First. IMHO, the 96 is a Beautiful Car especially with the 6-Speed....I'm not questioning this FACT.

My only concern about 96's in general is the potential long term scarcity in replacement parts as many of the parts are one year parts due to being OBD2.

This came to mind while watching a video from Mirrock Corvette where he states that currently you pay a premium for several 96 parts over the same C4 OBD1 part because of the 96 being "unique" due to the year/OBD2...... one year only parts

I'm wondering if the 96 C4 eventually will get to the point, similarly to the C5 97-00, where certain parts are just not made/available, and quality used replacements are...????

I guess the same concern can be said about any car, but at least many earlier C4's were able to share more parts over varying years when it comes to being OBD1, and there should just be more parts (new and used) generally available even as time marches on....???

 

Hi,

Im not sure what might happen, im not aware of any parts that are not available for 96 cars as of yet. I can tell you that these cars are pretty much the most refined C-4 cars made, and other than the LT-5, the stock LT-4 is pretty impressive when you get into it. Since ive owned the L-98 car i can tell you the acceleration on both cars are very close, until about 4000 rpm, that's when these LT-4 cars are really impressive. Anyone owning one will tell you, these cars pull extremely hard with what seems like very little effort, If youve never had the chance to drive one, try it. it surprised the hell out of me.

Chris

 

Life's too short too worry about the "What if's?".....

If I owned your ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL VETTE, I would drop the top OFTEN and just ENJOY the whole damn experience!!!!

 

Thanks!
I honestly got a little **** from my 2 sons for buying the car, Both are married, both are doing extremely well and both are in their 30's. They were saying Dad? ...Why a C-4? Buy a C-6, or C-7..
Those C-4 cars have no horsepower, I said I wanted a classic car, And I like the looks of the C-4, I owned one for years, and i miss it. I dont care how much horsepower it has, I like the way those cars handle and feel.

After they both looked at it, Took it for a spin,

Both said, Dad! nice choice, that cars awesome...my oldest Son said, I gotta tell you, that's the nicest C-4 car I've ever seen...ha!

Chris

 

I can't imagine ANYONE looking at a MINT 96 C4 convertible, especially red w/white top, and not being able to appreciate just how BEAUTIFUL of a car it is just as it sits.....now throw in a 6-speed and a windy road....

 

Give the man a cigar. Or as my daughter said when she was very young, "The needle was up past the dinger".

You have to have someone that wants a Corvette AND someone that wants a C4. Then you would be competing with the "lots". I ran into a few impulses buyers who took a bath
selling it a couple months after figuring out it wasn't the car for them, maintenance was too expensive, etc.

 

Exactly.

Chris

 

If you had a financial ceiling in the C7 area, that gets you into an immaculate C4 of any year. I won’t go on my ZR-1 campaign this time but you can land a pristine C4 that only needs nothing other than to be driven for what you’re allowing yourself for a budget. Don’t be scared away by perceived lack of performance. Dodge offers midrange performance options for their sedans and SUVs that flat out embarrass or keep pace with any Vette not a C6 Z06 or better in the performance department. Just the mid range, not the hellcat options, and the 392 cars are everywhere. So are 5.0s. A 1996 with the LT4 would be a great C4 to own until you scratch the C8 itch....maybe a nice Grand Sport that needs nothing.

 

A quick search shows the fastest minivans as the Honda Odyssey, turning a 6. 9 second 0 to 60, and a 15.2 second 1/4 mile.

My 140k c4 would have no issue absolutely demolishing that sort of performance number.

 

Beyond that, it's really easy for a car to look nice in pictures online. It's much harder to look nice in person. You just have to see the condition a lot of cars posted for sale online Really are vs what the claim online. Sometimes you won't even think it's the same car. That's why it's so hard to take pricingg from Facebook, Craigslist, etc into consideration. A lot of times, it's totally out of touch with reality. The sellers often price their cars for the condition they're in, not that they appear to be in. Then a sheep runs down to see if thinking they're snagging a gem for a deal and realizes it's not the beauty they thought and gets pissed about it being fairly priced and walks away.

I'm always very up front about the issues with a car when I sell them online. I don't want people to waste my time, and so I make it clear that it's priced fairly because they're not perfect. It ends up with getting a bunch of people who offer half of asking price, but I just ignore them, they're not real buyers and likely don't have the cash anyways.

That said, nice C4's are hard to sell. Nice C5s are hard to sell. C3s are hard to sell. Basically, anything that isn't new enough for a car loan is hard to sell, because people don't have cash. Once you get out of that area where you can easily et a loan (usually 10 to 12 years), you have a hard time selling.

 

as well as my 86. I have no problem leaving them in the rear view

 

OK, since you guys are so proud of the ability to beat a minivan, how about a Toyota Camry of Honda Accord, neither of which anyone would consider a sports car.
2020 Camry
TRD FWD 8A 5.6 sec 14.2 sec @ 101 mph Car and Driver
TRD FWD 8A 5.8 sec 14.4 sec @ 99.8 mph Motor Trend
2018 Accord
2.0T EX-L Sedan FWD 10A 5.7 sec 14.3 sec @ 100 mph Car and Driver
2017 Accord
Touring V-6 Sedan FWD 6A 5.7 sec 14.2 sec @ 98.6 mph Motor Trend
Once again, the minivan comment was tongue in cheek, and in anything but a straight line the Corvette wins easily, but don't buy one of these cars because you think it is the fastest thing on the streets.

 

Hi Pat,

Of course your absolutely correct, My daily driver is a 2018 Ford F-150 Twin turbo, A 6 banger that is very fast for a 6000 lb truck. Technology has come a long way, and that's just the way it is.
But it looks like a truck, handles like a truck, and is useful for what it is. You stuff a 3.5 liter twin turbo 6 cylinder in a car, game over.

But I like the feel you get riding so low, and moving quickly through the turns, not going to win any straight line races with modern 4 cylinders or 6's, at the very least they'll keep up to you running engines with half the displacement!

So yeah your right, but they don't out run modern corvettes either.

Chris

 

I didn't buy my c4 because it was "fast". I bought it because it wasn't. It's quick enough to be fun, but slow enough to be fun.. You can drive it like an ******* and not break many laws. Want to rip through 3 gears? Go for it, that's like 65 mph. Want to take a sweeper fast? No problem. Track day. You won't set any lap records but if you stuff it into a wall bring the title and a note that says "it's yours now" and walk away from it. If I need to go fast, I've got a C6 and a TBSS that are both faster. But the c4 is fun, because it's the "slow car driven fast" thing.

A wise man once told me that buying a car because you think it's fast will always end up in disappointment. There's always someone faster. How do you think C8 buyers feel when an ugly *** Tesla driven by a frat boy smokes them? Probably not great. Buy the car that makes you happy, not the one you think will win races.

 

I completely agree with you. I have an 86 Fiero V6/4spd and that may be the most "fun to drive" car I own. I can literally drive it (almost) flat out and not worry about going to jail. In my GS the only place I can go WOT in any gear above 2nd in on the track. I am a big fan of driving a slow car fast.

 

My BIL has one of those trucks with the smaller (2.7) turbo 6 and I am amazed how much power that thing has. It is amazing how far we have come in a relatively short time.

 

The Ford Nano engine is... Eh I dunno how I feel about it yet. It produces a lot of boost, decent power, with improvements to be had with nodding and tuning. It's also the most liter cheap plastic piece of crap. Plastic oil pans, the drain plug is a plastic twist out piece that possibly need replaced each time... I get that it's "probably" fine. But that's like, a piece of road debris away from a dead engine.

I was looking at the Explorer ST which has the 3.0L version of this engine and 400hp, and while it was a nice vehicle, with a great chassis an the engine was adequate, if lacking in character or actual good sound, there was just so many places where it felt like they cut corners that the whole package was let down. There's literally an unfinished cut carpet edge on the passenger side floorboard in plain view! That's fine on a 15k econobox I guess, but not on a 60 thousand dollar sport suv.

I've been a fan of Ford for a long time, but they're starting to worry me with their insane cost cutting. They didn't use aluminum for the Explorer because of cost. The plastic oil pan, the materials, all that.... Cost. You can't expect customers to pay big money when you're cutting corners everywhere. I get the automakers are focused on electrics, and pour money into that segment as they lose massive money on them, but spending mo ey on electrics and skimping on the actual volume and profit drivers is a recipe for disaster.

 

Well, I dont want to hijack the thread, but i agree to a point about Fords newer platform, im not convinced my truck will go the long haul. But i never keep them more than a year passed the warranty.
I will say the trucks performed flawlessly, with no issues, it has 24k on it.


My sons a sales manager at the Ford Dealer, I got the call last week, hey Dad..... time to trade, as soon as he has his 2021 demo truck He'll pull it in my garage, take the old one away. just like that.
My payments never change

Chris

 

I have never been a Ford guy, but the way GM is going I might not have much of a choice in the future. That is not good news about their fit and finish, however.
As far as the plastic oil pans go, I was amazed the first time I saw one as well. My brothers GTI has one, and VW puts them on every Jetta/Golf so it must work for them.

 

Car manufacturers focus on making the car last through their warranty periods, and anything after that they consider a bonus.

When it comes between making a better more durable longer lasting product versus making a few extra bucks off each unit.....We all know what the decision will be MOST of the time...

Cars are just a disposable utility item like your refrigerator or stove.....