Zapawaf

What is the average life of a C4? Aka average miles they make it to before dying.

RetiredSFC 97

It will last as long as one maintains it. same for any car!

eaglevision993

Given the fact that the Corvette has a big advantage concerning rust due to the fiber panels, I would say they will last longer than the average car.

But as said before, as long as you maintain it, it will last forever....

RetiredSFC 97

Good point and true!

Tommy T-Bone

Many go over 200,000 miles. As stated, It's all about maintenance and conditions.

RollaMo-LT4

Some are literally beat to death in less than 80k miles.
Others are well maintained and last over 200k miles.

The Corvette is just a car like any other. Under the "skin" are all the same components that every other car has.

zr1fred

The life of a corvette ends generally when the cost of repairing exceeds the value of the car. 250k miles, 25 years are generally the averages. But as stated above, you could keep it going indefinately. Say you have a 96 vette in good condition but 180k miles. It could easily go another 100k or 10 years. Now make that an 86 vette, odds arent so good if used regularly. Most people tend to look at mechanical things as the limits, but cosmetics (paint and interior) probably kills most of them eventually.

Lathroum

I beg to differ on this (especially the 1986 comment)...

If you keep it maintained... it can/will last almost forever...

I have had many cars with over 200k miles...
most recently a 1955 Ford... I just sold my 1997 Honda CRV with 215K and my sister is still driving it almost every day...

My 1986 Vette gets driven almost daily... I also fix / repair / replace as things are needed... (granted it only has 54k miles)

Paint and interior cosmetics need to be maintained also...
just as belts wear out... so do seats, etc...

come see me in another 25 years... and I bet I'm still driving my Vette...
(unless that C6 zo6 comes down in price a bit)

Philip

Frizlefrak

Done.

Of course, you either have to be able to do your own wrenching or have deep pockets at some point.....

Sweet 90

And at some point, you'll probably require both

zr1fred

The exception does not disprove the rule.

1Asterisk

I think lifespan depends on your wallet.

My dad has a 1947 Willis Jeep, and my mom as a 1964 Thunderbird. They both are going strong. I don't use my 96 but about once a week. Sometimes I don't use my DD but about once a week due to having a govt car. At this rate I should be set for awhile.

Tommy T-Bone

Come to think of it ... I saw one vette with 954000 miles

abecon5

THIS!!

Larry/car

When the car isn't wanted, it will be scrapped even if still operable. I remember seeing a few C4's sent to the scrap yard during the cash for clunker program the government had not to long ago.

ch@0s

I saw that too.
So I guess the answer is ..It will last as long as you want to take care of it.

RetiredSFC 97

Most definitely.

Doing your own work will be required on many items. Then in years to come, finding someone who knows how to work on them will be challenging as well. Actually it's already hard to find people who know what they're doing on them. I was lucky, what I couldn't do my mech could because he's a GM certified mech who's worked on many a C4, and knows what he's doing.

Parts will become harder to find also. But fortunately there's still a lot of low mileage C4's around.

Gotta love those who make them garage queens!

Zapawaf

I figured the C3's would be pretty hard because they're much older, but the C4's I figured it would be easier to find parts sense they've been around a bit, but not so long ago.
Ps: Thanks for serving (sure you hate hearing that haha)

jrzvette

The fiberglass panels are a benefit but also a drawback. Because the panels don't rust an owner who neglects the car could have the frame and other steel strucural components rust beyond repair before he notices anything wrong.

Frizlefrak

And as time wears on and parts thin out, you'll get creative. We're still keeping Fieros on the road.....sometimes with a little innovation.