Just wanted someone to shed some sanity on the situation. Main question I have is if this car is even worth it? What is it really worth if it is in the condition as they describe? What is the restored value of this car? The car is in a very remote location in southern California so not sure how legit this could turn out to be. Craigslist ad and more details follow:
"1974 corvette stingray with 2055 original miles car has been stored for 25 years original interior is in very good condition original stereo and rims ac white paint with black interior hard body ttops needs rear bumper no smog required have paperwork a steal with 2055 original miles for only 10,000 obo serious buyers only call"
I wrote the owner and received the following response:
"the vette has a 350 v8 195hp 4 barrel carburetor its white and has black interior in unbelieveable shape for a 1974 it has original paint which is white power windows but the passenger window is broke it was covered but stored outside so the tires look good but would probably come apart soon due to them being sitting for so long the paint is in great shape but the rear bumper needs to be replaced from weather it was not wrecked it was just coming apart so my husband finished removing so he could drive it home it has a automatic tranny the dmv has no record of the car because it hasnt been registered since 1984 according to the registration i have the title is clear and the numbers all match the dmv requires for it to be inspected and the cost for that is 60.00 and 138.00 total to register it and send new title I have a bill of sale signed by the owner but I did not fill it out in my name yet because there was only one owner to whoever buys it rather than there being more owners than two with the original miles being 2,055 i did not change the paperwork yet but i can change it over if someone would rather me change it over to myself before saleing it it has the original stereo ac the windshied is perfect it starts right up because someone started it often but didnt drive it but the 2,055 the motor is original and you could eat off of it so if you think you would like to see vehicle"
Let me know what you think. It isn't that far away so I'm tempted to go look. Don't know if I am absolutely in the market for this as I only have enough cash to purchase but not restore. If this sounds like something someone else is interested in, I can go look and take pictures.
Is it worth it? Maybe. Let me ask you a question. By the ad description, do YOU think it's legit? Look at the way it's described. No sentence structure, Take this sentence:
"it has a automatic tranny the dmv has no record of the car because it hasnt been registered since 1984 according to the registration i have the title is clear and the numbers all match the dmv requires for it to be inspected and the cost for that is 60.00 and 138.00 total to register it and send new title I have a bill of sale signed by the owner but I did not fill it out in my name yet because there was only one owner to whoever buys it rather than there being more owners than two with the original miles being 2,055 i did not change the paperwork yet but i can change it over if someone would rather me change it over to myself before saleing it it has the original stereo ac the windshied is perfect it starts right up because someone started it often but didnt drive it but the 2,055 the motor is original and you could eat off of it so if you think you would like to see vehicle"
Sheesh, that's hard to wrap my brain around. Sounds like the ad was written by someone with a 3rd grade education, or from someone trying to impersonate an English speaker, who isn't well versed in the nuances of writing in English. Too many inconsistencies on this whole thing. I would advise you to be careful. They mention that the passenger side window was broken. Based on the title/registration story they are offering up, maybe the car is stolen, who knows? Another red flag is that they won't pony up the $200.00 to get the car inspected and registered? This has all the hallmarks of a scam. If they tell you that this is a cash deal and they want to meet you somewhere other then where the car is stored, be cautious. Many people have been ripped off/robbed answering CL ads in this manner. Also, do not send any money by wire transfer or any other method unless you can confirm that the car is legit and the owner(s) of the car are there to prove that the car is what they say it is, without any title and registration issues. BTW, just because the car allegedly has 2055 miles doesn't mean the car is in good shape. Heck, a car that is driven regularly, maintained properly and has 100K on the clock might be in better shape then the car that is listed here. I hope it works out for you, but I would proceed with EXTREME caution. Good luck!
WOW....
427 summarized it well. I want to see pictures....sits outside for years and you can "eat of the motor"....right, only if you like the taste of rust.
He's tripping all over himself with the issue of "title jumping"
I agree with 427-390. The fact they won't get it titles seems suspicious. Plus, if it has set out for 25 years, I would bet more than just the tires are rotted. If you have time, take a look, it can't hurt. Who knows, maybe you will find a decent car with basically no mileage. But then again, it might be a pile of garbage. Good luck and keep us posted. If you get pictures, please post also.
WOW....
427 summarized it well. I want to see pictures....sits outside for years and you can "eat of the motor"....right, only if you like the taste of rust.
He's tripping all over himself with the issue of "title jumping"
About 1990 I heard of a 1975 Coupe that the State of Tennessee had at their local Motor Pool and was going to be auctioned off soon with less than 1500 miles on the clock. It had been found in a barn and supposed to have been involved somehow in a Drug deal. I had to go look at the car but it had been setting outside for two to three years after the State got it and somehow mice-rats had got in the interior as well as under the hood and had made nest,chewed insulation off wires, as well as demolished the interior. The engine compartment looked terrible with rust everywhere. The frame as the best as I could see was very rusty from the years of moisture setting outside. The only thing I could see salvageable would have been the body and maybe a few parts here and there. I would bet the car the OP is talking about is even worst than this one..........
Like 427 said, it's hard to figure out where to grab a hold of this one! A few comments follow:
Quote:
Originally Posted by pittmanb8
the vette has a 350 v8 195hp 4 barrel carburetor its white and has black interior in unbelieveable shape for a 1974 it has original paint which is white power windows but the passenger window is broke
What does she mean it is "broke", like it won't go up and down? Or the glass is broken? If we really are talking about a car that had 2000 miles on it and got stuffed away and forgotten for 25 years, I wouldn't be at all concerned about a power window that doesn't want to do its thing. If the same car has had the glass broken out of it, like someone else said, I would be thinking "stolen".
Quote:
it was covered but stored outside
I don't know much about southern California, but if I put a cover on a car at my house and left it sit outside for a quarter century, the animal damage would only be upstaged by the rust deterioration. Regardless of the number of miles on the odometer, don't expect this car to be in any kind of shape if the story is legit.
Quote:
paint is in great shape
This is not consistent with a car being stored outside for 25+ years.
Quote:
but the rear bumper needs to be replaced from weather it was not wrecked it was just coming apart so my husband finished removing so he could drive it home
Not only is this in direct contradiciton to the prior item (I can't really use the term "sentence" here), but it doesn't make any sense. Why would a cracked rear bumper need to be removed to drive the car home?
Quote:
it has a automatic tranny the dmv has no record of the car because it hasnt been registered since 1984 according to the registration i have the title is clear and the numbers all match the dmv requires for it to be inspected and the cost for that is 60.00 and 138.00 total to register it and send new title I have a bill of sale signed by the owner but I did not fill it out in my name yet because there was only one owner to whoever buys it rather than there being more owners than two with the original miles being 2,055 i did not change the paperwork yet but i can change it over if someone would rather me change it over to myself before saleing it
This is so convoluted that I wouldn't know where to start to pull it apart. However, it is clear that this owner has not been following the laws for titling and registration, and apparently, neither did the prior (presumably original) owner.
Quote:
it has the original stereo ac the windshied is perfect
Finally, something consistent with 2,055 miles. If the car really is that low mileage, the windshield should be original, and have essentially zero nicks from rocks hitting it on the highway.
Quote:
it starts right up because someone started it often but didnt drive it but the 2,055 the motor is original and you could eat off of it
Someone was starting the car regularly for 25 years so that the engine still runs great, but wasn't driving it? So, were they changing the oil every once in a while? Doing any other maintenance to the engine?
I looked at a 78SA a few years ago that had 1000 miles on it. Couldn't believe how bad it looked. must have been stored in a damp location. Interior was musty with the carpet feeling grimey. White seats were yellow in the middle, the leather part, and white on the sides. Everything metal was rusty. Unbelievable.
Also, a few years ago there was a Pace Car for sale with under 50 miles on it. It had been stored under a Texas car port since new. Sometime over the years the glass tops were stolen. So it was under a carport with no tops for who knows how long.
Car looked like they plucked it off the deck of the Titanic!
As for skipping the title, I wish I could have done that when I bought MY Pace Car. Legal? probably not. But I have no intention of driving it. I had to title it and pay sales tax of about $1200 dollars because the seller filled out the info on the back of the title after agreeing he wouldn't. In fact, the seller had to get the title in HIS name first when I bought it as HE never intended to title it himself. But the back of the title was transferred to him and I wouldn't accept it with HIS info on it. I ASSUME it cost him some tax dollars, then, too. Many Pace Cars are still on the MSO, so they've never even been titled. And that would have been one less owner when the time comes to sell it
As for the bumpers falling apart, there was a 300 mile 76 Vette at Bloomington last summer. MINT, except for both bumpers falling apart. According to one of the judges I talked to, they fell apart just that day. What a bummer that must have been, to pull the car out of storage and have the bumpers crumble upon hitting the sunlight! Still brought over $25K at auction.
I'd be curious enough to go look at the Vette this threads about, but I'd just have a few hundred dollars for a deposit on me.
Location: Fremont Ca. I will do No business with ANY company that boycotts Arizona.
As far as the bumpers falling apart,Ive seen these early rubber bumper cars in outdoor storage where the bumpers just fell off the car.It just left a nice outline of the bumper on the ground.Would love to see pictures of the car in question.
The entire story sounds fishy to me. You should call him/her & set up a time to view the car. Ask them if it would be ok if you came in your Sheriff's squad car. As an alternative, wear an I C E t-shirt when you go. See how they run?
Even if the car is just WONDERFUL, the problem still is that you can't drive it. The value is in the EXTRA LOW miles. If you were to drive it to enjoy, it would lose it's value as the miles went by until it became just another 74.
Very odd way of describing it, too!
Regards,
Alan
A 74 Vette in excellent condidion is not worth a whole lot of money anway. Offer them $5,000 and then you will have some money to spend on the car and belive me you WILL spend some money on the car. But take the time to do your home work!
Location: The reason time exists is so everything doesn't happen at once
Quote:
Originally Posted by pittmanb8
I wrote the owner and received the following response:
"the vette has a 350 v8 195hp 4 barrel carburetor its white and has black interior in unbelieveable shape for a 1974 it has original paint which is white power windows but the passenger window is broke it was covered but stored outside so the tires look good but would probably come apart soon due to them being sitting for so long the paint is in great shape but the rear bumper needs to be replaced from weather it was not wrecked it was just coming apart so my husband finished removing so he could drive it home it has a automatic tranny the dmv has no record of the car because it hasnt been registered since 1984 according to the registration i have the title is clear and the numbers all match the dmv requires for it to be inspected and the cost for that is 60.00 and 138.00 total to register it and send new title I have a bill of sale signed by the owner but I did not fill it out in my name yet because there was only one owner to whoever buys it rather than there being more owners than two with the original miles being 2,055 i did not change the paperwork yet but i can change it over if someone would rather me change it over to myself before saleing it it has the original stereo ac the windshied is perfect it starts right up because someone started it often but didnt drive it but the 2,055 the motor is original and you could eat off of it so if you think you would like to see vehicle"
Pleasse write back to the ownser and ask her to insert a few of these where necesary:
I found the ad and tried calling the listed number.. It went right to a generic voicemail.. no personal greeting.. I would be very careful on this one.. You were right..it is in no mans land..
Corvette Store
Question about 1974 with 2055 miles for sale
You should call him/her & set up a time to view the car. Ask them if it would be ok if you came in your Sheriff's squad car. As an alternative, wear an I C E t-shirt when you go. 
