I'm brand new to this arena ('vette mania'), but am interested in purchasing a C4.... love the styling, leaning toward a vert in the '93 to '96 range. My basic concern is that all the cars I'm interested in are privately owned, out of state & basically not accessible first hand. Have any of y'all been in similar position? Any recommendations? Tx,

 

Dealership cars often are priced too high and with a private seller, you have a better chance of getting some sort of record for maintenance for the car. I flew out to OK from VA a couple weeks ago to purchase my 85 after talking to the owner a few times and an unrelated individual who lived in the area who was in the same vette club and had seen the car. If you are interested in a car and can't go see it, a CF member close by would be happy to take a look.

 

I'd never buy a car sight unseen...get your frequent flyer miles and/or road rules tee shirt ready.

By the way warm welcome to the mania.

 

BTW...I didn't put any money down on the car until I saw it in person and when I got there, it was exactly as described

 

You don't say where you are from?

The forum here is a good network of people that will check out a Vette for you, if it's way far away. I have offered to do this, others have done this. It's really a great group.

First off, private sale is not always bad when it comes to Vettes. Dealerships have a tendency to over charge and under support used Vettes. Specialty shops just over charge. And, because you apparently don't have a specialty shop nearby, getting one to create and cover a warrantee from a distance is a crap shoot, at best, and impossible at worst.

I, like many here, bought our Vettes privately. What you need tho is information. Lots of information.

I will start!

Basic Tech History:

The C4 started in 1983, as a 1984 model year. It was the last of 2 years of the so-called Crossfire. The 1984 is also the most produced model year, over 50k were made, so they are not very rare. A lot of that production can be blamed on the fact that they built them for 18 months! Initial transmission options were the 700R4 automatic and the Doug Nash 4+3 manual. The 4+3, in simple terms, was a Borg Warner Super T10 with a powerglide hung off the *** end. It was ok, but time has proven it to be rather problematic.

In 1985, the TPI, or Tuned Port Injection, came out. A vast improvement. This engine lasted until the end of the 1991 model year. It had tweeks and improvements over the years, of course.

In 1989, the 4+3 was retired, and the ZF6 (6spd manual) replaced it. Great box!

In 1990, the famed ZR1 came out. It had a 5.7 litre, 32 valve, twin cam V8, called the LT5. This engine shares nothing with the SBC 350. Infact, the LT5 is the father of the Cadillac Northstar. The ZR1 lasted until 1995.

In 1992, the LT1 came out. It is referred to as the Gen II Small Block. Still a SBC, in basic design (the block is structurally the same), the LT1 used specific heads and as such, they are not interchangable with original heads. It also came with something called the "OptiSpark". The Opti is a high tech distributor. It is mounted low on the front of the engine, below the water pump. Great place to put something that is intolerant of moisture! If you do some reading around here, you will find that the Opti is a somewhat problematic piece. When functioning, it's fine, but they have a limited life span. That is normally 70k miles, but, time seems to effect them, too.

In 1996, the LT4 came out. Available only with the ZF6spd, it is a 330hp screamer. A very desireable engine. Actual output was more like 350~360, but it was underrated as to not cause embarrassment to the C5!

GM released a 2nd generation of the Opti in 1995. It is much stouter.

In 1994, the 700R4 was replaced with the 4L60, and then in 1995, updated to the 4L60E, much better than the 700R4.

Cosmetics:

The exterior stayed the same until 1991, when all Vettes got ZR1 style tail lights and a new front facia.

Interiors were redesigned in 1990, to meet the new airbag standards. The design was tweeked in 1992 and refreshed in 1994.

As always, there are little detail changes from year to year.

Recommended Reading, prior to purchase:

Corvette from the Inside, Dave McClellan

Corvette Black Book, Michael Antonick

Cor-vette specs, C4 1984-1996, Michael Antonick

Post purchace:

www.helminc.com - the factory service manual!!!!

Corvette 1982-2001: Fuel Injection and Electronic Ignition, Charles Probst

101 Projects for your C4, Newton

Cautions:

MAke sure whatever car you buy has a good service history and a clean carfax. If you don't feel good, don't buy it!

SBCs have a tendency to leak oil. From everywhere! Front and rear mains, oil pan, intake... take your pick. If it's clean, look closely. Make sure the area below the throttle body is clean, but not shiney. This means some moron hosed that area!!! Which will shorten life of the Opti.

Check the interior for water. The heater cores can leak... if you smell coolant inside, ask questions, and check the carpets.

The Bose audio system is problematic, also. If it's been replaced with good aftermarket, consider this a good thing. Don't be surprised if the Delco CD player doesn't work.

Clutches can be an expensive issue with C4s... especially later ones with the ZF6.

Everything should work. All the power things! Power window motors are prone to failure, so are the power seat rails.

Climate control is very reliable, really. Some have had issue, but it is quite rare.

That's all I gots... I am sure others will chime in.

 

Tx a ton folks ...in particular, to 'bogus' for the great writeup/info...I must say howeever, I'm now concerned about probs I may encounter w/ the '93 AE ad I like the sound of.....Tx again..

 

Drove 300 miles to test drive mine, the guy was understanding about my commitment and gave me a lot of information; he was pretty honest and the car was basically as advertised, I offered very close to his asking price and he accepted.

I've already had a lot of fun autocrossing the car...

 

I was in a similar situation. I live in a rural area where you can go months without seeing another Corvette. Obviously there weren't many around when I began my search so I looked through the internet for cars. I found one from a "specialty" dealer and yes it was over priced, but it was and is in perfect condition. I bought it without driving it, but I did find an auto inspection service to look at it for me. I relied on their expertise and it has worked out well for me.
I know there are horror stories about buying a car this way, but thousands and thousands of people are doing just that on eBay every day. Just do your homework and if it isn't practical to drive the car because of distance, look into an appraisal/inspection service to do it for you, or maybe ask a Forum member to check it out for you if it's in their neck of the woods.
Unfortunately, some of us live in small towns several hundred miles away from Vette dealers and those who say "I'd never buy a car I didn't get to see firsthand" should take that into account.

 

no prob... the thing is, these cars are getting older. Problems are beginning to surface.

Don't worry about them tho, these are rather simple cars to maintain, really. Just have tools and time.

 

In January 2000 I located a 96 LT1 Coupe in FL with 30K miles, after exchanging pictures and a couple of telephone calls, I drove to the address and looked at the car. Wrote a check and drove it home. Very satisfied with the deal and have driven the car for another 27K miles and it is still in excellent condition and is listed for sale at:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=867943

Just in case any one is looking. I have already added a 2994 Coupe to the garage.

 

Drove 700 miles for minez... would do it again 10 times too!!! Welcome to the party... good luck in your quest. you will find that many of the people on here are a plethora of knowledge.

 

www.autotrader.com

 

[QUOTE
Just in case any one is looking. I have already added a 2994 Coupe to the garage.[/QUOTE]


Hey Patriot! The next time you go Back to the Future, could you pick me up a C56?

 

I was more thinking Fry must be jealous...

 

I am in the minority in that I purchased my 93 from a dealer. I worked with Jim Hendricks at Bud's Chevrolet in St. Mary's, OH. I paid what I believe to have been the fair market value... and they were able to get me financed. The big issue is that they treated my wife and I very well. I have never had such a great car buying experience.

Just remember that the cars you will be looking at are used cars and they will not be perfect. That's fine, you're just gonna drive the hell out of it anyway!

 

I contacted the seller of my vette and had him email me as many pics as he could and I requested that he show me evey inch of damage on the car (he did and did a good job of it). After viewing the pics I hopped in my truck and made the 300-400 mile trip and drove it... exactly as described and I love it, the rest is history.

 

What bogus said! Get the books (Cor-vette Specs 1st) and READ, READ, READ. I think the C4 is very complicated and very expensive to fix if you can't do it yourself. I wouldn't ever buy a car I didn't drive first and never bought a car I didn't have up on a lift first. The history is important-if you find one you're interested in, drop me a VIN and I'll autocheck it for you. I'll have autocheck until I find mine-hopefully this fall. I will generally fly to check out a car if the airfare is $200 or less-done it 3 times in the last year-looking at a trip now. I feel like it's well worth the money to get the right car-$200 is pocket change when you're talking 'vette maintenance. Good luck in getting' what you want.

 

One thing, make sure it is an AE. Every '93 came with "40th" on teh headrest, but the only Anniversary Editions are the Ruby Red RPO Z25.

Many people will try to say that there non Ruby '93 is an Anniversary Edition, just like every '96 with the LT4 is a Collector's Edition Grand Sport(because of the owners manual and "Grand Sport" on the throttle body).

On another note, I bought both of mine from a dealer since most of the locals in my area are smoking crack. I got great deals on both of them and I'm happy with them both(the six speed more than teh auto since that did need some work).

 

yea, and it was the Auto that had less miles... and was newer...

don't that beat all!

 

also are you a DIY guy ?????