carboyanno

I'm interested in picking up a C4 after some deliberation, but I've always wondered why c4 corvettes are so cheap compared to other cars of its age. https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...446907202.html
I've been eyeballing it for a while, but I don't know if it's worth the gamble (spending a couple thousands to get it running again). What do you guys think?

Raidmagic

What mid 80's car is worth more? Aside from the GN I can't think of any...

Also I'd bet that isn't just a fuel pump relay. Who doesn't plug in a few dollar part to make a few extra grand.

Weck86

Why are C4's so cheap, you ask. As I said in another thread basically because they made a metric cr*p ton of them running from 1984-1996. Pretty long run of the same body style (minor tweaks along the way) so they all look alike to the casual eye and many think that style is too stuck in the 80s. But to someone who appreciates the tech and fun they represent they are the buy of this century.

Silver96ce

It's cheap because nobody except those who have them value them. If you like the looks, go see it. Offer him $1500 buy it for $1700 and get an FSM; diagnose the problem; put in new seats and carpet; and drive the heck out of it. It will out handle most of what is on the road. It won't out accelerate a Camry but it's fast once it's up to speed.

Me, I prefer that they remain cheap so I can buy an early convertible to keep the '96 company.

pologreen1

I'll sell you mine for 25K cheap.

VikingTrad3r

you will be at 4k into that car above what you pay for it by the time you are satisfied.

id recommend going with an 85 and up. you can find them for 2500 in better shape that that one.

and yah, its more than the fpr.

as for why they are cheap, well, i have 2 of them, and they are cheap becuase they are at the bottom of the depreciation cycle. and, just so we are clear, not all of them are cheap. the ones that have been bashed, ridden hard, put away dry, and no routine maintainece done to them, those are cheap yah. (by cheap i mean 4k or less).

personally id keep looking. then put on some c6 rims and you have the steal of the century and people will ask about your car all the time. thats what happens with mine! (after i got rid of the 80's rims, no offence intended for those who like them).

gjohnson

Could be as easy as a blown fuse for the fuel pump.

FAUEE

C4s are cheap because there's a large supply, low demand, and to most people they're just "an old Corvette". They were massively superseded in performance by the C5 and the LS powered F-Body, and they're very 80s - which generally is not a good thing in the eyes of consumers. They're not quite old enough to be collector items (probably a few too many of them around still too), but they're not new enough to still be relevant.

They're nice cars, but they're just not at a point where they're valuable yet. I can't say that they will become valuable any time soon either - late C3s are just now going up in value, and the only C3s worth anything are chrome bumper cars for the most part. Given the dramatic differences I early and late C3s, I think the entire C4 generation will likely round the corner at the same time (because a C4 overall is a C4 and they only got better with time). But that could be 10-20 years away.

RollaMo-LT4

Buy a "too cheap" C4, and by the time you get it up and running you won't have a cheap Corvette anymore.

JrRifleCoach

I've got an 86 that's been gone through and has a few trophies for show as well.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1591489741
Sad that I've spent double the price, and now it's a great deal for anyone interested.

pologreen1

I have had interest from people with Z06s to trade for my car. Maybe try that.

kenpeindl

I've noticed that the C5 are coming down in price. You can get a decent one for under $15,000 around my parts of the country. It's like everything else supply and demand. As more C4 end up as donors cars leaving fewer left on the road the more in demand they will become especially with the generation who grew up with the C4. Myself I grew up with the C3's which I started out looking to buy only to have a C4 catch my eye.

Corvette#2

Might be a fun project, but rather than dump money into it, it might be better to find a nicer one to start with. The paint and interior look bad. And who knows if it really only needs a relay.

When I was C5 shopping a year ago, I remember seeing a mint looking dark red '86 with gray cloth interior and about 70k miles and they were only asking 6500. They probably would have sold it for less.

JrRifleCoach

Think you should buy mine, just a few hours drive north on 99

BrandensBeast

Something about that car gives me the vibe that it was beat on pretty hard,maybe the wear in the seat or a replaced transmission, just gives me a bad vibe, you'll be much more into the car then you think by the time your done, coming from someone going through it right now!

Mattt6511

I'm new to c4s but I do know you can ask almost anyone on this forum and they will all say try to get a 85 or newer they have a different engine in them with more power and torque and less problems. I do like that color blue tho

3JsVette

Spend more and get a lot more C4.

95tealconvert

I do not ask " why are C4's so cheap but rather why are they such a great value ?". It was not that many years back that a C3 was at the bottom of the depreciation curve and were a tremendous value.

You are starting to see the C4 start to turn the corner. As the C3 climbs in value and the C5 still hovering over 15K or more for a nice example perspective buyers are finding out how much value the C4 has to offer.

Nice thing about the C4 as with the C3 you have many years to choose from with a wide range of prices and options to fit a large group of perspective buyers.

Try to get the best C4 you can afford to start as you will be money ahead when it is all said and done.

Danlb

I say do some research on the fuel system issues in the C4 Tech forum so you have a little knowledge and then go look at it. I did that last July and found an '84 Z51 that "needs a $1700 clutch", made an offer and stuck a deal that we thought was fair for both of us. A $3 bottle of clutch fluid had me driving it home a few minutes later. $2000 got me a C4 that looked pretty good but needed a little work that I knew I could do myself in the driveway. I eventually replaced the clutch master and slave cylinders, shocks, tires and a few other minor parts for well under $1000. I now have a decent C4 that I would rather drive than my supercharged '00 C5! I just ordered a rear carpet set and a weatherstrip kit and once they are installed I'll have a fun to drive Corvette for under $4000 that I can proudly take anywhere. The C4 is a great bargain right now and if you can do most of the work yourself you can have a very inexpensive sports car. I'd say educate yourself and have fun looking for your car. Also I wouldn't be overly afraid to look at the crossfire motor. It has an undeserved bad reputation in my opinion. Sure it's not as refined or powerful as the later tuned port system but it still has plenty power to make the '84 a blast to drive.

cv67

Some good responses

Consider Jrs...yeah its more but it has gone through from head to tail and not have to screw with anything

Outside that EVERYthings cheap right now, people just arent toy shopping or if they are they know if they hold out anotehr week there will be even more to choose from. More youre looking to spend the more is available.

Say around 5k you could score a low mile pristine 00-04 Benz for example. Or a decent C4 thats not neglected and a project wont be as nice as Jrs but decent..

Almost got one for the woman the other day as hers has 200k on it (but after finding a new trans was 6k plus labor....and a used hi mile trans will be over 2-3k intsalled)
Anway enough-

Might not be your thing but it may make one think for a second.
C5s are still coming down Im seeing ones with less than 100k in decent shape for under 10k now on a regular basis.

All in what you want. I hope a lot of these cars stay cheap maybe one day there will be another. Doubt it but who knows when the itch will need to be scratched again.