'78 Anniversary Edition for sale, but too much money

[Stallion]

It depends on the mileage and engine condition also.Is it a 4 speed or auto?
There is a 80 Corvette in my local paper for 14K that only has 19K miles on it.It is black with red interior.the add says mint condition.Being in Cali I assume it has the 305 engne 180 Hp. They only made 3K of these with the 305 engine.
Just liston to your Dad and have patience!It will happen for you.good luck.:cool

It's a 4 speed. I'm looking for a manual. I don't really want an auto. That's my preference. How am I supposed to find out engine condition? He popped up the hood and I looked under (minimum rust, almost none -- just basic surface rust) it, but there's not much else I could do, right?

 

[Justin_cv87]

uhh oh... Did u act like u liked the car? you should act like it isnt nothing speical, and tell him 14K? thats a bit high, dont ya think? and tell him ya have a few other offers to go see. this will make him lower the price because he thinks he might not get the sell. and i saw a 84 in the paper for 4k. I bring this up because it was in decent conditon, but it is winter and the guy had to move or osmthing like that. ya cant beat lowerprices than winter, and when someone has to get rid of the car and FAST!

If ya want your vette for this spring, and want to save cash, buy during winter if you could, but dont rush into buying a vette that you really dont like.

 

[qwall]

It just took my breadth away. And the drive...WOW! :eek
R

vettes tend to do that Stallion.........dont rush into anything, if it's meant to be then it's meant to be

q

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

How about the mileage?That is a good start to tell the condition of the engine and tranny.You can check for leaks.Also have you dad start it up and rev the engine watch the exhaust pipe and see if any white thick exhaust comes out.This I`m told is the sign of a worn engine.
How about the brakes?Any squeking or or grinding when you apply the brakes?
The suspension?Push down a little on the front end and see if it keeps rocking afterwards.
Just some tips to help.

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

Oh one more thing,if at all possible see if you can arrange to have it look at by a mechanic you trust.Put it up on the rack and inspect the frame look for welding.
At least ask the guy if you can do that.Watch his reaction!If he squaks aboutv it there may be something he doesn`t want you to see.
Now it doesn`t have to be perfect remember it is a 24 year old car but you do want to avoid the major mistakes.

 

[qwall]

Oh one more thing,if at all possible see if you can arrange to have it look at by a mechanic you trust.Put it up on the rack and inspect the frame look for welding.
At least ask the guy if you can do that.Watch his reaction!If he squaks aboutv it there may be something he doesn`t want you to see.
Now it doesn`t have to be perfect remember it is a 24 year old car but you do want to avoid the major mistakes.

see if you can do that, this will definetly help you with your decision and help you see if you can knock off few $$$ of the price if you do find something......... just remember that everyone wants to sell it for the most they can and everyone wants to buy it the cheapest they can.......find common ground

q

 

[Evolution1980]

...I saw it was for $14,000. Too much for me...He said it got rear-ended once, but it was fixed up real nice.

1) You're going to always pay more at a dealer.

2) A dealer will always downplay an accident. I'd be exceptionally leary.

3) You are correct. You have the fever now. But trust me...pass on this one. The fever will subside some and allow you to get back to waiting for what you really really want. There's ALWAYS another vette out there that will meet your needs.

I'd suggest trying to find a vette from a private owner, preferably someone that has had a couple vettes. They are usually more honest and are willing to work with you, as they know the feeling when buying a first vette.

I think it's good that you have a set budget. It will make a bit more selective. Keep this in mind, as I've said it before: Don't buy a substandard vette and plan on fixing it up right away. It costs too much. Buy the best you afford that requires the least amount of work. Once you get the car, you are going to want to drive it, not have it sit in your garage waiting for necessary parts just to make it safe. You can't build a vette for the price it would cost you outright to buy the equivalent.

 

[Rowdy1]

Patience Grasshopper.....

My father and I just drove down to take a look at the Vette and all I can say is...WOW!

It was just absolutely beautiful. Seemed to be in mint condition. Numbers matching. But, the price $14k is too high. He said he'd call back with what he could bring it down to.

It just took my breadth away. And the drive...WOW!

I had chills going down my spine the whole time. Just amazing! I have the Vette fever. And until the day I die, it will never leave me. I promise you that.

This might not be the Vette I get, but I guarantee you that I will never stop looking and I will find "the one" and I know I will. I can just feel it.

ADVICE: What do you think a good price for that Vette would be? Around $10k? But, like I said, I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Then again, I'm not an expert yet. The antenna was a little buggered up, but nothing a couple of hundred dollars couldn't fix. He just put in new exaust. Just amazing! I loved the car! I can't wait until I hear from him.

I'm in LOVE with that Vette! I know, I know...patience is the key.

Thanks!

TR

Wow! Where are you finding these!? Those are some nice prices. I'm looking around at collectorcartraderonline.com and I'm seeing some good deals that are enticing. During Christmas vacation my dad and I are going to take a ride down to look at some of these Vettes in the mid-Atlantic area.

Thanks, everyone!

You've got the fever alright. Question...with NO offense to him, does your Dad know enough about used vehicles to guide you in the right direction? I can just imagine what you were like on the ride home after that ride in the vette. Was that your first ride in one? Like everyone has said so far, you're buying an older car, much older than the average used car, and some, not all have been used & abused. Don't let your lust for owning one make you buy one that you haven't had checked out to the best of your ability. Try to take someone with you that knows about them, knows what to look for, what to listen for. Keep saving, the more money you have to spend, the better the car, the easier the time you'll have making it happen. Don't hesitate to IM me or post in here something you're looking at seriously. I'll be in touch

 

[TONY TAT2]

CorvetteCrew.com >>>76 in CA for $1,700.00,you can start from scratch,its in the classifidies

 

[RLP]

Pass on the car for $14000. There are a lot of over priced cars on the market. I have had good luck buying cars from large dealers. They will reduce the price and run an add in the paper. I saw a 94 vette in the paper for $10000. Just take your time and look around.

 

[Shawn's 78]

Extend your search and you should get a good sampling of what cars are going for in your region.

I picked up a 78 in Denver for $5500 and i'm in Seatte. The average price for Vette's here is about $2-3k more for the same quality. I never saw the car until it arrived. I had a corvette dealer check it out from top to bottom (and I had the previous inspection report from the seller for when he purchased it). They missed a few things, but hit all the majors. That ran me $350. The trip home for the car was under $600. All-in-all, I still made out better then if I purchsed one from local inventory. (FYI the car I purchased was from a CAC member and it was listed in corvetteforum.com)
Give it time, you'll find the right one for you.

Shawn

 

[Stallion]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I see what you mean and yes, I was caught up in the moment. There are about 40k miles on the engine. Not bad.

Evolution1980, this isn't a dealer. Private ownership.

"Question...with NO offense to him, does your Dad know enough about used vehicles to guide you in the right direction?"

Yes, he knows enough not to get ripped off, I would say. And with my basic knowledge, I knew the specs of the Vette and what I was looking at. So, with that mix, we both had a pretty good idea of the car sitting in front of us.

I also agree that it's not a good idea to just jump on this first Vette. I should look around more. I know, there are many Vettes perfect for me on the market. And maybe this isn't the one.

 

[TONY TAT2]

http://www.proteam-corvette.com/ checkout the 72

 

[Guy]

In Massachusettes:

I know it's not close to home, but here is a sample of what's out there:

78 CORVETTE INDY 500 PACE CAR. 350 L88, 74K mi, auto trans. Blk w/silver int. Decals. Exc cond. Great cruise car. $14,500; 508-393-8422

78 CORVETTE. Wht on blk. Nds nothing. Vy clean car. $8300; 781-721-4807

79 CORVETTE L82. Blk. 350, auto. Pd $5000 3 yrs ago. Invested $2800 in new parts. Asking $5000; Call 5PM-10PM, anytime wkends. 508-428-0008

There were several C4's under $8k.

 

[vette-dude]

Guy across the street from me has a 78, Silver with red interior ( I think he has 79 seats in it), Painted tops, new tires and custom wheels. Think he said around $5,500. It appears to be all there but don't know if numbers match or not. Has a couple of bubbles in paint on Pass door. Car is clean. E-mail if interested and I will get you his phone number and check it out a little better for you if needed. You are welcome to come down and take a look, it is in Richmond, VA. Not a dealer, private individual's car. He is out of work and could use the bucks so negotiation might be at hand. He originally wanted $7,500 for the car. I would buy it but no more room in the garage. Car does come with cover for outdoor storage but wife said I had enough toys for now.

Other guy here at work wrecked his 88 Coupe and it is for sale also. Damage is to the A-Arms,suspension, wheels and trailing arms. Has new Jasper Engine in it and the car needs interior work but the price is around $2,500. This one is definitely negotiable too as he needs to replace it and could use the bucks. It is in Richmond also. Would be and excellent project car. Again, email me and I will get you a phone number. I would buy this one too if I had more space in garage to work on it. Car is not drivable and would have to be trailered.

Randy

 

[Bob Yates]

When I bought my 81 C3 I had cash. The seller was asking $10,500.00 . I flashed $6,800.00 in cash and he bit. Or did I . It had a mis in it which later turn out to be a bad camshaft. It was one of the first ones out of the new plant. It was two tone , Autumn red over dark claret only 300 hundred in those colors were made. It had 58,000 miles on the clock. This was in 1995. I have own eight vettes so far and the one thing I can tell you is DON"T BUY A VETTE THAT HAS BEEN WRECKED. Their are a lot of slick body guys out there. I don't care if your bloomington gold you can't ever fix a vette and it not come back in some way with a problem. So if you know going in it's been wrecked stay away. Unless you can get it for a real good price. I bought a 63 fuelie and it had a wrecked right front fender. No matter who I got to fix it I always looked at that fender and was never happy with it. It finally drove me to sell the car of my dreams, which I later regretted. So my advise is if you know it's been wrecked you don't give top money for it.

 

[Rowdy1]

Pro Team

I WILL NOT go into details, but from MY personal experience, contact me BEFORE you deal with them!!!

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Re: Pro Team

Who says C3 prices are down. Boy do they like their cars.

 

[born2saw]

I paid about $10,000-15,000 less for my Vette than a comparable Vette at ProTeam (Condition 3+/2) by buying locally from a private seller and accepting a nice car without much documentation.

There are lots of nice cars at fair prices out there, you just need to look. I'll bet you have an online car sevice that scans the local paper ads (Cars.com or something like it). In Indiana, I see nice C3's advertised all the time for $5k to $10k! & I think the market is a little strong locally compared to prices I have seen around the country!!

Check out all the local papers, and network with people in Corvette clubs (check out New Jersey Corvette Clubs).

I don't know where in NJ you live, but I did a quick search on cars.com and found 5 C3 vettes under $10k within 50 miles of Newark (does not mean they are good cars though).

There are lots of good cars out there waiting for you to find them--so keep looking:SANTA

 

[Stallion]

Thanks everybody for helping me look for a Vette!

born2saw, I'll take a look at that site and see what those Vettes are. Maybe they are a good deal. I'll look. Thanks!

I also agree that this '78 maybe isn't the Vette to go with. It's just to tempting! I know, I know. Keep looking. Thanks for the advice and help! I really appreciate it.

TR