LazyEyeCrazyI

I'm looking to buy my first car and --you guessed it-- I've found a 1985 Corvette for sale. I've always wanted a muscle car, but would buying it be a good idea? I admit, I'm ignorant to fixing cars myself but I'd like to learn and I know someone who could help me a bit. As a college student, I'm pretty busy and tight on money as well most of the time so I'd like to know if I'd be screwing myself in buying a POS. It would be a daily driver, and my only vehicle.
Here are the specs from the seller:

"1985 Corvette with the 5.7 liter l98 tpi engine and a manual transmission.
Good - straight body, good wheels, great tires, drives great, low miles, fast, fun, clean title, clean interior, manual transmission, excellent seats, glass roof.
Bad- clear coat is peeling, rubber seals in door are going bad.
Overall it is a nice driver and gets plenty of attention. Even gets pretty good gas mileage for a v8.
Miles: 117,000
$3,600"

Any opinions would be great!

Regards,
ER

cigr

I hate to say it, but I'd have to advise against buying it.

I love my 85, but to have it as my only car, and a daily driver, on a student's budget just seems like a recipe for disaster. You'd be better off putting that into something newer and more reliable for the moment, and getting a C4 in a few years when you can have it as a second car instead of something you have to rely upon.

Cruisinfanatic

I agree. I have an 85 that I purchased new. It has been well taken care of, but if I wasn't able to do my own work on it, it would be extremely expensive in the long run to own.

To the OP,
Just fixing the paint on it plus purchase cost would likely put the car over what it's worth.

Tommycourt

My HMO would be to find yourself a Toyota or a smaller car since you are on such a tight budget. Nothing wrong with waiting until you have the money and the time that you can afford a Vette. Nothing wrong with a Vette, however maintenance costs can be high especially one with that mileage. Besides, the girls will look at YOU before they look at your car and you can do more in a Toyota than you can in a Vette.
Tommy

playsdixie

I'll go with the crowd....I love my 85, but it took a lot of work to bring it back to it's former glory....would never have been a good daily driver..unless you've got the time and inclination to tinker, it's a bad bet for you....I drove junkers through college.....work on graduating, there'll be a lot of corvettes in your future if you want...

peyc2

Yea, I have to agree on this as well. I love my 85, with only 43,000 miles and never a major issue, but given the constraint of a student budget, and my only means of transportation, that's a recipe for disaster. Mind you mine has never gone dead, but several minor issues which means I take my Grand Cherokee on 95% of the time.
Save your money, get a Honda Civic, for around 4k and it will never leave you stranded.
Hate to say this, but true.

3JsVette

I have to agree with the others. 30 year old Corvette, daily driver, tight budget, and lacking mechanical aptitude do not belong in the same sentence. H3ll more than one of those don't belong in the same sentence.

856SPEED

Been in your shoes.....college and no $......I was in no way thinking Corvette while still in college that's for sure......I was glad to have a hand me down car from my parents and that didn't happen until I was in my senior year.....then drove that for a couple of years out of school....

I own an 85 that I bought back in 2001; I have modified it along the way, made improvements, but I am well past college and this thing would NEVER be a daily driver!

Move on to something reliable/newer if you have to buy a car now.

Joe C

sorry, but with all of the above - student, minimal funds, minimal mechanical skills, minimal time, a 30 year old corvette, using it as a DD, etc., pretty much spells disaster. do your self a favor, take the $3600 and buy a civic or something, and sit tight for until you finish school. there's a million plus corvettes out there. I'm sure there will be one when you graduate. who knows, in a couple years, my 85 may even be for sale -

Rebel Rev

If you don't have money or you cant fix things yourself mechanically, definitely don't buy a 30 year old C4 as a daily drive.

Many, many things need doing to keep them on the road as a toy let alone as a daily drive... internal gaskets in the motor need replacing... exhaust system starts failing... windscreen wipers go crazy and scratch your glass... i could go on and on and on... the only people who can keep a 30 years old c4 on the road as a daily driver would be a mechanically minded person or someone who has spare money floating around.

An 80s c4 (mine is a 88 with 96,000 miles) is a continual work in progress to keep it on the road... it's more of a commitment to a much liked machine than a vehicle that has to perform a purpose of getting you around as your only daily drive.

I drive mine often, but I put a lot of time, effort and yes dollars into it to keep it on the road. But then I have been smitten... but I have other machines and I wouldn't even contemplate just having the C4 to get around every day if low on funds and lacking mechanical knowledge.

hcbph

Have to agree with what's been said. To help reinforce this, best start checking parts prices knowing full well things will fail and if you can't do it yourself. Engine or transmission - $4000 per is likely conservative. Repaint - at least the same (one estimate I got on mine was $13K). Insurance if it was like when I was 30 cost as much as the car ran per year. I'm assuming you're in a dorm, so where do you plan to park it and hope some sob doesn't steal or damage it?

Best suggestion is start with a driver for now, easy on the budget till you're out of school. Set up a bank account you won't touch and start putting $$ aside when you can for a Vette fund. Once you're out of school and established then hopefully you can get a Vette in better condition and be able to offset some of the cost with your car fund.

Back when I was in college, even then I was older (working, married, out of the Army, etc) I bought something cheap to commute the 25 miles to the campus. Mine was an older Triumph Spitfire, a real piece and purchased solely because it got good gas mileage. Even with having other vehicles available it still took alot of time and $$ to keep it on the road and that was nothing like what a Vette costs to keep going.

My 2 cents. Good luck.

FOURSPEEDVETTE

Buy a cheap economy car until you can afford a car such as a Corvette.

c4cruiser

I'll agree with the others. Wait until you graduate and have been in a steady job for awhile. While it's not a requirement that you have even general automotive repair skills, if the car dies on you there is still a need for money for parts, and then a place to work on it and the tools.

The manual trans is called a "4+3" and while it does the job, there is always a question of clutch condition and if something goes wrong with the trans (especially the overdrive portion), that's an expensive fix. Even just a clutch replacement at a shop can run $700 or more.

The car is not the only cost. There is insurance, gas, parking, and license fees. It may be much easier to find a good dependable sedan like a Honda or Toyota.

tunedport85inject

i agree with our forum buddies .A C4 is always at least a 20 yeras old car,an 85,like mine,is a 30 years old car.All of us had put thousand of dollars on these car,even on stock car with no modds.Most of us are great garage guys ,skilled wrench warriors,and this means no labor charge,just parts.Even so,our vettes have doubled their initial cost,even more.If you run into some issue,you'r stranded and you need parents help if you'r tight on money. I can understand our desire for a muscle,we are adults but we all was young guys like you...Probably a fuel injected old car like a C4 is more prone to issues cuz of old electronics.Sometimes troubleshooting becomes a nightmare,lot of sensors involved,connectors,relais...Probably an older carburated muscle may be simple to maintain and servicing,but not cheap to buy...

MRPVette

playsdixie

I've given some thinking to the sage advice we all gave this young man....now i'm thinking if I was his age, chasing co-eds....i'd buy it, drive it like it's stolen....you only go around once.....but now i'm older, sadly wiser and have to give that stupid but correct advice......lot of guys on this thread have 85's and love them...including me, and now I keep thinking, why not him?......good luck with your decision....

tunedport85inject

on the other hand.....

Sometimes you just have to be carried away by your dreams and desires...and probably if now buy this car,you'll remember this choice forever as a great moment of your life.i can see me in the late 80' when i bought my Aprilia Tuareg 250 powered by Rotax;back in the 80' the famous Paris Dakar rally increased dramatically the market of enduro bikes in Europe.i was able to buy this bike and 26 years later i remember that moment like a great moment of my youth...

peyc2

To the OP

I think maybe we all can speak from experience that while this is a noble, and fun idea it maybe beyond you current situation. Most of us all seem to have 85's so we know how they can be. We appreciate that someone younger wants to own and drive a some day classic, and maybe the Corvette community will respect all C 4's. You are young, and are just really starting out, with college and other endeavors. Realize we are not trying to crush your dream, just want to steer you away from a possible bad situation. In 4 years, when you graduate and land an excellent position in a field you love, come back, and we will try to help you.

Best regards,

C 4. 1985

HlhnEast

I work on my DD '85 every weekend to keep it where it will get me back to work to earn more money to fix the next thing. I love this car but its always something. Mostly not enough to keep me from making it to work but as the little things add up, it can be time consuming as well as strain the budget.

My '85 was bought by a father who, with his son, was restoring it so the young man could drive it to college. They ended up spending $11K on aesthetics and the boy never could master the 4 speed. My good fortune and his as well. The dad bought him a newer C5 with an auto tranny and I got the car for less than $4k!

C4 explosive

Buy it.....keep a couple chicks with jobs and cars in your corner and get your vette!...they gotta have jobs to pay for repairs to continue riding with ya, and they'll be more then happy to drive you where you need to be...as long as your doing your part...lol..buy it, do a car fax, test drive, if alls good, get it....it's college, you can get to class, you're getting there now without the vette, so how can the vette stop you in anyway. Most repairs are on you tube for the pocket impaired, but don't let that deny you the fun and prestige that comes with any vette, they're all head turners...and I have a 84...it's college, you have all your life to think rationally when it comes to car purchases, wait until you see the crap you find yourself buying after marriage! and kids and a wife who says "we can't afford a corvette", or the kids could use that money for bla,bla,bla....lol..get it while you can bro...