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Hey guys I've been wanting to get a c4 for a little while and I used to want one as a daily driver but now I'm more looking for one to fix up as a fun weekend car. I've found a few that are decent price for my area, can anyone just glance at the options and see if they are worth it? Especially the one with the oil leak, I can probably negotiate down a bit but I don't know if it's worth the risk https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto...199449358.html
1. If you want to keep busy buy this one
2. Need more info but looks decent and might have been well cared for
3. Certainly has paint issues and just my opinion looks like it's been driven in to the ground
#2 - the red 1991 appears to have potential - no opti, dual power seats, 9.5" wheels on each corner( if stock wheels) so can rotate front to back for extended tire life. Have checked out by competent mechanic before purchase. This car has the most potential of the 3 posted. Good luck.
I would stay away from #3, needs a paint job looking at parts of the car.
Imagine you live in S Florida since should put your locations in your aviator it helps when asking questions.
Since you are new to the Corvette World, WELCOME, and here is show tomorrow in Miami area, you should make it a point to drop by at these events draw all generations of Corvette, including owners trying to sell there rides.
Last weekend event was 76 Corvette showed up, and you can ask owners questions I'm sure there answers of what to look for in Corvette.
I think #2 looks like a pretty good car. Not a ton of info, but all the stuff I see in it sounds good. Obviously at your price point you're not buying a diamond, but you might find one that can be polished up.
#1 I like a little more, but it needs more work, and is probably in better shape. If you are able to work on stuff yourself, I think they're both pretty decent options.
That said, the bads are both at l98s and both are autos. They're a lot less powerful than an lt1 car but the prices reflect that. If you just want a Corvette to tool around in, they'd be great options, just don't expect to be a stoplight king in them.
First one - Could be a decent deal depending on where the oil leak is, and what's going on with the A/C could just be low on refrigerant, could be the controllers, compressor, whos knows, could be a pressure switch connector, I would assume 2 grand in repairs.
The second one - I'd get that thing on a lift. The exhaust tips appear to be corroded, maybe too much time near the ocean?
What is your level of fixing up? Complete engine overhaul or replacing fluids and bulbs?
Out of the list #2 looks the best.
Don’t touch a car that needs paint, unless you paint for a living or have a family member or good friend to do the work. Paainting an entire car is not cheap.
But expand and your search area and look around to the rest of the SE.
Ac not working or "works but not cold just needs a charge" that is the biggest line of bs.
It lost the charge for a reason. Seal? Compressor? Multiple components? Plan on spending a grand +- min or pay accordingly.
Most any C4 will need a thing or two but a sound one..is not going to look worn out and beat up. If they let the obvious go then bet the mechanicals are the same.
That said, the bads are both at l98s and both are autos. They're a lot less powerful than an lt1 car but the prices reflect that. If you just want a Corvette to tool around in, they'd be great options, just don't expect to be a stoplight king in them.
All three are L98 autos. That's why I poo-poo'ed them all. Those cars are priced right about where my '92 LT1 6 speed was priced.
IF he expands his search, he can find a decent/driver LT1 car for similar money. Hopefully not an auto.
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Last edited by Tom400CFI; Sep 26, 2020 at 02:40 PM.
Ac not working or "works but not cold just needs a charge" that is the biggest line of bs.
It lost the charge for a reason. Seal? Compressor? Multiple components? Plan on spending a grand +- min or pay accordingly.
Most any C4 will need a thing or two but a sound one..is not going to look worn out and beat up. If they let the obvious go then bet the mechanicals are the same.
A grand? That's a bit extreme. My car had an ac leak that turned out to be a sensor, and the evaporator core. I spent more in freon and stuff to convert it to 134 than I did parts to fix it. If I had taken it somewhere, sure. But that's what it would cost for any car to get the ac fixed, it's not something unique to the corvette. Find a 4 grand Honda civic with no ac and it'll be a grand to fix too.
I disagree about your assessment. My car was ugly looking(still is) but mechanically pretty good. There's a lot of people out there who once their car starts to have clear coat failure, or paint cracking or whatever will still drive it because it looks 90%, and will keep it mechanically sound. Especially when you consider all the guys on here think a paint job should cost 5 grand minimum, not many people would bother with it.
The OP is clearly not looking at the cream of the crop cars. Is he going to regret it if he buys a car with ugly paint and spends 300 bucks for a Maaco respray? Probably not, it'll look better and not cost a ton. Having 4 grand into a car with a Maaco paint job isn't the worst thing in the world, it'll look good enough and you won't feel guilty about taking it wherever, leaving it, parking it, etc. We went to dinner tonight in my c6 and the gf kept saying how she felt bad that we took it and it was parked in town where something could happen to it. With a maaco'd car, you never have to have that worry.
A grand? That's a bit extreme. My car had an ac leak that turned out to be a sensor, and the evaporator core. I spent more in freon and stuff to convert it to 134 than I did parts to fix it. If I had taken it somewhere, sure. But that's what it would cost for any car to get the ac fixed, it's not something unique to the corvette. Find a 4 grand Honda civic with no ac and it'll be a grand to fix too.
That's what he was saying....it would be a grand. Unless the OP is a DIY'er -which if he were, he probably wouldn't be starting this thread.
Originally Posted by FAUEE
The OP is clearly not looking at the cream of the crop cars. Is he going to regret it if he buys a car with ugly paint and spends 300 bucks for a Maaco respray? Probably not, it'll look better and not cost a ton. Having 4 grand into a car with a Maaco paint job isn't the worst thing in the world, it'll look good enough and you won't feel guilty about taking it wherever, leaving it, parking it, etc. We went to dinner tonight in my c6 and the gf kept saying how she felt bad that we took it and it was parked in town where something could happen to it. With a maaco'd car, you never have to have that worry.
First, I can tell you from personal experience...the "300 buck MAACO paint job" doesn't exist. I took my car there for a blem on the hood and clear coming off on the halo....$1400. Maaco. I had the hood and halo done elsewhere for $1200. Having a C4 painted is expensive. You point about the "$300 paint job" isn't valid b/c that paint job doesn't exist. You can't even buy the paint for that money.
I bought my '92 for. $5k. That's $500 more than the OP's choices. It's got 50 more hp than the OP's choice. It's got a 6 speed. It had decent paint, weather stripping and interior...and a killer powertrain. I've had it for 11 years now, tracked it, DD'ed it, road tripped it...it's coming up on 200,000 miles. I've done mostly regular maintenance to it. The OP can do better than those cars, for about that same amount of money. He need to expand his search and have some patience.
I stopped worrying about paint and scratches and daily the old ones now. Thats what insurance is for-
If people dont drive their cars out of "what about xx" then whats the use in having it?
Avg "decent" Maaco job out this way is about 3k;auto repair shops in Ca typically start at 100/hr+ a simplel compressor job can hit 4 figures real fast.
That's what he was saying....it would be a grand. Unless the OP is a DIY'er -which if he were, he probably wouldn't be starting this thread.
First, I can tell you from personal experience...the "300 buck MAACO paint job" doesn't exist. I took my car there for a blem on the hood and clear coming off on the halo....$1400. Maaco. I had the hood and halo done elsewhere for $1200. Having a C4 painted is expensive. You point about the "$300 paint job" isn't valid b/c that paint job doesn't exist. You can't even buy the paint for that money.
I bought my '92 for. $5k. That's $500 more than the OP's choices. It's got 50 more hp than the OP's choice. It's got a 6 speed. It had decent paint, weather stripping and interior...and a killer powertrain. I've had it for 11 years now, tracked it, DD'ed it, road tripped it...it's coming up on 200,000 miles. I've done mostly regular maintenance to it. The OP can do better than those cars, for about that same amount of money. He need to expand his search and have some patience.
Maacos are all franchises, so they're free to set their own pricing. There's no shortage of videos of people getting it done for 300 to 500 bucks. It all depends on what you want, a scuff and spray is no more expensive on a c4 than anything else. Most corvette owners will not opt for the cheap option because they think their car is special and needs the best, whereas a civic owner will go for the cheap stuff.
I priced good quality Benjamin Moore auto paint for my c4. It was like 250 bucks for plenty of paint and clearcoat. You can spend more if you want to, but paint isn't as expensive as people make it sound. Hell, I've seen plenty of decent looking cars done for 50 bucks in tractor supply paint. They're not gonna have paint like a new Lamborghini, but it's certainly good enough to drive around and not worry about too much.
I bought my kids Hondas when they started driving. The first was a DelSol and it cost me $450 at Macco but they also took a softball sized dent out. Sold it at 250K miles.
Next was a black Accord Coupe paid $600. It got hit and the other kids insurance paid for work at one of the best shops in the area. You can't see any difference. It's been 7 years and it still looks good.
Last one was my Daughters 4 door Accord. Another $600 job and it came out great and it was a metallic. Not the easiest paint to apply.
That said there not perfect. Couple of spots where tapping could have been better, but easy enough to clean off.
Maacos are all franchises, so they're free to set their own pricing. There's no shortage of videos of people getting it done for 300 to 500 bucks. It all depends on what you want, a scuff and spray is no more expensive on a c4 than anything else. Most corvette owners will not opt for the cheap option because they think their car is special and needs the best, whereas a civic owner will go for the cheap stuff.
I priced good quality Benjamin Moore auto paint for my c4. It was like 250 bucks for plenty of paint and clearcoat. You can spend more if you want to, but paint isn't as expensive as people make it sound. Hell, I've seen plenty of decent looking cars done for 50 bucks in tractor supply paint. They're not gonna have paint like a new Lamborghini, but it's certainly good enough to drive around and not worry about too much.
OK man. Whatever you say. Next round of "tune up" painting I have done on my car, maybe you can help me get it done. I want "Shiny, good looking from 10', 'driver' quality". Sound like I can get the paint for $250 and Maaco will do it for $50 in labor?
OK man. Whatever you say. Next round of "tune up" painting I have done on my car, maybe you can help me get it done. I want "Shiny, good looking from 10', 'driver' quality". Sound like I can get the paint for $250 and Maaco will do it for $50 in labor?
Nah that's like 50 bucks in tractor supply paint if you only want a shiny 10 footer.
Seriously though, Maaco paint is cheap. They use a single stage paint and they literally scuff it and shoot it. If you want them to do more than that, costs add up. But if all you want is "not clear coat failed paint", who cares? Maaco is gonna have some kid making 10 bucks an hour sand it with a power sander in a matter of minutes, wipe it down with some IPA, put something over the windows, then send it on to the painter who will spray their cheap **** on there in a few minutes. If you're not worried about fixing defects, etc, then a car can be painted really quick. There's also a reason they only give it a 1 year warranty, it might not adhere all that great.
Supposedly the real value pick is their mid level paint at like 500 bucks. It's supposed to be at least semi decent. A lot of people have turned shitty Maaco jobs into OK jobs by doing all the sanding and stuff themselves, that's the time (and thus money) consuming part.
Right. I know how Maaco works. Paint is cheap. Labor is cheap. Not new news. Like you, I have a driver....I wasn't looking for show-car paint, so I stopped by for a quote on the "10 footer scuff 'n spray".
So why did I get a $1400 quote from Maaco for a "scuff and shoot" +$10/hr labor, then?
It's cool and all, that you're telling me "how it is" w/Maaco....I'm the one out of the two of us, who actually went there and tried to get some crappy paint done. A hood and halo. $1400. Answer: When I asked about that price vs. the advertised price on the radio, I was told about "Corvettes", SMC, Fiberglass...etc. "'Vettes don't apply to that ad".
Keep saying the same thing, but the car #3 in this thread (or any C4) ain't gonna get painted for $300. Sorry....not happening. The only $300 'Vette paint job is if you go to Home Depot, get some of that garbage Behr paint and a roller...and giver 'er hell.
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Last edited by Tom400CFI; Sep 29, 2020 at 12:14 AM.
Right. I know how Maaco works. Paint is cheap. Labor is cheap. Not new news. Like you, I have a driver....I wasn't looking for show-car paint, so I stopped by for a quote on the "10 footer scuff 'n spray".
So why did I get a $1400 quote from Maaco for a "scuff and shoot" +$10/hr labor, then?
It's cool and all, that you're telling me "how it is" w/Maaco....I'm the one out of the two of us, who actually went there and tried to get some crappy paint done. A hood and halo. $1400. Answer: When I asked about that price vs. the advertised price on the radio, I was told about "Corvettes", SMC, Fiberglass...etc. "'Vettes don't apply to that ad".
Keep saying the same thing, but the car #3 in this thread (or any C4) ain't gonna get painted for $300. Sorry....not happening. The only $300 'Vette paint job is if you go to Home Depot, get some of that garbage Behr paint and a roller...and giver 'er hell.
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I hear you, but again they're franchises, and will be different store to store. If they're just doing a scuff and spray, it doesn't matter what's underneath the paint they're scuffing.
I ended up deciding I'd just paint it myself. The stuff isn't that expensive and it seems like a fun project to learn on. I'm never going to have a perfect finish, which is fine because my car is just a driver.
Yep. Good project. I've painted 4 cars....learned a lot in the process. One of the thing that I learned is that I don't want to paint cars anymore. So...$1200 for the hood and Halo.
Thoughts?
