Poll: Who Did You Buy Your current C3 From?

[jack volkert]

Spotted it on a for sale web page for Vettes and made a call. 40K original mile all #'s matching car with all owner history. Had a pre-purchase inspection done by a reputable Corvette shop in the area. Talked to the owner of the shop after the inspection and had him fax me a report on the car. He did a breakdown of all #'s, condition of entire car, $ appraisal and small things that needed attention. Struck a deal with the owner and sent a certified bank check and had it shipped enclosed from Missouri to Florida. Was not disappointed when she arrived, better than described. Drives and looks like a 40K always garaged and pampered 75 should.

Jack

 

[WhiteKnight]

Bought my '71 after seeing it on the net @ www.buyavette.net. Closed the deal sept 15th over the phone and handled the paperwork through overnight delivery services. Scheduled Passport Autotransport to pickup the vette in Atlanta and deliver it to Austin. Found I would have to wait 5 days for the 10 day pickup window to start. This put the pickup anywhere from Sept 22nd to Oct 2nd. On Sept 29th I found out that they were not going to be able to pick up inside the window and were estimating an additional 5 days. Keep in mind that two hurricanes had hit the gulf states, one prior and one during this time, so the delay was understandable from a logistics piont. So I canceled the pickup and called the airline and the dealer. I finally got to see her on Sept 30th - 15 looonngg days after buying. The dealer tried to talk me out of driving her home, rather cautioned me about driving a 34 year old car 950 miles across country. I however, was "prepaired" for the trip at least for minor repairs. I brought a full set of tools, a listing of all addresses and phone numbers for the NAPA stores along the route I was taking, my AAA card and a cell phone. I also had them change the oil and service the car, check the lights, brakes and tire pressure. We verified it had a jack and could see the spare was in the carrier. I also stopped at a Nappa store on the way out of town and picked up a travel kit.. all hoses, clamps, fluids, belts and a can of fix a flat.

The trip home was fairly un-eventful, but not without intrest. I did have to put in a quart of tranny fluid (automatic) once and a quart of oil ever time I stopped for gas. I also found the AC needing charging so I ran window(s) open AC off to avoid burining up the compressor. At night, while the lights worked the gauge lights did not, So I drove with my trusty minimag light in my lap to watch the speedometer. At least the fuel and temp gauges worked, the oil, tach and amp gauges did not. But I knew that before starting and had them prove it had pressure by using a test gauge.

Once home I found that I had ben lucky not to have a flat, the jack was so rusty it took a through soaking of WD40 and a half hour to get it working. Then the key would not insert into the spare carrier lock (someone had jammed something into the keyhole), but I unbolted the mounting from the frame so I could drop the spare. To my suprise the tire had no rim, I'm still looking for one.

Not sure if I would go the same route again, but without these expierences what stories will we have to tell the granchildren?

-steve

 

[L46]

I found mine after doing a froogle search on "1970 Corvette". There she was, just looking pretty. I cashed in a few airline miles, hopped on a jet in VA and 3 hrs later, I was driving back to VA from MO. Got home the next day. Trip went very well, except for the deer on I-64 near Louisville that nearly took me out! I swerved hard into the next lane, had the tires screaming at 70mph. Whipped the steering wheel back and the rear end did its' thing. "That would have sucked" ran through my mind for the next two hours! The body is real clean, just a few chips. The motor is shot, however. I'll be pulling it next month and rebuilding it to stock specs.

I half-expected the motor would need work, so it's not really a surprise. It got me home from MO with no problems, about 900 miles. One of the coolest things was stopping for gas along the way and someone would always come up and say "nice car". Haven't heard that in 20 years! It's great to be back

Mark

 

[eddielee]

Life is good

Bugged my brother until he sold me his 72 t-top and then about 4 months later a 63 year old lady that i know ended up calling me an asked me if i wanted to buy her 68 so i bought it and told my wife it was for her.

 

[81kix]

Bugged my brother until he sold me his 72 t-top and then about 4 months later a 63 year old lady that i know ended up calling me an asked me if i wanted to buy her 68 so i bought it and told my wife it was for her.

Good man

 

[Crimson Thunder]

After a long search all around the south for the perfect Vette,I ended up finding mine about a mile away from my house.My friend was helping his buddy move and the next door neighbor was cleaning his garage and had his Vette in the driveway.The guy told my buddy that he didnt drive it much anymore and almost sold it once but didnt think the buyer would take care of it so he kept it.It took me a couple of hours to convince the guy i was "worthy" of buying his car.Two days later the Vette was much happier in my garage.

 

[F4Gary]

Bought mine in '97 from ProTeam. Saw it while on vacation. They did a follow up a few weeks later. Made me an offer I couldn't refuse and I bought it. Flew from DFW up to Ohio, bought it and drove it home. Got 10 mpg.

 

[lightingrod]

Mine's about the same, where the last owner went He had no need for it! Drug auction in St Louis!

Al

 

[81kix]

Local dealership for me.

 

[brandywine]

Searched for four years to find a 1980 with a 4 speed. Finally found the mistress about 25 miles away. The previous owner had one too many toys and corvettes. The 1980 had been sitting for approximately 6 months. In addition to the 1980, he owned a 1993 black rose vert, a harley, and a jet ski. His wife drew the line at the jet ski. Lucky me...

 

[proracr]

We bought ours from a C3VR member who lives in Georgia. (Out of state private party wasn't a choice in the poll).

See signature for picture. It's a 71 Coupe with 79 exterior mirrors. It was restored in the early 90's and did not have doors when the restorer bought it, so I guess he bought 79 Vette doors.

 

[82CorvetteGuy]

Bought mine locally after browsing a free ad paper and seen someone was selling a 82 for $2500....I bargained it down to $2200, got a clear title and drove it home.

 

[Big Tex]

Got mine right here...

A CAC member named Guy Wright had two 82's for sale. He had them advertised right here. Sent him an e-mail to inquire about the one I liked and he sent me a ton of pictures. I feel in love with it in no time. We developed a dialog, came up with a fair price, and struck a deal. My wife and I got lucky and found Southwest Airlines tickets for $99 and we flew from Oklahoma City to New Hampshire. He picked us up, we stayed at his house then we drove it home the next morning.

I'm not real sure I would trust buying one on ebay, but I had no problem with the way I got mine because Guy was well known to people on this site, the car was a documented award winner and I figured that CAC folks would treat each other right.

 

[Guy]

A CAC member named Guy Wright had two 82's for sale. He had them advertised right here. Sent him an e-mail to inquire about the one I liked and he sent me a ton of pictures. I feel in love with it in no time. We developed a dialog, came up with a fair price, and struck a deal. My wife and I got lucky and found Southwest Airlines tickets for $99 and we flew from Oklahoma City to New Hampshire. He picked us up, we stayed at his house then we drove it home the next morning.

I'm not real sure I would trust buying one on ebay, but I had no problem with the way I got mine because Guy was well known to people on this site, the car was a documented award winner and I figured that CAC folks would treat each other right.

Thanks for the kind words, Marc and I found YOUR car through an ad in Hemmings. By accident I found the seller to be well kown in the NCRS. I bought it sight unseen, meet Cacers, Tammy, Len, Bob Chadwick, Heidi and a few others. BBQ at Heidi's, stayed with Len and drove home on the original tires. Heck, Tammy picked me up at the airport in her ZO6 and she didn't know me other than CAC posts. What a fun weekend that was, even with a layover in Carlisle, Pa due to snow.

EBay - Not this (old) kid. Never, no way, no how! Fine for some, but not me.


Guy

 

[Gary42]

After doing an extensive search in my local area, I realized I was going to have to look farther away. I ended up going to Jim Glass Corvette in Kingston, NY...which is about a three hour drive from here. I looked at the car online and then in person on two seperate occasions before deciding to buy it. I wanted a stick, but eventually had to go for the turbohydramatic. Nothing else good was available...and it had to have those chrome bumpers front and rear...love that look. The car I bought was so clean, that I couldn't pass it up.

 

[dracor1117]

Came home for mid-tour leave from Iraq and my car had died. So out looking for cars, I couldn't find anything that was "reasonable" (more accurately, that my wife thought reasonable). After much looking for a car, and with only one more day to go, I found a Black 79 L-82 4 speed that had just been listed at the American Sportscar Center in Atlanta, GA (I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC). I showed my wife and she gave me the same look that she always gave me when I mentioned getting a vette... she finally caved in that night and we spent the next day on the phone with the dealership and running around getting the paperwork done. By the time I redeployed from Iraq, the car was waiting for me!
My wife had her shot at me though... When I got home, she had a custom plate made for the front of the car and nicknamed it "Mid-Life Crises."

 

[Bill B-]

Found it on the internet at a dealer about two hours north in snow country. It’s her Valentines Day gift (I tried to get it to cover upcoming b’days, anniversary’s, xmas for the next few years -- ever heard the phrase “when pigs fly”). Got tired of hearing my wife complain about “rowing” our ‘91 6 speed convertible over the years and how much she liked the steel bumper T tops. We pick up her ‘72 red on red, T top, automatic the very first nice Saturday coming up.

 

[mikejpss]

ebay

Got mine from a dude in North Carolina, after buying it off of eBay.We met in Atlanta, Ga. to transfer the car from his trailer to my trailer. I paid $7500 for her and HE made the best deal, not me,as she was tired and poor looking. After 3 years and another $7500 she looks and runs fine complete with a new engine too.
Think its sold and will be looking for a 73 model soon.

 

[blackandred78]

Bought from Stan Bradham used cars in Columbus...

I have bought several cars from Stan including my 1978. Two of my fellow club members bought their C4's from him, and I am trying to broker a deal for another friend for a cherry 1986 he has on his lot. Stan specializes in GM cars - mostly Caddies, but occassionally gets a Vette or something interesting on his lot. Unique guy and a very reputable dealer...

 

[JJS]

Thanks for the kind words, Marc and I found YOUR car through an ad in Hemmings. By accident I found the seller to be well kown in the NCRS. I bought it sight unseen, meet Cacers, Tammy, Len, Bob Chadwick, Heidi and a few others. BBQ at Heidi's, stayed with Len and drove home on the original tires. Heck, Tammy picked me up at the airport in her ZO6 and she didn't know me other than CAC posts. What a fun weekend that was, even with a layover in Carlisle, Pa due to snow.

EBay - Not this (old) kid. Never, no way, no how! Fine for some, but not me.


Guy

I remember those two cars. Once was a real pretty green, and both were beautiful cars.