EDDlE VETTER

Hey guys, I read this forum almost everyday and love seeing and reading about how much you love your C3. This forum is just a fun place to hang out and I'm learning a little more each time I visit.

I'm looking to buy a C3 and every weekend I check Craigslist. I've went to look at several cars but I'm starting to wonder if I'm looking in all the wrong places.

I was in a hurry at first but now I come to realize (after getting some excellent advice here) that I need to be patient. I sure would like some other ideas though, besides Craigslist. So I thought I'd ask if you don't mind sharing, how did you find your C3? Thanks.

capevettes

I was looking for a 68 or 69 427 about 6 years ago. Saw an ad in Hemmings Motor News for a Lemans Blue 68 coupe, 427/390. It was only about 100 miles from me in New Hampshire. Went up there, looked it over and drove it home

speedreed8

ebay, listing ended with no one bidding on it, i called the number in the listing, bought it, drove it home 480mi., looking back at what i have done to the car, i wonder how i made it home with no problems.

EDDlE VETTER

You bought it sight unseen? I've looked on eBay but I cant see how anyone buys a car (especially a C3) without being able to see and drive it prior to purchase.

speedreed8

i did not buy it sight unseen, i went and looked at the car first.

bkvette3

Found my '68 in the Aug '92 edition of Deals on Wheels.




Brought it back to Canada on an open flatdeck in Jan '93. Very cold day, wicked high windchill, car was frozen solid when arrived home. Be patient in finding your C3 - good luck with your search. BK3

blckslvr79

Ebay.

Flew out to PA one way and drove it home 1200 miles. Of course I inspected it before I handed over the money.

Now if the deal had not worked out, I might have been screwed finding a way back home.

orourke

When I had made up my mind to get my second Corvette, everytime I talked to anyone, I'd mention that I was looking for a Corvette. Preferrably a 1966 or a 1970 convertable. I was prepared to look into every lead no matter what year. With in a week or so a friend of mine told me about "A" corvette sitting in a driveway. He saw it while driving through a neighborhood. It was a forgotten 1970. Took me longer to buy the car from the owner than actually finding it.

Get the word out locally and be ready to buy.

golfradict

Here is how my 1981 looked the day I purchased it.



This is a picture after 8 months of restoration as close as I could get it back to showroom condition.






Heres a nice story about my car in the January 2012 issue of Vette Magazine:

Billem

Craigslist/newspaper. Personally, I would only buy locally - within 100 miles, and after physically inspecting. Have a great day, Brgds, Bill

EDDlE VETTER

These are some amazing stories!

Man now that's what I call lucking out. He just happened to see it sitting there and it wasn't even for sale? Yet you talked the guy into selling, that's amazing.

That is incredible, dayam!

And wow, you still even have the ad from the paper! Very cool story!

I can see I'm going to need to get creative. You guys really were determined!

Dose11

Umm, well I found my first C3 here on the forums. an 81..about 3 hrs away. We talked for a month, drove and met each other half way, I drove it back. A yr ago tomorrow I needed a new one...

Almost a whole yr later the searched started all over again...I thought I found one...it was white. On my way home I was sitting at a parking lot and a black 81 pulled up next to me...I drove home thinking the whole time...."F*CK I WANT A BLACK STINGRAY"...I got home turned on my tablet again (I searched the web all day...everyday) Went to craigslist, typed in Corvette, and a New Add Popped Up (I had just searched 2 hrs prior)A Black 1973....It's Now in My Garage

exposingtime

I spent about 2 1/2 years looking for a car. I wanted a big block 4 speed convertible with factory AC. I really wanted a 69 427, but was open to 68-72. Not an easy option set to work with. During that entire time period, I didnt see more than about 25-30 cars for sale with these options.

I flew to look at 4-5 cars in TX, GA, NY and NV (NYC and Vegas were work destinations)... Sent inspectors to look at 3 cars in CA, TX and OK. Had a friend look at a car in TN. Had CF members check out a few cars for me in North Florida and Virginia Beach.

Bought 2 cars on ebay. One was not as advertised and had birdcage rot and had body panels replaced (CF forum Member also). The other car was great, but to make a long story short, the owner gave the car and title over as collateral to a construction company, and the guy killed himself before I was able to finish the transaction. Still listed as a creditor on his estate for my deposit. Couldnt get the money back from ebay or paypal as they are both crooks.

In the end...I ended up finding my 69 by mistake in my inlaws development. The car was disassembled for paint, painted in in lacquer, and never reassembled. Took about 6 months to get the car properly sorted, but was worth the 3 year hunt.

Gary

desue

Found my 79 on CL,about 45 minutes from my house, just got it last week, so the new hasn't wore off (or does it ever?) I have only been actively looking about 3 months, but this one just felt right. I had personally looked at about a dozen or so and hundreds online. I even looked at my own cousins' which I did not know she had! Mine's not perfect, going to need weatherstripping, speedometer cable, other little things but nothing to keep me from having fun in it! Has a crate motor put in about 7 years ago, (numbers matching was not important to me). Going to need paint (10 footer). But I feel I made a good choice, one of the previous owners saved receipts for over $11K so I feel like it has been taken care of. Going to pass along some of the things I learned in my search:
Never take the owners word that "nothing's wrong with this car..." I had driven over 2 hours to see one that looked awesome in pics and the description just to glance at it and find that its a huge POS! And a lot of owners don't know diddly about their car. They will tell you what you wanna hear to sell the car. Honest sellers will tell you both the good and the bad.
Ask beforehand if you can test drive it. I went to see one and the a-hole didn't let me drive it. Had I known this, I would have saved my time and his too.
Always bring some one with you to look at them. They may point out things you overlooked. I did this mainly because I am female (Silly boys, Vettes are for girls! ) and I get treated like a total dumba$$ when it comes to automotive stuff. (I was told 3 different times that they are made of fiberglass! WTF!? Really?
If you find what you are wanting, jump on it! Sorry so long-winded. Good luck and have fun!

TheSkunkWorks

By model year (not chronological):

'69 L71 4-speed - used, PA, Hemmings
'70 ZR1 4-speed - used, local want adds
'78 SAE L82 auto (now 4-speed) - new, local dealer/on the lot
'92 LT1 6-speed 'vert - new, local rural dealer/custom ordered (IMOE eggs really are cheaper in the coutry)

Also, found a used, cherry '70 LS5 'vert in local want adds I would have bought, but the snotbag sold it out from under me.

Haven't bought a car thru CL or eBay, yet.

EDDlE VETTER

Speaking of "selling it out from under me." How do you guys who travel know for sure the car will still be available once you arrive? I mean the car is for sale, someone could make the seller an offer before you get there and thus, a wasted trip.

Jedi926

My 78 SA was given to me, before that I had never seen it before.

Triumph8750

Started looking last August on Craigslist. By April of this year I was checking every day on CL, Ebay, and here on the forum. I focused on cars within a few hours of where I live but I also had my brother searching in Arizona for one he could clean up for me (he is a young mechanic). I also looked at a few when I was in different areas traveling for business or on vacation back home in Seattle.

The first time I looked on Autotrader classic I found almost exactly the car I was looking for only 1.5 hours away, but it was a just little out of my price range. However it was close enough in price, distance and description that I kept my eye on it. In the mean time I almost bought a modified and fairly rough 76 down the road from me just to get my fix for a few years.

Then I checked Autotrader again and saw that the price for "my" car had dropped right into my price range. I called the owner but he said that he had just arranged a sell with a buyer in Germany. I was totally bummed for a few days until the seller called me back and asked if I still wanted to look at it. He was worried the sell to the buyer in Germany might take to long to go through. I went to the bank and got his full asking price in cash and drove down to see it the next day with my wife. He was a private seller who was also selling a 1995 because he was retiring and moving out of state. The car was exactly as he advertised it to be so I offered him about 10% under his asking price and he accepted. Said he gave me the military discount.

Lupigiato

Bought my 73 coupe from my brother two years ago - was sitting in his garage 10 years because he fell in love with Harleys. Bought my 68 very last May here on this forum.

TheSkunkWorks

You can draw up all of the documents in the world attempting to protect yourself, but it really comes down to a matter of developing trust between individuals. Here's how a couple of past long distance deals I've done worked out...

On the '69 I mentioned, after speaking with the seller and viewing a video inspection he had sent of the car, I flew up to look before committing, haggled out a deal, then we executed a brief written bill of sale that spelled out payment terms including the deposit made. A couple of weeks later I drove back, paid the balance and trailered it home (after hanging in Lancaster for a few days).

On one sale I've made (via Hemmings), after a bit of back and forth over the course of a couple of weeks, the buyer drove in, looked, bought, then rented a trailer and took it ('88 Fiero GT) home.

Another long distance sale I've done (again, via Hemmings), we never actually met face-to-face. After the buyer had done ample research and we'd struck a deal, he sent a cashier's check for payment with Horseless Carriage when they arrived to pick it (Lola T-332C) up.

The one that got away was due to the seller putting me off until the next day because he'd just gotten in from a long road trip and was too tired to mess with it that night. Early the next morning, after I'd been told I was first in line, he calls to let me know he'd sold it not long after we'd spoken the evening before. Fortunately, I didn't loose any money on that one, but his lack of integrity really burns me up everytime I think of it, especially since he lived less than a mile away.

In any event, caveat emptor. And, unless you've already committed without qualification, don't feel pressured to buy a car that's not up to expectations just because you've gone out of your way to look.