Fair value of C2s?

[twoseater]

Hi - as I continue my search for my C2 I see prices vary siginficantly from car to car so there is no magic price number. Are there any resources that someone can recommend that provides average pricing for say NOM C2's.

I guess I'm trying to ensure I don't pay too much for a car. The issue is my heart sometimes can work faster then my brain What should I be paying for a C2 NOM in excellent condition? So, many options no one can give that answer so I'm trying to find a way to see what similiar cars are selling at market value today. Any ideas?

I also realize that if I love the car, pricing is just a part of it. But it will bother me if I end up paying too much (as I did with my C3). I also want to make sure I can sell the car in the future (if needed) without taking a beating.

Thanks for any advise!

 

[firstgear]

coupe or vert? 1967 or 1964? Small block or big block? Carb or FI? A/C or not? Depends on what year and options.....makes a big difference....you need to think through what you want, then match up the dollars. OR how much you want to spend and then see what you can get for those dollars.....you need to give us an idea of what you are after, then we can give you some ideas......

 

[BarryK]

Herb is correct - there are a lot of variables involved.
overall condition of the car
what motor is in it ( even on a NOM car)
what options the car has
coupe or convertible
what year C2 it is
etc

some examples:
is the car a body off restored car, a nice driver condition car, or a major project car or anywhere inbetween? There will all command a different price value on the car.
is it a SB or a BB motor? Even if it's a NOM car, is the motor just "any old motor" that was installed or is it the correct replacement motor of the same size and HP rating as the original and even has correct casting numbers and dates on it? Is the motor something out of a passenger car like a station wagon from 1963 or is it a fully worked high performing street rod motor? ......... you get the point here I'm sure. even a non-original motor can add or subtract various values to the car
options: factory AC cars will bring higher values than a non-factory AC car as will other options like ORIGINAL correctly dated knock-off wheels, originalFACTORY INSTALLED sidepipes as opposed to the factory style pipes someone added on later, PS and/or PB, leather vs vinyl interior, PW or not, telescopic steering column, etc
overall convertibles tend to see for a higher price than coupes with the exception of the '63 SWC cars.
the year of the car makes a difference also. Overall '67's tend to get the highest prices compared to an identical car of another year and '64's tend to have the lowest pricing compared to an identical car of another year.

There are other factors as well but the point being prices can easily vary greatly and really only experience and knowledge of the current corvette market is going to tell you if a price on any particular car is in a fair range for that car.
If you are new to C2's I'd recommend a LOT of research plus get as many details and photos as possible about any car you are very interested in and post on here and get peoples opinions of a fair value of the car before spending your money - it's way too easy to get "taken" or pay too much if you don't know exactly what you are buying or what it's true value is

The other side of it is that any car is worth what YOU the buyer are willing to spend for it if you like it enough and as long as the Corvette market doesn't crash, even if you end up paying a bit too much for the car because you really like it than in a few years the market will have caught up to what you paid for it anyway.
There are people that paid $7,500 for an excellent C2 years ago but at the time it was "too much" but now they are laughing at that $7,500 as really cheap!

 

[midyearroadster427]

Well.............

if your interested in a certain car I would seek the help of a person in your are who knows what to look for...perhaps a member of the NCRS or local club who knows what to look for in a certain generation... ebay and barrett jacksons prices are wacked out in my opinion but when they go up so does the value of my car...so be it. like they said prior...research...do your homework...right now..and for the past few years..the C2 has been the car to go after...with others of course..but the big block roadster has been wild... if you let the board know what you are looking at...coupe vs roadster..big block vs small...two tops..trans..rear.. etc...even share some photos of engine bay, interior..I am sure people here are more than willing to point out things and give their OPINION...you have to make the final one of course...ok my two cents is up....

 

[Kid_Again]

...minimum 20k for a sb, 35/40k for a bb...add more for a roadster...at least in my areas

...your qualifier of an "excellent" car is also a variable so my numbers are a place to start...it all depnds on how motivated, or how much of a liar, is your seller

....hook up with your local club or resident c2 guru and get their opinion of prices and get a chance to look at other cars to become more knowledgeable

...for example, both of may cars are always for sale....first 65k takes it for the bb coupe, no negotiation but also not realistic

 

[Andy.E]

As others have said, there are so many variables it's hard to come up with a simple price guide.

Spend a few months studying Hemmings, Ebay, and any other classified site you can find on the web. At the end of that time you'll have a pretty good idea what to pay.

 

[Kid_Again]

yeah, that's good advice but all's you see is the asking price and reserve met/not met...best to spend some time talking to folks that you trust and use that as guide to read the numbers..

...i learned a lot about pricing by attending an auction at the local Atlantic City show..you may want to give that a try if you can find one locally...forget about the big national auctions

 

[twoseater]

Thanks - and more info

Thanks everyone - I completely understand what everyone is saying. I didn't know if some appraisal site etc posts something like a kelly blue book (this option etc). Long shot but figured I'd ask. However, I have gotten valuable advice just for posting the question.

I have looked on ebay (buy it now prices) but I won't ever buy a car that way as you def have to see it. There's a few popular vette for sale websites that I monitor daily but you still don't know what the actual selling price is.

The car I'm looking at is a '65 convertable with a '67 hood listed as a 327. Soft top only. No power brakes, steering. (I do want the '67 hood so that is a plus but realize it doesn't offer value as far as originality goes - one of those things that does offer value to ME). Couple pics of the car in question. I didn't realize that so few of these cars were made with power brakes/steering so I can see why that can add value.

 

[Lucy64]

That looks like a very nice driver. I would think that a car like that would be worth somewhere in the mid to low 20's. That would be a great car to buy and just make it into the car you want. It seems to be missing alot of the originality, but that is not a bad thing.

 

[Bud2]

Why not list the price?

It would seem that you have gotten over a large hurdle, that is selecting a year and model. The rest will be easier as you can concentrate on that single type of car.

I think Lucy64 is a tad too low in his estimation of the car you've shown. Maybe he is being safe because it is only a picture. But it is too difficult to give a better guideline until we get better info. You've got the pics so you must have more information than you are giving. So list them out - including the price.

Bud

 

[BarryK]

That looks like a very nice driver. I would think that a car like that would be worth somewhere in the mid to low 20's.

low to mid 20's!!?? :eek
I've seen complete basket case project cars sell for more than that.

Assuming the frame & birdcage is solid (he needs to check both those out carefully) this is a complete running car. Even as a NOM and missing the ignition shielding I'd guess about $35k for a '65 'vert such as this as it looks in fairly nice condition overall.

 

[Andy.E]

That looks like a very nice driver. I would think that a car like that would be worth somewhere in the mid to low 20's. That would be a great car to buy and just make it into the car you want. It seems to be missing alot of the originality, but that is not a bad thing.

You would have been right 10 years ago, but Barry is a lot closer to what it's worth today.

 

[Kid_Again]

...some of you guys don't shop very hard...i know a guy who bought a really great coupe not THAT long ago and paid under 20k but I TOTALLY agree that an advertised car like this is gonna' be up there...30k starting point

 

[BarryK]

under $20K for a midyear??!! how much extra was the motor

 

[stepinwolf]

under $20K for a midyear??!! how much extra was the motor

Not wanting to take sides here, nor hurt anybodys feelings, but some of you fellows are wayyyyyyyyy off on your values. For starters, one must have a little experience in the purchasing, and selling of these cars, before giving out free , ( albeit well intentioned ) advice.

I have seen Corvettes like the one shown above for anywhere between 35K to 50K. Barry is right on when he mentioned that , and I quote " I've seen complete basket case project cars sell for more than that. unquote.

For those of you who have not as yet had to part one of these cars out, I can guarantee that I can take it apart, and get close to double the amount that was mentioned above in parts alone.

As for the buyer, there is no definite value for any of these Corvettes. They are worth the amount of money that the highest bidder is willing to pay, and as much as you can put on the table for any that catches your eye.

Sorry if my answer sounds too straightforward, or harsh, but that's the way the fiberglass crumbles.


Stepinwolf

 

[jims427400]

twoseater,
if you want to get an idea on values and different options look at proteam.com they are located in napoleon ohio.
thier priced high but they have ALOT of cars to look at.
this is where I bought my 67 BB coupe 2 yrs ago.. Good luck !!! Jim

 

[o2bnkc]

Twoseater, I am also in the market for a mid-year vert, and I have also been watching the blue one on ebay. I have been looking at the red 65 in Reno also. I was over there today eyeballing it again. I have been looking at this car for over two months, but I haven't pulled the trigger on it, yet. I'm trying to get a little more out of my 01 than they are willing to give me. It's not totally paid for, and I can't afford to have both at the same time. I have yet to see a mid year even close to the 20K range. No way, no how. They just got a beautiful red 63 sw coupe in yesterday. Unmolested, with 70,000 miles, and they are asking $50,000 for it. That blue 66 on ebay is real nice, though. They want $60,000 for that. They want 62K for a cherry red 62. Anyway , that's what the prices are out here. I talked to Smitt(?) motors in St. Louis about a couple on ebay that they were advertising, but I don't want to spend that much money on a car I have never seen in person. I bought my first vette on ebay, but that was only $15000. I don't know if I could drop $50,000 without seeing it first! Let me know how it goes, because I am looking too.

 

[Andy.E]

I think you guys are on the right track. Do a lot of research and purchase carefully. Keep in mind these cars have been around for 40 years, give or take. A lot of damage (and I mean A LOT) can be done in that time by careless owners and hack mechanics who think they know what they are doing. On top of that, even a clean midyear is going to come with a list of expensive maintenance items. These things are old and stuff wears out!

ETA: Someone mentioned that looking at ads will only get you asking prices. Well, that's true, but it's awfully hard to find much data on actual transaction prices, so you have to work with the data you have.

 

[twoseater]

Hi Folks - I didn't post and run Work had me out of the picture for a bit. Thanks for all the replies.

I didn't ask the question specific about a car and its price but rather generally which, everyone concurs, doesn't really exist. I've been looking for months and its seemed like prices have been inflated recently. I want to pay a fair value for a car where both the seller and the buyer (ME!) can be happy with.

The car pictured, now has a deposit on it from me and I fly down next week to see/test the car in person! I was dealing with the dealership that was selling the car as opposed to EBAY. (Didn't even know it was on EBAY at first). I definately wouldn't buy from ebay but I know others have done so successfully. I feel you gotta see it and flying is just to exspensive to do on a car that I'll prob be out bidded on.

I'm pretty excited and I feel strongly its the car for me but we shall see! The same year/color (blue/black) is what first got me stoked about vettes. I missed buying it a couple years ago due to my lack of any experience. By the time I was able to make an offer the car was gone. I kicked myself for years.

I also learned quite a bit , like Lucy64 said "make it into the car you want". In otherwords, I was sweating the 67 hood, color but all that can be changed. So, if this car doesn't work out I'll broaden my search. I also realize that may be taboo for someone who want it them all original but a lot of older cars are going to need paint jobs and it can always be repainted etc.

I also assumed most of these cars were power steering power breaks. When I went and checked the numbers not many were so that reset my expectations on what those options could command for price and why the sellers can get more.

For this car I'm going to pay 37K (as that is the agreed upon price is). I didn't really want to post actual numbers but I think its only fair to people who participated at least know the conclusion. The price may be a little high but the under carriage looks spotless, looks like a recent frame off restore, but I'll tell more when I see it on a lift. The chrome, interior, paint look good in the pictures and it looks like it has been well maintained including the rebuilt tranny. I also got some backround about the owner from the dealer which leads me to believe the car was maintained and I can have a car the I can drive. I've been working on my C3 for 2 seasons now driving it every now and then so it will be a nice change for a while.

Thanks everyone - hopefully next week you'll see another post announcing the arrival of a happy and healthy '65 vette.

 

[Sky65]

Looks like a nice car. If it is as clean as it appears I think the price is in the ball park. Good luck.