Domobomb

The automatic is a deal breaker for me. The auto C4's had the weak D36 rear diff. Manuals (except the '84) had the way tougher D44 rear diff. That was my one stipulation buying a C4 - it better be a stick shift.

68Thunder427

Found a 2000 with 130,000 for $10K I am going to go look at tomorrow. It is an automatic but at least worth a look.

Phalanx_vette

C5 Auto is way better than the C4, but still takes the spirit of driving a corvette out of it.
My DD is a 2003 Mustang GT. In my search for a DD with a backseat (because kids), my only stipulation was decently quick and had to be a stick.
Even on the trip to work, nothing beats a rev match downshift into second through a corner in the middle of town.

lars

I have a C4 ('85) that I use as my daily driver. I run it 110 miles in Denver every day, regardless of conditions:





It now has 400,000 miles on it, with no major work: Engine and 700R4 have never been out of the car, and I've had no major problems. It still gets 24-26 mpg on the highway.

It's for sale for $1500.

$7K is a darned high price for a C4...

Lars

Shark Racer

Why would you even sell it? That's awesome...

I wonder how many 700R4s have lasted that long.

Original water pump? Belt tensioner? MAF burnoff relay?

Domobomb

That's great. I daily drive mine - but not in the winter; salted roads. I think I'll always daily drive C4s. Cheap as hell and great cars.

LS4 PILOT

I like the Z28 Camaro in your signature pic .......I have a second gen too.

Sorry to interrupt .....

Back to the C4

ConnecticutJunkman

I had an 86e. Passed it along to my little brother and he has been driving the crap out of it and restoring the interior and other systems. Its his only car and he is up to 150K now.

Its very reliable and fun to drive. The L98 is not a power house but it has great low end torque. Burnouts and donuts are no problem..and being a child of the 80's i cant really think of anything cooler then the Atari dash

dan1495

I've had six of them from 85's to a 95, most recently a 90 ZR1 that sold to buy my 72. They are fun cars that run forever but they have their shortcomings. Certain parts are getting harder to find as they dont have the repro support C3's do. The biggest drawback, in my opinion, is that the top is hard to remove and the car exhibits a LOT of flex with the roof panel removed. All that being said they are real bargains these days.

cv67

Ive had an 89 coupe and a 90 zr1
Key is to get a "good" one, well maintained, not a rattle trao that needs a "tune up" ($it down) or electrical that doesnt work. They are known for heating up like any vette. A sound one is a great driver on the cheap they handle good and get reasonabe mileage
The 90 on up had slower steerig and a slightly softer spring (most of them) and ride better. Earlier ones are buckboard stiff

Look in Los Angeles CL they are super cheap out here just dont ignore one rule of buying a C4,,,,a fixer will bankrupt you and turn you off to them. Hold outfor that cherry that soeone overmaintained they are out there

68Thunder427

I went and looked a 2 C5's yesterday and 1 today and dam they were ragged out. One of them had a "tune" and performance exhaust(sarcasm) and ran like chit. The second looked like the Tasmanian devil went through the interior electrical system. The third was a dealer buy back (lemon law) based on Carfax because of all the problems. Hard to believe how bad people treat a $50,000 dollar car. The C4 I looked at was in better shape than the C5's.

LS4 PILOT

That has pretty much been the way it's been with Corvettes even 40 years ago. While a few original owners pampered them . Even in the 70 s C1 and C2 s were ragged to death when they came on the lots.

People will get every ounce out of a Corvette , NEVER do any maintainence. Then the next person does the same , gets what good their is left and do no improvements. Cycle after cycle of the wrong type of people owning a corvette.

Then people wonder why the cars are falling apart in certain areas. Pure *** neglect. Not the cars fault , but the white trash that bought them used. Then find out they do need parts and then they can't afford to keep them up.... Sell it to,the next person who most likely does the same. So ....the cars don't get driven much , miles stay low ...owner after owner of people not wanting to spend the money or do,the work.

People would buy old corvettes back in the 70 and 80s and not spend a dime to,keep them up . When they needed a Vega or a Toyota instead.

Other words they could afford the purchase ,but not the maintainence required to keep one in correct order.

qwank

I would just look for an early C5 at this point.

solaris_vii

c4s are great, but definitely look 89 and up if youre looking for a manual, the zf6 is a fantastic transmission. i got an 89 because at the time i loved the digital dash, but now i think i wouldve preferred the newer interior. if youre getting an lt1, get a 95 up, it has the vented opti and is much less likely to have issues. keep hunting, there are some great deals out there, but 7k for that many miles is much too much!