I had a wonderful 1979 C3 that was absolutely beautiful and was as dependable as any vehicle I have ever owned. But my C4 is so much more comfortable that I would never own another C3 because of the touring I do in my C4. Comfortable, dependable, economical, and a great looking car to boot!
Bernie

 

Prices, the never ending cycle. I have wanted a vette since I was old enought to know what a sports car was. I have dreamed about um, looked at um, talked to banks on loans, drove um, etc for over 20 years. I finally bought one. Vette prices are like most cars, they are high when new, slowely lose value as they age, get to their lowest point, then start to gain value again. In the 80's I could have bought 100's of 60's vettes for $5-8000 (or less), In the 90's the 70's where worthless (well as far as vette's go) and I can rember looking at severl in the $5,000 area (or less). Right now the 80's are the low buck machines. The price will go up, when, I have no idea, but it will sometime.

I am a bit suprised ont he 70's right now. they where horribly underpowered smogged out cars.. Not that the 80's arent too. I love my GM cars, but the 70's and 80's where really bad years for GM, they made some cars that I would have figured 12 year olds put togther. Smog rules, being the #1 car maker for so long, unions wanting the guy taking the garbage out getting huge bucks, management sucking up every dollar they could. EXCESS that the public paid for. lack of seeing the other guys getting better and better while they got worse and worse. GM made a great motor in the 50's (small block) and improved it slowely and since it was such a great motor (even smogged to heck and back) it kept um going (that part is JUST OPINION).

the 70's and 80's vettes are pretty underpowered. I would say the 80's have the handling part well over the 70's but the 70's retain that Classic vette stingray look. Somebody mentioned there where a TON of the 80's vettes made, that will keep prices low for awhile for sure. You say speed isnt a concern, then I would lean towards the 80's just because they have more creature comforts. I am not sure a can say which would be more reliable, but I can say the 70's should be much eaiser to work on.

My thoughts, I bought an 87 for a few simple reasons. Price, new enouhg to have the creature comforts for those days you just wanna get from point a to b. Getting in and out of a 80's is harder then the 70's (IMHO) Working on motor is easier, but even with the top off its still dang cramped in there. The 80's Have ODB so its sligtly easier to find problems when they do appear.

I guess i would buy the one I wanted, and could afford.. If i had the one I wanted it would be a 63 split window coupe... i can dream But I cant see the 80's being any more problem then the 70's cars (drivetrain wise).

 

ive kinda had the same question as this...
i love the style of the c3, and have soo many problems with my c4..
1. my c4 is too low!, i get killed by speed humps.
2. it seems that every street has pot-holes!
3. when it rains, I swim in my vette...the weather strips are known to fail.
4. i feel my engine overheats and i'm scared to use my vette's power when its hot.
5. i dont understand all the electronic components in the vet...my odometer has fried, and my trip buttons dont function properly. I dont understand the codes, and im not car savvy with this technology.
6. Lights dim all the time when idling...dash lights, radio, headlights.....battery seems to love running in low volts...

i think the c3 would be a better choice for me...but yet again, i dont know the downfalls for a c3..

 

In my opinion every car model goes through the valleys in price. 10 years ago C3's were dirt cheap, I almost bought a 75 with a 350 auto for $5000. Anyway give it a few years and the price will go back up just like all the others. The people who generally can afford a classic car with minimal problems want a car they can identify with from their youth. Example my dad has a 68 vert, 327, 4spd, just something he wanted when he was a young adult and couldn't afford because he had a family to support. Now everyone has moved out and he can afford his toys. I just got lucky and won a new full size GMC 4x4 and paid off all my debt and bought my '92 with cash.

 

I own a C1, C2, C3, C4 and a C5. I thought that my 93 was a great car until I purchased a 2000. Performance, comfort, ease of entry, and style all go to the C5. Love my 54, but the six, difficulty of getting in and out, and miserable ride, make the 2000 hands down my favorite car, period.

Take a C5 for a drive and you'll forget C3's and C4's. You can buy early C5's very reasonably these days. Probably the best performance car for the dollar today.

 

You "feel" your engine overheats? Not sure I understand that one.

 

I have had a lot of Vettes, 2-C3's, more than 10 C4's, two C5's and 1 C6.
I am 38, and the time finally came that a two seater couldn't be my daily driver. I had a choice of keeping the C6 and buying a beater or getting a new four seater and keeping my C4. I choose the C4, they are my favorite. I am not saying they are better than the C5 or C6, but it is my choice.

Things that have left me stranded over the years are:
84 - 91 Rotor in distributor burned out
Serpentine belt broke (92-96 can still be driven since water pump is not belt driven.)

92-96 Opti spark
Auto transmission- I have replaced several. They did get better after 86.

An 82 model would give you the Cross Fire injection of the 84 C4 and it is very bulletproof. Gordon Killebrew said in a meeting that it was more dependable than later C4's. I have had 7 crossfire cars and like them.

Hope this helps.
Shawn

 

Excellent Post....and I agree on the price thing. When I bought my 1970 LT1 in 1978, I paid $4500. It was low miles and perfect. It was just a used car. Now look at the values on the same low mile car. Yup, your right.

8Valve

 

Sounds like a bad marriage.....TIME TO FILE THE DIVORCE PAPERS!

 

Typically from new, a car like a corvette will lose resale value until it hits the bottom of the price curve at about 20 years old, and starts to rebound in price at about age 30.

That puts the lowball prices square in C4 territory, and puts the ones starting to rise in the late C3 territory.

At about age 40-50, the cars that are still nice will start getting top dollar for what they are. Priced a clean 1970 C3 lately? Or a nicely kept original C2?

Once C7's are on the road, C4's will start making the slow climb toward being worth what the C3's get now.

Anyways, That's my story and I'm sticking to it

Rob

 

I was going to sell my C4 to buy my C3, but for what C4's are going for - I kept it, wasn't willing to give it away. I like them both, but for different reasons. I also agree that C4's will eventually start going up in value; once the C5's take the place of the C4's!

 

No carburetor cars for me. Lousy gas mileage, balancing, gas leaks, etc. Fuel injected cars are more efficient, much better gas mileage and performance and more reliable. The car you have is a TPI system. It's reliable. I recommend an LT1 engine and system. They don't makes cars like they used to - thank Goodness!

 

Sold my 70 LT1 NCRS Convertible a couple of years ago and kept the '94 396 LT1. Enjoyed the 70 but it really just sat in the garage. The NCRS car shows got old after awhile.

My suggestion would be to put a stroker motor in your 87 and head to the drag strip.

 

Yep they're sooo much better made now, but the funny thing is - the value of the car once it's past that 30 year mark has nothing to do with it's reliability or lack thereof.

It has to do with the once high school kid who had barely two nickels to rub together and drooled at the sight of that badass looking (enter your hs grad year here) Corvette you'd give half your family making jewels to own and cruise up in to school in.

THAT is the one that'll be YOUR YEAR of Corvette. Anything newer than that will be a compromise on that original dream.

Rob

 

Trailer queens are hard to own - they beg for you to use them and if you do, you watch their value slip away...

 

I have both in white. 1979 and 1996.

 

That's called "supply and demand" and in no way reflects build quality.

I currently own a '72 and a '94. I have owned one other '94, and a 2004.

For looks, my 1972 is my favorite
For comfort, my 2004 was my favorite
For power, 2004 hands down
For lack of power, 1972 wins this one easy (for now)
For head turning, 1972 hands down
For value received Vs dollars spent, Nice C4s win this one

For reliability the 2004 first followed closely by the C4s. The '72 I would not go far in it yet. Not until I have been through the car top to bottom.

It's not 1980 any more. Any early C3 you find is going on 40 years old, and has now had many hands tinker with it. That statement is assuming you aren't going to shell out giant dollars to buy a well restored one.

I can also tell you that C3 Vs C4 Vs C5 means huge leaps ahead in build quality with each generation. The C4 is so much better built than a C3, it's hard to believe they are related. The C5 is just as big of a leap over the C4.

C6 Vs C5, not so much. The C5 & C6 are very similar in build quality.

 

For gas mileage comfort and power I would choose a c4. I did have a 70 convert for 8 years now a 92 convert

 

Yeah, right. I sold my C5 to get into a C4 - I wanted a car that felt like a sportscar, not a fast Camry with a big butt.