1st Corvette mileage

[Mako76]

I am looking for advice on my first Corvette purchase. I have wanted a C3 forever and have been shopping around for about 6 months. Now I'm about to close the deal on a 76 but I'm wondering how much of an effect the mileage has on the value of the car. I was told by more than one person earlier in my search that mileage is not such an important factor on a Corvette, but of course these people were sellers.

The car is a 1976 with new paint, good interior, clean engine.. starts easily, sounds nice, runs smooth.. Automatic, power everything, new exhaust, new starter, new battery, new plugs etc, passed the safety.

It has a matching numbers 350 L48 with 134,000 miles rebuilt at 90,000.

Even though everything looks good and seems to run well, should I be concerned about this many miles and will it drastically affect the value of the car. The last thing I want to hear from an appraiser is that it's worth less than I paid for it.

Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[Copdogcorvettes]

I am looking for advice on my first Corvette purchase. I have wanted a C3 forever and have been shopping around for about 6 months. Now I'm about to close the deal on a 76 but I'm wondering how much of an effect the mileage has on the value of the car. I was told by more than one person earlier in my search that mileage is not such an important factor on a Corvette, but of course these people were sellers.

The car is a 1976 with new paint, good interior, clean engine.. starts easily, sounds nice, runs smooth.. Automatic, power everything, new exhaust, new starter, new battery, new plugs etc, passed the safety.

It has a matching numbers 350 L48 with 134,000 miles rebuilt at 90,000.

Even though everything looks good and seems to run well, should I be concerned about this many miles and will it drastically affect the value of the car. The last thing I want to hear from an appraiser is that it's worth less than I paid for it.

Any feedback is appreciated.

For a 30+ year old car 134k isn't that many miles. The real thing is how much they want you to pay for the car if mileage makes any real difference. NOW FOR REAL FACTS; with C3 values its what it is worth to you. I have way more invested in my 78' than it would ever be able to get for it if I decided to sell. :bash Unless you are looking at Show quality car what is to much is just subject to what you think is to much. Just my .02 worth.

Gary

SAVE the WAVE

 

[White75]

yeah a car with under 50k miles is going to be worth more but may have more mechanical issues than one that's been regularly driven to keep things in shape.

That said 130k miles isn't too bad for a 33 year old. Like CopDog said, it's what you feel it's worth, especially the anemic mid-run C3 L48s. However they are relatively inexpensive to own and work on and are a great platform. Plus with it being higher miles, you won't be afraid of racking up more and hurting the value.

Plus,the C3 will still turn more heads than most cars, even newer Corvettes.

Go with your gut. If it's worth it to you, bite the bullet and get it out on the road!!!

 

[6880 Mike]

...The last thing I want to hear from an appraiser is that it's worth less than I paid for it....

First: Do not purchase this Corvette as an investment. A '76 is not going to appreciate much in the forseeable future.

Second: This car may worth less than the asking price now. If that's the case, an appraiser would only be telling you the truth if he/she said the car is worth less than what you paid for it.

What's the asking price?

 

[Koop]

First: Do not purchase this Corvette as an investment. A '76 is not going to appreciate much in the forseeable future.

Second: This car may worth less than the asking price now. If that's the case, an appraiser would only be telling you the truth if he/she said the car is worth less than what you paid for it.

What's the asking price?

IMO the mileage is meaningless unless you have good documentation to back it up.

 

[duke94]

IMO the mileage is meaningless unless you have good documentation to back it up.

I agree, the old 5 digit ODO's have fooled a lot of people (my 71' says 20K but it's actually 120K). If the car looks and runs good plus the engine was rebuilt and the price is right, go for it. Note that the rest of the drive line will have 135K miles as well so some maintenance may be required on those parts.

Gary

 

[vett boy]

Some real good advice given in the posts above.I bought a 69 vert in 1984 with 70,000 miles on it.I added another 200,000 .Despite the fact it was a money pit I loved the car.

It's a buyers market and there are thousands of cars for sale.Keep in mind you can still find unsold 08's for base cars for $35,000 or less.

 

[Mako76]

Yes alot of good advice, thank you. I think I'm getting it now.. buy it if it's what I want and enjoy it! don't worry about the mileage too much, and I can't really break the bank too seriously spending 10K...

It's a great looking car, affordable and in good condition and I shouldn't have to do anything to it to enjoy it this summer.. Sold.. but I don't think I'll ever forget the immortal phrase, "anemic mid-run C3 L48s"
Cheers.

 

[LanceB]

The L48s are no power horse. But new dual exhaust and a good tune up will make them adequate without breaking the bank. You could put a cam and get a little more ponies....but hey the ideas are endless. If it feels right buy it, you only live once! My dad had a porsche and a miata (I just made him sell it). We helped him buy a 75 vert L48 4 speed. It isn't a race car, but it runs as much as we need. After some good maintenance it runs solid. He has driven it more than the past two cars and I think he has the fever.

 

[Koop]

The best part about mileage on the early C3's is that the Odo had a defect and they constantly failed until a permanent fix was created years later. So I don't believe the mileage of any early C3 anyway. Mine failed a number of times, it stayed broken at one point for many years. I don't know when the factory fixed the issue, but the local speedo shop corrected mine years ago. If the car is clean and you like it then buy it, you won't regret it.

 

[White75]

The best part about mileage on the early C3's is that the Odo had a defect and they constantly failed until a permanent fix was created years later. So I don't believe the mileage of any early C3 anyway. Mine failed a number of times, it stayed broken at one point for many years. I don't know when the factory fixed the issue, but the local speedo shop corrected mine years ago. If the car is clean and you like it then buy it, you won't regret it.

LOL! Ours has been dead for ages. It probably has 200k more miles than shown.

 

[White75]

The L48s are no power horse. But new dual exhaust and a good tune up will make them adequate without breaking the bank. You could put a cam and get a little more ponies....but hey the ideas are endless. If it feels right buy it, you only live once! My dad had a porsche and a miata (I just made him sell it). We helped him buy a 75 vert L48 4 speed. It isn't a race car, but it runs as much as we need. After some good maintenance it runs solid. He has driven it more than the past two cars and I think he has the fever.

agree with this 100%

 

[Koop]

LOL! Ours has been dead for ages. It probably has 200k more miles than shown.

No kidding, mine was dead for at least a decade of it's life.

Good thing I don't care about miles!

LOL

 

[BruceBed]

The c3 odometer cable is the easiest one to disconnect from the transmission tunnel. I suspect that there's a lot of unoriginal odo's out there. I'd buy it based on condition not miles at this point. If it's a nice one you can't loose all your money. It's a car...enjoy it.

 

[timemender]

FRAME -


First and foremost make sure the frame is solid and not severely rusted.


The C3 frames suffer the most rust damage from the door center back up through the rear “kick-up” section.

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