abdo

I'm realizing that paying for repair on a C4 can be pricey. I took my '86 Coupe in for an alignment and was told that it needed new rear wheel bearings, a new inner tie rod end, and a new lower ball joint before they could do the alignment. The shop has a good reputation and I have had them do work on my regular drivers.
The thing that shocked me was the price they quoted for the parts. I compared their prices with that of the Corvette aftermarket catalog suppliers and was astounded. They informed me that their parts had a lifetime warranty. Since I am 74 and am thinking of selling the Corvette, I asked if they had parts that were a little less expensive yet not cheap quality. He said there are about 4 grades of these kind of parts.
At any rate, after a little over $1K for the entire job, I have a C4 that handles good with no noise (clicking) from the rear end.
I am the original owner and the car has 88K miles. This is the first time I have had to spend any money on the suspension, other than alignment, so it was time for some work anyway.
I talked with my grandson who is a service technician for a large dealership. He said that 100% markup on parts is typical.

Now if I sell the Corvette, I should be able to ask $1k more, right?

JrRifleCoach

A thousand dollars for all that is about right.
As for passing the price onto the next owner......

PatternDayTrader

Wrong.

hcbph

IMO unless you sell a car as a project, you're not going to get back 'maintenance' items. In my case I bought an 86 that had upgrades done to the brakes, brake lines and the transmission was replaced with a Tremec. I did not pay anything additional for these upgrades, it was for a running car.

If nothing else, is your grandson capable of doing the repairs then have the alignment done? Maybe could save some $$ especially if you're planning on selling the car. Just some thoughts.

abdo

Of course my question of being able to add $1K to the price if I sell it was a little "tongue in cheek".
But it shows that early C4s will not bring a very high price these days regardless of the extent of repairs. My '86 is in excellent shape in regards to paint, interior, engine, etc. Over the 30 years I have owned it, I have spent enough on maintenance to keep it that way. The suspension was one area that needed attention.

My grandson works at a KIA dealership in the Twin Cities that is almost 300 miles away, otherwise I would have him help me more often. He likes Corvettes.