Ok, I know this is a touchy subject, always has been, so let's try to stay objective here.

I was motivated to make this post based on this thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...59&forum_id=54

Instead of further hijacking his thread, I thought I would start a new one here.

I've been looking for a C4 for about two months now, and I constantly see these kinds of discussions about price. C4 sellers are very frustrated right now. C4's are selling slowly and for rock bottom money. Here's my opinion on why. (and we all know about opinions! )

There is a No Win situation going on, people who know and appreciate these cars know what prices they are selling for and are going to take the time to find the best deal. People who don't know these cars just see a middle-aged vette that they want to afford, and are going to find the lowest price.

A person who is going to go to the length's that we do to maintain and care for these vehicles is going to do their homework when looking for a new (to them) vehicle. I've gone so far as to create a spreadsheet with every car I find that interests me so that I can compare them, by year, color, mileage, and price.

Also, since we are "hands-on" owners, we understand the concept of sweat equity. We are willing to take a car that has a few problems and put in the elbow grease necessary to bring it up to snuff. Of course, we expect to pay less for this vehicle.

I am looking at two cars right now, same year, same model, same options, basically identical cars except for color. One has 30,000 miles the other 40,000. The 30,000 mile car has no problems, everything works, paint is perfect, etc. The 40,000 mile car has busted lumbar, paint problems, blown speaker, etc. The owner of the 30,000 mile car wants $20k, the owner of the 40,000 mile car wants $26k. Which would you chose? Both cars are fanatically maintained by enthusist owners. The 40,000 mile car owner is very frustrated that he can't sell his car.

So , what does that mean? The market sets the price, and you need to be aware of the market when pricing your vehicle for sale. I always see comments in the For Sale thread about how I wish I hadn't bought this or that so I could by this car at your price. That's a very easy thing to say when you know you aren't going to have to pony up the money. I bet you those same people worked long and hard to find the best deal they could on their car, and would never pay for a car that they felt was priced well above market, no matter how nice it was.

Let's face it, for the vast majority of us on this forum, this is a hobby, and hobbies cost money. Even if your vette is your daily driver, just the fact that you are a member of this forum shows that you have more interest in your car than the average owner. A few years ago I bought my first vette, as a hobby car. I paid $38,000 for it. After about a year and 1/2 I lost interest and sold it for $27,000. I wasn't upset, I sold the car to another forum member who was just as excited about getting his first vette as I was when I got mine. The $9000.00 I "lost" I chalked up to the cost of the hobby.

There's so much more I could say on this subject, but I think I've gone on long enough. Let the discussion begin!

Respectfully,

Rick L.

 

Do me a favor, buy a vette every 6 months, get tired of it...
then sell it to me

DC

 

Buy the 30k mile car. You'll be far ahead in the long run in terms of $ flushed, and you'll be able to spend more time driving the car, and less time wrenching on it.

Re: Current C4 prices -- Corvettes seem to have a rather unique depreciation curve. As they age, they tend to eventually level out in price, and eventually begin to climb again. Of course this presumes that the car is desirable to start with (not some dogged-out POS). I suspect that the early C4s are now at, or near, the bottom of the curve. The later C4s, such as my '94 ragtop, probably still have some depreciation in their futures.

The C3s are beginning to climb again (especially the chrome-bumper sharks). I expect the C4s will eventually do so as well, but only time will tell. Just remember that a Corvette is NOT an investment in anything more than FUN! If you want a return of more than fun, invest your $ in a good stock mutual fund.

Be well,

SJW

 

I'll sell you a 43,000 mile '95 convertible for several thousand less than that...

 

very very well put.......c4s rock at any price

 

 

Heh... well, I'm one of those new C4 owners that got mine at a rock bottom price. My car has 83k miles on it (bought 2 weeks ago) and has a few minor issues... simply put, I've had to put around $1000 to get it just to get it capable of serving as a daily driver (new intake manifold gasket because of an oil leak, new bellows since the previous owner tore the stock one, new fan motors since the fan motors were blown, and a new battery since the car was sitting for a while and the battery died... then of course the typical stuff like oil change, sparkplugs/wires, fuel filter, etc).

Still needs some new weather stripping, new headlights (current ones are too dim for my liking), and a few other things. Plus it is apparent to me that the previous owner didn't know what "waxing a car" is, didn't care if he got dings and nicks in the paint, etc.

But I only paid $9k to begin with, so I was prepared to put a couple thousand into it to get it the way I want...

Point is, I could care less if the care depreciates even more... I love driving it and will love driving it even more after I get all the small things fixed that are on my list. I don't care if I can't sell it for more money than I bought it for, the enjoyment factor is well worth it.

 

I'll make sure I hang onto your screen name. If I do buy a car and decide it's not what I want, I'll sell it at the current market value, or maybe a few thousand below if I want a quick sale. That's my point.

The market on the car I sold for $27,000 was about $30,000. I wanted a quick sale so I could use the cash to remodel my pool. I listed the car at $28,500. Got an offer at $27,500. The buyer had the car checked out at a dealership and they found a diff leak. The guy was quoted $900.00 to get it fixed, so I came down another $500.00. The buyer got his car, I got my cash and everybody was happy.

 

But that's just it: in your first description you describe two completely equal cars. They're not. The only things they have in common are, per you, the same options.

Different price, different mileage, and the big one, even a different definition of what you call, "fanatically maintained". AND that results in, different condition at the end of the day, and therefore a different value, real or perceived, or both.

I don't have answers, but that's why a verbal or written description is only just so good. Every item that's considered important needs to be checked, not just for whether it's working, but against whatever is the buyer and seller's definition of "fanatically maintained".

For instance, to one person a dirty carpet indicates minor maintenance and nothing to be worried about. To another, it's a sign of something more such as slovenliness, possible other neglected items, etc. And this second person may attach a dollar figure in their mind to this one, small item, and it could be out of proportion to what it is, a dirty carpet.

On a lighter note, I'm with paperclerk, tho. So, what car can I buy from you?

 

mine is for sale for $16,000 on cars.com

 

Very well put

 

Hobbie or not I don't have $9 large that I can loose in 6 months.

Wouldn't mind making it though.

I'm 37 and have been in love with them from the time I was 4. Father was a Chevy dealer, first one I sat in.

D

 

Let me give you what happened when I started to look for my first vette last month. The wife said go on buying a vette for my 49th birhtday and then got mad that I found what I wanted too fast. Anyway my limit was set at $10k by my wife but I was looking at up to $15k. I wanted a 92 LT1 at the oldest, unless I could get a 66-67 427 at $10k and she said it had to be blue, everything I have is blue, and an automatic so she could drive it (wouldn't you know I couldn't find any automatics ) Anyway I found four cars that met my needs, all under $11k, one in Baltimore (where my office is located), one in northern NJ, one in Houston (where I go regularly), and one in West Plam Beach (not too far from my dad who has owned three vettes). All were blue, all claimed to be in perfect condition some where autos, some manuals, some had more options and the one in NJ had ZR1 wheels.
I talked to the guy in West Palm First and said that my dad who is retired could go down any day to look at it and if he said it was a go I would be down that week end to get it. After not answering a bunch of e-mails and phone calls he finally e-mailed me a week and a half later (he had excuses but they where as far as I'm concerned excuses) and by then I had written him off.
The next week I was scheduled for Baltimore and I e-mailed the contact that I would be flying in monday and wanted to set up a test drive monday evening. It turned out the owner had his 15 year old daughter post the ad and she freaked out saying she couldn't set it up that fast and I was moving too fast and being, well, 15 years old. I did get the test drive set up and I'll tell you it was a POS. Note to people selling cars, clean them before someone looks at them, get the trash out.
I e-mailed the guy in Houston as I would be there on buisness the week after Baltimore and would like to drive his car. From photos and description I could tell his car was not the cream puff as in the ad.
I called the guy in Jersey and said I'd like to drive up from Baltimore on tuesday, did so, test drove the car, thought that it was a fair deal, and we agreed I'd get a cashiers check and I'd come back up the next day, buy it and drive it home to Charlotte. I did try to talk him down a couple hundred but it was my "can I get a better deal" haggling gene and I gave him full asking price in the end. It has $3000 worth of ZR1 wheels and GY F1 GSD3's on it!
That's what I did, deal went good. Was the car perfect, no, nothing is, was it worth $10k, in a heartbeat. A lot of the things that need fixing are small like cleaning seat switches, some need parts, both lumbar pumps, some are expensive but can wait, seaping oil from the front of the intake manifold, and then there's a misterious coolant leak that I can't be sure where it's coming from and sometimes leaks a drop a night and sometimes nothing, anyway. I got what I wanted, da**ed it's a 6 speed, and I assume he's happy he got full asking price.

 

i paid 9100 for my 94 with 109k on it.

 

This is exactly what I am seeing...