need some help with making an offer for a vette.

[vetteKID]

i have been looking for a 69-80 vette for about 3 months, and this one is the best deal so far. i just wanted to know what you guys thought was the "right price" for this vette.

78 L-48 vette, altought it had L-82 badges.
weather striping is good, no leaks.
paint is not original, has some chips (half dollor sized) around both the pass. and driver door handles but over all shiney and nice. the mufflers have holes, but rest of exhuast system looks good. minor patchy surface rust on frame rails and frame (came off when i scraped it with a penny) but the raidator support has rust but not terrorable. engine runs beutifully (suppossible rebuilt), has performer manifold and new edelbrock carb, and an aftermarket cam and tranny shifts hard. new brake rotor and calipers all the way around. all gauges, other than the clock, work fine. the vaccum lines must be blocked becuase the headlights and antennea do not come up. i would say the tires have 15,000 miles left on them.

so what do you guys think, what the right price? need more info? just reply.

 

[Edmond]

Wow, you're looking at a lot of work and a pretty chunk of change. Don't forget that even if you get the car for a low price, you'll have to put that money back into it to get the car to where you want it to be.

Ask yourself if you have the patience and resources to get this car to where you want it. Like many members in here say, spend the money initially and you'll spend less later. The flip side is if you buy a real low priced one, it'll most likely need work and that might lead to headaches down the road.

Have you asked how much the seller wants for it?

 

[Dave L.]

without seeing it its hard to say,but from what you have said I'd say around 5500-7000.I would find something with really good paint and body for starters.You'll sink 5 grand into a quality paint job nowadays.Get the best car you can possibly afford.

If I were you,I would plan on making it up to Carlisle next month.In one day you'll see more vettes for sale than you will see in 5 years.It will really give you a feel for whats out there.Granted,some of these guys up there are out of their minds for what they want for their cars but some good deals can be found,especially on Sunday.Plus,5000 corvettes in one place is an unbeleivable sight.It would be good learning oppurtunity for you.
Don't buy the first car you look at take your time and get sound advice.These guys (and gals) at CAC really know their stuff.

Dave

 

[vetteKID]

he wants 8000, but he thinks its an L-82. i was thinking of offering 6500. it does need minor work but this is also never going to be a show car, just my toy/driver. this will be my 3nd car, and i already got a strip car and im not too much of a show guy.

 

[Edmond]

$8,000 is very close to C4 territory. I would find out what he'd accept and if he would accept $6,500, I would very seriously consider it.

Like BURGLAR said, paint jobs aren't cheap. So, theoretically, if you paid $6,500 for the car and then another $5,000 for a paint job, you actually paid $11,500 for it.

And something that troubles me is that he doesn't even know what engine is in the car. You should look into as much into the history of the car as possible.

 

[vetteKID]

do you know anyone that could run a carfax for me?

 

[78SilvAnniv]

13 years ago...

Kenny bought our 78. It had approx. 35,000 miles and everything was original. He bought it from a classic car consignment lot, and previous to that, the 78 had only one owner, who owned a garage and tire shop. Records indicated that he maintained it very well.

Kenny bought it for $9,500 and it became his only mode of transportation. After we married, it became my daily driver (and when he gave away my Olds without telling me, he gave me the 78 to smooth things over!)

In the 13 years we've had her, this is what we have done:
bushings & bearings
power steering system (entire) x3 (3rd time was the charm!)
rear end gears in pumpkin and side yokes
numerous u-joints until rear end was diagnosed/fixed
replaced engine when original blew a piston
upgraded AC to politically correct refrigerant
weatherstrip
paint (in original two tone silver anniversary scheme)
fan clutch x5
replaced fan clutch with flex fan (no more run-hot problems)

Things we need to do, in order of importance:
replace seatbelts
replace brakes (need new rotors, so I'll do everything all at once)
thought about rebuilding the tranny, but its doing fine so far
interior everything
chambered exhaust
rear '82 collector's spoiler

I don't begrudge the money we have spent refurbishing her, I chalk it up to smiles per mile, and happily pay it! My main goal is to keep her safe and reliable.
Shop smart and buy the best vette you can. It sounds like you want a fun driver, not a fixer.
Heidi

 

[Eric]

Sorry vetteKid, CarFax only goes back to 1982 when all VINs became standardized across the industry. Go to the local Borders or Barnes&Noble and get a Black Book and the book on Chevy ID numbers. Compare every number you can find to the ones on the car.

- Eric

 

[gary b.]

do you know anyone that could run a carfax for me?

Don't even bother wiyh a carfax, they don't cover vehicles from the 70's. B.T.W., i have a 1978 , that is in near perfect condition,
new tires
p.s. valve
exhaust (but want to get a meaner sounding one soon)
carpet
seats are showing some age
many more new parts & only 55,000 original miles. the only problem i have is rust on the windshield pillars (check that one out). i paid $7,800.00 & i'm very happy with it! GOOD LUCK ! GARY.

 

[76L82]

Sounds like somewhere in the 5000 to 7000 range..but I would be gravitating toward the low range for what I am seeing being offered in my neck of the woods. Not sure what your personal tastes are but I would personaly pay more if it was a 4-spd and had the the L-82 package with t-tops.

Not sure how many miles on it, but if you are mechanically capable it sounds like a decent driver to me. The items that you mentioned aren't too incredibly difficult to fix, I have done many of these items on my cars from a repair manual and I am not a very capable mechanic...but as someone said...they will definitely keep you off the highway and in the driveway on the weekends sorting the problems out.

I, on the other hand, would rather do body work than mechanical stuff so I was looking for a mechanically tight car that had some issues with the exterior. Found an all original, numbers matching 76 L-82 with close ratio 4 speed, T-Tops, A/C, tilt telescopic wheel, power windows with 94k miles and which had all the interior pieces there and in relatively good shape. Body had some real wear on it and needed some serious weekends fixing some pretty good sized "divots". But..I paid $4k for it and drove it away. I think I may actually have an advantage where I live because a Vette is truly a seasonal car here whereas in much of the country you can drive them year round.

 

[page62]

Ummm...methinks that if the headlights don't come up you've got more than just blocked lines. Be prepared to spend a few bucks on stuff like headlight actuators...

And check very closely for rust where the rear trailing arms connect to the frame. This is real problem spot!

I paid a lot more for mine, but it was a very original car in excellent condition (except for the paint, which is spider-cracked). But an excellent paint job only runs $2500 or less around here!

Even though my car was mechanically "excellent," it still needed an A/C overhaul, a new carb, and some front end bits (better safe than sorry). So the bottom line is that you'd better be prepared to spend some "surprise" bucks on your new baby!

 

[rpounds]

I'm with 76L82. $5000 or $5500 would be the most that I would be willing to pay. C3s in that year range are not hard to come by and you can find a better deal it seems like to me. I paid $5800 for my '75, which is an original California car . . . no rust anywhere, engine was fresh, a lot of nice detail already done.

As far as the money and time that I have spent, it is not a car that I have to depend on every day, so it is simply a hobby. How many of us have spent thousands of dollars on hobbies that we will never recoup? I've spend thousands on golf and have nothing to show for it other than a decent handicap and a lot of good memories. And I don't regret it one little bit. At least with the Corvette, every time I walk out into the garage, get in and turn the key for a spin down by the beach, I see living proof that it is not all in vain.

Just my couple pesos . . .

 

[Eric]

...How many of us have spent thousands of dollars on hobbies that we will never recoup? ..... At least with the Corvette, every time I walk out into the garage, get in and turn the key for a spin down by the beach, I see living proof that it is not all in vain....

Ron,

Very well said.

- Eric

 

[intex99]

I agree with all the above as I got an itch for a Vette and bought an 80 for $4000. off the internet sight unseen.Went by what the seller told me and once he had the cash and I had the car I found out all the problems.Now $6000. later I still have work to do onit but all the big stuff is over and I'm out enjoying it.I just bought an 81 out of Cal. for $3000. as the guy needed cash to buy a house so put the squeeze on him and am very happy with it but it does need some small work done but I enjoy working on them and can do it myself.If you can do the work yourself it might be okay but if not you might need some deep pockets .

 

[vetteKID]

bought it anyway! i got it for 6500! RUNS AWESOME! and already took out my friends 5.0....i mean 5.SLOW! god i love corvettes! and the tires now have only 10,000 miles left on them

 

[intex99]

Sounds as though you made out pretty good on the deal.I'm sure you'll have alot of fun with it as I know I sure do.

 

[gary b.]

MY FIRST VETTE! 78 vette, performer manifold, edelbrock 600cfm carb, and flowmasters. i think god himself created T-tops!

Congrats !! my first vette is a '78' also, you'll love it.
Enjoy the ride,& do'nt forget to wave! gary.

 

[djunod]

he wants 8000, but he thinks its an L-82.

I paid $4K for my real 79 L-82. Wasn't that bad of shape. Was fine for a daily FUN driver.

I ended up selling it for $2K to a friend (I had ended up taking the entire interior out of it, plus took the entire drivers door apart).

$8K for a real 78 L-82 basket-case is too much. Keep looking.