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This statement is on point. I went to a car show this weekend with a friend of mine. Some Teslas were at the show. HIs kids are more excited about seeing someones daily driver Tesla's that isn't even detailed properly than a nice clean detailed anything that isn't s supercar.
The youngest generation is insanely materialistic. They're bombarded by CONSTANT BS from "influencers" about what they should have, go, do, etc. They are all about the newest most expensive looking stuff. They're bought into an annual or more phone upgrade cycle. To them, old means it should be thrown out and has no value. The idea of robust and durable products makes no sense to them.
IMO the C4 will appreciate in the future about like the C3 has only in the opposite. The early C3's are the most sought after and valuable and the late C4's will be the most sought after and valuable. We are already seeing this happen and as wide the gap is now in value between a 1969 C3 to a 1979 C3 so will the gap widen between say a 1995 C4 and a 1985 C4.
Very few will be willing to spend the money to keep an early C4 in tip top shape or bring back one from the edge of death. This trend is already going on so don't shoot the messenger just sharing what I see. Another reality is as the C5 and C6 keep coming down in value this will put more downward pressure on the values of the C4. How many will be willing to spend top dollar on a low mileage LT4 when they can get a C5 Z06 or a C6 with more HP and features for the same money.
I really like my 1995 6spd Aqua vert but I would not like it as much If I could get a 2008 with 435 HP for near the same price.
We are already seeing this happen and as wide the gap is now in value between a 1969 C3 to a 1979 C3 so will the gap widen between say a 1995 C4 and a 1985 C4
From what I’ve seen the gap between an 85 and 96 has gotten closer and the 85-95 gap has really closed yes your average 85 is in worse shape and has more miles than a 96 and is worth less but now if you compare apples to apples clean low mile / original cars to each other they are very close in value and in 1979 a new C3 was worth more than a 1969 I believe they didn’t eventually pass them till the 90’s...I’m pretty sure a similar 85 is never going to pass a similar 96 in value but I also don’t believe the gap is going to widen..
From what I’ve seen the gap between an 85 and 96 has gotten closer and the 85-95 gap has really closed yes your average 85 is in worse shape and has more miles than a 96 and is worth less but now if you compare apples to apples clean low mile / original cars to each other they are very close in value and in 1979 a new C3 was worth more than a 1969 I believe they didn’t eventually pass them till the 90’s...I’m pretty sure a similar 85 is never going to pass a similar 96 in value but I also don’t believe the gap is going to widen..
One of the cars you listed is an 84 though and no offense to you 84’ owners they still seem to be the C4’s “red headed step-child” here are some cars locally to me
prices are all over the place those 2 85’s are actually more than those 2 93’s with similar mileage which is crazy but trust me on this the gap has gotten closer with the 85-89 cars and the 90-96 cars I saw this when I finally settled on my 89 in October and looked for months for a low mile Red 85-96
Wheres “over here?” because I’ll drive there right now and fly back If I can get 28k for my “decent” 2002
New zealand.
dont get toooo excited though, because when you account for the exchange rate, thats only $18k US. which is still on the higher side, but you pay a bit of a premium when its a rare car over here that was never sold here new.
any corvettes that exist ere have been imported privately at some point.
Predictions are difficult because there is a shift happening and the future of gasoline-powered cars is uncertain in a longer perspective. The ZR-1 will be a collectible to my generation but outside of that...
As for 80's styling... I got a book on fast cars from my daughter. Completely rubbish book. But I saw a C5 Z06 in there. And I couldn't see how I ever found that car hot. I felt the same about C4's just a couple of years back but now I'm back to thinking they look pretty damn nice, especially the later facelifted design (still not a fan of the convertibles though and red is just overdone). And apparently so do kids and old women.
I love the forum but we get side tracked from time to time. I have a 2009 C6 and 1994 C4. Let face it the C6 is a better car but I love driving the C4 it's an amazing car. Runs like a raped ape, ice ice cold air, let me put it this way you better bring a jacket, I upgraded the radio, it stops on it nose. My wife was leasing a new car when the lease ran out she took it for her DD. To me it's worth a lot and by the way it's not for sale and I was offered $8,800.
I love the forum but we get side tracked from time to time. I have a 2009 C6 and 1994 C4. Let face it the C6 is a better car but I love driving the C4 it's an amazing car. Runs like a raped ape, ice ice cold air, let me put it this way you better bring a jacket, I upgraded the radio, it stops on it nose. My wife was leasing a new car when the lease ran out she took it for her DD. To me it's worth a lot and by the way it's not for sale and I was offered $8,800.
The youngest generation is insanely materialistic. They're bombarded by CONSTANT BS from "influencers" about what they should have, go, do, etc. They are all about the newest most expensive looking stuff. They're bought into an annual or more phone upgrade cycle. To them, old means it should be thrown out and has no value. The idea of robust and durable products makes no sense to them.
This.
Younger generations are raised to be narcissists, old cars arent even a thought in their head. As said the value is in driving them, nobody knows what tomorrow brings so why even worry about it?
One of the cars you listed is an 84 though and no offense to you 84’ owners they still seem to be the C4’s “red headed step-child” here are some cars locally to me
prices are all over the place those 2 85’s are actually more than those 2 93’s with similar mileage which is crazy but trust me on this the gap has gotten closer with the 85-89 cars and the 90-96 cars I saw this when I finally settled on my 89 in October and looked for months for a low mile Red 85-96
As I was looking in my region I found a big difference on dealer asking prices and private asking prices pretty much throughout all years. Really hard to get a handle on prices when one '85 in great condition with lower miles is asking say $5K and the next one is asking $11K. There will always be a buyer for the early C4's and one thing you pointed out on a earlier post is we are seeing less low mileage very nice condition early C4's available so that makes them worth more in the market.
That '93 40th anniversary you have listed looks to be a pretty good price point considering miles, overall condition in photos and the fact it is a 40th. Man the prices on the C4 are still all over the place. I looked up Bring a Trailer sold prices and was happy to see some early C4's brought some very strong sale prices - very strong indeed :
I've owned by '94 for over 5 years and I've probably lost 20% of its value in that time. So the depreciation curve continues to drop.
Bottom line: don't buy a base Corvette of any generation and expect to make money. Buy it, drive it, show it, enjoy it and throw resale value out the window.
The youngest generation is insanely materialistic. They're bombarded by CONSTANT BS from "influencers" about what they should have, go, do, etc. They are all about the newest most expensive looking stuff. They're bought into an annual or more phone upgrade cycle. To them, old means it should be thrown out and has no value. The idea of robust and durable products makes no sense to them.
I'm one of the small percentage of milenials that likes old cars. But yeah, your statement is right on point.
There will always be a buyer for the early C4's and one thing you pointed out on a earlier post is we are seeing less low mileage very nice condition early C4's available so that makes them worth more in the market.
For sure there are less 85-89 clean low mile cars out there than the 92-96 cars and like I said there is that “retro 80’s” nostalgia thing that the 84-89 cars have and the ALL digital dash which is now “cool” once again as all the high performance/exotic sports cars today now have all digital dashes so that might be adding to the cool factor and the values this wasn’t the case in the early 90’s+ when the digital gauges were looked down upon by most
all reasons that seem to have started to “level” the values 84’s well they made so many of them so there are actually more clean low mile ones out there than 85’s that also doesn’t help their value aside from the crossfire engine but they’ve gone up too
I've owned by '94 for over 5 years and I've probably lost 20% of its value in that time. So the depreciation curve continues to drop.
In 2009 I bought a very clean 98kmi 95 Coupe for $5500 at a dealership no less similar cars today seem to be in the $7k-8k range so I think they’ve gone up a little over the past 10 years but I also got a good deal
There’s something that keeps telling me that, arguably the worst corvette models that were made (Which I disagree with 😂, the c4 corvette will shoot up in price.
Many of the c4’s I see, at least around here and I’m sure other places, are always messed up, beat up, etc.
as the years go on I think the c4 will rise in price drastically.
I love the forum but we get side tracked from time to time. I have a 2009 C6 and 1994 C4. Let face it the C6 is a better car but I love driving the C4 it's an amazing car. Runs like a raped ape, ice ice cold air, let me put it this way you better bring a jacket, I upgraded the radio, it stops on it nose. My wife was leasing a new car when the lease ran out she took it for her DD. To me it's worth a lot and by the way it's not for sale and I was offered $8,800.
Factory Five Kit car? Real Cobra? I have been looking at the Factory Five cars and like what I see. I have a nice 460 I have been saving for a Cobra kit car. I think it would be a blast.
IMHO buying a C4 as a daily driver to put 12-15000 miles a year on it is a losing proposition. Sooner or later you'll hit a year that will cost $10k in repairs. As a second car going 2-5k miles a year spreads out the cost and makes it more affordable.
IIRC, GM made well over 300,000 C4s over it's 12 year run. Just too common to be collectable, except for the zr1.And there are a lot of them.
So, buy it cheap, have some fun with it, expect to lose some money on it, and don't worry about it.
05-09-2019, 11:00 PM
, the c4 corvette will shoot up in price.
