FirehawkNS

My dad came by my work today and asked me if I wanted to go with him C4 shopping tomorrow since he found a few. He has an all-original C3 now and has been wanting a C4 convertible lately. Being into vettes, impala's and Z's for as long as I have I know a few things on the LT1, but can you guys give me any suggestions on what to pay attention to when looking at these? One I know needs a new optispark, but other then that they are all described as great condition. Just looking for any main problems and items to be aware of on these years. We are going to look at a few 94's, 95's and 96's tomorrow.

Last what do you think the value is on a 94, convert, A4, w/80K. The guy is asking 15.9k. It is the one that needs a new Opti.

Thanks for the help guys!!
Nick


**EDIT**
Sorry I must have pulled 13k out of my butt...The guy was asking $15,900 and the Opti is brand new, not bad!! It had gone bad.


www.pewterz28.com

bogus

Get the newest you can afford.

It needs an opti? Keep looking. 80k is where everything starts to wear out... opti... waterpump... wheel bearings... brakes... clutches, when appropriate... tires are in need of their 3rd replacement. You get the idea. Find one that has been maintained, or, get one with much lower miles.

Does dad want an auto or manual? The later ones had the 4L60E, which is a much nicer tranny than the 700R4.

The rest is basic common sense, you know the engine, you know what it should be like.

compare prices with the books and with sites like autotrader. For the most part, Corvette Speciality shops are killer on price. They will rape you bad. But not always.... just shop around.

Aaron71771

Also look for the basics like weatherstrip, seat condition, carpets... all expensive on the C4 if they are in bad shape.

Engine should be clean, look for leaks - cracked wires, old hoses.


I don't know what the big deal is about the opti- other then it will cost $300ish if you have to replace it, that's if you do it yourself. Expect 3 times that to have a shop do it.

03whitecoupe

[QUOTE=bogus]Get the newest you can afford. QUOTE]
I'm going to disagree a little and say buy the BEST Vette you can afford. There are a bunch of very good early L98 C4's out there for sale and they can be a real bargain. This "buy the newest" mantra on the forum gets a little old and the basic argument is that they are more refined. Well, if you really want refined, buy a C5.

ANTI VENOM

To me, options are a major factor in deciding on a car. Depending on what you like and how you will use the car. There are many areas I look at. Suspension, brakes, steering, seats, and gears. I agree with most of what is said above, but thought I would add a little different view.

jrzvette

[QUOTE=1986pacecar]

From what I've been seeing there seem to be more low milage early (84-90) C4's around than later ones. (Of course, the prices reflect this: a 30K mile 87 going for the same price as a 90K mile 94). I don't know why, maybe the mind-set when the C4 first came out was that it was still a toy like the C3 and only to be used on special occasions. As it became known that the car was very reliable more people began buying new ones to use as daily drivers.

REW89

I think it is important to understand the significant differences among C4's through the years to determine where you want to focus your search. Knowing the style and different components, you can determine your preference (assuming you have not already done that). Once there you can find the best C4 you want for the money you want to spend.

MAJOR differences among the C4'S include (others feel free too correct me if I am wrong or chime in with others):

Body Exterior - Convertible 86 & later. ZR1 option 90-95
Round tailights and associated front end 84-90
Oval tailights and associated front end 91-96

Transmissions:
4+3 manual 84-88
6 speed manual 89-96

Dash - Electronic dashboard (no air bag) 84-89
Analog/computer dashboard driver air bag 90-93
Passenger air bag 94-96

Engine: L-98 85-91 (230ish to 250 HP)
LT1 92-96 (300 hp)
LT4 96 only (330 HP) manual transmission only.
LT 5 90-95 (375-405 HP) ZR1

Wheels: 16" wheels 84-88 (17 optional 88)
17" wheels 89-96

MTCW. I suggest you also visit the Forum C4's for sale section to get additional advice as you continue your search.

Bob

rws.1

I am a believer in buying the lowest mileage one you can afford.
There were number of improvements over the life of the c4, so if you want a certain improvement the year may matter. There have been a few threads that provide links to these improvement by year lists.
Perhaps someone reading this thread has one

redwing76

If it was me looking I'd look for a 1990 6spd convert.
I like the round tailites. Easy to maintain and really good street performance.

13k with a bad opti is 4k over priced.
Whatever you buy you'll lose money on. So don't blow it on a high priced car.

wildman378

13k for a 94 convertible is not overpriced I would actually be concerned on why they only want 13k for it. A opti and water pump doesn't run 4k...

I would say a 94 convertible with 80k miles is worth 15k, only being worth 15k bc of the miles.

so maybe a coupe 94 with 80k miles is worth only 13k but a convertible would be worth a good bit more. Convertible is a usual 3-4k increase in price right off compared to a coupe.

bogus

I must disagree with some of the comments made about mileage versus age.

I have been around this forum for a long, long time. And one thing I have seen over and over again are newbies buying an older C4 with insanely low miles and having nothing but trouble with them. They look great sitting, but once you start driving them, all hell breaks loose. Seals rot... suspension dries up.

Add in the fact that early C4s are not as durable as later C4s, you have yourself a huge problem brewing.

Early C4s are notorious for wiring problems (see my sticky at the top of the C4 tech) and the weather stripping (mentioned here) was improved in 95/96 to a better material.

I bought my 92 with a paultry 39k miles on it back in 2000. It was clean... but it needed shocks, tires, belts, hoses and the opti/waterpump - all within the first 6 months. This was mainly because in the first 8 years of its life, only 25k miles were put on it, the owner before me had it for a little over a year and put 14k on it.

I then promtly started to drive it! A LOT! I put about 25k a year on it. It was not long before the front and rear main seals started to leak. The front still leaks.

It's like this. GM does not build cars to sit and collect dust, they build cars to drive. As such, if you drive them, they will be, for the most part, ok. If they are allowed to sit, they atrophy.

Now, if you want a low mileage trailer queen, go for it, but don't be surprised when it starts to fall apart.

If it was my money, get a later C4. 1994 or newer. You will get all the basic goodness that is a C4, but in a more reliable and drivable package.

Aaron71771

These cars do need to be driven to "stay in shape", Garage queens can end up costing a fortune over a car with higher miles that was well maintained.

FirehawkNS

Thanks for the responses guys!!

We went and looked at the car today and here is what it is:

1994 convertable, Black/black w/black top
A4 LT1 with 80k miles
fully loaded from what we can see (ASR, Ride adjust, power seats, etc)

Paint looked great, has no swirls, almost no pits (few filled in chips in hood but not really noticable untill down on it, and no hard rain/acid rain spots (even on the windsheild which looked new). It does have a little cracking in the paint on the pass side front corner of the hood, and a crack in the paint right over the front emblem.

Wheels were 255's in front 285's in rear. One rim looked like it was curbed on a corner or something, but wasn't really noticable until you were on it (we plan to put aftermarket rims anyway).

The ride adjust (don't remember the exact term) was rebuilt/replaced on the front with all new shocks, but the back hasn't been touched. He said that the front driver side is throwing a code again once in a while, but he is not sure why.

I was miss understanding on the Opti. The opti spark was recently replaced (about a month ago), and the water pump was replaced. I thought it was going out, but the guy said that it did go out and he had it and the waterpump replaced.

He told us the front is a little out of line and it pulls a tad to the right.

weatherstrip looks worn and cracked on the front side window. The guy says it doesn't leak as far as washing it, but doesn't drive it in the rain so not sure on that.

Underneath looked good. Looks like a little oil leak coming from the drain plug, but it wasn't on the ground, just kinda a little spot around the drain plug.

Interior was great, wear consistant with 80k miles on the Driver seat, about half wear on the Pass seat, but they do have some stretch marks in the seats, a little (what I will call) plastic clear coat peel around the shifter, carpet was perfect (no wear at all), Dash was perfect, guages looked perfect. Cd didn't work but radio and tape worked great and sound was fine. We have a full auto system we will be taking out of the 79 so this doesn't really concern me too much.

Top was brand new.

Said that he only ran Mobil 1 oil (which is all I run), 93 octane only, and just had the trans. serviced and put Synthetic in it. What trans do the 94 c4 auto's have? I have heard bad stories about running synthetic ATF in my 4L60E Z28, so this had me concerned. Mainly just slipping in the trans after synthetic.

how much does the ride adjust stuff run to fix? We can get parts near cost at a local dealership (and gmpartsdirect.com), but curious what this will run as a guess?

also how much does average weaterstriping run to replace on a vert (just mainly next to the front windsheild sides, where the side glass meets the piller)?

All in all this was a well maintained car. It came from Virginia (we are still waiting on the Carfax to come back).

The guy was originally asking $15,900 for the car. We threw out $14k as a just throw out number, he countered with $14,600. What would you guys pay for what I described?

Thanks again
Nick

Here is the car BTW:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...or=&cardist=28

silverja

Some of the 87 - 90 C4 Convertibles are attractively priced. It is always nice to buy the newest model of C4 when available, but sometimes that comes with a hefty price premium (well justified). I own an 87 loaded convertible with barely 40K miles that is in great condition. There are some drawbacks to the earlier C4 years but you should be able to pick a clean low mileage one up for $10K or less if you are patient. There are positives too with some of the earlier models - lower tire costs, easy to work on L98's, and cheaper insurance costs to name a few. My biggest piece of advice is to take your time and do not buy any Corvette until you have seen at least 10. As you examine each one, you get a little better at evaluating them and this can help save you money. The worst thing to do is buy the first one you see!

Good luck.

boulderlt4

I wish I got 80K out of my POS waterpump. Only 25K on the car, and am getting it replaced as we speak. Great engineering!!

wildman378

I think about around 14.5k is about right for that car. I know the miles are high but condition is a big issue with these cars...if it is in great shape it's probably been somewhat pampered even with the high miles because the interior on these cars like the seats go to HELL if you are hard on the car.

so all in all thats a pretty good price if you ask me. I bought my 95 convertible a about a year ago with 29k miles optioned out for nearly 22k. Good thing is it's worth that today just about it has 32k miles on it now but the verts hold their value pretty dang good!

redwing76

Personally I wouldn't buy it, 80k miles will be 90-100,000 in no time.
Its really hard to sell a Corvette with high miles.

bogus

I agree, keep looking.

That oil drip around the drain, that's the rear main weaping.

Codes on the FX3 is nothing but expensive...

You can do better, just keep looking.

robertpel9

i would not worry about the miles or selling it later. i recently sol my 91 vert oith ~110k miles on it for 11,500 on ebay in three days.


Find one you liek, but it for what you are comfortable paying and dont look back. Too many people here worrying about a grand one way or the other. If you are that close to the brink financially i would not advise buying a vette period.

Personally i would buy a 91 or newer in nice shape. You will be able to tell if it has been taken care of or not

These cars are all old at this point. Find what YOU like condition and care is more important than the year at this point

FirehawkNS

As far as putting miles in no time on it, My dad bought his 79 vette in 94 with 67K on it. Today 10 years later it just crossed 81K, so we are not so worried about putting miles on it!! Of course, he wants a newer one because he will be able to drive it more then the old one, but I don't think we are so worried about the milage!!