I have been thinking about getting my first Corvette. I have been looking for a mid 70's since it was my dream car as a teenager and I've always wanted one. The responses to my last post have me baffled! Everyone is telling me what pieces of crap Corvettes are! I expect that on the Mustang board but not here. You guys have me thinking that I should forget the whole thing. As far as prices go you guys are telling me I could buy mid 70's vettes for 4-5000 and no Vette of that era is worth much more. Am I looking in the wrong places for a car? I have been checking collector car trader, Corvette trader, buy-a-vette, cars-on-line and others and I do not see any running cars for that price. Everything in the 7-9000 range says needs paint and interior. Just about every nice one is over 10,000. Where are these cars you guys are referring to? If its true you could buy great drivers in the 4-5000 range then someone please deliver me two and I will pay cash for them. Do you guys really hate your C-3's? :confused: :confused: :confused:

 

Not that we hate our cars, it just gets frustrating when you are always working on the thing. Many people will ask for more then $10,000 for a car, but you should be able to talk the person down to $7,000 US.

 

Mid 70s Corvette's are nice cars for that era. People often mistake "the value of their car" with "cost of ownership".

Mid 70s vettes have a market value of around $5k to $9k. This is just a rule of thumb as there are always exceptions.

This group loves Corvettes. You caught a few comments on your last post that are not too common around here.

 

:iagree: We all rant a rave about our cars because we are always fixing things, just like you would with any other kind of car this age. We all really love our vettes though and the fact that we spend so much time here complaining about it only supports that fact.

The asking price and the selling price are two different things. If I ever sell my vette I will start out at a really high price and make someone talk me down. That ensures two things:

1. You will most likely get the most for your car.
2. You will not be bothered by morons who really dont have the money and want to make monthly payments to you because their credit is so bad no banks will give them a loan.


:cheers:

 

Thats good advise :cheers:

 

What I found in looking for my car is this:
If it says 'Corvette' the owner thinks it's worth at least $8500. There is soem real crap out there that is overpriced because people think a Corvette is worth it. On the other hand there are some real bargains (i.e. fairly priced) cars that are in decent shape and appropriately priced. You can either find one of those higher priced cars and offer s reasonable amount for it...then call the owner back in a couple months and offer it again after he realises he can't sell it for what he thought he could. Or you can keep looking and find the car you want at a reasonable price.

You'll find it. Don't get discouraged, either. And whatever you do, don't get emotionally attached to any of the cars you look at. That's a sure way to pay more than you should. :yesnod:

 

I love my car but realistically you have to understand that when non-corvette owners think about corvettes all the imagine is the price tag associated with a C1 or C2 or even the new ones. The harsh part is that the 70's vintage vettes have not gained the value of the older ones YET. The reality however is that there are peices of junk and there are pristine examples of any car...even 70's vettes. Some people ask $15K for a '74 - '82 that is more than a fair price because the car is immaculate and then there the buttheads that think just because they have a "corvette" that they can ask the same (or more) for a rusted out, piece of garbage.

If corvettes are truly your dream car then you should not get discouraged...keep looking. :thumbs:

 

Finding that car that is all you ever wanted is half the fun of the search. Keep looking around, you'll find it. Be sure you know what to look for once you do, there are some $5,000.00 cars that are ready to drive and do nothing with, and there are some that will need a frame-off resto because the body has collapsed through the mounts and is now resting squarely on the frame. Both the above cars could look the same and be totally clean. I built mine from the ground up as it was a "basket case" but that's the way I wanted to do it, and now I know everything is good and nothing needs to be done over. Things have a tendancy to wear out on a 30 year old car and they do need constant attention or (like in my case) a total rebuild. I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for the love of Corvettes. Someday I might think about selling it and getting another, maybe a chrome bumper year. Vettes are not alone with these aging problems, you could get a Camaro, or a Mustang, or even a Charger and they will all have similar problems from age. Keep watching the internet ads, also get to one of the bigger Vette shows where there are auctions, sometimes there are real good deals. Watch the vettes for sale on this web site. Most of those magazines you mentioned seem to be way over-priced, but often if you can talk to the owners things might start to happen. Hemmings Motor News is another good example.

 

when looking for mine i ran into the same thing...
people kept saying that they could be bought for 5k-7k all day long...
the trouble is that every one of those cars that i looked at sucked!
they needed everything!
i wanted a car that didnt need all of that...i wanted a nice one and buying one of "those" meant that i would be putting more money, time and work into it to bring it up to my standards...
so...i bit the bullet and paid the price...
i found a beautiful one and paid $12,500 and have not regreted it...
i have a really nice vette without the extra work and time...
now dont get me wrong...i HAVE put a lot of time, work and money into it, but it was for choice, NOT need...
i now have $20,000 into a car that i will probably never retrieve but i dont care because i plan on keeping this car a long time...i have NO INTENTION of selling this car for at least 10 years and by then i will have gotten my moneys worth from shear enjoyment of ownership...
i was one of those guys that said "i wish i never would have sold my 1st vette"...this is my second one and it has found a home...
BTW...my 1st vette was a 68 vert that i bought in 75 with 35k original miles on it for $3500...man do i ever regrete selling that car! :)
bottom line...
i looked for 5 months and found many in the 5k-7k range but i would not have wanted any of them...


[Modified by SIGNGUY, 8:08 AM 8/13/2003]

 

:confused: First off, welcome to the forum. Second, who's "everyone"? As you've read in the previous post we do have rants about things that go wrong on our cars. We have to remember that we drive 30 year automobiles with old technology. Things go wrong, things break. All I'll add about finding a cheaper car, you get what you pay for. Be wary of deals that say: "rare", "numbers matching", "no rust", "complete restoration" etc. Check them out and offer what you fell they are worth. They are only worth what the buyer will pay. Good luck in your search! :seeya

 

They are great well designed sports cars.
The issue w/ the 76 in your topic was the price.
Condition is a large part. In general you want to buy in best condition. Very reliable in good condition. Different guys have different abilities & levels of knowledge.
Very happy w/ mine. HP, etc. is no problem for me.

:cool:

 

:iagree: Also, no matter what you pay for the car your going to end up putting more money into it, again its 30 odd years old. I wasn't trying to disillusion you about getting a 'Vette, I just wanted to make sure I was being as straight forward and honest as possible. I wouldn't want someone to buy one of there cars under false pretences. These cars do have quality issues, brand new they squeeked, but thats now just another thing you either learn to live with, or spend hours trying to fix. One thing is for sure though, there are few cars on the road that have the same appeal as a C3 Shark. :cool: Good luck in your search.

 

Go to http://www.cars.com
Choose "82 and older vehicles"
Select Chevrolet Corvette years '74 - '82
Enter you ZIP and "Search within" All

There are currently 247 cars within this search. About half of them are below $10k "asking" price. This also shows when the ad was placed, so you have the advantage of knowing how long the car has gone unsold.

Good luck, and be patient

 

:iagree:

I have a 76 that is slowly getting into really good shape. It was nice when I bought it but there are so many :banghead: little things that can and WILL and DID go wrong. I paid $6K for it and this weekend I think I will hit close to the $13.5K mark invested including original purchase price. Is it worth that much in today's market? No Way! :cry Am I going to sell it? NO! It is a labor of blood, sweat, tears, dedication, and unfortunately - $$$.

Like most have said or alluded to - there are cars out there in perfect condition in that $5-$8K range but you have to look for them. Are they going to be the award winners with the gleaming 400 HP motors? Probably not. There is a 76 on ebay right now in orig condition I think going for $5.5K. Now after buying a 76 as my first Corvette, probably wouldn't buy another because of its' lower HP and it is NOT one of the cars you will see at Southeby's on the block, but it is still a Corvette and the styling and persona it exudes has no match.

OK - I'm babbling but just remember, we may knock our cars down because of the time, effort, blood, tears, $$$, and whatever we put in them, but take a look at our faces when they are running and we are out on the road. :) :steering: :)

Get your Vette - "They're out there!" - The Truth Will Set You Free!

STW :seeya
Robert
76Stinger