I know nothing about c4/gen4 vettes.

I have an offer to buy a 91 with 72k miles. Auto, L98. Appears to be completely unmodified and the price seems competitive.

I would like whatever information you can provide, such as;

What is the life span of the L98?
What are the more common problems?
What do I need to look for before I buy the car?
Should I just get something else and avoid a 10k mistake?

I've been looking at threads and it looks like the car would need intake and exhaust to start with from the performance end. I don't want to make huge power, but I'd rather have 300 or so on the ground.

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

GMD

 

I have a 91 I bought with 38000 miles on it for $11000. Almost three years later, and pretty close to $9000 more........well you get the point. The problem with these cars are it is hit, or miss, with parts. Some are readily available, some aren't. As far as 300 HP to the tires, it depends on how big your wallet is, but I'm sure others will jump in on that, as mine is all stock except for a catback exhaust.

Finally, at this point in the year 10K, is pretty steep for that year, and miles. I could go down a laundry list of potential problems, so that's your call depending on your mechanical capabilities, and budget....

 

Look for: Good Paint, Good heater Core, any electrical problems and then all the usual used car items. L98 is a good solid small block Chevy and motor life will vary widely depending upon how it has been taken care of in the past. A $10K mistake will all depend upon how much effort you put into inspecting the car before buying it. $10k seems maybe on the high end for that year, but any car is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

 

If your ultimate goal is 300 to the wheels, just buy an LT4 car--its already there. They're getting so cheap that you can do that for less money than buying the 91 and modifying. Unless you want to use nitrous to acheive the 300.

 

I love mine but they are a hit and miss sorta thing

 

The L98 should make 200,000 miles easy.

The most common problem I see is the intake gasket leaking usually in the rear close to the distrubitor.

Check the over all condition and drivetrain condition. You will be able to tell if someone has dogged it.

BTW: For refrence, I paid $11,500 for a '91 coupe in Jan. 1998. It had 107,000 miles on it and in good condition. I consider this my best vehicle buy I ever made. It was only 6-7 years old.

 

The L98 on my old car went at 150k.

 

It's all in how you drive it and maintain it. Almost anything will last you for a good long service if you take care of it.

 

GMD
It's really hard to tell what your asking. I receantly purchased a 1998 for my wife with 33,000 mile on it to add to our collection of C-4's. Today I took it to a show, very cold so she wouldn't go, and it won a trophy. If what your looking for is a great car to show then consider buying it and cleaning it up and showing it. If on the other hand your looking for a daily driver then consider what others have said and still buy it. These are great cars. Not new cars and you will most certainly have some problems with it. If you don't like fixing the problems the don't buy it, but the rewards form fixing these problems are, in my humble opion, far greater than the problems. I'm sure you'll do the right thing. Just keep reading the forum. It will, as it did me, guide you in the right direction.

 

LT4 here. My first was a 91 great car not a problem with it. Want 300 to the wheels. Get the LT4 more refined less hassle's 5 years newer.

 

Do you own a C6? if so, the question you should ask yourself is, Why do you want to own a C4? If it is because you really like the look of the body style and feel of the interior and LOVE vettes...go for it. If it's just a vette the you happened upon and looks in good shape..really think it over. If you have never ridden or driven a C4 you may not not like certain things. The rattles, the way it can get unsettled on bumpy curves, the body flex especially with the top off. It is a great car for what it is..or was. It will not have near the performance, refinement or ride that the C6 has. We're talking a hundred ponies here. It all depends what your expectations are..A well taken care of stock C4 will last a good while and be fairly trouble free, keeping in mind that some of this generation are getting pretty old, I have had my '93 for 13 years. I started to mod it a few years ago because I wanted more power especially since so many cars nowdays are at the +400hp mark. I had to do heads, cam, intake, headers and such just to get near the power of a C6. And the C6 does it right out of the showroom floor, I have a car that is louder, idles rougher and at more risk to break something. Modding it was not cheap. If I was in your shoes...Owning a C6 and never owning a C4..If I really liked the C4 generation, I would get a unique C4. Callaway, ZR1, #35th anniversary, 40th anni, '95 pace car, '96 silver Collector or a '96 Gran Sport. A '96 Collector LT4 or Gran Sport would be have plenty of power to have fun while keeping them stock. Now, none of the C4's on my short list are in the $10K range with the 35th and the 40th being on the lower end..But well worth it. Good luck.

 

Get a copy of Mike Antonicks book "Cor-vette specs", ISBM 0-933534-51-5 and read it several times. Don't be in a hurry to buy a C4; they're complicated and very expensive to maintain. Start looking for someone in your area who knows C4s and pay them to check it out before you buy. Check Carfax and Autocheck as a minimum. Good luck!

 

The above advice isn't too bad. I'd offer that it CAN be expensive to repair/replace parts if you don't do it yourself. But expensive is also relative since much of it is straightforward and not at exotic-car technician prices.

So, do some of the above to check out the car, and then determine if it really is for you. After all, if you've got a C6 you already know what it could cost you on your existing car; the only addition is slightly different availability and cost of replacement parts. And, in many cases, both availability and cost of parts is very good compared to C6 or any C-gen Corvette.

Tell us how it all turns out!

 

Other than routine maintenance, I have had to sink hardly a dime into my cars

Unanticipated expenditures have been virtually non-existant and the pleasure of ownership has been great!

Definately PAY THEM! If only a hundred bucks, it may save you the aggravation of looking at a car that the seller has not accurately portrayed

There was once a guy here at CF.com in this VERY section who asked me to look at a car for him - Only 10 minutes away... Well, 45 minutes in traffic later, I was at a JUNKYARD! Yes, a real junk dealer - Lived here my whole life, and never knew the junk dealer was there behind the 8 ft fence...

Anyways, car was a cobbled up piece - maybe many cars into one... After dropping my $140 sunglasses and cracking a lens, I was bummed, to say the least. After providing a written report on the car, I never heard back from the potential buyer.

No thank you, no goodbye, no NOTHING!

Another guy here, donated $100 to me to go and look at a car - Super nice member, wound up passing on it based upon my written report - got a better car elsewhere