Been looking at C3's to purchase, since they were the Corvettes during my "coming of age" ages. And love the bodies. But purchasing one has been quite a chase. Many seem to be available close to me, and within my budget (under $15k), but few have original engines and many/ most have some issue. So plan on spending a lot more money.

Now running across C4's in my price range that seem to be better kept/ better maintained/ more original. Fewer problems. What I consider the last of real Corvette style.

Going to look at a '93 40th Anniversary this weekend. All original and 44k miles. $12,000.

But CarFax is odd. Not a whole heckofalotta service on this car. Like over the 30 years just a few. Most without specifics, and many years between.

Everything noted is at dealerships. First owner drove it 40k miles in 25 years but only four dealer service records. But no details on those 4.

Only recently in last 4 years do any details show up as to what was serviced. Second owner had 2 dealership services in the 4 years they owned it and put 3k miles on it.

Current owner purchased last year and has no dealership service records. Current owner is stating car has new plugs new continental tires new brakes new serpentine belt new battery but no CarFax records of it.

Only 6 dealership service records in 30 years. But new this or that in ad but no CarFax.

Is this normal - does CarFax sometimes not have all the records?

Even if I don't buy this car, I'd still like to get a handle on how useful and accurate CarFax is, and in general is it true these C4 cars are the most mechanically reliable Corvette model years.

Please comment. Thanks!

 

When I got my 84, Carfax records for it were very scarce too. Didn't even show when it changed owners, only when it got smogged at new places hundreds of miles away from each other. Then, the notorious gap between 2012 to 2022 where nothing happened (it had been sitting all those years), then up to now. Chances are, the owner of the car you are looking at had done a lot of the maintenance work of the car himself. There are no records for that except a binder or folder (if he chose to keep one). That is why seeing the car in-person is always a good bet to get the REAL picture. Can't hide stuff on the real car if you know where to look.

In a similar but different vein, my 1989 Celica had a VERY long Carfax service record. It had a note of new owners, all the emissions stations, and even oil changes and major work to the engine components. Of course, if these people are taking their cars to shops, chances are it will be logged down for Carfax to see. But in the case of some cars, like my personal 84 Corvette which I am doing a lot of work to myself, major stuff like the water pump change will be known by nobody except me.

So maybe some food for thought. That is just my experience with two different cars. I hope things go well with that 1993 Z25, it is a really good looking package and personally I think it is the best C4 special edition ever made. Something about that ruby color really pops.

 

Yeas the Ruby on Ruby does look great.

Weird so few records. What records there are the dealerships didn't show specific services. Every NY Smog Emission checked logged, and owners kept it registered every year. Would have to be a lot of owner maintenance from all 3 owners, including current owner in Indiana.

 

Carfax isn't going to have much of anything on C4s or older cars. Not much point in even running it. Most owners don't keep logs unless they are obsessive, like myself, but even I don't keep logs of everything like oil changes or services on my 88.

 

There were several dealer maintenance services on CarFax going back 25 years, but few details. That leads me to believe if previous owners went to dealerships for service, they would at least be a CarFax hit. I'm just skeptical the original owner did their own maintenance from the beginning when purchasing from dealer. Original owner drove it about 40,000 miles. I'm worried there is 30 year old tranny and steering fluid and brake fluid in the car.

 

If it was only driven 40K, I can pretty much assure you there is 30 year old ATF fluid in the car. One look at the brake reservoir should tell you about the same.

 

Good luck.
The 93 Ruby seems cool.
I liked the C3 Better when I was a kid as far as looks.
A Black C3 With the right wheel and tires and stance is a Cool looking car.

 

C4s are 30+ years old now. Carfax just isn’t a good resource for them. Trust your own eyes and ears when looking at the car, you’ll know if it’s worth buying or not. I bought mine in July and never even considered it. You’re buying the PO, the maintenance records and the sights and sounds of the car itself.

That said, your first task will be replacing all fluids right away so just figure that into the price.

And, a C4 is a very solid, reliable car once it’s sorted. Much more advanced than a C3, more practical too. I love them.

 

Spending $500-$1000 to have a car examined by a mechanic that is knowledgeable of Corvettes will be much better than realying on a carfax for a 40-50+ year old car. IMO, if you aren't buying a car that is less than 20 years old, a carfax is basically worthless. There are way too many holes in the data provided before the mid 2000s to trust a carfax. I am not saying a carfax doesn't have any value, as there is a ton of state data and some dealer maintenance timelines you can follow that can help.... It's just that you simply can't trust a carfax to make a decision like the one you are portraying in your OP. If you are concerned about matching numbers, and all original, get the car physically checked out by someone that knows all about it.

 

If you want a car for about town and that turns heads. A c3. Especially with chrome at both ends. You want something for a thousand mile road trip, the c4. If you fit in and can get out of a c4 it is fabulous car for the highway. But without the stiff suspension. If you like to tinker and toy around, the c3 is self evident. Speaking from a lot of seat the me in both

I doubt my c3 even shows up on Carfax other than being registered.

George

 

I found out C3's before 1981 have a short VIN and CarFax can't use short VINS.

 

Not everybody takes their Corvette to a dealer for service. Many of us do a lot of work ourselves. Some guys have shops that will rival many professional places and can do almost everything on their own, from mechanical to body repairs. Others may have a trusted local garage who does their maintenance and repair. None of those will show up on a Carfax.

This can be good or bad. Somebody may take immaculate care of their own car but you'll never know about it. On the other hand a blown engine or a crash which didn't have a police report made will not show up either if the owner made repairs themself.

Another thing - sometimes Carfax is just plain wrong. We've read of errors both ways - one owner said he had owned the car for many years - can't recall if he was the original owner even. When he went to sell it, Carfax showed a collision many years back, which this guy flatly stated just never happened. Others have told of having a crash which was reported and repaired, but somehow never made it to the Carfax record.

Carfax can be a useful source of info, but it is only one tool and should not be relied on exclusively nor as gospel when evaluating a car.

 

I love the C3's and have had 3 of them. Great for looks and style. Early C3's good for power. C4's good for everything else: handling is light-years ahead of C3/C2's (same basic design); engine management and economy; braking and steering systems; car's ability of handling more power.
C4's are MUCH more affordable and more readily available. So the choice depends on WHY you want the car. Looks/style -- C3. Other stuff -- C4.

 

You're placing way too much faith in a service that didn't exist for like 25 years of the car's life.

Many places don't report to Carfax, unless Carfax pays them. Fewer still are going to go back and put all their old records (many of which are probably hand written) into Carfax. A lot of specialist shops still don't report to Carfax, because it doesn't benefit them in any way.

Part of buying an older car is accepting that every fluid needs changed. That's just something you gotta do. It's a 30-40 year old car, it's going to need a lot of upkeep during your ownership. If you want something hands off, buy a new supra. But those aren't gonna be $15k.

 

$25K for a decent C3 small block car; $10K for a decent C4.

 

I've bought a lot of used cars over the years... and the one thing I can say is... buy the lowest mileage car you can ... for the aesthetics and completeness. But never expect good reliability from a car with lots of years on it. A 1993 Corvette is going to be 31 years old now. Which is crazy, because I graduated high school in 1996, and suddenly feel really old. But a car that old... if it's something you actually wanted to enjoy, and not just drive on and off a trailer, you're very likely going to have to go through the ENTIRE car... and there's no mechanic inspection that's going to prevent that.

If the hoses are original, they're likely breaking down. The coolant is probably old, and if it sat for a long time and used tap water along with the antifreeze, the radiator is probably breaking down and rusting inside. Your dust-boots on everything from the tie-rod ends, to the ball-joints are also probably split and cracked. If it's an automatic, chances are that transmission fluid has been sitting in there for a long time and starting to break down the clutch discs. Even gaskets will begin breaking down and such (though less-so with gaskets). Just want to set expectations...

Every old car I buy, I go through completely, and I come in with the expectation that any wear item or fluid is going to have to be completely changed out.

 

An in most case the C4 will out brake out handle and out perform the C3...

 

I have one of each; bought the C3 new in 1972 and bought the 94 when it was 2 yrs old. They are very different cars in every way. Both of mine are manuals, the 72 is a 4spd and the 94 has the very excellent ZF 6spd. The 72 is definitely old-school while the 94 is Chevy's entry into more modern cars and looks like a racecar underneath. If you want to modify your purchase, the 94 has more limited opportunities and fewer aftermarket goodies available. The popularity and age of the C3's has resulted in a wide choice of mods. I too am one of those who does all the work on his cars. One of the issues you will have to deal with is going to be dried out gaskets unless they have been recently changed, especially on the C3's. The C4 may have dried out rubber seals on the targa top and the rear hatch. Easy-to-find replacements out there. You should also ask for proof that the water pump and distributor have been replaced. The pump will leak into the distributor and ruin your day. Also, you should know that the seats in the 94 are between the frame rails and you drop down into them; it is comfortable to drive but hard to get out. If you are going to work on your purchase, the 72 is all SAE bolts, the 94 is metric.

Good luck with your search, just do your homework. Depend on your eyes not a carfax.

 

Went down this road a couple years ago when I bought my ZR-1. If I had to do the search all over again, I'd go with a C4 again. Neither generation is very easy to work on, with everything wedged into the vehicle. It's way easier to get a C4 with some decent performance, even by today's standards in your budget, vs most of the C3 was built during the malaise era, so the gas pedal is more of a noise generator in stock form. All C4s had OD transmissions, so wouldn't need to swap anything if you were looking to modernize.

I like the styling more with the C3 over the C4, but the fact that only one trim level of the C3 had a rear hatch that opened from the outside means you have to pull everything from the trunk area from the inside. I don't use my C4 as a DD, but have taken the car on road trips where we load luggage into the back. Would have been incredibly annoying to fold down the seats to get access to the trunk contents.

No feedback on ride quality, but I don't see the C3 having a better ride over the C4.

Drive both and see what you prefer.