Are C4 prices still falling or rising yet?

[Brett]

I'm curious how the C4 market is doing right now, and to see if anyone has any thoughts on it.

Is the market for C4's changing at all, or is it mostly stagnant at the moment?

 

[Ripp 73]

The C4 market is a hard one to get a grasp on. It really depends on what year you are looking for, mileage, condition, and any special editions. 1984's are I believe the cheapest overall. You can usually find a decent one that needs some work for $4500 with 100k+ miles. If you are looking for a ZR-1, look for one around $15k. Only the C4's with really low mileage are going up in price.

 

[B17Crew]

I think you will continue to see an erosion in C4 prices. They are still too “new” to have become relics of the past. Another factor that is a negative for the C4 was the volume produced.

Just my humble opinion... the C4’s that are holding their ground are low mile only ’96 Grand Sports, ’93 40th and ’95 ZR-1’s, and the ’95 Indianapolis Pace Car (527 produced). The 1988 35th Anniversary and ’93 Anniversary cars seem to be priced moderately higher if they are low mile cars. Anything with driving miles takes a hit. If you visit the ZR-1 Registry FOR SALE section, you will see relatively low mileage ZR-1’s at affordable prices. http://www.zr1registry.com

I’ve seen ’96 Collector Editions with 25-30k miles go for a song, they were produced in large volumes. Again, it appears that if it’s a low mile (10k or lower), they seem to fair better than the average CE. I’ve seen GS coupes list for low to mid 30’s with about 20-30k miles.

I’ve been looking at many C4’s lately, most sellers/dealers advertise that they are in mint condition, quite frankly, everyone that has made that claim has had a average or below average condition Corvette. You have to be careful if considering a purchase. Take a knowledgeable C4 owner with you.

B17Crew

 

[Sunstroked]

I think they are at bargain prices. Unless of course its a GS. I looked over an 88 that was for sale today at a corvette show. At 7k, the price was right, I believe it had 115k on the odo. Needed reconditioning, but not too many 18 yr old cars dont require some work for the new owner. I actually think its a good thing the prices are low, gets more folks who cant afford a collectible or new car into the "club".

 

[kingman]

C4 Prices

Keep in mind that the difference in price between a 97/98 c5 and a reg LT1 C4 is within $5000 for sure.
The LT4 engine option and the GS are the only C4's besides the ZR-1 that are worth their salt.

The 96 commerative edition or whatever they called them without the LT4 engine isn't worth more then $500 then a stock LT1. They made too many of them to be special.

It makes no sense to purchase any vette for more then $15,000 unless it's a C5.

A C5 with 100,000 miles is much better then a C4 with 50,000 miles period.

If you have less then $10,000 to spend then look at a C4 and it better be in mint condition or it will wind up being cheaper to buy a C5.

From the 75 to 84 l would have to be more then half drunk to spend any more then $5000 and that would have to be a minto one to make it worth while and l don't care if it's a manual or auto.

I left off that a vert of any year is worth whatever. I'm a ragtop guy!

Alan

 

[Greg Gore]

The case of the C4 is pretty interesting. The C4 is without question a very good Corvette and standard in 1992 you had 300 SAE horsepower under the hood again. Many C4's are now at entry level prices but some C4's are holding value well provided miles stay low and condition is maintained and kept original. A couple of very low mile GS verts have sold at auction for close to $100K and one went over that. A check of current cars for sale will turn up some nice very low mile GS's and CE/LT4 verts over $30K and some close to 40. These cars are still commanding this after eleven years folks. On the other hand many nice 94-96 LT1 coupes with good miles can be had for around $10K. Sure they made C4's by the thousands but attrition is reducing those numbers and demand will certainly rise for the good ones. Another factor in attrition is because they are now the current entry level Corvette many will be modified or made into hotrods which additionally pushes up the value for nice low mile original cars. 84's and 85's have turned the corner according to the experts who monitor current selling prices and report the results. The current meteoric rise in muscle car popularity and stratosphere prices such as what you see currently happening at the big tent television auctions will certainly help C4 values. When will folks realize for $10K or less right now you can buy a true world class performance car with 300 horsepower that will literally run circles around most of the old muscle cars that cannot be bought for less than $100K!

 

[gmjunkie]

I think you will continue to see an erosion in C4 prices. They are still too “new” to have become relics of the past. Another factor that is a negative for the C4 was the volume produced.

Just my humble opinion... the C4’s that are holding their ground are low mile only ’96 Grand Sports, ’93 40th and ’95 ZR-1’s, and the ’95 Indianapolis Pace Car (527 produced). The 1988 35th Anniversary and ’93 Anniversary cars seem to be priced moderately higher if they are low mile cars. Anything with driving miles takes a hit. If you visit the ZR-1 Registry FOR SALE section, you will see relatively low mileage ZR-1’s at affordable prices. http://www.zr1registry.com

I’ve seen ’96 Collector Editions with 25-30k miles go for a song, they were produced in large volumes. Again, it appears that if it’s a low mile (10k or lower), they seem to fair better than the average CE. I’ve seen GS coupes list for low to mid 30’s with about 20-30k miles.

I’ve been looking at many C4’s lately, most sellers/dealers advertise that they are in mint condition, quite frankly, everyone that has made that claim has had a average or below average condition Corvette. You have to be careful if considering a purchase. Take a knowledgeable C4 owner with you.

B17Crew

Low Mile NICE unmolested C4's are Going Up,Up,Up I've been trying to buy them at the Auto Auction's and from Private partys all winter!!! In fact in another 3-4 weeks I'm going to take the only one I have left to the Auto Auction,It will bring within a few $100 bucks of what I'm asking for it on my lot!!!I have been able to pick up a couple C5's though!!!

 

[6 Shooter]

I've watched low mileage ZR-1's, GS's and LT4 prices rise, C4 Pace Cars do quite well also.

BTW - When are you going to buy a ZR-1? ​

L8TR - D

 

[speedmaster4]

i have given up waiting for GM to build a new vette that appeals to me and have begun searching for another C4 to play with...even ''dogs'' with high mileage and evidence of numerous past sins, cars that i would not bother to bring home as freebies, are going for 5k...''nice'' C4's that were in the 10k range two years ago are now 14-15k...i'm gonna grab one of those as soon as i see the right colors/ options....C4's are definitely going up, at least in the northeast.

 

[tyrel]

Sigh.

One doesn't buy a C4 as an investment, they simply made too many of them for the car to ever appreciate that much in value.

 

[Greg Gore]

They made too many muscle cars to appreciate as well but they did anyway. I don't know that it is possible to make a blanket statement about C4 values because C4s run the gammut from rather common cars to some highly engineered (ZR-1), and specialized (Corvette Challenge), and low production (Grand Sport), and highly desireable fairly limited production (LT-4 convertibles) that are impossible to buy at a bargain price.

 

[tls630]

C-4's are going up. Collectors are after them as the c-3's are going up so fast. And the C-2's are out of sight!!

 

[SL1digital]

:coolIMHO the LT4 Verts (CE or otherwise) and the 1,000 Grand Sports (especially the 190 Verts) with low miles, clean, stock and well-kept will hold the top spot of the C4 lineage in terms of desirabilty and dollar value. But after you find the right one at the right price, the real kick in the seat is driving that bullet down the pike. I can't dwell on the investment potential until I get this smile wiped off my face.:cool

 

[tls630]

I think if you have a really nice low milage C-4 that it will appreciate quickly.A lot of the parts are no longer available, so the good used parts are going up already.They had over 1,800 more parts in them than the C-5, so they are going to be tough to get parts for in the near future. They are quite unique, and a lot of them are gone already. I think if you have a nice one and don't need to sell it don't..

 

[GS Diva]

:coolIMHO the LT4 Verts (CE or otherwise) and the 1,000 Grand Sports (especially the 190 Verts) with low miles, clean, stock and well-kept will hold the top spot of the C4 lineage in terms of desirabilty and dollar value. But after you find the right one at the right price, the real kick in the seat is driving that bullet down the pike. I can't dwell on the investment potential until I get this smile wiped off my face.:cool

I couldn't agree with you more!!

Elaine

 

[tls630]

Nice Grand Sport !! I have an 88 vert with 12k on it. I have had it flight judged twice and I have Top Flighted both times.The car is absolutely like new. I love the car,and plan on keeping it.The only thing I do not like about it is getting in and out of it.But once in what a ride!

 

[SL1digital]

GS Diva -

I certainly don't want to upset the ZR1 Fan Club but those Vettes seem to be all about the muscle/motor and the performance aspect. While that can be an enjoyable pursuit, the LT4 and GS Verts have a sweet combination of styling AND performance. Plus, there's nothing quite like driving at night in the summer with the top down.

There's a local Chevy dealer who has an extensive collection of Vettes... not the least of which is 2 Grand Sports - one Vert, one Coupe with no mileage on them. I think B17Crew has posted images of them from last summer's Vette show on the "Show us your C4" thread. Talk about sweet...:cool

 

[gmjunkie]

Low Mile NICE unmolested C4's are Going Up,Up,Up I've been trying to buy them at the Auto Auction's and from Private partys all winter!!! In fact in another 3-4 weeks I'm going to take the only one I have left to the Auto Auction,It will bring within a few $100 bucks of what I'm asking for it on my lot!!!I have been able to pick up a couple C5's though!!!

Well Dudes, My last C4 left the Family today,Got my Full asking price!!!!
I sold it to Tekgraf Corp a marketing subsidiary of Hewlett Packard,there shipping it to Las Vegas and giving it away at a Trade Show next month as a Award!! They were Impressed with the Quality of the Junkmans car and told me they would need 2 maybe 3 Nice,Nice Corvettes next year about the same time!!!!

 

[Greg Gore]

This will not be important to everyone of course but if you have a nice low miles C4 and keep it original and nice and keep the miles reasonable it will appreciate. I say this because the C4 represent a very high level of performance for what I consider a bargain price. Some popular muscle cars of the late sixties and early seventies are bringing over $100K and most any C4 will run circles around all of them and certainly a 92 and later with an LT1 will and others much more so. Sooner or later folks will realize this and demand will increase. This does not include drivers and or modified cars which will continue to depreciate. Not many folks want someone else's hot rod over a good original car and when you read through these forums the C4 seems to be under modification assault from all directions. I guess this is the price the C4 pays for having entry level models in its line-up.

 

[B17Crew]

1994 ZR-1 ebay link...​

​

I have to change the “My Corvette:” in my avatar back to what it was!

Several months ago I had my LT4 sold, but at the last minute the deal fell through.:duh I pulled my LT4 off the market because I’m in a position where I don’t have to sell. I’ve decided to keep it and not deal with the car selling market, my free time is pretty limited.

I was selling because I put a little over 200 miles on it in the past year and work has been rather demanding. It’s mint and as stock as can be with extensive documentation. I plan on keeping it and buying another Corvette to go beside it. It may be a vert or a ZR-1, I’m not sure at this point. I considered a beautiful Comp Yellow ZR-1 GS Diva had listed, but I would’ve had to finance part of it, I like being debt free, so I’m either going to keep saving for such a Z, or find a moderately priced vert to tinker with.

Here’s my LT4!

B17Crew