stsears1

I have C5, but a buddy is looking at buying a C4 and I dont know a whole lot about them. What kinds of things should he look for and ask about the car to get an idea about the condition? I dont know the mileage yet, have only seen a couple out of focus pictures. It is a 1988 Coupe, White, automatic, 35th Anniversary Edition with the matching white rims. New interior...also, what is a median price range for this car if it is in good condition?

Thanks in advance...

Sean

jrp

Most things to look for I think would be the same as most other cars. I'll give you a "ttt" by listing a few of the things I overlooked when buying mine. All of them I discovered only after living with the car a while and are a result of being a little shy about poking and prodding on another guy's car. Luckily, none of them keep it from being a great car.

- Carpet is worn under the clutch pedal. It's way under the dash and the rest looks fine.

- Be sure to look at all of the service records. I saw a nice pile of reciepts, but only after I organized them into a notebook did I see that there is some history missing from the 1st owner and that the 2nd ran the car into a curb.

- "Never driven in rain" doesn't mean squat. Check the inside of the frame's "C" section. The way that dirt and gravel are caked in there on mine suggests that it was a daily driver for at least the first owner. Neither of the PO's were very good about cleaning the undercarriage.

- Check the weatherstrip more carfully than I did. It can look good, but you'll need to play with it some to make any small cracks show up. I fixed mine with black RTV and the rest has held up well.

- Check the rocker panels to see how bad the road rash is. Probably unavoidable, but mine are a bit more rough than I'd like. It's another one of those things that are "under there" and I didn't notice until the first waxing.

GKK

Most common problems on C4's are:

1) rear intake manifold leak.

2) water leaks if the windshield has ever been replaced.

3) Bose stereo not working or making noises.

4) digital dash lights partially out or missing segments.

5) headlight motors not fully opening or closing.

There are a few more but, these are the most common for the earlier C4's. Also, an "88" Corvette with around 80,000 miles or so should be around $8500 for a clean decent one. Any C4 under this price range would usually require a lot of refurbishing. Always buy the latest Vette you can afford.

Also, find out what the owner means by "New Interior", or does that just mean new seat covers and carpet.

Basically, the Vette should look clean on the inside and out. The engine should also, look clean, not greasy and full of leaves. If the overall appearance is dirty and not well kept then that usually tells you how well the owner maintained it. I would walk away. There are a lot of nice Vettes out there, have your friend take his time.

AORoads

Seriously, have your friend join up and ask questions. There is a wealth of info here, in the archives, up on top, and in the minds of the owners. Either your friend knows a lot, or he's gonna make a serious and costly mistake. We ARE talking about an 18 year old car, right? Lots of time for mistakes, and mistakes to be covered up. No research on his/her part, means dumb luck. Or not.

5speedC4

Stay Away From The 4+3 Manual Transmission In 84 Through 88 Cars.

Mallett Z

we bought ours with bad rear wheel bearings. i hear that is a common problem. on both front and back.

tequilaboy

Here's a brief list:

Find out was has been modified.
Check the exhaust, look for bent or crumpled pipes, cats/mufflers
Look for cracks in the paint, could be cracked panels.
Make sure both windows go all the way down and back up again.
Measure the ride height on all 4 corners and compare.
Check the rear wheels closely for an inboard/outboard offset Can be off as much as 1".
Check the glass, and top condition. glass is very expensive on these cars.
Check the side window fit to the weatherstipping.
Have seller remove and reinstall top panel.

80sRule

I say that I installed a new interior in my 1998 Camry LE. I pulled every door panel, and cleaned every piece of plastic in the car. I replaced the carpet, installed new seat covers, and I painted the seat frames. I also created new trunk panels and recarpeted the trunk.

That's what I'd consider a new interior.

GT6

Alzado77

Personally I looked for something I could afford that had potential but if you have more money then I did here are some things I found wrong with mine.

2 bad rear wheel bearings, 1 bad front wheel bearing

weather stripping leaked everywhere
tires didn't match and the rubber was cracking from being old

one rear wheel sticks out farther then the other (not centered, I've come to the conclusion it is the body that is put on crooked, not the frame.

cruise control didn't work and the heater only blew out of the defroster vent. This was due to a vacuum hose that was disconnected.

Bose radio was complete garbage and had to have the entire system replaced.

Drive seat had hole on bolster near door.

Emergency brake didn't work correctly

Rubber seals were missing on the front wheel well to hood seal

Fiberglass on floor pans was seriously damaged due to being jacked up improperly which is a common problem

All four shocks were empty and needed replaced

Tachometer is not accurate and reads much higher then it should

One fog light was out which was tricky to replace

rubber bushings on rear suspension had to be replaced with polyurethane bushings due to dry rot and worn out

All this being said I've fixed all of the above and much more. Wouldn't trade it for anything and love it!

Greg Gore

Operate everything and note what does and does not work. It is a common mistake to underestimate what fixing a bunch of little stuff will cost. One of the power seats not working in all directions usually means a new seat track for $400 for just the part. While you are checking that feel under the seats to see if the carpet is wet. If so you are looking at $500 worth of weatherstrips. More if you buy genuine GM, replace them all which is the best bet. They're great cars but they are also babies. Oh, one more thing...do not let your emotions cause you to rush your decision. Look at a lot of cars. If it were me I would take a wad to Carlisle. There's a lot of tires to kick around there and the cars are there to sell (in most cases). Nothing else will put a chuckle on you while you drive like a Corvette. I do wish you well in your search.

Greg

prime22

What's wrong with 4+3 manual transmission.