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Why did you own a C4 and not C3 (the most beautiful) or C5+ (much more mature)?
I'm not from the US. as a 80's boy, I saw C4 on TV (A team and more..)
Always liked the C4.
In 2015 I imported my 1985 from NJ.
Why did you own a C4 and not C3 (the most beautiful) or C5+ (much more mature)?
I'm not from the US. as a 80's boy, I saw C4 on TV (A team and more..)
Always liked the C4.
In 2015 I imported my 1985 from NJ.
Why you?
When I bought my C4 I was actually shopping older C5's. I looked at a lot of C5's and drove a few. I hadn't really thought about buying a C4. I had some criteria in mind. MUST have manual transmission. Must have working A/C. Not too many miles. No obvious body or mechanical flaws. Had owned several convertibles in my life. While they are incredibly cool in the right weather, they can have serious drawbacks. So was kind of looking for a coupe. Stumbled on to the C4 I bought. Manual trans, coupe, my favorite color combo. Drove it and a C5 back to back. C4 has more entertaining cockpit. Drives more like muscle car/ sports car. C4 feels more "alive." C5 felt more like driving a small car with power. C5 more refined, sure, easier entry/exit, but seemed somehow a little less exciting to drive. I also didn't know enough about the foibles of C4's - optispark, discontinued parts, rarity of experienced mechanics, etc. Regrets, sometimes. Joy, often. BTW, for whatever reason, C3's don't really appeal to me. I've seen some I thought were way cool, but overall not my thing. The C3's I would want would be 69-72's, which I couldn't afford a decent one of for a toy. I didn't want anything built from 1973 through around 1987/1988. Pizz poor performance. Been there.
Last edited by car addict; Sep 18, 2017 at 12:43 PM.
Reason: Edited for omissions
I'm a fan of all of the generations of Corvettes. Never owned a C1 or C2, but I did get to drive those early cars. Almost bought a '64 convertible as a restoration project, It was a 365HP 4-speed with the radio delete option. Would have been a great car but needed about $10K to finish the restoration.
I have owned 3 C3's so far; a 1970 big block coupe (390 HP 454 and 4-speed), a '73 L82 4-speed coupe, and a '78 L82 4-speed coupe. I enjoyed them all.
I also had 3 C4's; a '92 auto trans convertible, and '87 4+3 coupe, and now I have a '93 coupe modified for autocross and track days.
Always loved the '96 Grand Sport since I saw one new on the showroom floor and finally made the plunge a month ago to get one of my own. It's a real joy to drive and a head turner to boot!
As was mentioned by others, I wanted low miles, one owner, mint car. That's what I got....now just the joy's and challenges of owning it.
No c5's around when I got my c4 and not a fan of the c5 butt and I did not like the look of the c3 at the time although I do now.
I was actually shopping for a Jag with a chev 350 in it when I came across my c4 and the rest is history.
I had a C3 {1980}. I love the look of the Sharks. With that said the C4 is also very good looking and better to drive on a regular basis. They generally faster as well. My 80 didn't have anywhere near 300hp that my LT1 has.
Started with C3s 40 years ago, also had many C4s and a C5. I agree the C3 is the best looking body style and I plan on getting another one day. Right now the C4 is the most affordable performance for the $ plus I love owning a ZR-1 as its a part of Corvette history.
During my teenage years, the C4 was hot stuff. Yes there were other more "glamorous" cars out there (Testarossa, etc) but the C4 Corvette is still fairly classy and very American. Also the C4 brought back real performance for the Corvette, not just good power but great handling too!
Fast forward 30 years and I have some expendable income... at first I was shopping for American cars with V8 engines and manual transmissions (my basic requirements for the toy). For some reason I assumed the Corvette was out of my price range because at the time I didn't know better. So I figured I would end up with a late 90's to mid-2000s Camaro or Mustang, but was disappointed by these cars - they generally felt and drove like crappy cars (poor build quality, or abuse/neglect?) or they were modified. I wanted something stock and there were no decent cars available in my radius. Then I noticed some C4s were in my price range and realized I could have a decent one with my budget! What a nice surprise! That's when I got really excited... shopped around and drove several cars before choosing mine.
One of the cars I went to see was a nice 2002 C5 at a great price but it was snatched up quickly. Honestly I looked at it just because I could afford it, not necessarily because I wanted it, I just didn't know so I went to check it out. The C5 may have more power but I like driving the C4 better -- it feels more raw, more sporty and pure in its purpose.
My favorite Corvette body shape is the early C3s but I can't afford a nice one, and certainly can't afford to fix up a bad one. I'd love to wrap a C3 body around a late C4 chassis but that too is out of my budget.
Amusing to each there own, never liked the look of C3's or C5's...I think a lot of people buy older Vettes based on their teenage years and between Miami Vice and Atari pretty much defined the C4 for me!
I was given a 1977 C3 that had about 100K miles by my dad and it had some issues. I spent a couple months repairing a rust hole in the windshield frame and needed to repair the dog legs on the chassis frame. I decided to ask my wife if I could sell the C3 and buy a C4. She agreed and I bought a '92 with a ZF6 with under 41K miles. I wanted a car I could drive more and fix less, so far so good.
I was shopping for an inexpensive Corvette to use as a track car. Was looking at C5s, then opened up to C4s as they were far more disposable (at the time). Found a 6 speed car that came with the stiffer suspension I wanted.
After driving it a bit, I fell in love. It had all the steering feel and analog driving that was missing from the C5 and C6. Lower limits, sure, but those lower limits made it more fun. I could romp on it on the street and still get some kicks without going to jail. Win-Win. It is, by far, the best value Corvette out there. It may be slightly slower and less comfortable than a C5, but it drives a million times better. The C4 is more sports car where the C5 is more touring car.
A great car to buy but perhaps not to sell. So....if you are like me and wanted something affordable to drive and not worry about devaluing returns, best bang for the buck! Especially when I bought mine back in 2001. The C5's were new, the late C4's were going for $15K, and the C3's in the same price range got you a rough 74-82 example for the same price as a very nice example early C4. Things have changed a little since then, but in 2001 getting a $10K Corvette that was in great shape was a little taller order. No one knew at that time the Vettes and other performance cars were going to keep getting better and faster to the levels we are seeing now. The prices of the older non collectible Vettes (I.e. most C4 examples) are going to be depressed as a result. Makes them a better bargain now!
Last edited by 856SPEED; Sep 18, 2017 at 03:36 PM.
my neighbour just purchased a 94 LT one automatic base model, for $17,000. It has 30,000 miles on it and it's in mint condition. i'm not so sure that C4's are going to be all that cheap for much longer.
To me the C4 is the right blend of appearance, performance, economy, handling, options, fun factor, bang for the buck, etc.
I like the appearance of all generations. They are just different.
The C4 performance is the first generation that has electronic engine controls and fuel port injection. This makes for a computer controlled tune that adjusts to conditions which yields better power, economy, and a smoother running engine. (I know there was an early fuel injection, and there was the cross fire injection prior to the C4) In short except for only a few of the earlier cars the C4's perform better while getting better mileage.
The handling of the C4 is far better than earlier generations. It won every race in SCCA for three or four years and was kicked out to make the Corvette Challenge for two years, then back in with the other cars in SCCA where they won the manufacturers title for two or three more years. ( https://archives.media.gm.com/divisi..._funfacts.html ) When I drive the earlier generations, they feel heavy and generally wallow. Starting with C4's they handle very well. The C5's and newer have a stiffer frame and handle better but unless racing, I think the C4's and newer all handle very well.
The options the C4 generally has are what I consider modern. Things such as ac, power windows, locks, cruise control are basically standard.
Earlier cars up until about '72 needed leaded gas. I have first hand experience in losing a motor due to valve seat erosion on an early engine without leaded gas. It sunk in and dropped a valve which trashed the entire engine. (All within about 2000 miles on a vacation). It was stated that all '71 and later gm engines had hardened valve seats to allow unleaded gas, but I had '72 heads and one of them was not.
The real answer for me is the fun factor. I buy cars to drive. I am looking for something that I enjoy. The "feel" of the C4 is more of a performance sports car than the earlier cars, and the same with the later ones too since they are more "civilized " and drive like any modern car except faster. The C4 seems to have the right balance of raw feedback, a driver's cockpit, acceleration, cornering, cornering response, and braking to make every trip fun.
All of these things at quite affordable prices makes the C4 the best bang for the buck too.
Although I have a C5, the last two corvettes I bought are C4's.
Price was ultimately the deciding factor. It was cheap enough that I could mod it at will without fear of hurting it's value. It is the most modern styling without all the stuff I hate (air bags, antilock,stability) and the engine controls are simple enough I could easily give it a carb if the injection gives me too much trouble.
Why C4 ?
