RetroGuy

I know nobody asked, but here's "my two cents" regarding those who have some trouble selling their Corvette: As a buyer, I'd be much more interested if the seller had a mechanic's report stating the over all condition of the car and what needs to be replaced/repaired now or in the near future. It could also attract more buyers if the seller obtained a smog certificate, which is good for 90 days in California. These two things should bring in more serious buyers, and let a fair price be negotiated in a timely manner.

drcook

There are other issues you are overlooking rather than just stating the condition etc to attract interest.

The shear number of C4 Corvettes (well any generation Corvette) being sold at any given time.

Use this search argument in Google 1995 corvette site:craigslist.org substitute any year for 1995. That command will search craigslist nationwide, not just locally when you get onto craigslist and it detects your area. There are 10's of 1000's of cars for sale.

If you go to autotrader, there are 11,247 Corvettes from 1981 to 2019 for sale on that site.

People have multitudes of cars to choose from, and to make matters worse, the pool of people that are interested in older Vettes diminish by the day do to age, the younger generations aren't so much into performance cars and the ones that are buying, get new ones.

Add into the mix, that younger folks that want performance can buy a 6 cylinder Camaro that will run rings around all but the ZR1's and have a warranty to boot and available parts. Back in 2016 the 6 put out 335 HP.

The older generation is faced with not being able to get in and out of their cars anymore and are trying to sell them. Or have reached a stage in life where they are faced with having to sell the car for financial reasons.

I have a friend who is wanting to sell his 1970. He wants $30,000 for it. His wife has trouble getting in and out and it is too loud at this stage of their life. Based on the number of C1's, 2's and 3's around here, it will face some stiff competition to get sold. Luckily for him, he does not have to sell it, only wants to sell it and replace it with a C5 or 6 that is easier to get in and out of and has an auto transmission.

So the trouble selling may not have anything to do with the car itself, just the realities of 07/25/2018.

FASTAZU

This would only apply to one state and if outside of Cali. not an issue in the other 49 states. Plus if it needs it to be tagged in the states that don't have an exempt after 25 years old you would have a hard time selling without it.

@ drcook

rgscott67

As a prospective buyer, I am still seeing some unrealistic prices based on the points the other member posted above for the number of available vettes. I am looking for a C4 that is in good shape mechanically and cosmetically, not perfect but one that can be on the road for the remainder of the summer with no required repairs(except fluid changes etc). Still find it tough.

GS982

At the price point of these cars, condition is truly everything. A couple of years back, I went to look at a yellow 96 LT4 car with 45K miles, owner wanted $12,500 which I thought was more than reasonable at the time. I had cash in my pocket and every intention of buying the car. I jumped straight into the test drive. It ran and drove great. Upon further inspection, I noticed all the rubber on the car was dry rotted. Shock bushings, control arm bushings, weatherstrip to name a few. Had I bought the car and replaced all the tired rubber, I would have had way more in the car than it would have ever been worth. Ended up with a 96 GS in much better condition for $21K. After enjoying it for two years I sold it to a good buddy and was able to break even. C4s just aren't worth enough to dump a bunch of $$$ into for repairs without losing your a$$.

RetroGuy

Agreed. Therefore sellers currently need to be more realistic with their asking prices in this partially flooded market. However, I still believe that when my '96 hits 25+ yrs old, being in the great condition it's in now with relatively low mileage, it will start to turn the tide on its selling price. Then I'll get a real retro year Vette

RetroGuy

My dream is to trade in my '96 one day for a Split Rear Window model.

cv67

Dr Hook Im afraid is right on the money, its not just these, its most older sports/muscle cars, period.

Where are people lining up to buy C4s....old musclecars or? Let alone pay a lot for them (outside the occasional die hard)

Just not seeing it. .

Lloyd Smale

Reason I had to get out of c4s was getting out of c4s. Im 60 and 5 back operations made it just to hard. Now that c5s have about tanked and you can get a good one for under 15k its a no brainer to me. Add to that there more reliable and faster. that said both c4s and c5s are a heck of bang for the buck. Yes a 6cyl camaro might run as well but who wants to be seen in a 6cyl camaro other then your wife. Add to that a 6cyl camaro used is going to run you twice what a c4 will and for what a decent one brings you can buy a c5 z which will eat it for lunch. A newer camaro might be in the works for me. When I was younger I owned many camaros. Older now and there easier to get in and out of and I can take the grandkids along to the car shows. But a 6? NO WAY. it will be either a new ss or a used zl1. I drove a 2016 ss and it was a great performing car!

RedCorvette1988

I don't think the price on c-4 will go up. But something I have notice is in the pass year I have been getting more comments at gas stations about my 92 and its all from younger folks-- When I tell them they can find good buys on these years they seem very interested. They are a good starting point.

rgscott67

As a prospective buyer north of the border this issue is much bigger. I don't think Canadians have realized the value of C4s and the limited market. On my search I found a nice 87 vert with about 40000 miles...asking $18000 cdn. Car looks great, and realisticly I would offer about $9k for it. But sellers think because new corvettes are popular, old ones should follow suit.

fake

If the 1968 went up these C4 will go up to. !992-1996 the ones that were taken care of will double there value!

jrs 427

Not so difficult. Just add a wheel barrow of cash to the deal. Everything has a price. Too much emphasis is being placed on two rear windows. There are many 64-66 coupes at what seems pricy now but bargains five years down the road. I bought four coupes so I would not run out !

StPeteC-6

I currently have my 1993 Corvette Coupe advertised on Craigslist Tampa (See Cars & Trucks, then 'Corvettes) The heading is 'Lows Miles, Quality and Price." Not good at cut and
pasting to send link, but if you call or text me your email, I can send you full pics and info on the entire package. Build sheet, Window Sticker, Series Data Sheet,
car cover, nose mask, Two volume shop manuals. Car is in superb condition. 727 871-2191 Car needs nothing but to be driven and enjoyed. Let's make a deal!

TopEnd

This one? https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/cto...673247887.html

timstl

selling my 96 CE with only 93K miles, down to 6900 it is brutal now patience helps

StPeteC-6

That's it. You found it. Dr Hook is right on with his analysis of the market. Also, look at all the C-4 WTS's on this Forum. All Corvette Series markets evolve
and I am hoping this one will too. Right now, you see either high mileage (135,000 - 198,000) bad paint jobs that 'only need this or that' or pristine examples
that have maintained their originality and been babied and with low mileages (under 50,000). Take your choice, a project car that will ruin your bank account,
or pay a bit more going in, immediately know what you have and start having fun immediately. Logically, buying the better car makes the most sense IMHO.

I've always heard the saying 'When buying a Corvette, decide how much you can spend, then buy the best car (including our C-4's) you can find for that budget.'

So guys, I think we have to be patient and that C-4 will eventually fit somebody's budget.

drcook

Folks, we are on the same type of cusp

as the horse and buggy intersected with the gasoline driven automobile. It took a while to happen, but it did and the horse and buggy are relegated to fair weather wedding photo shoots, quaint little town tours, museum pieces and the Amish. Have you not seen the commercials being run on TV a major manufacturer is running ? Once a major mfg'er starts investing serious money in pushing the technology, you know the winds of change are starting to blow. It is starting to happen in the big truck world also.

It is not going to happen overnight, but it is going to happen. Could it be 10 years, I doubt it, 20 ? Want to guess on the percentage of electric cars/alternative fueled cars that will be on the road as compared to pure petroleum product driven machines ?

You may as well drive them and enjoy them. They are going to go the way of the dinosaur. It is a given.

Taking the above in stride, how much money do you think the 5,6 and 7's will bring once there are reliable electric cars that can do 300/400 miles on a charge, recharge in seconds (this is currently being worked on), will blow the doors off a petro driven vehicle from the start due to the instantaneous availability of power. (instead of working on building power quicker, engineers will be working on controlling all that is available).

We are already seeing 10K mileage C5's (at least in my area) bringing sub $20,000 prices. In fact, one was listed at $18,000. This was at a Chevrolet dealership, not a buy here pay here type of place. What could a cash buyer get that car at ? Think about it. At another dealership, the salesman told us he took in a C4 on trade (on a new Vette) gave the guy $4000.00 trade in and sold it for $6000'ish. It must have been a pretty decent car to move so fast.

Who wants to spend (other than a C4 aficionado) X amount of dollars on a C4 when a 5 can be bought for not much more, will ride nicer, be easier to get in and out of and out perform the mainstream C4 ? Most people want autos and are not faced with the prospect of paying someone $2000 (+/-) to put a clutch in a C5 and beyond so the 5's and beyond are more desirable. In fact, I see more 1st time buyers in 5's than 4's. The one exception realized how bad he effed up on the purchase in the first week of ownership and now it sits, not selling, as he (at that time a few weeks ago) wasn't willing to take the $7000 ish hit and try to dump it. He was older, a 1st time buyer, ill informed and as he found out foolish. He has a hard time getting in and out, so it sits.

We saw the end of an era when lead was removed from gasoline. It took how many years to recover the performance lost ?

Then you heap on the fact that our technology allows us to manufacture more than the population can ever use. Then the biggy, the turn over of the population. The baby boomers and the earliest children born to the earliest born baby boomers are really the ones that are interested in the "so called muscle cars". As I said above, they are getting older and simply (on the average) cannot (or have issues) getting in and out of low slung automobiles.

I was parked next to a guy with a 57 Chevy last weekend at the cruise-in he was in his 70's I would gather. We did our mutual comments on how nice each other's rides were and he said "I used to have one of those. (C4's) It wasn't stock, I had built it. I sold it and bought this as I reached a point where I simply couldn't get out of it anymore". I hear that more often. Or it is parked at home, has been driven in years, can't sell it, can't drive it.

There are 2 C3's sitting rotting away, 5 minutes walking time from my house. An acquaintance was given, yes GIVEN a 74. It had suffered the same fate. A friend with a really nice 70 4 speed car is trying to sell it. His wife can't get in and out of it. She can get in and out of their late model Mustang. You know which one is going to get driven.

The point is, to go back to the beginning of this thread, there might not be anything at all wrong with your car as to why it is not selling. It is just a victim of circumstances.

I have a 1991 big block 4x4 Chevy pickup that is half restored. New metal, totally rebuilt suspension, etc. I need to get my a** in gear and get it finished and sold while there is still a market to do so and at least get the money I spent on parts out of it. It had been long paid for before I started working on it. That money is probably gone. As long as I can get the secondary parts money out, I would be happy. Anything above that is a bonus.

If I can't sell it, the 454 will come out and a more gas efficient 350 will go in, or a Gear Vendors overdrive added in to overcome the 3.73 gears that keep the motor wound up tight on the highway. It was good for pulling the horse trailer for many years, but it was superseded by the Duramax diesel in the driveway, which gets the same mileage pulling a 10K lb (loaded weight) travel trailer as the 91 gets empty.

The diesel pickups are being superseded by high tech gas engines. It is an endless cycle of innovation and replacement. The stuff being replaced simply gets left behind.

As I also said, I believe there is going to be a market retrofitting older cars with the new technology, just like what fueled the hot rod craze. But even that took how many years to really get going (dated from the beginning of the horseless carraige). It was an iterative process.

timstl

Mostly right missing a few things. There are serious issues with performance and the electric cars which are a challenge. Yes if I have a zr1 and you have your Telsla performance model you can beat me 3 races in a row. What you dont' mention is Tesla very clear playing race car with the motor can do damage, and some of the other mfg's are having same issue. So the 4th race I win by default because your Tesla is on the back of a flatbed. You also look at what happened to Mopar cars in the 90's you could not give away a hemi, now you can buy a house when you sell your cuda. Many midsize 60's sedans were rotting junk 10 years ago, now you can get 50K plus for them. Beauty will always be in the eye of the beholder, even some of the late model c3's are doing 20-30 at auction.

drcook

you overlooked that I said

I am not talking about today. Electric machines are in their infancy. But it is going to happen. Petroleum driven motors will go the way of the horse and buggy. It might not even be petroleum. It could be hydrogen, the by-product of burning is water.

Go take a look at Craigslist around the country and see how the prices of C2's are starting to come down. You can't take TV auctions as indicative of the general market place. The small percentage of people with money, those that 15K is pocket change is small compared to the rest of the population.

When I worked, I was responsible for the software the maintained big money trusts. BIG money. The kind of money that the people who have it wouldn't even see the majority of us here on the forum if we did handsprings in front of them. They are the ones spending big dollars on cars, boats, houses.

There are those that have saved their whole life to get the car they saw as a kid. Those folks are old. Look at the average age on those TV auctions.

You have to look at the big picture, not just the part of it you want to see. At work I called the MBS melt down. My compadres didn't want to accept is was going to happen until it did. I was seeing way too many houses for sale in the working blue collar neighborhoods. That was indicative that something was happening. Same as with cars.

When you see:

.

80,000 lbs and 500 miles on a charge. Once they figure out how get the charge time down to the same amount of time it takes to fill 2 diesel tanks and the infrastructure to support it, it is game on and the beginning of the end.