Money pit, keep looking
I found an 85
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
I found an 85
I found an 85 vette around the 5000.00 range and I am just pondering a purchase.The car has issues that any car in this price range and age is bound to have.The bad.The car has 222000k's (142000mi)on it.The car has some interior problems(missing carpet,door lock lever,missing screws,hanging liner in the top)The good.car has new paint,tires,and trans rebuild(auto)seats are in good shape.The car starts and has 50#oil pres. at idle but after shutting it off and having the hood up it drained the battery and would not turn over.Do I make this deal?Whats with all these cars having interior problems?Do these cars have electrical gremlins and thats why all the interiors are missing parts?Give me some hints at parts prices and advice.I am a car guy and work on alot of stuff so doing general repair is not a big deal.Comments?
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 15,130
Likes: 283
From: Salt Lake City Utah
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (stock)
I found an 85 vette around the 5000.00 range and I am just pondering a purchase.The car has issues that any car in this price range and age is bound to have.The bad.The car has 222000k's (142000mi)on it.The car has some interior problems(missing carpet,door lock lever,missing screws,hanging liner in the top)The good.car has new paint,tires,and trans rebuild(auto)seats are in good shape.The car starts and has 50#oil pres. at idle but after shutting it off and having the hood up it drained the battery and would not turn over.Do I make this deal?Whats with all these cars having interior problems?Do these cars have electrical gremlins and thats why all the interiors are missing parts?Give me some hints at parts prices and advice.I am a car guy and work on alot of stuff so doing general repair is not a big deal.Comments?
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
From: Yukon OK
You can DEFINITELY do better. I picked my '86 with 117k miles up a month ago for $4600 and it is in excellent shape. It had some interior problems like the headliner but nothing was missing like the carpet you mentioned.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
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From: levittown pa. usa Even a bad day with my `Vette, is better than a good day at work
St. Jude Donor '10
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 25
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prices
I have decided to hold off on buying this car for a couple of days at least.The one problem is that I am in Canada and there isn't alot of 5000.00 vettes in any condition.The dollar is almost at par and I would go down to the northern us to pick up a car but don't really know how to find one down there.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 730
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From: LaGrange Highlands IL
One of the things that's a positive is the new paint job if it's a good one. That could cost 5K easy. The mileage would scare me though, I'd keep looking for something with lower mileage for that kind of money. Maybe you could try using Craigslist for northern US cities that are somewhat close to you.
Joe
Joe
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 73,568
Likes: 33
From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
I have decided to hold off on buying this car for a couple of days at least.The one problem is that I am in Canada and there isn't alot of 5000.00 vettes in any condition.The dollar is almost at par and I would go down to the northern us to pick up a car but don't really know how to find one down there.
Don't settle for less than you deserve
Pro
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 589
Likes: 1
From: PA
When ya low ball him he might come back with $3,500. As said above, a new panit job is a huge benefit. Carpet, seats and a few parts here and there, new tires you might spend an additional $1,500 to $2,000.
I bought my 85 for $3,000. Put $3,600 into it, did it all myself and it's a fine car today with no excuses. Well, except for the Z-51 suspension, it rides hard like a dump truck,
But that's okay it is what it is. 
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 33,058
Likes: 6,582
From: Rochester NY
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
Ok - the new paint, the tranny rebuild, new tires, good seats - all positive.
The carpet, door lock lever, missing screws, that's all little stuff. An annoyance, true, but likely not anything that can't be fixed on a couple Saturdays and a couple beers.
The question of electrical issues could be nothing, could be major. Did you finally get to drive the car? You say you work on a lot of stuff so you have the potential - if you can buy it at a low price - to make something decent out of it.
The critical issue is not screws etc - it's motor, not wrecked frame, etc. Do some more homework. It certainly is NOT worth the price asked but if you can get it for a couple thousand less, and if it's basically sound, you'll have something to play with. I would not buy it at that price but I would not run away until I had some more answers.
The carpet, door lock lever, missing screws, that's all little stuff. An annoyance, true, but likely not anything that can't be fixed on a couple Saturdays and a couple beers.
The question of electrical issues could be nothing, could be major. Did you finally get to drive the car? You say you work on a lot of stuff so you have the potential - if you can buy it at a low price - to make something decent out of it.
The critical issue is not screws etc - it's motor, not wrecked frame, etc. Do some more homework. It certainly is NOT worth the price asked but if you can get it for a couple thousand less, and if it's basically sound, you'll have something to play with. I would not buy it at that price but I would not run away until I had some more answers.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,783
Likes: 15
From: Northern California
"New Paint" is very questionable.
There are "Great" paint jobs and there are "Poor" paint jobs, I would not consider "new paint" a plus unless you have an experienced body/paint guy check it out for you.
If you can't find a Vette in decent condition in Canada, then just Wait because it'll just end up being a Money Pit and you'll soon be spending over $10,000 before you know it just trying to get it in decent shape.
New engine purchased and installed-$6000+
Interior misc electrical-$1000+
Suspension-$1000+
AC-$600+
HeadLight problems $300+
There are "Great" paint jobs and there are "Poor" paint jobs, I would not consider "new paint" a plus unless you have an experienced body/paint guy check it out for you.
If you can't find a Vette in decent condition in Canada, then just Wait because it'll just end up being a Money Pit and you'll soon be spending over $10,000 before you know it just trying to get it in decent shape.
New engine purchased and installed-$6000+
Interior misc electrical-$1000+
Suspension-$1000+
AC-$600+
HeadLight problems $300+
Last edited by GKK; Nov 26, 2009 at 01:55 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 155
Likes: 2
From: Columbiana AL
Buy the nicest car you can afford
I totally agree with the above post. I have bought and sold over 50 cars in the past 15 years. Most have been collector cars, and that is the best rule I have found. Many times I have bought a "bargain" just to find myself spending more and more sweat and tears than a nicer car would have been. In this economic climate, there have got to be some sweet deals in the 5-7k range
