 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Chevrolet / Chevrolet Corvette / June 2006been lurking, got a question
i've been reading up on corvettes (specifically the C4's) and your newsgroup is a wealth of information. I think I have my first corvette picked out and wanted some opinions from you experts. My brother in law owns a chevrolet dealership and he found this car for me. I've looked at about four others before this one. She's a 1988 triple black vette with auto trans and 80k miles. The previous owner took great care of her. The car looks great and runs excellent. Since he's family, he's offering the car to me for $9100. (plus tax and tags) which I think is a fair price. What common "gremlins" should i be looking for on this car? and, should I hold out for a 30-40k mile car? I'm wanting to stay in the $10k-$15k price range. This car would allow me to invest in better tires, and any other needed mods (i dont think 80k is a ridicules amount of miles). I'm buying it as a summer fun car that is replacing my motorcycle. I have an everyday driver for winter and just plain ol' ugly days. thanks in advance for any responses. Walt > i've been reading up on corvettes (specifically the C4's) and your > newsgroup is a wealth of information. I think I have my first corvette [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Walt You don't say where you are located, but there are search engines that you can use to find comparables to see if you are getting a good car at the right price. For instance: http://tinyurl.com/hpo5a Sounds like a decent car at a low price (especially for a convertible). You'd be hard-pressed to beat that price, so if you trust your brother-in-law, why not go for it? After all, how much can you lose if you later decide you want something better. Is there a way you can get a professional mechanic to give it a thorough going over before committing? Frame weakened by rust is probably the biggest issue. Remember, even if you have big problems with the car, you still have to maintain family harmony! The method of sensing intake airflow improved in 1989 models, so that might make me tend to go for an 89 or later, but not a big issue. > You don't say where you are located, but there are search engines that you > can use to find comparables to see if you are getting a good car at the [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > The method of sensing intake airflow improved in 1989 models, so > that might make me tend to go for an 89 or later, but not a big issue. I'm in Buffalo NY and my bro-in-law had his mechanics check it out thoroughly. He doesn't want me "bad-mouthing" him to the rest of the family. The car was stored winters and the frame looks pretty fresh considering the year and our climate. I'm really considering buying this one, about 99% sure it's the way to go. My only concern is that i dont want to buy a car based on the low price. All the used vettes from '88-'92 that i've looked at had 29k miles to about 45k miles. This one has 80k miles but i would think GM can make a vehicle that runs strong for at least 150k (if maintained), should i be too concerned about that 80k miles? Thanks for the link. I didn't see any c4's in those listings with 80k miles in there either... d'OH! walt Im glad its an automatic and not the 4 plus 3 manual gearbox, otherwise , id tell you to seriously forget about it. Hello Walt, Sounds like a ball-park car and unless it's been abused or neglected will be a sound car. My C4 experience says, upgrade the headlight door gearboxs, abide by the service schedule, flush and change coolant every two years, swap out alternators every couple of years, drive-it-like-you-stole-it every once in a while and aside from a cat convertor replacement you'll have 100K in real fun. Keep the roof panel snug and if it begins to squeak, get it aligned. Unless abused you'll get well over 150K from the L-98. This is a real fun car below 40mph -- great off the line and a good KITA around freeway on-ramps. If you're going to autocross, consider upgrading brakes and adding a cooler for the power steering. Here's a suggestion: Go to << www.autotrader.com >> , plug in Chevrolet, then zip 92123 (bases the search in San Diego) and then select 'Corvette' and 'any distance' from zip code. I'd suggest a date range of 1987 thru 1990. That will give you a couple of hundred cars nationwide to look at. Click on the "price" header and it will sort in ascending order. I just took a quick look and found '88s from $ 3500 up to $ 49K for an '88 with just 660 miles. I've tracked down my last two used cars from autotrader listings. Generally, I think sellers here ask about 10% above the going market price. -- PJ '89 Hookercar, '02 e-blu 6-spd coupe >> You don't say where you are located, but there are search engines that you >> can use to find comparables to see if you are getting a good car at the [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > walt > Hello Walt, > Sounds like a ball-park car and unless it's been abused or neglected [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > PJ > '89 Hookercar, '02 e-blu 6-spd coupe Thanks for the info, i really appreciate it. I've read almost all of your suggestions (headlight gearboxes, alternator, etc) in this forum before. I borrowed a different '88 convertible a few weeks ago for a few days and i fell in love with it. As far as the mechanical end of the maintainance of the car, i'm a hands on guy (http://www.wallys-speed-shop.com) so this should be fun. I've rebuilt a bunch of cycles (and just plain built) and last year i rebuilt a jeep wrangler so this sounds like something i can get into. I've always wanted a corvette convertible so now i really cant wait to close the deal. I'll keep ya posted once she's in my driveway! Thanks again, Walt >> You don't say where you are located, but there are search engines that you >> can use to find comparables to see if you are getting a good car at the [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > walt I know the climate, Buffalo is my hometown. You want higher mileage cars?... here you go: http://tinyurl.com/zypfm <snipped>> > I know the climate, Buffalo is my hometown. > You want higher mileage cars?... here you go: http://tinyurl.com/zypfm there ya go, those are up there (geesh, the last one had over 200k) That's great to see, people actually driving them and they're still looking (and presumably) running well. I'm just waiting for the word to go get the car now, i feel like a kid at christmas! Thanks for the link. walt > i've been reading up on corvettes (specifically the C4's) > and your [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > (plus tax and > tags) which I think is a fair price. get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. save yourself on the tax and tags. ---snip--- > I'm buying it as a summer fun car that is replacing my > motorcycle. I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Walt I would say get the vette and keep the bike... my2¢  Signature"Key" ===== > get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. > save yourself on the tax and tags. He'll work out something... off the record ; ) > ---snip--- > > I'm buying it as a summer fun car that is replacing my [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > I would say get the vette and keep the bike... just selling 2 out of 3... for now (don't tell the Mrs.) > my2¢ > get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. > save yourself on the tax and tags. > > ---snip--- > I would say get the vette and keep the bike... > > my2¢ Gawd 'key, I thot I was the only cheapskate that cheated Gov. Arnold. Cheesse! Slippery slope. -- PJ Signature-- PJ '89 Hookercar '02 e-blu coupe >> get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. >> save yourself on the tax and tags. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > PJ > '89 Hookercar '02 e-blu coupe always been a cheapskate. (every penny saved in one place can be spent in another) wouldn't think of cheating the gov. getting over on the state a little, is a different story:-) g'day Signature"Key" ===== >> get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. >> save yourself on the tax and tags. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >Gawd 'key, I thot I was the only cheapskate that cheated Gov. Arnold. >Cheesse! Slippery slope. In fairness, taxes have already been paid on that car. Maybe a couple of times, even... -- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere? >>> get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. >>> save yourself on the tax and tags. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > lab~rat >:-) > Do you want polite or do you want sincere? sounds fair to me !!! Signature"Key" ===== >>i've been reading up on corvettes (specifically the C4's) >>and your [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >>(plus tax and >>tags) which I think is a fair price. Yes committing sales Tax fraud is always a very good choice listen to this guy and you could get a sales tax assessment for full value and have to pay more tax then what is really owed by you. Nothing ever good comes from acts of fraud and posting such things like this in public forum is an act of conspiracy and could get you prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Be very worried of any one suggesting things like this to you. A large number title companies closed their doors across the USA for this practice and various other infractions leaving the owners of the cars with out titles or having to pay allot higher taxes on purchases > get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. > save yourself on the tax and tags. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > my2¢ "No here No Now" <"No here No Now"@never12532752478623never.com > wrote absolutly nothing of value in message ---snip--- you sound like one of them "good ol boys" that tell the court what they want to hear so you can get picked for jury duty :-) do look for a clue troll-boy :-) Signature"Key" ===== >>>i've been reading up on corvettes (specifically the C4's) >>>and your [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >this practice and various other infractions leaving the owners of the >cars with out titles or having to pay allot higher taxes on purchases Great, now we're getting legal advice from spammers... -- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere? > Great, now we're getting legal advice from spammers... > -- > lab~rat >:-) > Do you want polite or do you want sincere? yea, I should of just kill-filed the jerk.. Signature"Key" =====
|
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.