400hp427vette

I have watched auctions for years now. I have seen fords,mopars,all GM,etc.... Some go for high some average. I dont see any C3 up to an 82 go for less in he same condition sell for less that a 289 66 mustang. I have seen many great looking cars all years go for prices in the 10K range. My point is although rubber bumper vettes don't sell as high as metal bumper ones they still fall in line price wise like any mass produced classic car and will rise in value as time passes.

richard emmanuel

I think personally the reason most c3 prices remain a bit low is because it is so hard to find a meachnic the knows the ins and out. A paint job is not cheap on a c3 neither. Back in the 70's a lot of people that owned these car really could not afford them so shade tree meachnics did poor work and often rigged repairs such as the ac units.Also a mechanic looking at the drive train would get confused seeing the rear end drive shafts,axels. Aliignment shops today even have trouble doing a 4 wheel alignment. Bottom line if a car is diffcult and expensive to repair it does hold the value down

vettebuyer6369

I think what most people are referring to is the dramatic difference between the prices on an early chrome bumper car vs a later rubber bumper car. Some people would argue that they are all sharks, and not all that different; however, the price difference could be as much as 100% on comparable condition cars from the different eras.

71coupe454

they seem to be going kinda low on mecum tonight..

razman

i personally don't think that the 74'-82' era will ever have a real following or ever be a real "classic". the styling is just not there, and the performance was defintitely not there. if the question is will the value drop or rise along with the rest of the classic collectiibles.......i suppose it will always be relative. all of our cars are subject to economic times i suppose.

jim70

I believe it's all in the engine and the brute years as compared to the fall out when emissions kicked in...lots more options in 69-72 than later..including transmission options...over that there were body desireables such as vacuum wiper doors,front grilles,and of course the chrome bumpers....

Vette80regon

correct. Two reasons:

1. Engine. Big Blocks punching out freakishly high HP/tq numbers and limited production high winding small blocks of the early C3's.
2. volume. The sheer production numbers alone. 1979 & 80 sold the most of any C3 (50,000). Too many units to be classified as "rare"


Face it. We are currently in a love affair with outlandish HP numbers.

speedbird1229

I don't get what you mean with this, sorry. At least outside the USA all of the C3's are certainly considered classics by most people and all of the C3's are as stylish as a car could possibly get.

Some people think that the 78-82 style bubble rear glass Vettes are going to be less valuable, but I certainly don't think so because the value of a classic car is connected to the number of them been produced, now the number of them being around. There were 335,660 68-77 C3's produced compared to 207,210 78-82's produced. Ofcourse the big block and LT1 Vettes are going to be in a class of their own and always very valuable. We can also look into the longer perspective when less and less of these cars are going to be available for purchase. If someone wanted a 78-79 Vette which have the older style bumpers and bubble glass, then there won't be too many to choose from. About 100k of them produced at all, the number might already be times less if we talk driveable nice-condition cars.

This is my theory about it and ofcourse I've been thinking especially about the 79 year that I own, hence some comparisions about that era. I'm rather sure that all of the C3's continue to be pretty valuable cars and also collectable. There shouldn't be a reason to "throw away" certain years of this car as if they were not as special as the others. I think one of the reasons to buy a C3 is the collectable status and then the 68-73 years might be the best to choose from. However, let's not forget that such hobby cars are bought because the buyer likes their look and for me the 78-79 look was exactly what I was looking for. I'm not so fond of the chrome bumpers and for me the perfect look is what the 78-79 have got. This is individual for all of us.

P.S.

Anybody can think of a rough estimate of how many of all those produced C3's might be still around in fine condition? 50%?

RunningMan373

Gotta be way less then 50%. I'd say, maybe 25% of the cars might still be on the road, 15% is good-ish condition. I live in a pretty busy area, here in the SF bay area- in Oakland. I've seem maybe 9 C3s in the las 3 years. an d they made this car for 14 years! Maybe seen 3 Cudas. Difficulty of repair and impracticality, as well as just time takes a toll. I'd say 25%, form your numbers, that's still 125k cars, which is fortunate. Keeps parts in mass production, supporting several vendors, driving costs down, and selection up All in all, if you can turn a wrench, and have a good vocabulary, a C3 is a good deal. the closest car I can think of is the Datsun 240Z. But the Vette gets more attention. C.

noonie

I see at least 4 C3's every week here in S Florida. Seldom see the same cars every week.

7T1vette

You can't judge the worth of privately owned cars by the auction values of TV cars. First, most of them are "showroom" quality which is expensive to obtain. Secondly, that venue is not comparable to the amount of money a similar car will get on the open market. There are lots of buyers at an auction, so you have lots of competition for each car. That artificially increases demand for those cars...thus increasing their "value". You don't have that luxury when you try to sell a car.

Bobz08C6

The later C3's were embarrasingly low on performace, GM's quality was at an all time low, the EPA was getting very involved, there were tons of them produced, they are difficult to work on and general repair shops usually screw up the repair or charge an outlandish amount.

On the plus side I think the styling was refined as the C3 years progressed, the aerodynamics were improved (including the bubble back glass and the Indy spoilers that reduced drag by 15%), more options were available, safety features were added, glass T-tops were added, etc. The reason for the rubber bumpers was to meet the MVSS 5 mph impact requirement and uniform bumper height requirements for all cars, so maybe they were damaged less when you bumped something.

I don't think they will ever be a collectible but they sure are a great value and you get more car for the money over early C3's. If you want the power and economy back you can always redo the engine and get an overdrive tranny.

xCCTer

I think the '75-82 values are right where they belong given the massive production numbers and low hp ratings.

Kahle76

Could it be possible that the body styling that every one seems to like, kept owners from passing them into the junk yard? I've noticed younger people whom may have never seen a C3 before, pointing and asking their parents "What's that"? Even back in the late 70's when I had my first 76, my vette never spent any time outside or on the road during bad weather. I'm guessing there are many more 76 vettes still on the road than 76 ford pick-ups. More cars on the road = lower value.

blk79nj

I bet there are some c2 people that think the same thing about all c3's, even the chrome bumper cars....

"will ever have a real following or ever be a real "classic". the styling is just not there, and the performance was defintitely not there."

....If anybody wants to use performance as a gauge, then my suggestion would be to go get a C6.

Jon Hekking

We all get it, my 81 is not as valuable or desirable as a chrome bumper big block car. Doesn't matter to me, still think it's a better looking car. If you want to talk about performance then yes my 81 is a dog, but my stock 93 C4, which are constantly being looked down on Corvette purists, can run with the exotic early C3 big block cars and do it with much more comfort and handling for about 25% of the cost!

Sebago Shark

As far as body styling goes-- Compare a C-3 to to anything else on the road during their day. Nothing like em.
Compare a C-6 to whats on the road today. I like them and they got the performance, but do they really standout, until you're close enough to see what they are, like ALL the C-3's did?

Derrick Reynolds

I agree. If you are looking for performance at a low price, I think you would be hard pressed to find anything better then a '92-'96 vette right now.

schmegeggie

I would agree. The key is HP. The muscle car era cars will always be more valueable. By the mid 70's, the gas crunch, it was over. Not to mention quality issues.
I'd bet a nice 75 or 76 "resto-rod", would tend to bring more than a stock-ish unit.

schmegeggie

Not really relevant to the OP, but true. Same issue though, high production numbers, still relatively low HP(hence the low prices), but muscle car era cars were built for speed down the 1/4 mile. They didn't handle in the corners, compared to cars today. My wife's Miata would lose a police car on a short go cart track with a mess of turns, but down the straightaway it's caught. Same thing applies to comparing a classic "era" vette to a modern model. Newer technology, better engineering.