Thinking about buying a C4. Want advice.

[9340Ruby]

I could not agree with you more!

Lot's of good advice here but I'll add my 2 cents anyway.

I just bought my original C4 back and I'm having fun with it. Compared to a C5 or C6, the C4 can be a bit of a beast but, for their day, they were and are great cars.

The more options on the car, the more likely they are to cost you extra money in the future.
1989 was the first year for Low Tire Pressure Warning Systems (UJ6) and it was not a big selling option. The wheel sensors have been discontinued and are not available anymore except in junk yards and eBay. Most people seem to have removed or disabled them just to keep the dash light from setting. Probably not going to find too many of them still working anyway. My '92 has them and they still work but I have not idea how much longer they will.
1989 was also the first year for Selective Ride Control (FX3). Replacement shocks are $200 each but the actuators for them are very hard to find and cost twice as much at times. My FX3 system is still working but I have one 'slow' shock that causes the service light to stay on sometimes after start. I shut down and restart to force a second test cycle and everything is okay.
My '92 has the OptiSpark. It was also an early production LT1 so it was one of the cars that had Opti problems early - replaced 2 in 6 months between Oct 91 and Mar 92. The third one went more 11 years and was still working when it was removed to upgrade the LT1 to LT4 specs. If you buy an LT1/LT4 car, don't hose down the motor. Opti's hate getting a bath.

I like the way the C4 wraps around your butt when you get in. You feel like you're straping it on vice sitting in it.

Last, drive as many as you can. Each C4 seems to have a different personality depending on the motor, suspension options, seat options, etc. If you like the C4 in general, one will jump out at you and call your name.

 

[air1jpg]

1989 was the last year of the all digital dash, 91 - 96 has analog gauges for everything but the speedo.

1990 was also the first year for the driver's air bag, 1994 added the passenger side.

Just wanted to add that 91-96 vettes have both analog and digital gauges. The digital gauges are more accurate than the analog ones.

 

[CTYANK2]

Lot's of good advice here but I'll add my 2 cents anyway.

I just bought my original C4 (1992) back and I'm having fun with it. Compared to a C5 or C6, the C4 can be a bit of a beast but, for their day, they were and are great cars. I'm driving my '92 to work daily now and it's got 125K+ miles on it. It's not stock and it has custom paint.

Now on the general C4 comments:
The more options on the car, the more likely they are to cost you extra money in the future.

1989 was the first year for Low Tire Pressure Warning Systems (UJ6) and it was not a big selling option. The wheel sensors have been discontinued and are not available anymore except in junk yards and eBay. Most people seem to have removed or disabled them just to keep the dash light from setting. Probably not going to find too many of them still working anyway. My '92 has them and they still work but I have not idea how much longer they will.

1989 was also the first year for Selective Ride Control (FX3). Replacement shocks are $200 each but the actuators for them are very hard to find and cost twice as much at times. My FX3 system is still working but I have one 'slow' shock that causes the service light to stay on sometimes after start. I shut down and restart to force a second test cycle and everything is okay. In '91 it was married with the Z51 stuff and became Z07. So, getting the upgraded suspension between '91 and '95 required the FX3 as well.

My '92 has the OptiSpark. It was also an early production LT1 so it was one of the cars that had Opti problems early - replaced 2 in 6 months between Oct 91 and Mar 92. The third one went more 11 years and was still working when it was removed to upgrade the LT1 to LT4 specs. If you buy an LT1/LT4 car, don't hose down the motor. Opti's hate getting a bath.

Climatic control can be a ***** also when they fail.

All that said, my '92 has FX3, LTPWS and Climate Control and it all still works.

I like the way the C4 wraps around your butt when you get in. You feel like you're straping it on vice sitting in it.

Last, drive as many as you can. Each C4 seems to have a different personality depending on the motor, suspension options, seat options, etc. If you like the C4 in general, one will jump out at you and call your name.

Good advice. Fortunately 89's with low tire pressure warning and/or selective ride control are not common.

As for the black/black 96 you are looking at - it sounds like a good deal if the condition is good. Take it for a ride! :cool

 

[Chetzki]

Minfridge - I have a reliable car that requires no work. Less than 54k miles. Torch Red LT4 Coupe black int. Maybe more $ than what you're looking for. It's advertised on Autotrader.com and on this site. Search around zip code 77566.

Regards,
Chetzki

 

[Bonnell]

I had a 1988 coupe from 2002 until last June. In Sept 2006 I bought a C5 vert and now use it as my DD.

The '88 had the L98 motor (no optispark but tell a GM agent that you need a tune up they automatically tell you that your optispark is bad :W) and was still running great at 166K miles.

My digital dash started having problems with going dark but I replaced the battery when I sold the car so that the new owner would have a fresh battery and the dash started working perfectly again.

The seats are far better than those in the C5 and the connection to the road is better than in the C5. My C4 was quick off the line but the C5 is noticably quicker. The clam shell hood is cool and makes working on the motor easier sometimes.

In my opinion the C4 is a great deal for the money. Be sure to check the weather stripping because that can be a pain and is not cheap to replace correctly. Don't trust the gas gauge below 1/4 tank (don't ask me how I know three times otfl )

Have fun. You can find a nice car for less than $12K every day.