Mindcrime

I have been a Corvette fan since I was 7 years old and I saw my very first C3...I wish I could remember what year model it was. Anyway...when the C4 was introduced I didn't really like it until they remodeled it with the wrap around ground front end and the bubble butt tail light rear end...and especially when I saw it in competition Yellow. I just recently retired after 25 years and now, thanks to my severance...can finally afford to buy my VERY first Vette. My question is...what is the best manufactured year for the C4...after all the bugs were finally worked out? I've heard from other Corvette owners that the first few years when theC4 was released...it experienced many electrical problems. Being that it will be my first Corvette I want to enjoy it and not worry about constantly working and spending $$$ to keep it running. I plan on making it a daily driver as well as my road trip car. Any suggestions, opinions, and experience will be GREATLY appreciated.

antfarmer2

96 lt4 but love my 94 lt1

TorchTarga94

Depends. If I were in your shoes...

Pre Opti LT1 C4 - I would go with a 91' as it still has the L98 with traditional distributor while also having the updated interior/exterior. A well maintained, preferably low mileage example would be a great Daily Driver/Long Distance car.

LT1 C4- I would certainly hunt for a 95/96'. If you want the 6-speed go for the 96' and the 1 year only LT4 engine. The newer you get the more refined it will be. They changed them nearly every year. A lot of progression within the C4 generation. There is something for everyone.

84wuzmy1st

Any year as long as it's a manual or a 3.07 or better geared Automatic. You won't have as much fun with the 2.59 gear.

vetteLT193

IMO 1991 for driving. Parts are cheaper because you get the Gen 1 small block. No opti headaches. Computerized enough but not overly so (1996 OBD II and the weird OBD 1994 and 1995 years are more of a PITA IMO)

1991 gets the later body and interior still has the 700R4 with auto or the 6 speed manual. The torque of even a stock L98 is really awesome for driving on the street. 350 ft/lb at 3200 rpm Vs the LT1 which is 330 ft/lb at 4000 RPM. The LT1 is faster but my L98 felt faster than my LT1.

Now... for the true king. 96 LT4 or a Z

WW7

Anything that doesn't have an opti.....Late 80s, early 90s are best....WW
.
.
.
..

N42375

3 years ago,I was in the same position as you are to buy my first Corvette. I spent 8 months researching C4's and driving various years from 85-95. It's hard to dispute that the latest years have the most improvements, but don't discount the the 90 and 91 out. I ended up buying an outstanding clean 90 coupe with only 61,000 miles that had every maintenance records in a folder since it rolled out of the dealership in July of 1990. As far as the LT1 opti goes,some swear by them,others swear at them. I bought my Corvette for the wife and I to travel all over the USA- which we have done so far! The car as yet to use one drop of oil or left me standing on the side of the road. I personally like the L98's low end torque matched to my auto trans. On a trip through the U.P. of Michigan, I got 29.44 MPG on one run. What does stand out about my Vette is how comfortable the sport bucket seats are. My wife raves about how great the seat is, even after an 11 hour day and 500 miles. You will find a great group of guys on this forum that are always willing to answer all of your questions. Good luck on your search for your first Corvette and welcome to the forum.

BrandensBeast

Personally I like my 84 mainly because of cosmetics, the bumper, no 3'rd break light and I love the crystal display for the dash. Obviously most people here are going to say 92-96 for good reason!

Mose1

I am a little biased, but the 91' is a good year..my 2 cents....

B17Crew

’95 and ’96 had the vented Opti, more reliable than the ’92 through ’94 which were unvented Opti’s. I’ve owned an ’86, ’93, ’94, and a ’96. Have owned my ’96 LT4 for over 18 years now, not one Opti issue ever, matter of fact, the ’96 has been the most reliable C4 I’ve owned. This is subjective, but the ’96 seems to be the best assembled C4 out of the four I’ve owned. Only one thing will make me let go of my LT4, a move to a ’94-’95 ZR-1, the “King of the Hill”.

In all honesty, all C4’s are great and will offer you years of enjoyment. If you find a well taken care of C4, no matter the year, it can be a rewarding experience.

My avatar pic, car is bone stock except for battery and tires, have Nitto 555s on the car now. Was my daily driver for six years.









Good luck in your search and keep us posted.

B17Crew

jose7740

Another vote for the 84, where it all started

3JsVette

If there's a secret to searching for the right C4 there it is.

Little Red L98

Wow, I could eat off that engine bay.

Klondike

Everybody says 96 is the best but I have my doubts. I have a 96 LT4. It has been pampered to no end. Everything fresh & clean with LOTS of new parts. When it runs, it's a blast. Trouble is it hardly ever runs. Been through 4 of the so called "better" ventilated Opti distributors & damn near every other electronic part & sensor you can name. Biggest Most expensive Black Hole money pit POS I've ever owned! Makes me really miss my 74 Pinto. Only thing wrong with THAT car was a leaky sun roof. Thinking back on it, getting my lap pissed on every time it rained wasn't so bad in comparison.

crowz

Inserting my canned response for this kind of thread

-------


Which C4 is best?


I run into this question all the time.


Every time someone around where I live asks me which C4 to get I tell them the same thing.

“The one YOU like.”

To me each year has something to offer and they are amazingly unique when you take the time to actually drive each one and get to know them.

I’m an early generation snob which I will fully admit. I like the earlier models all REAL digital display dash with real information. But again that’s just me. Some love needle gauges and there is nothing wrong with that. Its what floats YOUR boat that matters. Not mine.

Convertible vs coupe depends on the person and how they plan to use the car. Daily driver or if you need to take a good bit of luggage go with the coupe hands down.

If its a weekend toy like my current 87 convertible is then get a convertible hands down. The convertible is so much easier to get the open air effect with. The targa top is a royal squeak and rattle infested pain in the butt. That said it does make the car more rigid if you autocross it.

The wife and I went on our anniversary in the convertible last year and packing it for the trip was a royal pain and quite challenging. Where as we once bought a full size window air conditioner and brought it home along with groceries in the 86 coupe I had then.

Transmission wise the 4+3 catches grief but I never had any issues with it in my 86 coupe and once you pass someone just by pressing down on the gas pedal and the feeling the car downshift ON ITS OWN without you touching the shifter or the clutch pedal your hooked.

Unlike most car lines there is no bad C4. There isn’t a lemon year.

Main thing is try out as many different years as you can. Don’t let any persons opinion as to what year is best cloud your judgment. After all we’re not the ones that have to drive it, you are.

Just some of my random thoughts and opinions on them.

Little Red L98

Really sorry to hear that bro.

My 89 has been a peach. Only thing I've had to do is an alternator, tires, and, and, and, there's gotta be something else....

Oh yeah, an aftermarket stereo.

There was that one dude who backed into it, but that's been fixed.



$3k later...

loopydodo

Be careful and drive it before you exchange any money

The problems with my 89 where hidden and the last owner was not mechanical. I do not know how many times he broke down before he lost all interest

Possible money pit if has left been sitting and problems may creep out slowly

Paul Workman

"BEST" is too subjective, because there were significant model variations that only ran for a limited number of years that didn't overlap, and "best" depends on what one likes, I suppose.

But, if I'm allowed to cherry pick, my best of the best picks would be

• Any of the Challenge Corvettes
• The 91 had the (I prefer) ZR-1 body style AND the ZF6 manual
• Any of the 90-95 ZR-1s, but the 95 ZR-1 especially benefited from the late C4 developments, and the phenomenal performance LT5 (that wasn't matched until the C5 ZO6 in 2002)
• The 95 and 96 shared the refined creature features, but the 96 with the LT4 and ZF6 manual was/is a jewel.

Your mileage may vary!!!

Pa'svette

They are all good unless some Bubba has been in there tinkering with it. I like the 1991 with 3.07 gears (G44 RPO code) and auto. trans. but I'm an old fart that drove trucks for years and don't like to shift gears anymore.
What ever you get, check it out and make sure it hasn't been raced, wrecked or bubba'd and you'll be OK because like others have said there aren't any bad ones. Good luck with your search.

RollaMo-LT4

That is an awesome looking car!

I've had my LT4 for 10 years now. Just over 120,000 miles and still on the factory original Opti.

I even wash the engine once or twice a year.