Question on purchase of '96

[BarryK]

Hi all

I currently have a restored '65 coupe that I use only for pleasure drives. Because of a change in employement I have to return the car I was using as a daily driver (it was a company car) and need to purchase a new daily driver car for myself. I was considering a C4. I'm much more familiar with pricing and values on the C2's than the C4's and I need your opinions.
Today I found a '96 LT1 with Auto trans, sports seats, CD player, transparent top, and 61,000 miles.
The car seems in good driver condition - not great or perfect by any means but well above only a "fair" rating in my eyes.
The paint seems pretty good and I think it will clean up good with a nice detailing job but I don't get the impression this was a garage kept car. I can live with that as my garage is already filled and i'll have to keep it outside myself as much as I hate doing it.
The tranparent top is showing marks - similair to scratches but I can't really feel them as scratches. The seats and carpet are startinng to show a little bit of wear - mainly just dirty as it is a light gray interior so it shows up more.
I took the car for a short drive and it ran fine. felt strong, no hesitation in the motor but I'm really not all that familiar with how C4's should be to give it a comparison. I drove a C4 once about 5 or 6 years ago and that was all.
The interior seemed solid without rattles and except as the previously mentioned minor issue about the light color starting to show some "dirty" sports is overall in very good shape.
Within the last 6 months or so the ECM and the Optispark were replaced along with the oil filter.
The biggest issue I really saw was that the weatherstriping is starting to show it's age a bit and is cracking in some places so in a year or two I know i'll have to have that replaced. When the Optispark was replaced I'm not sure if the waterpumped was replaced or not at the same time - I don't think it was - and my understanding on the later C4's is that the waterpumps tend to start leaking and when they do they take the Optispark with them.
The Corvette specialist I saw the car at has an excellent reputation for their cars and their service and includes a 6 month / 7500 mile warranty on the powertrain.
Their asking price was $16,900 but told me I could have the car for $15,900.

Does this price seem in line for a '96 in this condition?

Thanks for any help or comments you can give me.

 

[warren s]

Barry


That price for a 96 with 61K is a fair dealer price. but considering the depressed C4 market you can do better. From a dealer you are always going to pay way more.

The car sounds good as you describe it. It is still 9 model years old so you cant expect perfection unless you are willing ot pay for it.

As a comparison, my 95 has 26, 000 miles on it now. Last summer i took it to a famous Chevy dealer in New Jersey, in Atlantic City. The specailize in Corvettes.
As fate would have it, almost the exact same car was on the lot as mine, except mine had less miles on it. My 95 is in excellent condition. They were asking $21,500 for thiers.

Than they told me mine would be worth $12, 000 as a trade in on a C5.

 

[BarryK]

Warren

Thanks for the comments.
I know I'll pay more from a dealer than an indivdual. I'm open to finding a car from either source as long as it's a good car and within my budget. Of course, the dealer will be a bit more but one thing I've found in the past is that buying from an established dealer like this one is that they do offer a warranty even though it's limited (ok, maybe it's more peace-of-mind than anything else but it's SOMETHING) which you don't get from a private party.
BTW, this 'Vette dealer is also in NJ not too far from Atlantic City. The dealer you went to sounds like it must have been Kerbeck. They are HUGE and do sell a ton of Vettes there but I feel more comfortable buying from a smaller more specialized dealer if I deal with a dealer - I feel they give more in customer service and work a bit harder to try to get your business, but I may just be fooling myself also.

I realize a 8 or 9 year old car isn't going to be perfect so I accept that as long as the car I find isn't TOO bad. mostly I'm looking for a good condition, reliable driver car.
Minor issues like a few dirty spots on the carpet on the leather can be dealt with later. I can replace carpet and have the seats recovered, whatever.

I know the optispark is a common issue on these cars so knowing it was already replaced seems a good things to me on this car helping it's reliablity factor.

 

[warren s]

Agreed.

Good luck in your search, remember that there are thousands out there.

 

[BarryK]

Warren

looking at your car on your website, do I see a light gray interior?
That is the same color mix as the car looked at today - White exterior with light gray interior.


thanks again for your help

Barry

 

[warren s]

Yes, Artic White with grey interior, Automatic with 3.07 rear.

 

[Edmond]

Barry,

It seems like they want LT4 money for that LT1. Have you considered the LT4?

Since you've restored a Vette' before, I'm assuming that you're quite capable of doing some work yourself. Ever think of buying one that needs a little work for less money?

 

[BarryK]

Barry,

It seems like they want LT4 money for that LT1. Have you considered the LT4?

Since you've restored a Vette' before, I'm assuming that you're quite capable of doing some work yourself. Ever think of buying one that needs a little work for less money?

Edmond

I hate to admit it, but I'm fairly mechanicly challenged
LOL
I didn't do the restoration on my '65. It was a complete frame-off by the previous owner and I bought it in that condition. It only had about 500 miles on it when I got it after the restoration. I WISH i could do more things with my cars (could save me a lot of money!) but I don't know how and don't have many of the tools. I can take most things apart, it's the putting them back together again that's the problem. usually extra parts left over and the problem is worst than before I touched it.
LOL

 

[Rain]

I agree with all said here today.
Its a fair price but better deals can be found if you have time to shop or want to wait.

Rain

 

[garycr14]

Warren

looking at your car on your website, do I see a light gray interior?
That is the same color mix as the car looked at today - White exterior with light gray interior.


thanks again for your help

Barry

Just an opinion, I'd check with Warren to find out how much he wants for his 95, there really isn't much difference between the 95-96 unless you get the LT4. Buying from a reputible dealer is only an advantage if something happens to the car on the way home, as I had a problem with mine. Other then that they may have had a mechanic give them the once over, but they did not own the car for any length of time, so it's just guess work on their part on how the car will perform over time. All but the classic Vette's prices took a big hit this year, patially due to the economy, and also with the C6 on its way. C4's can be found at great prices if ou look around. As I said, just an opinion.

 

[BarryK]

I agree with all said here today.
Its a fair price but better deals can be found if you have time to shop or want to wait.

Rain

Thanks Rain

I have about 2 weeks, 3 tops, to find a car in my budget so I'm not just jumping on this particular car. It's good knowing it's in the correct price range for it's value though. That will also help so I can compare when looking at any other car.
I hate rushing to buy a car but I have no choice but to get SOMETHING within 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[BarryK]

Just an opinion, I'd check with Warren to find out how much he wants for his 95, there really isn't much difference between the 95-96 unless you get the LT4. Buying from a reputible dealer is only an advantage if something happens to the car on the way home, as I had a problem with mine. Other then that they may have had a mechanic give them the once over, but they did not own the car for any length of time, so it's just guess work on their part on how the car will perform over time. All but the classic Vette's prices took a big hit this year, patially due to the economy, and also with the C6 on its way. C4's can be found at great prices if ou look around. As I said, just an opinion.

Gary

I did check with Warren on his price. His car is over my budget range. His car is a lower milage car and being on the forum here I strongly suspect it is also in much better condition but it's just beyonnd what I have to spend.

When I found my '65 it also happened to be from a dealer ( a different Vette specialist) and luckily I did get it from a dealer in that case as after I had it for about 2 weeks I found an issue that turned out to be a fairly major issue with the engine block. although the dealer didn't sell the car with any "warranty" ( it was a '65 so who would expect one anyway) I called him regarding the problem and he was very concerned about it and had me return the car to him to repair the issue. He didn't need to do that but he wanted to keep a customer happy and "make good" on the car he sold me so it was in the condition he presented the car to me initially. The issue wasn't the dealers fault, it was the there when he bought the car from the previous owner and the dealer didn't know of the problem when he sold me the car. If I had to pay for the repair myself I guess it was approx a $1500 - $1800 repair in labor so i'm glad the dealer cares about his customer service and his reputation.

If I can find a car from a private party that's great also, but there are 2 or 3 Vette specialist dealers around me that I also don't mind looking at because of the above reason. I know I will pay a bit more at the dealers but there is the peace-of-mind issue if I do find any issues after I get the car home that aren't noticed before hand.

Thanks for your help

 

[Edmond]

Edmond

I hate to admit it, but I'm fairly mechanicly challenged
LOL
I didn't do the restoration on my '65. It was a complete frame-off by the previous owner and I bought it in that condition. It only had about 500 miles on it when I got it after the restoration. I WISH i could do more things with my cars (could save me a lot of money!) but I don't know how and don't have many of the tools. I can take most things apart, it's the putting them back together again that's the problem. usually extra parts left over and the problem is worst than before I touched it.
LOL

In that case, you'd better buy the car that needs the least amount of work! :L

 

[BarryK]

In that case, you'd better buy the car that needs the least amount of work! :L

yep, that usually my goal - to find a car in the best condition that i can given the budget I have. As long as the engine is strong and relaible and the paint is in good shape, other minor areas can always get fixed-up one thing at a time slowly as I can afford it

 

[Edmond]

yep, that usually my goal - to find a car in the best condition that i can given the budget I have. As long as the engine is strong and relaible and the paint is in good shape, other minor areas can always get fixed-up one thing at a time slowly as I can afford it

Barry,

Try: www.corvettecollection.com

They're about 30 minutes away from me and I always drive past them when I go to the gun range out there. Their cars seem to be pretty clean from the outside, though I've never taken a closer look.

If you like something there and want me to take a closer look with digital pictures; let me know!

 

[Bonnell]

Hi Barry,

I purchased a 1988 Coupe in November 2002. I purchased it from a dealer and paid way too much (I didn't know this until I joined the Corvette Action Center and learned a little about vettes) at 15,900.

It was as you described, the paint looks really good except up close in a few areas. The interior has a little wear, the wheels need to be stripped and polished. Overall, it is a beautiful car. I've put about $3,000 into it.

This is a daily driver that has over 124K miles on it now and it still has no rattles, it runs great and I get 28.6 mpg on the highway.

My top has the 'scratches' that you mentioned. I think that they call it crazing (sp). I believe that it is caused by the stress applied by the flexing of the frame. My weather stripping is realy worn and leaks a little when it rains.

Overall, I would not drive anything else. I'd liek to get a '96 for the extra hp.

Good Luck.

J

 

[froggy47]

Hi BarryK,


That sounds high (but not outrageous) for the LT1 engine. I got my LT4 about a year ago for 18K 49K miles (BTW light grey interior - which I like a lot).

If you are not into wrenching yourself, I'd look at a older C5. I see them all day long in the low 20's.

I like the look of my C4 better, but that's just personal pref. If you wait til July I bet there will be a lot of c5's dumped for c6's IMHO.

If you trust a dealer - that's worth something - I guess. I don't trust most of them. I'd say you are paying a 2 to 4K premium on that one.