George Dickel

I'm new to the board but have been lurking and reading for quite awhile now. Have gained
knowledge I didn't have before. Got the bug for a Corvette after driving my friends
94. Man is that a nice ride. I don't like going to used car lots but found an 85 that is
a little rough mechanically for $6,900 or best offer. I did not drive it but started it and
shifted the auto trans from drive to reverse. It sounds like the axle u-joints are shot on
one side, probably both. The engine wants to die when you give it gas. Couldn't open the
hood, the latch just wouldn't work, so I didn't get to look at the engine. It has 137,000
on it. Tires are new but the wheels are the steel factory ones. Paint is a two tone blue (not
too crazy about that) and the interior is black. The paint looks original and is in really good
condition. The interior is not torn or worn badly but dirty as hell. The leather on the steering
wheel is flaking and the console does not look very good. Not broken, abused. I have been
checking numerous sources and the prices for this model really are all over the place. I do not
think with the possible mechanical problem that this car is worth the asking price. What
would be a good offer. Thanks for any help and this forum is a great resource for a prospective
vette owner.

91Vette

I would be hard pressed to offer around $4000 for an 85 that needs mechanical work. There are just way too many nicer examples out there that are around the $7000 mark.

Keep looking. You'll be glad you did.

Black85L98

Any smoke at start up? Is it a Z51 car? Does it have a clear title? All kinds of important questions. You can buy a new interior for around 13-15 hundred. The car in perfect condition could bring 8 or 9K. I would offer 5500 if it had Z51 and see what they came back with. The 85 is a great car. Good luck on your search.

Joe C

george -

welcome to the forum! $6900 is really kind of steep for an '85 in the condition described. what you need to consider is the cost of replacement parts, materials, and service work. interior components are EXPENSIVE (seat covers, carpet, etc.). weatherstripping is another high dollar item, as well as paint. how is the digital dash - another high dollar item to have repaired or replaced. mechanically, injectors are somewhere around $250-$350/set (u-install) try valve cover gaskets - if you're not mechanically inclined, a chevrolet dealer will charge you about $160 for that little job. don't even think about air conditioning service - BIG $$$. how's the exhaust - OEM type mufflers, $150-$200 range. also consider the condition of the wheels and tires - figure 6 bills for a decent set of tires. some of the engine sensors are also big ticket items (MAF sensor for example) others, are $15 items. consider everything when buying a corvette that's a "fixer-upper" - they can tend to be money pits. i've found its better to spend a little more and buy a corvette that needs little vs one that need a lot. a friend told me many years ago about corvettes, "the bad ones go for way too much, and the good ones go for way too little". from the condition you discribed, i'd say $4500 max. you might be better off spending somewhere in the $8500-$10000 range and getting into a good basic corvette. i bought my '85 about 5 years ago, 33000 miles, overall in very good condition for about 10 grand. since then, i haven't had to spend too much except for general maintenance and stuff i just wanted to do. a friend of mine just bought a nice original '79 w/56k miles, in very good condition from the original owner (retired doctor), with all paperwork from day one for $8500. its not a C4, but its a good example of what you can find out there. hope this helps, and good luck in your search.

Jim85IROC

Keep in mind that the 85 uses a unique computer, and it's very primitive compared to the newer stuff. If you plan to mod it, I'd stay away from it. In my 85 IROC (which uses the same computer) I've had a 3 year struggle trying to get it to run right, and I've finally decided to repin my wiring harness so that I can use an 86+ style computer. It would have been much easier if I just started with an 86. :rolleyes:

Live and learn. :nopity

Kale

Here's my theory:

Buy a nice corvette- Pay now, have fun.
Buy a rough corvette with dreams of fixing it up cheap: PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY later!!!! big time!!!

Trust the guy who bought a car that was "almost perfect" @ 80k miles, and spends about $3500/10k miles to keep it running.

inverted99

George,
$6900 sounds a little steep for the condidtion you have described. I bought my 85 in January of this year in mint/showroom condition with 73K on the clock and all the mechanicals working correctly. I paid $9200 for it and though I did not steal it, I felt it was a fair price for the condition(he was asking $10,750). If you are looking for a car that needs some TLC I would think you could find a better example for around $4500-5000 or a good condition one with 100K miles for about $7500. Just my .02 welcome to the forum :D :seeya

85vetteguy

Stay away!! Too much work involved. Spend extra money on a good one. Guy

ASKN4IT

Step back. Wait. Shop around.

Corvette stuff is pretty high dollar. These little fixer uppers can get expensive quick.

You don't even care for the color on this one.

Walk away.

Don't worry though.... you'll find one you like eventually, and you'll be VERY glad you waited.

Good Luck.

Mikez40

Walk away from it, you wil spend more to fix it up then you would of if you buy one in good condition. When I deceided to buy my first Vette, It took me almost a year to find the right one. Keep look'in
:nono:

Vic'89

Run away from this car at $6900, maybe if you could get it for $4000, then buy it.

You might need a new Tranny and a host of other things.

Vic

vallini

Okay from many years of specialty car buying experience:

1. Autotrader & Blue book prices dont mean poopie on older specialty cars.

2. If you want an older specialty car pay the $$$$ upfront and get a car that has never been in snow/rain/ate in/smoked in/has quality replacement parts on it/has original paint /nothing rebuilt/clean title.

3. Get a virgin car, 1 owner with papers (the more documentation the better).

4. Buy only from a private owner.

A clean 84-89 Corvette coupe (I mean one that is flawless and virgin under 40k miles) will go for anywhere between $10k & $18k. Others may say cheaper (more power to you if you find one super clean for cheap) but the reality is that people abuse their stuff and it is very hard to find an early C4 that is showroom fresh due to many were selling for cheap and the majority of the folk that bought them were people who could not afford the upkeep on a nice car and drove them into the ground.

If little details dont bother you like the printing worn off the console, torn drivers seat bolster, cracked dashpads, blown Bose amps, flickering digi-dash, dead alternator, dead AC, peeling clearcoat then you can get an early C4 for less than $9k but remember that you will end up having to fix all the stuff eventually to thoroughly enjoy the car.

My $.02

George Dickel

Thanks all for the good advice and the welcomes to the forum. The asking price was way too high and I would only have been willing to give $4,000 maximum for it but I know the guy won't take it. I am a pretty good mechanic and like to tinker. I'm 54 and have owned 37 cars and trucks so far, some of which I have done a lot of rebuilding on just for the fun of it but they weren't as expensive as Corvette repairs. Maybe I need to join autoholics anomyous. I'll keep on looking and jump on a good one. Just let my need to have a toy get a little ahead of my logic. Thanks for the reality check.

inverted99

Keep us posted and let us know what you end up with. :cheers:

Don Martin

It's hard to add ABS and the 86's have it. I got a lot last year for my wrecked 85 because the market was hot then and it was nice. I might still have it if it had not gone out of control when braking hard.

Those older Corvettes are still nice sports cars.

Bill Reid

I rebuilt mine from scratch... started with a $900 chassis. One year later and quite a bit lighter in the wallet I have a completely rebuilt 85. Its all in what you want to do. Have fun :cheers: