LT4 High Mile LT4 Value

[Dad2BJO]

Hello CAC members! I have not been on here in a while because I have been out of the Corvette hobby for a little over a year. anyways, I am now back on a search for a Corvette, either a decent C4 or a decent C5. I have owned both, with the C4 being a Ruby 40th Vert and the C5 being an '01 zo6 wich I had a ton of problems with and got rid of.

at anyrate, I came across a CE coupe with 168K on the clock. It was not as bad as I thought and I always liked the CE C4 and the Lt4 engine. Car was pretty tight, opti, water pump has been replaced, new exhaust, could use tires and AC does not work. Shifts right and has less growl than my 95 z28 M6. Needs a new targa top seal and he only has the solid top (not the glass top). Body was in better shape than my 01 (black)and my 93 (ruby) wich of course showed every imperfection. I checked the regular things out that I could remember on the C4's such as the steering wheel (does not have any flop at all in it from grabbing/pulling on it to get out), etc and other little things that I had wrong on my 93 and this one was actually better (seats worked, antenna worked etc)

Seller is pretty firm at $7k. If this was an Lt1 car I would not consider that price and edmunds came back with a $6k value however since there is a limited number of Lt4 CE coups made it is not like they are on every car lot. Car will NOT be a daily driver, just cruising, take to work every now and then, car shows possibly etc.

thoughts, feedback, other thread links etc all appreciated.

I am looking forward to "saving the wave" again!

Thanks

 

[Toms007]

Is this a one owner car? If the car has been well cared for, the miles aren't as much of a concern. $7k seems to be plenty though. You might want to look around for awhile and see what else is available and if you don't find anything that tickles your fancy go back to this one. At $7k I doubt he'll have lines of people breaking down his door.

 

[catbert]

As much as I like the LT4 and the 96 CE, I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a 170k mile car. It's one thing to keep a car with that kind of miles, but it's another thing to buy one. If I knew and had maintained the car myself, I'd be OK, but I wouldn't take on someone else's high miles, over 15 year old C4. Unless I got it from LT4Man....:L

 

[Hib Halverson]

I wouldn't pay that kind of money, either, for two reasons

1) You're looking at a possibly expensive repair to the hvac

2) regardless of it being an LT4, at about 170,000 miles many parts of that car are beyond life expectancy.

I'd ask for a price reduction but before I do that, I'd ask to see the car's service history. You need to be particularly interested in whether or not:

1) the rear axle lube has ever been changed
2) the trans lube has ever been changed
3) the coolant has been changed
4) the brakes have been flushed
5) power steering fluid changed

Then, I'd pull a valve cover to see how much sludge in in there. If there's a significant amount of sludge...be careful.

 

[Tuna]

I'll add to Hib's list:

- wheel hubs - when were they replaced last?
- headlight motors - do the lights open and close
- C-Beam bolts - check to see if they are loose - this is the beam between the trans and the diff
- Every piece of rubber under the hood - hoses and belts

 

[froggy47]

Be careful if it's been sitting. I bought a 96 LT4 that eventually developed pin hole leaks in the gas tank, it's metal with plastic liner. The whole thing was about $2500 to replace. This is rare but can happen.



I'd get a c5 with lower miles (I know you had one bad one but there are other good ones out there).

 

[Dad2BJO]

Thanks for the feedback it is appreciated.

Value I guess is less than $7K but more than zero. Number I threw at him after looking was $5K which he turned down. It is mid August and I will check back with him Mid Sept, and then mid Oct, etc.

I would hate for a car like that to be sold cheap to a person who just wants a cheap vette and has no idea that they only made the LT4 for one year (kind of) and beats the crap out of it and ends up in a junk yard.

 

[froggy47]

Thanks for the feedback it is appreciated.

Value I guess is less than $7K but more than zero. Number I threw at him after looking was $5K which he turned down. It is mid August and I will check back with him Mid Sept, and then mid Oct, etc.

I would hate for a car like that to be sold cheap to a person who just wants a cheap vette and has no idea that they only made the LT4 for one year (kind of) and beats the crap out of it and ends up in a junk yard.

I would just be nice & check in with him once a month or so. Stay with 5k but when he's really ready maybe 5.5k or if you really have to have it 6 but you WILL be putting some $$$ into it.



I sold my LT4 with 60k miles about 5 yr ago for 16k. Guess that was ok.

 

[Dad2BJO]

I sold my LT4 with 60k miles about 5 yr ago for 16k. Guess that was ok.

Yep. I sold my 84 GN with 90k on the clock about 6 years ago for $8k and thought I did pretty good. Now try to even find one that is not trashed, and when you do they are much higher than $8k and that was a 1 in 2000 car. (if I could find one of those I would not even be looking at a Vette) I understand I would be putting money into it but it would be no different than my 36k mile z06 that was purchased from a premier corvette dealer. Besides I could have buy another couple C4's and have for spares for what I got for that POS.

I will keep an eye on it and work him on price.

Thanks!

 

[froggy47]

Yep. I sold my 84 GN with 90k on the clock about 6 years ago for $8k and thought I did pretty good. Now try to even find one that is not trashed, and when you do they are much higher than $8k and that was a 1 in 2000 car. (if I could find one of those I would not even be looking at a Vette) I understand I would be putting money into it but it would be no different than my 36k mile z06 that was purchased from a premier corvette dealer. Besides I could have buy another couple C4's and have for spares for what I got for that POS.

I will keep an eye on it and work him on price.

Thanks!

Good luck.