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I found a 95 c4 for 2500 in my town, I checked it out and it was doing the typical c4 no crank problems. The interior is also in bad shape, but when I was running 3 months this ago everything was working with video proof. Does anyone think this is worth it or an avoid it problem.
Last edited by Alex G; 03-26-2019 at 04:39 PM.
Reason: Fix title
"cheap" cars become expensive, fassssst. If you want a project, do it. If you want a daily, or reliable car or car you dont have to work on every weekend, walk away
"cheap" cars become expensive, fassssst. If you want a project, do it. If you want a daily, or reliable car or car you dont have to work on every weekend, walk away
Truth.
Cheap cars are typically cheap for a reason.
Can you work on it yourself? If it needs a new optispark, can you tackle that yourself? If it needs new seats, do you have the money and/or the ability to fix it yourself?
It's cheap, and if you can fix it yourself, you could get a nice car for not much money.
Agree with Fauee. ^^^ Depends on your skill level and amount of disposable income, because they work inversely.
If you have to hire everything done, you'll spend a fortune on a rough corvette.
I added up the cost for bringing back a rough C4 when I bought mine and factored in doing all the work myself, and I came up with a number close to $6500.. Which was worth doing for me.
Also, when you're talking about cars this old, sometimes even a nice one can end up costing you more money than you factored anyway.. It's the just nature of old cars.
If you are sufficiently motivated and have the disposable income, sometimes taking a leap and learning something new adds value because it is a great experience.. Sometimes it just adds and, maybe that's not your thing?
That's a great point. People on here are always saying to not take on a project because you will spend more than it would cost to buy it, things like that. Some people cant afford to buy it outright. Some people want the satisfaction of a project. Some people want to learn valuable skills. Trying to make buying a 2 seat sports car into a financial choice vs ab emotional one is silly at best.
I can honestly say that all the time I've put into my 92 has made me bond with it a lot. I get enjoyment out of knowing what it was like when I bought it, and what it's like now. The road has been half the fun truly.
An observation that is not regularly recognized during discussions regarding inexpensive cars. If you begin with a $2,500 car and spend another $7,500 to get it up to enjoyable status, why not just spend $10,000 in the first place to purchase a nicer car and be done?
Not everyone HAS the financial ability to purchase the finished car at the finished price. Projects allow one to acquire a $10,000 car with a low buy-in, then finish it a few hundred at a time. It can be built to the owner's desires, at the pace his budget allows. This has been a big part of the car hobby for decades. Project cars allow spreading out the capital expenditure over time as it is EARNED, rather than borrowed for an initial purchase.
The trick is to be able to assess the requirements and expenses during the initial assessment. If you miss a big item (like a bad trans in a car you thought only needed a radiator and seat covers), your final expenditure will be higher than expected, but still affordable. It will take longer to complete the car, because you have to earn the cost of the unexpected trans repair.
If you're building a car for your personal use, the project car is a good way to go to afford more car than you can purchase outright. Successful projects are those that are taken on by individuals that have a good idea of what they're getting into, and the required tasks are within their skill-set and resources to accomplish. Ie, not everyone has the facilities or inclination to paint their own car.
Good Luck.
Originally Posted by FAUEE
That's a great point. People on here are always saying to not take on a project because you will spend more than it would cost to buy it, things like that. Some people cant afford to buy it outright. Some people want the satisfaction of a project. Some people want to learn valuable skills. Trying to make buying a 2 seat sports car into a financial choice vs ab emotional one is silly at best.
I can honestly say that all the time I've put into my 92 has made me bond with it a lot. I get enjoyment out of knowing what it was like when I bought it, and what it's like now. The road has been half the fun truly.
with both of these! I currently have four 'toy' cars (59 Vette, 78 Jeep CJ-7, 55 BelAir Wagon, and 95 C4). I should probably have my head examined... The only one of these bought in running condition was the C4. Before I bought my black 95 C4, I bought a yellow automatic 95 C4 with engine issues for $2700 ( if interested, here's the link, https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...upe-build.html). At the time, a few forum people questioned my decision, but many supported it. The main reason I was able to join the C4 hobby was because I could afford the small investment, and knowing my skill set, I felt I could get it running properly without spending a lot on parts. I was very confident that I wouldn't lose any money at the end of the day. Fast forward about 6 months, and I've got it running well and sorted out. Total investment (including purchase price) was about $4500. I enjoyed the car, but I really wanted an M6 version. I found my current car at an excellent price, so I put the yellow one up for sale, and it sold very quickly for $6000 ($1500 profit). So, with this money I was able to buy my black C4 (with money left over). Now I have the car I wanted, and my total investment (including the profit from sale) is just over $4000. The moral of the story is: If you have the ability and time to fix up a car, AND the desire to do it, you can end up with a very nice car for a minimal investment. Also, I happen to think that working on my cars in the garage is a very satisfying hobby. The sense of accomplishment from getting a 'project' car running and sorted out is a great feeling, not to mention that you end up with a nice car to enjoy.
I bought an 86 running project. It was all I could lay out money wise at that time. I now have money into it than the price of the car. loving it. I smile every time I drive it,
I found a 95 c4 for 2500 in my town, I checked it out and it was doing the typical c4 no crank problems. The interior is also in bad shape, but when I was running 3 months this ago everything was working with video proof. Does anyone think this is worth it or an avoid it problem.
"typical c4 no crank"
No crank cause the motor is toast? Unless you can hear it run, $1200 tops.
I have never heard of "typical" C4 no-crank problems. The starter is just an electric motor that is designed to turn the crank from whatever power is in the battery. So either you have a bad starter motor (which is easily changed), a bad battery, or a wiring issue. Nothing "typical" to C4s here. Now if all three are good and the block will not turn due to being frozen, then you have a different problem, that that has nothing to do with the vehicle being a C4.
Turn it over by hand, or jump the solenoid. Examine the oil and coolant.
The objective is to make sure it's not rusted or frozen and broke.
If you can turn it over by hand and the oil and coolant look normal, the chance it will run and be fine are much better.
If it won't turn or the fluids are contaminated, it still might not be a deal breaker to put an engine in it.. But you should know that going into it and when you are negotiating a sale price.
PS: I gave 2K for mine, and it wouldn't start and came home on a trailer.. Trans was known bad.
I was fine with that and knew the risk when I bought it.
Markets vary, and here you just won't get much at the 2K price point in this area. Maybe things are different where you are, but that is a fair price here for a vette with problems.
When I say "typical c4 no crank " I meant the vats was causing it to not crank. But I understand where y'all thought it was weird I said it was typical.
That being said a lot of good points were made. I think it'll be worth it since:
1 I have other vehicles to rely on.
2 I can take my time to fix it and fix it right.
If I could buy a nice one for 10k I would. But that's just not currently possible for me.
An observation that is not regularly recognized during discussions regarding inexpensive cars. If you begin with a $2,500 car and spend another $7,500 to get it up to enjoyable status, why not just spend $10,000 in the first place to purchase a nicer car and be done?
Not everyone HAS the financial ability to purchase the finished car at the finished price. Projects allow one to acquire a $10,000 car with a low buy-in, then finish it a few hundred at a time. It can be built to the owner's desires, at the pace his budget allows. This has been a big part of the car hobby for decades. Project cars allow spreading out the capital expenditure over time as it is EARNED, rather than borrowed for an initial purchase.
The trick is to be able to assess the requirements and expenses during the initial assessment. If you miss a big item (like a bad trans in a car you thought only needed a radiator and seat covers), your final expenditure will be higher than expected, but still affordable. It will take longer to complete the car, because you have to earn the cost of the unexpected trans repair.
If you're building a car for your personal use, the project car is a good way to go to afford more car than you can purchase outright. Successful projects are those that are taken on by individuals that have a good idea of what they're getting into, and the required tasks are within their skill-set and resources to accomplish. Ie, not everyone has the facilities or inclination to paint their own car.
Good Luck.
I just have to say how well articulated this is....and spot-on. I hadn't thought of it that way before.
This is coming from someone on the other side of the fence who doesn't have time available to work on a project car (or the skills, although I'd like to learn)....so I saved up for a looooong time and forked over the money for one that was running well and looking good.
I bought a beater 87 for 2700$ a couple years ago. Ran and drove but needed alot to make it right. If I had it to do over again I would probably just find a newer car or one that was aleady mostly restored
Whas it worth it? HELL yeah. Parts off the car paid almost entirely for all I've put back into it...it's been a fun project, and it's an amusement park ride....that you control. It's one option, for a beater, ~$2k car.
Whas it worth it? HELL yeah. Parts off the car paid almost entirely for all I've put back into it...it's been a fun project, and it's an amusement park ride....that you control. Ithe's one option, for a beater, ~$2k car.
holy s***, that's epic. I might not take the body panels off... but wow. How much does yours weigh?
IDK yet. I just got it registered at the very end of this past summer, drove it to work once, and squeaked in one auto-x race.
I'll get it weighed this spring (as soon as all our snow melts), but I'm guessing right around 2k lbs. FYI, the Kart still needs paint and more. Not done yet.
My 1992 was $2800 running and driving, albeit incredibly poorly described and photographed on eBay last November. I've got in the neighborhood of $1400 more into it, although that is half things it needed and half things I wanted for AutoX that was easier to do ripped apart. Remember though, things that you think are cheap for other cars may be more than you are used to, just because stuff is starting to get scarce.
If I wasn't mechanically inclined, yeah spending $5-6000 on a ready to go option may have been the better choice. One benefit of buying cheap is that if you want to upgrade things specifically, you're not paying for good parts that you are just going to replace anyways.
03-26-2019, 04:39 PM
$2500 c4 worth it?
and, maybe that's not your thing?
with both of these! I currently have four 'toy' cars (59 Vette, 78 Jeep CJ-7, 55 BelAir Wagon, and 95 C4). I should probably have my head examined... The only one of these bought in running condition was the C4. Before I bought my black 95 C4, I bought a yellow automatic 95 C4 with engine issues for $2700 ( if interested, here's the link, https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...upe-build.html). At the time, a few forum people questioned my decision, but many supported it. The main reason I was able to join the C4 hobby was because I could afford the small investment, and knowing my skill set, I felt I could get it running properly without spending a lot on parts. I was very confident that I wouldn't lose any money at the end of the day. Fast forward about 6 months, and I've got it running well and sorted out. Total investment (including purchase price) was about $4500. I enjoyed the car, but I really wanted an M6 version. I found my current car at an excellent price, so I put the yellow one up for sale, and it sold very quickly for $6000 ($1500 profit). So, with this money I was able to buy my black C4 (with money left over). Now I have the car I wanted, and my total investment (including the profit from sale) is just over $4000. The moral of the story is: If you have the ability and time to fix up a car, AND the desire to do it, you can end up with a very nice car for a minimal investment. Also, I happen to think that working on my cars in the garage is a very satisfying hobby. The sense of accomplishment from getting a 'project' car running and sorted out is a great feeling, not to mention that you end up with a nice car to enjoy.
It's one option, for a beater, ~$2k car. 
