I think I have seen this discussion before. Everyone loves donkeys!
A relative of mine is coming into some money (around $30,000) and has talked to me about buying a Corvette.
He is an ex street rodder and has had a Vette and a Camaro and other chevy products in the past.
Here in Michigan the "toys" only get driven about 3,000 miles a year in the summer.
I am telling him that an LT4 would actually be a good bang for the buck. I don't think the C5 will hold its value so that is out. I just have a gut feeling that the LT4 is going to be the "67 big block" that the collectors will be fighting over in 15 - 20 years.
The early Zr1s might also be in his price range too.
Also the Grand Sport.
His goal is a Corvette that can be used as a summer driver that will not lose money or might even appreciate a bit.
Let the bench racing begin.

 

i doubt a regular LT4 will gain that much value...tell him to get a grandsport or a ZR1

 

Thats a no brainer ZR-1


$30,000 will get him many nice ZR-1s

 

For long term value suggest he get a 35th Anna.

They went up 11% from last year and one with very low mileage in pristene shape will cost around $30k.

If he wants performance the ZR-1 or GS would be a good choice, though their value has not yet begun to increase much if any.

 

IMHO, this is the only C-4 that will gain "collector" status. GS is already there.

 

Any C4 is going to underperform most other type of investments by a long shot. Looking at the ZR-1 or the GS - I don't see either one offering the return on investment that a conservative-type investment fund would. I am not convinced people will look back at the C4 they way they do the 60's C2.

Investment vaule should be toward the bottom of the list when looking at C4's. A $30,000 ZR-1 or GS will only remain such if he never drives it. Even 3,000 miles a year can add up over 10 years.

If you are looking for something that is not going to loose it's value as quickly as the rest, a GS or ZR-1 is a step in the right direction - but really these cars are meant to be enjoyed and driven. The only one's you will see worth any appreciative amount of money in 25 years will be the garage queens or the really low mile ones that get drive 1 weekend a year - and would fall apart as a driver.

With C5 prices dropping, don't look for C4's to increase much over the next 5 years. Only the limited ones will be worth anything and that's if we seal the pristine ones up in garages now.

If you want something that is a little more exclusive, a ZR-1 or GS is the way to go, there are other great C4's out there that you don't see that often as well, the 88 and 93 aniversary, the 96 collectors edition, the 86 and 95 pace cars, the 84 Z51 4+3.

 

$30000 'could ' get you into a Callaway. You'd have to do some serious shopping to find one, but they are available in this range. Talk about low production numbers and sweet cars, the Callaways are it.

 

zr1 is the way to go. it won't be a big investment bang but may hold it's own.

 

I have seen deal's on 1996 Collectors Edition's that just seem outstanding for long term investment. If I had to pick one Vette however it would be a 1975 Convert. They keep going up year after year! If he really wants an investment opportunity however, there are better much ways to go than owning cars.

 

ZR1 without a doubt

or another corvette... like a C2 or C3

C4's are really great drivers at this point, but not quite collectable

 

This is a good responce with one exception, "investment fund".
Real estate is the best short term/long term investment, other than that this post is right on the the money.

As far as production C-4's go its gotta be a ZR or GS.
CE's are dropping Aniversary cars have never made the mark.

If I had 30k to invest it would be in real estate, not in a car.
30k in this market will net you 60k in less than a year.

Last house I bought went up $40,000 in 9 months with an in of $15k.
Theres no short term return on cars, very few cars hit the big time in the long term. Tell your friend to buy property and then when the property starts paying for itself to borrow on it and then but the toy.

I know, I know, its not about the money except when you don't have any.

 

Except....what can you possibly buy for $30K?
Answer: nothing in any market that is appreciating.

Conclusion: buy the ZR-1 and don't expect it to jump in value anytime soon.

Larry

 

My thoughts are a zr1 or a late convertible. Tke a lt4 coupe yeah a lot of guys like those but most for a corvette perfer a convertible and being a convertible makes it a lot rarer too. In 95 out of 20k something made only 4k something were convertible I just sold my 94 coupe for a 95 convertible and paid a lot more for the convertible, over 20k for it actually.

if a lt4 is in your mind and you want it to hold it's value better make it a convertible lt4. And teh CE's are nothing but silver with different wheels, that isn't going to make it worth hardly any more unless it's a convertible lt4.

 

Just about anything that you buy will appreacate in this state.
Your answer is incorrect.
www.porterville-homes.com
For 30k down theres is a lot to chose from.
If nothing was appreacting the real estate market would be dead.
We all know that the real estate market is driving the economy.
Real estate rarely remains static, even during the depression real estate values went down 25% while the stock market was all but destroyed.

30k invested in real estate will far exceed the appreacation in any C-4.
A 30k investment in real estate can return $600,000 in less than ten years in my area or even in yours.

I know I've done it.
www.santacruz4sale.com

 

I would say buy the car that he wants the most...

The c-5 is going to be falling in value over the next 5 years or so

The c-4 will still be falling in value over the next few years.

per the cpi book the 91 zr1 is up 1 or 2 % ... I still see cars trading hands for less than book value.

A car is not an investment.. so buy it to enjoy it.

Good luck.

 

Great Advise!

 

Cars as investments, in general don't work out very well. If you want an investment, chose an appropriate venue. Buy a car when the the fruits of the investment allow you to drive it and enjoy it.

 

I don't get all the posts about INVESTMENT.

The guy never mentions INVESTMENT.

"His goal is a Corvette that can be used as a summer driver that will not lose money or might even appreciate a bit."

He is a perfect candidate for a Callaway, ZR-1 or GS. The guy drives low mileage each year and the cars deprecation will be marginal if

A) He dosen't get ripped on the purchase price
B) Stays away from super low mileage cars like 9 miles on the odometer. (you pay a dear premium for those type of cars)
C) Maintains the car properly.
D) Buys the right car, right color, options etc

If he was to get a GS, he should get a vert with Red Guts but $30,000 prolly ain't going cut it.

$30,000 also won't get you a pristine Callaway.

$30,000 will buy you a pristine early model ZR-1- basically a new car. They all all LT5 cars although later models are more limited in production #'s.
You are not going find a later model ZR-1 for $30,000. Best I ever saw was a Yellow 95 for $35,000 but those deals are far and few between.

All limited production, high HP Corvettes with the right options always come into there own. It typically happens 25-30 years after production.
It's not going to be just the limited mileage cars that bring good $. Condition of the cars will play a big part. Look at all the 67's that are restored that tons of mileage on them and they were restored - they are still worth big $$$$.

It all depends on the owner. I like the idea of keeping mine in pristine shape while not losing too much $ on it.

I think I can sell mine for what I paid for it 2 years ago. Thats what I like about owning it, you don't see it on every corner like you do a C5 and it maintains it's value well compared to other models.

The only other C4's that have been the same or actually outperforming the ZR-1s in terms of value are LT4 convertibles & GS.

To me the answer is simple - ZR-1. I'm going to try to pickup a 2nd one soon.

 

I will say again unless you buy a real clean zr1 he needs to get a convertible for the price to stay the same or rise. Show me a c2 coupe that is worth what a convertible is besides a 63, you can't. Show me a 68-72 coupe worth as much as a convertible in the same cond, you can't. Same goes for a c4, even with the zr1 having a lt5 a lot of people wouldn't consider it because it's a coupe. What he needs is a lt4 convertible not that that will rise in price real quick or anything but it won't hardly drop either, not many verts do no matter what year because now that the prices fell again I doubt they will fall much more. Convertibles will always hold their value more and bring more, period. Unless you compare a 86 convertible to 95 zr1 or something silly like that.

 

i agree with the above post about getting a convertible, for sure an LT4 at that......since it will only be a summer driver (the big caveat here), this aspect alone with serve to both increase his enjoyment of normal driving and definitely won't hurt when it comes time to resell.

that said, i'm a 100% coupe guy, which has absolutely nothing to do with it!