don't worry about price appreciation, making $10K or $20K in 20 years is not my idea of wealthbuilding, I worry about things like, 'I hope my motor mounts hold up, I don't want to fix that hood' or 'which u-joint will break next' instead of underhood stickers, cadmium plated bolts, correct paint marks on the springs or saving my old water pump to have it rebuilt so some geeky judge will not deduct a half point someday. F**k that. Coins are for collecting, not cars.

But, buy the oldest one you can afford.

And buy it to drive it.

 

Good post ^^^. And I 100% agree. I bought a numbers matching, base model SB car due to it's originality/history. After 3 years of that I was bored to death with it so I pulled the original motor, stuck it in the corner of my garage and slapped in a 650hp big block, vintage air and runs 10s. Still looks mostly stock though but now it's considered a "clone" so....it is hated by the purists..