Well Mike,
If this CE has under 2000 miles, in should be in mint condition, numbers matching, just like the day it came off the showroom floor. It should have original tires,
because you can't get original tires for CE's anymore,
The decal work on the hood and sides are also obsolete
and unavailable, so they should also be in mint conditon, and not reproductions. The pinstripping should
be that of a 82 CE, get photos of a CE anywhere on the internet, The leather inside should have absolutely no sign of wear, no cracks, no sagging of the leather, stitching should be showing no signs of any kind of wear. The steering wheel leather should be perfect, no fading, no scratches, no marks of any kind. The radio/cassette should be original. The carpets should be that of a short pile and no signs of wear or fading, the original carpet in these Vettes were like cast iron, Mine is still like new as are my mats and I drive my car every summer. The rubber under the pedals should be as new, and you probably know to check the gas petal and brake pedal for signs of wear.
The storage compartments should have no crack, fading, etc. The weatherstripping around the T Tops should be original as all the weatherstripping, the back hatch also,
The back hatch should close easily and stay open and the original weatherstripping should be firm,with no cracks, the replacement weatherstripping is made from a softer material and does not form a really rounded mould look all the way around.
The antena should go up and down automatically, sounds silly but once they go, they are very difficult to put in (reproductions.) so people do strange things to make them work.
I mean if this car only has 2000 miles it should be in showroom condtion, just gleaming. Unless of course the speedometer has rolled over after 100,000 miles.
Under the hood, it should be immaculate, you can tell by the belts and hoses. I hope I do not sound demeaning, but these are just the things we looked for during our 4 year search for the perfect CE.
Check under the nose, to see if the rubberspoiler is in good conditon and not ripped or wrinkled.
Look for stress cracks behind the doors in the main body
and anywhere else, check the clearance on the doors when they are closed, are they both the same.
Test drive it, listen for wind whistle from the T Tops.
check to see how easy it is to put the T tops in out out.
Oh the Vanity Mirror on the passengers side, check to see how perfect it is, does the light come on. Does the cover close snuggly and the visors stay up after you have put them down.
Ask for service records, ask to see the documentation of any kind that came with the car, they should have it.
Check the VIN number out with the Corvette Museum in
Bolwing Green Kentucky, it's a toll free call, and they may even have the dealer sheet on that particular car.
I have mine, and I know what options came with the car, who the dealer was, the price etc, so the guy I bought the car from didn't tell me any falsehoods.
I know this isn't much, maybe more specific questions and I can tell you more. I am sure you may think some of the above sounds rather crazy, but there are reasons for all of the above. And they are the points that can show wear and wear means more than 2000 miles.
But one thing for sure I absolutely love my CE, in years it hasn't let me down but I drive it sensibly ( well most of the time
) and I have it serviced regularly and I keep it all original.
It is not driven in the winter because of where we live,
I keep it in the garage throughout the winter.
Then the biggest item of all is how much do they want for this car, because I do know what prices they are getting for VE's depending on the condition.
anyway Mike, that's all for now that I can think of, if something else comes up, I will email you again, but in the meantime, ask any more questions and I will try to answer them
Cheers Jan
I think i remember you buying it (that 454 miles ring a bell). Good for you.
