Im a young Corvette owner that bought my first vette when I was 17. I bought what I could afford and that was a $3000 1987 Corvette that "ran". Everything about it was thoroughly trashed; no brakes, no lights, over heating, thrashed interior, etc. Over 3 years as I had the money I fixed replaced or upgraded every inch of the car piece by piece as I was able. About $18,000 later I have a beautiful almost show worthy cruiser. This is now my 5th year with the car and honestly I'm ready to update to a newer gen.

Now that I laid a little backround lets get to what Id like to know.

In a nutshell, we've been watching the appreciation of mostly early C3's over the last few years. When do we expect our early C4's to start gaining some value back? Or do you all think they will ever gain any value at all? I dont drive my C4 much these days so should I sell cheap to fund the update or should I wait for the market on them to get better?

 

On this forum you'll wait forever for it to increase in value. In the real world, (like it or not) the early clean ones are starting to show some value increases. Like all the generations of Corvette before the C4, they have all seen depreciation and then they start gaining in value because of the lower amount of them still being around. A beat up C1-C3 can still be worth good money. So to try and say the C4 will never be worth anything of value, that's just so wrong. Like anything else in life, negative news is always what everyone talks about, and comments on. There is positive news, but it never really gets much attention.

 

I agree with the above - it makes logical sense that as time passes, they will gain some value. I think most of that will be from the fact that for years they've been plentiful and cheap, so they've been wrecked or otherwise disposed of, used for converts, parted out since the value of the parts exceeds the value of the vehicle. I mean, a car worth $2000 as a running car will have a top worth $500 and a set of original wheels worth probably 4-$500.

Anyhow, while definitely not worthwhile as buying for an investment, I doubt they'll continue to free-fall.

That said, your car that you've put 20k into is probably only worth 8k to sell. I'd keep it if only for that reason and get another one, like a '96. It's worth more to you than to others.

Or sell it and put a down payment on a 25k ZR-1. Mmmmmmm .. yummy.

 

Actually, most C3s are and have been depreciating over the last few years. The exception being big blocks and especially tri-powers. Non exceptional C2's are also depreciating. One of the reasons that early vettes and muscle cars appreciated was horsepower, or lack of it for a generation. That has changed. Look at whose buying the older cars, old men. Look at who is driving them to car shows, old men. They are garage queens that are only driven occasionally. Younger men are buying the C5's and C6's (if they are buying Corvettes at all)....Cars they can drive everyday that are faster, more reliable, etc. Enjoy your car for what it is, not for what you think it will be worth.

 

This is some great stuff guys I've been half heartedly trying to sell for the last year towards the higher end and havent had much interest at all. And im trying to decide is it worth it in the long run storing since i drive it maybe once or twice a month these days (if that) or should i move on and get what i can get for it?

 

If you're thinking of renting a storage space, the cost of storage will easily exceed any possible appreciation in the car's value. If you have storage space already (garage/shop/barn), the car will probably not appreciate much in the next few years and it's not doing anyone much good sitting around, seeing how you don't drive it much. I suggest you get what you can for it, and before it goes, enjoy it as much as possible. But remember you might get a bit more in the spring/ summertime and that will allow you a few more months of driving enjoyment. And remember you will always miss any car you spent much time and money fixing up, but you won't be alone... that's just the way it goes.

 

Drive it and enjoy. You will have to wait forever to recoup your investment. Problem with the c4 market is a lot of them never got driven. There's always gonna be the garage queens that will undercut the market. Bought mine last year with 48,000 miles on a 20 year old vette. That works out to 50 miles a weekend or to the car show and back. Now 50 miles is one half my daily commute. Lovin the cheap gas prices and the fact that the faster I drive the better mileage i get.

 

drive it and enjoy it! investments , appreciation - don't hold your breath! "...always garage queens that will undercut the market." - just saw a 10700 mile 96 sell for less than $13500. as C5's and C6's keep coming down in price, it will have some serious impact on C4 pricing. no flames, but they built a lot of C4's, and with few exceptions, not many are collectable. I'm starting to see C6's with less than 50K on the clock going for around $20K. early C6's are now 10 years old and quite affordable.

 

I see this comment here lots of times, "They built a lot of C4's" suggesting it holds the value down on C4's. There hasn't been a 1996 C4 built in 19 years. There hasn't been a 1984 built in 31 years. How many C4's do some of these guys think are still left of those model years? I would guess there are maybe less than half of the total number C4's built that are still around or even still on the road. Using the excuse that there are too many of them seems a little weird at this stage of the game. The reason I feel the values are not as high as some of the C1's-C3's is the body style of the C4 is just not as appealing to the many lovers of the old school type Corvette buyers, and it's not as wild, fast or flashy as the C6's and C7's. The C4 is in a class of it's own style wise. The group of buyers of the C4 style Vette is not as big as the others. Myself, I prefer the early C4 over any others. I'm not sure where C5's fit into things. It seems to be the oddball Corvette to me.

 

I think in about 10 more years you will see a return in value for the C4's. At that point kids that grew up with them will have the means (and time, kids will be off and out of college) to buy one, and nice ones will have undergone a restoration at that point in their life.

 

not sure where you're going with your statement, but it's all about supply and demand. even today, there's a bunch of them out there. granted, there are exceptions, and clean examples, down the road, might bring 10, 20, 30% more, but don't look for big pricing on the average C4 corvette in the future. the big factor in the future on C4 pricing is the cost of restoration. I can see dropping $30K on a complete, frame up restoration. think you'll ever see $30K+ out of your 85? I'm not counting out of ever seeing any significant money out of my 85. i'll drive that thing into the ground, or until I'm in the ground. it will cost more to restore these things, than anybody will ever see in return, and their worth. as someone said, drive it and enjoy it!

 

Zr1
Grand sport
LT4
In that order, they are the only ones that will yield lumps of money. They probably wont depreciate anymore either. Im sure the lt1, l98 cars will see some value increase but not anything like the above. Lets face it most of us cant afford the later, thats why we have the mingers. I wouldnt really want another lt1 or l98 c4 etc again, they're just another ordinary corvette...
I'd love to own a zr1 though, its my favorite c4

 

Just sounds like more "Woe is me and my C4" type information. I really don't know how you have the %'s figured out so well. Do you think it only costs a few grand to restore any car? When people restored C1-C3's when they were only about ten years old, they were certainly upside down in what those cars were worth compared to restoration costs. It's the nature of the game.

 

If you look at something like the Hagerty value guide, it shows C4 prices have become fairly steady in recent years. For that matter, late C3s haven't jumped much either, so I would expect most C4s to stay where they are for a while, with the exception of Grand Sports, 40th editions, etc. Also, C5s have become quite inexpensive, so the only way the C4 ever appreciates is when it becomes viewed as a "classic" car.

 

A realistic list of C4's worth any money. I have over $20,000 in my 1988 and it is far from show worthy or what I would consider show worthy. It is a nice looking car and hauls ***. The reality is its a turn of the key away from yet another mechanical failure and that will cost more money and time to fix. I believe that is why I couldn't get more than $8,000 for it. Be smart and don't lose all that cash. You learned an expensive lesson let it be the reminder and enjoy the car for years to come. Just keep a repair fund on hand.
Hands down the best value Corvette is the 2002-2004 C5 Z06.

 

you seem to know a lot about the subject. "no woe is me and my C4" - just being realistic, and the percentage things were just a rough estimates. BTW, I have to ask, have you ever restored a corvette? seems to me, you don't even do your own wrenching. Well, I've done a corvette restoration, and I have, a good idea of the costs and the amount of work involved - guess you can say, "been there, done that," AND i'll never do THAT again. I've been in this hobby more than just a few years - nine corvettes over 25+ years. there's more than one guy out there that has lost his shirt in this hobby. there are exceptions, but the days of making big money on restoring these things is long gone. parts and labor costs are through the roof. I wouldn't even consider restoring "for profit" a C1-(early)C3 today. hell, have you priced a gallon of torch red BC/CC today - it's frickin' crazy!!! maybe someday, C4's will be worth big money, but not in my lifetime pal! no C4 flames, but C4 corvettes are NOT in the same "collectability" category as C1-(early)C3 corvettes. I'm glad I'm not restoring one today - the days of affordable restoration costs are long gone. you won't even recoup the costs of a quality paint job on a C4. hell, I can't even keep up with the costs of just maintaining the damn things, and I do my own wrenching! I've owned my 85 for almost 20 years now. I'd hate to add up what I've spent in that time period on the car. I'm sure it's twice what I paid for the car, and today, I'd be lucky I could get half what I paid for the car. yeah, great investment. now there are exceptions in the C4 generation, but those exceptions are far and few between.

now, don't get me wrong, I love this generation, but there are some of us who have this starry-eye'd vision that someday these things will be worth tons of money. get real folks - it just ain't gonna happen! too many people watching these automotive restoration reality shows.

so, go ahead, invest your money into a C4s - sit back, and watch your money grow! for me, I'm in it for the love of the hobby, and I'm not planning on making any money on it. I'm going to drive it an enjoy it!

finally, i'm not trying to get into a pi$$in' contest with anybody. honestly, no flames! FWIW, it's just my 2-cents. I'm out of here -

 

BINGO! somebody who gets it! BTW, the "best value" thing, I totally agree!!!

...well said!

 

The bottom line is, if your not going to keep the C4 for a fairly long time, don't sink a lot of money in the car, because you will never get it back...I have about $22,000 dollars in my 89 now, including the price of the car, there is no way I would ever expect to get more then half that much back if I would sell it right now...It's a decent looking car , but like the guy mentioned above , it's not a show car...The only reason I put so much money into my 89 was to make it exactly like I wanted it to be..I would never have invested anywhere near that much if I hadn't planned on keeping the car a very long time to get my investment out of it...I have had the car for 7 years now and have no plans to get rid of it anytime soon, so I may end up getting my moneys worth in the long term because of the "fun" I've been having for 7 years ........WW

 

Just for what it's worth. YES, I've restored MANY cars over the years. Maybe 35 at least. I've been around Corvettes most of my life. I've turned many worn out cars into show winners and made a good money at it. Mostly muscle and antique cars. So, YES, I do know what I'm talking about. I don't do so much "wrenching" any more as I have a full life and not much time to do even the basics in repairs. I do have the money to pay skilled mechanics. Yes, I've lost money on cars, but I do know how to make money at this hobby. I don't sit around a moan about a car I might own that's not going any where in value. I sell the darn thing and move on. As far as my 85? It's a car I really like because of a lot of facts and reasons. I don't own it or keep it immaculate just because of what I "might" think it will be worth some day. That's just dumb in todays goofy economy. I've owned and still own many cars,. The 85 C4 is just one I have a soft spot for.

 

older men just buy the old c cars?. Yep, mostly. Reason being is they have the money from a life time of hard work and WANTED one back in high school. As that crowd increased, the supply didn't. I drove a 61 in high school ( my brothers) back in 1966. My first ride I was hooked and told everyone "one day I will buy a Vette" A friend of mine even has that on tape when we were on guard duty in Vietnam. Soo, am now 64 and finally bought a wore out 86 and love it. Now, yesterday, a young fellow was at the house changing out the oxygen bottles for my wife who needs it. He walked by my vette and commented he loved them in high school and always wanted one... (here comes the demand) , the supply continues to be abundant. Now, when this man gets to be my age, in about 40 years , things might have changed on the supply side as well as the demand side. I have seen that happen to ALL the early C cars. You can still buy a late C-3 for well under 8 grand. Bottom line..your not going to recoup any money on a "regular" c-4 car, drive it, love it, pay as you go (parts) and save the wave.