flyboyslc1

Well said! I just never will understand the idea of leaving them sit in a garage.

RetiredSFC 97

C5 prices have risen since I bought mine two years ago. They won't become a step child and will hold their value pretty well. Economics will prove this to be true. With the price of the C7 and the economy, thanks odumbo, not healing, credit is tight and people aren't spending the money on new vettes like they were 6 years ago. So the C5 is priced well, it has more than adequate power and the power can be updated to the C7's 450 easily.

I have also seen the C4 rebounding some as well because of this. They haven't sold near the C6's they did the C4 or C5. People just don't have the access to that kind of money anymore.

DinoBob

Right on.

howardjm

i have a 89 coupe and want to buy a 85,86, and a 92. These years are the birth years of my kids and want to get one for each year. You can pick up C4's for a low price and the parts are plentiful. I paid 4800 for my 89 5 months ago and have a total of 7400 in it including the car. It is in excellant shape in and out and it has 106000 miles on it. Once we get the kids their cars, i will give them the cars at the same time, it may take a few years, then my wife and i would like to obtain a 63 for our birth year. No i am not rich, just try to find good deals. If anyone has an 85,86 or 92 for sale i am interested.

Docderek05

I agree with this assessment, once you get a C4 /or any car you enjoy, back into the condition you want it to be in...they are hard to part with for any money, of course folks can form their own opinions, as for me, I enjoy both C4's I own, and I will find it hard to sell either, I don't need zero to sixty in 3 secs, those days are long over, and I enjoy being folded into my C4, and looking out over the long hood.. watching the show when the headlights roll into position, grinning my *** off, having had that same experience with the C3s I owned. I know if I owned a new Gen. I would still miss that show.
Something about the pop-ups just seems to say "Corvette" to me, being raised around for the c3-c5 Gens.

Cygnus

Greg Gore

There were several different option packages and special models made during the C4 production run which stood out and made them highly desireable cars to own but what about C5? If any series was destined to eventually becoming little more than a "used car" would it be the C5? Granted C5 is a Corvette but other than the 2001 Z06 and 2004 Commemorative Edition I can't recall anything really special about them.

79C3tnd

I purchased my 84 last October for 4800... I probably could have done a little better for the money, but I saw, I liked, so I bought. It was in pretty good condition, except for the interior which needed some TLC. Addressing that now...

Photoguy000

I feel like C4 prices have bottomed out (for the most part). You'll always have the car that's worth $1k that's in terrible shape, or the person desperate to sell giving someone an epic deal, but overall I feel like the C4 prices have risen every so slightly and consistently over the last year since I bought mine even. (Bought it in August of 2012).

I feel like I've observed that the late C4 Sub 60k mile cars are no longer in the $8k range but more along the $12k range and that's even now over the winter when people aren't usually jumping to buy these things. I would figure this is when the prices would be the lowest, with right before summer/summer being the highest and maybe a bit of a dip again in the fall from the folks not wanting to store them.

Maybe if we're lucky The prices will still go up a bit from here when the weather gets really nice again and that'll really let us know that we're finally on the upswing. All that happening while the C5 is headed towards its numbers dropping due to age, mileage and potentially poor driving by the folks that will pick up the super high mileage ones and destroy them one way or another. (not that i condone Vettes dieing and being pulled off the road, but it's a fact of life). I don't think the C5 will be the red headed stepchild that the C4 was for a while, but that's just because the car started strong at 350hp, and went up from there. Starting at 205hp and taking it to 330 both helped and hurt the C4's. Ergonomically the C4's and C5's both have their beautiful and annoying parts. That's just a function of vehicle design for the masses as opposed to individuals. I honestly don't think the C5 will really be at all collectable though as really there wasn't anything crazy special about it (other than being a corvette of course). The Z06 only matched the C4 ZR-1 in terms of power and speed, and the base model wasn't really all that far behind it. C5's are great cars, but I'd honestly rather have a C4 because IMO it has more character.

That being said, the number of all vettes on the market will increase over the next couple months due to the weather and the beginning availability of the C7, and that could drive prices down....

ZR-1 is a whole other beast. They are definitely undervalued, but they are hard to find parts for (I've even heard of people having to have some fabricated), and people were looking for collectables when they initially bought them. That's why of the 6500 produced I'd bet that 5000+ are still on the road and in great shape. The C4 ZR-1 is a car of passion, you only spend the $25k on one instead of a C5/C6 because you love the body style and that it's not like any other car out there. They will reach collectable value eventually, but it'll be another 20 years before they really start and that'll be a combination of age along with finally having trouble finding one on cars.com... By then some of our regular Non ZR-1 C4's will have value just because there won't be as many of them left. Will it be a lot of money? Hell no, it's just going to be more than most of us paid now even if it's just at the rate of inflation.

Not all cars can be the 63 SWC. Hell, not all generation of Corvette can have one model with that kind of collectability. Cars are generally terrible investments, but it doesn't mean we don't get return on that investment with the smile on our faces. It's just nice to think that maybe we might have cars people will still want in 10 more years.

Docderek05

I also have to agree with Greg on this one, interesting to think about:

Note: C4s had Indie pace cars, re- intro of aluminum heads, return to 200 plus horsepower standard engines, re-intro of the convertible, B2K Calloways, re-intro of LT1, ZR-1, 35th Anni, 40th anni, Calloway Sledgehammers, re-intro of the Grand Sport, the LT-4, adjustible suspension, antilock brakes, (ASR) the 96 C.E., Massive air flow studies done to get the low cd, of .35..I believe, the lowest windshield rake of any passenger car ever..there are some interesting factors about the 1984-96 series. all introductions of new technology, that the C5 certainly never topped, as far as technological roll-outs, it will be interesting to see what the market does in 10 years in relation to the C5 series. and also what these tech breakthroughs in development of the C4 means to the market in 10 more years.

Sweet 90

It just doesn't matter............
The C4 could have had the first gas engine and been designed by God himself, but none of this seems to matter when it comes to the desirability of this generation for prospective Corvette collectors. It just doesn't or will it ever likely achieve the star power of the C1s to C3s even though the C4 (engineering wise) is a superior car in every way.
Deal with it people. Drive them and enjoy them, as IMO they are the last of the noisy, harsh riding, squeaky Corvettes that I grew up and fondly remember. As for the C5s and C6s, well maybe history will be kinder to them.

Docderek05

Sweet..you have a knack for cutting straight through the Bull Hockey..lol..!!!

I guess as a collector car, I see your point, and I too grew up with every squeeky harsh version of these damn things..but I also believe, good condition, clean C4s will hang in there in value, with probably NO appreciation, to the average seller, and buyer, I would guess more to just to be enjoyed and wrenched on..for years to come.

Sweet 90

There you go. You've now made a giant step towards your ultimate recovery
ps: Go Oilers

DinoBob

Star power....C3s. Heh. When I was a teen and into my twenties, early C3s were looked upon with derision. You could buy a chrome bumper C3 for a song. Small blocks were particularly "worthless".

JrRifleCoach

My 86 is worth what I paid ($7400) in 03 now.
Not to mention the additional investment made over the past ten years.

The prices they are a-risin'

rwalker49

I never thought nor did anyone else that my new 67 Camaro RS or my new 1970 Vette would be valuable. I'm not saying c4s will be collectable but we sure never gave much thought to the early Camaros or c3s.

Greg Gore

Rising prices would indicate increasing interest or demand and or reduced supply wouldn't it?

RedLS1GTO

It takes more than rarity to increase value. Ford Pintos are rare. Chevettes are rare. There is no way that the C4 Corvette will ever see the demand that the previous generations saw. Prices will most likely come up from where they are now (let's face it, they can't really go down), but nowhere even remotely close to C1/C2 levels.

This is simple, emotionless math. The argument of value most relevant is cost in relation to the inflated value in today's dollars. For example, the base price in 1985 was $24,878... by inflation alone it would be over $52k today. A '96 is the equivalent of $54k today. Current values of even the BEST examples are nowhere even remotely close to those numbers.

In contrast, a '67 stickered somewhere around $4,500 - $5,000 depending on trim which translates to $30-$40k in today's dollars. Obviously prices are all over the place depending on trim and condition but it is safe to say that the value of a '67 is ABOVE inflation.

Even the ZR1 is not even close. A '90 with a sticker of ~$60k would today need to sell for $103k. A '95 with a sticker of ~$68k would need to sell for $101k.

You can argue about the value of cars and prices going up all day long, but the simple fact is that unless it meets it's inflated cost, it has depreciated over it's life span.

Not even considering future inflation, how long do you think it will take for an '85 Corvette to be worth $52k? How long before ZR-1s are selling for well north of $100k? Until that happens, the C4 is not even in the same discussion as the previous cars in terms of value.


As for comparing to the C5, as has been said a few times in this thread, C5 prices... specifically the Z06 have been trending up for the last few years, not at a large rate, but up nonetheless. It wasn't long ago that a nice C5 Z06 could be had for $17k. Now you are lucky to find a beat up high mileage car for that much. Until the performance of the "normal" Corvette greatly surpasses the C5/C6, they will not take the dive that the C4 took. Someone on a budget can EASILY take a C5 and build it to C6 performance levels with minimal money. Hell, the C5Z will out perform any of the narrow body C6s straight out of the box. Obviously as cars get to be in worse shape with higher mileage, those examples will continue to come down in price.

Like it or not, the same cannot be said for the C4. Even if you do manage to squeeze the power out of it, you are still nowhere near the C5/C6 in terms of suspension, brakes, etc. By the time you actually get it there... you could have bought a newer car to begin with. Yes, there are those on here who love the C4, love the way it feels, love the hood, and a whole bunch of other opinion based features, but unless you fall into the category of wanting it for 1 of those unquantifiable reasons, there is absolutely no reason that anybody would ever buy a C4 over one of the newer cars. Like it or not, it is true. The C4 is not even close to being a "classic" and will NEVER be in the same realm as the older generations due to the technology, elecronics, etc. It is the generation that falls right in the middle of "classic" and "modern". It will never have the appeal of the simple, elegant classic and it will never have the performance of the newer cars.

They are a great bargain. Buy them, use them, enjoy them... but if you are counting on it as an investment, you might as well invest in Enron.

RedLS1GTO

From top to bottom, bumper to bumper, the C5 is a technologically superior car to the C4. Period.


... and the C5 had the INDY pace car, introduction of the LS1/LS6, return to 350hp standard engines, re-intro of the convertable waterfall, the Z06, 50th anniversary cars, Le Mans cars, introduction of better brakes and better suspension, etc, etc, etc. You could write a similar list for the C6. Every generation will have their advancements/new features.

The C4 was a huge technological leap from the C3 and for the time they were very impressive. There is no arguing that... but that doesn't translate to future value, especially since the vast majority of that technology has now been eclipsed by run of the mill 4 door family cars.

kimmer

A few of you have gotten off point. All I'm saying is I am going by the market where I am and the c5s are at the lowest asking prices I have ever seen including the zo6, and the c4s seen to be on there way up, not that there getting the asking price, I could care less, but just my observation.