drivestwin

Looking at pulling the trigger on a 88. Let me describe it and see what you guys think its worth. I trust and value your opinion and I'm anxious to hear what you guys think.

It is a 1988 with 60000 miles. The interior is in pretty good shape. Dual power seats, good tires but they may be older, clear coat de-lamination issues on the back deck only, the rest of the paint is quite good and the body has no damage.

Dash is in good shape, no cracks, everything works but for the power mirrors, wipers, AC and right headlight won't come all the way up.

Under the hood looks great, bone stock and again quite nice.

Car is the 4+3 trans.


Thanks guys....looking forward to your opinion.

Marc

zr1fred

If its a car you really want, go for it. The chances of resale would be very small, unless it's a small market (no competition). Unless the car is mint (which doesn't sound like the case) under $6000, and that is only because of the miles. The miles are very easy to "adjust" on the 84-89 vettes, so make sure you verify them. From a marketing and reliability stand point, the 4+3 is not a plus.

drivestwin

Miles are legit....seen the history report with no issues.

Yes I do want this car, but just making sure to be wise as I know there are others out there.

markKlein

The age of the tires is important, a new set can easily cost $600. Having the bacvk deck repainted could cost $1000. The mirrors and wipers could be fuses(es), or could be a major problem. What is the condition of the top panel? With the information you gave us (not much) I would say $5000 max, don't expect to make money on it.

drivestwin

Thanks Mark for the response.

I am pretty handy and have painted base/clear before so even though a pain, I think I can deal with that.

I was thinking $5000max as well.

Any other opinions?

HlhnEast

Yep your 88 sounds "average" at best. Somewhere around $5-6K The C4 community here isnt out to steal your car away so if you do post some pics we will be able to tell a little better what its worth. Local pricing will make a slight difference as well.

If you like it go ahead and grab it, they are very fun to drive.

drivestwin

Anybody else?

Slow_Lane

I just bought an 89 61k miles (documented) which sounds very similar except good tires on mine and no major paint problems. My car has light some spider cracks in the lexan top (only got one top) & has some light spider cracks in the front buper. Paint is good otherwise although there are a couple of spots where the clear is a bit over-buffed. Car is automatic with 3.07 axle- interior & dash are like new. Everything works. I paid 6800.

Just another data point, do with it what you want. Who knows I might have overpaid but seems to me a really nice car for the $$ so then again maybe not?

Slow_Lane

I should also add that location is a big deal when buying cars in this price range. In the era of the internet it is easy to find all kinds of "bargains" that are hundreds of miles or more away from where you live.

Three good reasons to buy local even if it costs a bit more:

1. We have all heard the stories of cars that turned out to be lets just say less desireable than their owners presented them to be.

2. Cost of retrieval or shipping especially with gas prices today. Maybe on a new car you could fly out and drive back but I wouldn't trust somebody's 20+ year old 5k car for a cross country trip & no matter how you move it you've got to add that cost to your price.

3. Current title in your state is worth alot. I bought an 88 formula 350 a few years ago in OK which was close to home but across the state line. Had an OK title but came up "flagged" in the KS HP database. Eventually got resolved but it was a close call. The fact that my vette had a clean local title was worth a couple hundred bucks to me.

again just my .02!

FOURSPEEDVETTE

Nothing personal zr1fred, but this is These type comments usually come from someone who doesn't and probably never owned one. About 90% of the C4's of that era came with automatics. Very few came with manual transmissions. The manual transmissions are what most guys seem to like in a Vette these days. These have become VERY desireable in an early C4. The 4+3 is a very reliable and very strong T10 4 speed transmission with overdrive options. New owners need to be educated on how to use and maintain them. PM me and I'll be glad to give you any info you want on them. Most negativity on a 4+3 is spread by owners who beat the h-ll out of them and didn't know how to use them or maintain them.

Elrick

I just sold my 86 for $6700 but everything in it was brand new. It had around 75k or so and IMHO was very nice. I then bought a 96 LT4 for 8K. It has 90k miles on it. If you can add a couple grand to your 5k then I would try and get newer. From my 86 to my 96 I can really see and hear all the little things that GM figured out and fixed. I also think that a couple years newer gets you a better transmission. I can't remember what year but I think they replaced the nash 4+3 with something better. I am sure someone here can correct me on the year. That 5k you spend on the 88 can turn into 9k real quick. ask me how I know. Good luck. the search is half the fun. A lot of people selling cars because they need quick cash. throw some offers out, you never know.

prinzSD455

If it has base 16" wheels, finding tires will be next to impossible. They have discontinued the tires for the 16" rim. You will have to go to a +1 tire. I am in in this current dilema with my 86. I will probably go with a-molds. As mentioned before the 4+3 tranny cab be negative so be sure it is working fine. A guy down the street from me has had an 86 for about 11 years and he is having issues with his 4+3. You can fix the headlight just as easy as your C5, so that is a no brainer.

zr1fred

Kinda figured you would be upset. The fact is that over the past 20 or so years, I've had quite a few(6 or 7) 4+3 cars. And Ive had trouble selling them do to the tranmission reputation (reputations are like stereotypes, they may be individually unfair, but there generally is some truth involved). And, yes, they all worked good when I sold them.There have been only a few people who have had anything positive to say about them. One of them is Coupeguy here in Phoenix who has one in his 57 Chevy pickup. I recently gave him two units. Do a search function on 4+3s and you'll find a lot of "testimonial's" on their reliability and desirability. If you've got one that works good, great. One of the big troubles with them over the years is the dual fluid issue between the trans and the overdrive which caused people to burn them up. There isnt a month goes by that someone isn't calling me about a set up to change out the 4+3 and throw it away. I would guess that most people who have 4+3's don't use the overdrive because of problems. People win the lottery every day, that doesn't make it a good bet.

pologreen1

And I have passed on many C4's because they had the 4+3.

Just my own strange opinion, but I would rather have an auto than a 4+3 if that says anything. (feel and design) Plus the shifter is anything but sporty or fun. It's a huge heavy clunker to shift. I love stick, but not with a shifter like that.

Driven several, and several combinations, and family members own 4+3. Not bashing them, just not for me.

robsball

I just bought an 89 convertible, automatic, interior in really good shape, except sunvisors. Weatherstripping is cracked and needs replacing. But doesn't affect driving it. Rag top in great shape, new tires, paint has a few blemishes. 159k miles. Engine has a little miss, but is strong. Overall its in good shape for an 89 and I paid 5400. Its a project car I can drive while I fix it up to my satisfaction.

I know you have doubts, I did too but I took the chance and I don't regret it one bit. I am having a major love affair with my car. The best advice is go into with your eyes wide open about the cost of any upgrade, restores or repairs you'll want to do or have to make.

Good luck.

cv67

Seen a number of C4s lately I was interested in just dont care for the trans . Too much to convert to a ZF.
Not that they are bad but love the way internal rail shifters feel.

robsball

It took me a couple of minutes to figure out the 4+3 and I'm guessing its a manual transmission...right? If this is wrong, then please totally disregard this post. : )

My thoughts are with a car as fast as this, its a safety issue for me to have both hands on the wheel. I can drive manual, my 89 subaru xt is 5 speed, but its a 4 cyclinder, now boys and girls, how fast do you think that goes?

I would have bought my C4 regardless of the transmission being auto or manual. But automatic sure is nice.

FOURSPEEDVETTE

Yes, it is a 4 speed manual transmission. It's no different than any other 4 speed manual. You don't need both hands! The difference is that it has the option of using an overdrive on the top three gears if you want more top end ( higher speed & less fuel consumption) as the overdrive unit lowers engine rpm's. Most of us 4+3 owners only use the overdrive function after shifting into fourth gear on the highway. It acts and operates as a 5th gear. If you "floor it" while in overdrive, the overdrive temporarily disengages itself so you get to the higher desired speed, and then it automatically engages itself back to overdrive. To have just the regular 4 speed manual transmission that everyone is familiar with, just flip the overdrive switch to off position and forget about it. Many on this forum love to bash it and have no real clue as to what they are or even how to correctly use it. Some of the new Vettes have a "skip shift" that many are now starting to bash. It will become the "less desirable" car to the ones who don't understand them and never own them in the following years.

blue_74

Do like I did, go with a 245/50R16. My family owns a tire store, and after searching exhaustively for the original size tires, I settled on this option with my '84. The difference in size is negligible, and should barely affect your speedometer.

Plus, the 255's were around $120+ when (and if) I could find any, and the 245's were, let's say, less than $90. That was for a well respected national brand with a slightly lower speed rating than the originals.

prinzSD455

That is what Les Scwhaub recommended as well. I am chewing on the idea, but the thought of going slightly smaller is annoying.