dtana

Looking to buy a 6 speed manual C4 Corvette coupe 1990-1996 with under 100k miles. I am pretty flexible on the color. No convertibles. No Salvage titles. Car should be stock & in excellent mechanical & running condition. Must pass smog. Must be in very good to excellent cosmetic condition. In other words, it certainly need not be "perfect", but it should need nothing. Willing to look at cars within an approx. 100 mile (1 1/2 hour) radius of the San Francisco Bay area. Please include as much detail as possible, including pics etc. in your response. Not looking to spend more than $6k. Thank you!

Please DO NOT contact me if you are not the actual owner of the vehicle.

rhinoevans

Good luck!

bob guzzy

He needs more than good luck.

dtana

Thank you, though I suspect it'll be more a matter of perseverance & the luxury of having time rather than luck. Yes, I do want it all. A good solid inexpensive C4. If the months go by & I find nothing, I'll come back in a years time & buy a C5 instead for just a few grand more.

rhinoevans

Do an Autotrader search and see what you find with your parameters.

NADA for a 94 in good condition is $9000. Retail is over $10,000. And you want excellent, low miles, and 6 speed ( 20-25% of all vettes in a given year for C4). I would not even consider my low milage, 6 speed, Z07 for a penny under $12,000.

No one will give away an EXCELLENT LOW MILAGE 6 Speed for $6000.

Like I said. Good luck. And a C5, using these same parameters in a year. You obviously don't know anything about corvettes.

Pals92C4

Here's a beautiful example right here in the forum:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4s-...e-arizona.html

dtana

Thanks, I saw that. My brother is looking at one for me in Fallon Nevada at a dealer for $6900, a 1994 with 100k from Car guru.

dtana

Really! Well you are correct in that I know nothing about Vettes. But I do know that a car, ANY car is only worth what the buyer is interested in paying.........& right now very few buyers are interested in C4s period.

I am very grateful to people on this forum who have helped me, but I suspect that sometimes people forget that this forum is not even remotely a microcosm of the real world.........both in terms of its generosity as well as its assessment of non enthusiast sale prices.

BTW, Some C5s in my area sell for $10k now..........to say nothing of next year.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4047982000.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/4005160956.html

dtana

On the off chance that I haven't offended the village elders here too severely with my heretical desire to find a nice mechanically sound 6 speed C4 with under 100k............. for no more than $6k, I figured I would do an update & at the same time bring a collective smile to their faces by humbly stating that I haven't accomplished my mission yet & that the search is now in its 7th week.

I actually thought that the search was going to end last week when I had scheduled a 2nd look & pre-purchase inspections for a '91 & a '93 (asking $5500 & $5800).............& make an offer on the one that got the cleaner report card, but alas they both sold on the same day that I was scheduled to do the inspections. The sellers declined to state how much they sold their cars for, but I'm sure we can all take a decent guess.

So the search goes on.................

mnstrlt1

Honestly, if you expand your parameters, and consider vehicles with more miles, the search shouldn't be too difficult. I've seen LT-x 6-speeds go for as little as $4k, but that was years ago in an "economic crisis". I think the value of the dollar has artificially increased the asking prices these days.

*also, someone willing to sell at your asking price might be reluctant to get an inspection done, because it's time/liability on the seller's end with no guarantee of sale. Especially for a vehicle "at least" 17-years old. Some imperfections are expected (at that price point). Typically, people are spending A LOT more for a vehicle when requesting an inspection.

I'm not knocking you bud. In fact, more power to you if you find what you're looking for.

dtana

Thank you. You're right & I thought about that, but then I'm not familiar with Vettes & realized how stupid I would feel if there was something underneath the car I didn't know about or whatever else I didn't notice.............that could have been revealed perhaps by having an inspection done. So............

mnstrlt1

I completely understand protecting yourself as a buyer, and I feel it's a great idea. But the seller might be like "the heck with this guy, I just want the thing sold". After all, irrelevant of the miles, it's a used car. For that matter it is a "sports" car being sold for the price of a used corolla! lol

I'm sure something will pop up, I've purchased several cars from SF Bay Area (I also lived in the area for a short time).

Quick things to look for;

1) Clutch hydraulic system operates properly (good pedal feel, smooth engagement, and engagement in relation to the pedal travel). I've replaced the slave cylinder on all 3 of my c4's.

2) Brake booster; the plastic boosters on the later cars tend to be prone to failure (hissing sound inside the car, hard pedal, excessive pedal effort). I've now replaced it on two different cars.

3) no hesitation, misfile when driving. Especially with the later c4's (with low miles). Owners tend to avoid the opti-spark, tune-up service, and sell the car before it is due.

4) power steering pump on the later c4's, I'm now looking to replace the second one of the three c4's I've owned. Excessive noise, excessive effort, especially at lower engine speed.

5) steering column play. This is a very expensive service ($500+) if it has excessive play. Some inexperienced owners tend to use the steering wheel to get in/out of the car.

6) Power seat tracks are functioning, again common problem and a pricey repair.

7) antanna functions, difficult to get to if it needs to be replaced. Speakers work, the over-complicated stereo system is expensive to service.

8) fluid exchange services, etc.

Take into consideration if these items have been addressed, especially if the seller might be asking for slightly more than your budget.

dtana

mnstrlt1.........You're right of course...........& thank you for all those C4 specific tips. You've been incredibly generous with your time.
Again, thanks

mnstrlt1

You're welcome. This "is" the purpose of the forum after all, good luck.

Grzldvt1

Not as much as offending the elders, as it is realistic expectations. I have been monitoring the C4 For Sales and live in the same area.
Based on my searching, and it has been very casual, I didn't think you would find anything, unless it had some sort of major issue, hidden or not.
I know C4's having rebuilt one from almost scratch. My shop neighbor has a 90 that fits your criteria, but it is a total POS. Can't believe anyone would have actually bought this car. It had the living crap beat out of it.
You simply need to study the market and also realize some owners have unrealistic expectations selling their baby.

dtana

Is your shop neighbor 1990 Vette currently up for sale? If so pls. PM me so I can save myself the trouble of looking at it & being disappointed or shocked. Thanks

dtana

Looked at a 92 polo green/tan interior with 93k miles, asking $7200 obo & described as a 2nd owner car with no issues & everything worked. ZR-1 wheels with a Corsa exhaust, but otherwise stock. So I drive 85 miles there with a checklist provided by a kind forum member in one pocket & cash in the other. The game plan was to offer no more than $6k if everything checked out, sealing the deal & then coming here & not gloating too much while saying I told you so to those who said I'd never find a nice driver under 100k miles with no issues for $6k.

So I get there & the paint is a bit rough & there were some unusual semi deep scratches & "flaking" on both sides above the rear wheels in the lip area, wheel well area................ that the owner explained as teeth marks from his dogs while they attempted to get at rats or something! I'm not making this up. In fairness, I should mention that this was a rural area. The weatherstripping was history, especially on the top.

A column of ants (belonging to a unit of at least battalion strength) were visibly traversing the hood & into the engine compartment, near the battery, brake fluid container & who knows where else. Though I spotted no spiders, they had in fact set up formidable webs adjacent to both headlights inside the engine bay. A smaller detachment of ants was patrolling the footwell on the drivers side, the air conditioning vents, on the dash, in between the seats, near the ride control etc. etc. I decided not to investigate the ant situation further as I was already starting to feel itchy & hadn't even started the test drive yet.

The ABS & ASR lights remained on throughout the drive. The car actually ran pretty well, was as responsive as other LT-1s I've tested & the Corsas sounded awesome (much nicer imo & no annoying drone like the Borla I drove a few weeks ago).............. Yes the air condition actually worked well. There was a clunking sound coming from the rear that increased in speed as the car increased in speed & was present whether in gear or in neutral. Wheel bearing maybe? Semi quick upshifts from 2nd to 3rd would consistently overwhelm the synchros, but otherwise the gearbox seemed fine, the clutch fine. There was more play in the steering wheel (side to side) than I cared for & it appeared to need an alignment but other than that the car handled acceptably.

The owner sensed my disappointment, but we cordially engaged in some further talk before I jumped into my car & sped to the nearest gas station. Fortunately I had 2 quarters in my pocket (& though modesty prevented me from dispensing of my polo shirt & jeans) I quickly availed myself of the compressed air, from toe to head several times & then onto the drivers seat

All in all, though the test drive was fairly uneventful, the "dog teeth" scenario does take over top spot in the unique explanations category!

So the search goes on..............Please feel free to leave comments, reactions, heckles etc, especially in regards to the clunking sound & the ASR ABS warning lights. Also, on the off chance I completely lose it & end up buying this car for like $3k..............I could use some tactical advice on how to effectively wage chemical warfare against ants & insects in the automotive theater of operations.

Grzldvt1

if you do decide to buy, bring the car to my shop and we can clean it up and get rid of the critters, and do it safely.
Love the rat story, and the weatherstripping is not a cheap fix.
If you come to the Santa Clara Corvette Show on Sunday we can talk, I will be the only detailer there with a booth.

mnstrlt1

Be careful with the ASR and ABS light in the cars that are equipped with Fx3 (ride control). If anything is wrong with the FX3, it triggers an ABS light (or ASR, I don't remember exactly). Regardless, the FX3 system will cost you a small fortune if it's in need of service... Like $200+ for actuators and $250+ per shock...

The clunking "could be" the u-joints. I was getting a clunking in my old 93' when I realized the driver side half-shaft u-joint had failed. It can also possibly be a delaminated transverse leave spring.

dtana

Thanks. This car appeared to be a low option one. No automatic climsate control & no ride control..........unless there is another location for the selector switch other than between the seats? ASR is traction control correct?
Other than the clunking sound, do you know of other possible characteristics a car would display while being driven from a failed u-joint or delaminated transverse leave spring? I've heard that sound before but this was an old Alfa Romeo many years ago, It turned out to be a driveshaft donut.