C4 Pricing

[Lyndon S.]

How can I find the most accurate way to know what the value of these older C4 cars are worth in this day and age? Some of the ways people have them priced does not make any sense to me. I guess the ones I am mainly talking about or on EBay. Even some of the dealers seem to have numbers, that I would like to know what source they used to come up with that figure.

[Tom H.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Lyndon, there is no real science. There are book prices and there are real world prices. Depending on what you read or where you live, either can be higher. Colors, options and condition play a huge role in the current value of these cars. Just like the old ones.

My advise is to first set your budget. On a C4, buy the newest and lowest mileage car your budget will allow for.

The worst thing that can happen is you might pay a touch too much for a good car. That's not always a bad thing.

[Bill H.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Yea, what Tom said.

You may want to try Autotrader.com also.

The thing that I do see on our C4 forum is guys that pay the low prices, buy one off a used car lot and have to put big dollars in the car.

I looked at 20+ C4's when I bought my 92, paid $1,500-$2,000 more that many were priced at. Got a 2 owner car that was stored in a heated garage with all the paperwork back to the origional owner.
In 6 years, driving it 4-5 days per week, I put in an Opti and an alternator ($650 in 6 years).

Do your homework, get a good one = piece of mind.

[Floyd B.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Lyndon,

First the fine print - mine is just one more opinion among many - take it for what it's worth.

The NADA guide for Classic Cars and Corvette Market magazine are two of the very few sources that publish market values for C4's so they are a good place to start.

Some people here might take exception to this but the vast majority of C4's aren't worth much - no matter how good the condition is. Very few C4's are even mildly collectible. In my opinion the only C4's that even register a blip on the radar are the ZR-1's, Callaways and '96 Grand Sports. You might add the LT-4 convertible to this list because they are the top of the HP food chain for a convertible C4. But some might accuse me of displaying some bias here since I own an LT-4 convertible.

Don't buy the "this is 1 of 10" nonsense - it means nothing in the C4 market. Also the plethora of C4 "collector's editions", "pace cars replicas", etc. only fetch a few dollars more and in some cases have no added value at all.

In today's market (especially just before Christmas), you should be paying bottom dollar. I wouldn't be afraid of driving a hard bargain. Compare the prices listed in NADA and Corvette Market to listings in Auto Trader, Auto Trader Classic and eBay, then go down from there.

-Floyd-

[Paul J.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Lyndon, Floyd's a little pessimistic but he's right. NADA and Kelly Blue Book are a good indication of market prices for newer cars. These sources are important because they are used by banks to set loan values and to some degree by insurance companies (to a lesser extent). NADA goes back to 1992, but thier present C4 prices are not realistic at this time.

Try the web sites listed in Post #2 of the following thread.

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthread.php?t=81584&highlight=sales+sites&uid=7896

These "For Sale" sites and others like them are your best bet for coming up with a fair market price.

Paul

[Pat M.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Some people here might take exception to this but the vast majority of C4's aren't worth much - no matter how good the condition is.

Does this also apply to C5s and C6s?

[Floyd B.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Lyndon, Floyd's a little pessimistic but he's right. NADA and Kelly Blue Book are a good indication of market prices for newer cars. These sources are important because they are used by banks to set loan values and to some degree by insurance companies (to a lesser extent). NADA goes back to 1992, but their present C4 prices are not realistic at this time.

Try the web sites listed in Post #2 of the following thread.

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthread.php?t=81584&highlight=sales+sites&uid=7896

These "For Sale" sites and others like them are your best bet for coming up with a fair market price.

Paul

>> Floyd's a little pessimistic
Like I said, not everyone would agree with me. I follow the collector car market as a hobby. It's a buyer's market right now. No offense to anyone intended, but Corvette owners are usually the worst people to gage true market value of Corvettes. The market is brutal right now.

>> NADA goes back to 1992
Actually NADA for Classic Cars goes back to 1926 and covers all years of Corvettes. Follow this link: http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars
I would agree that the further you go back, the less accurate the information. For cars older than 1975, there are much better sources of information available.

[Paul J.]

Re: C4 Pricing

>> Floyd's a little pessimistic
Like I said, not everyone would agree with me. The market is brutal right now.

>> NADA goes back to 1992
Actually NADA for Classic Cars goes back to 1926 and covers all years of Corvettes. Follow this link: http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars
I would agree that the further you go back, the less accurate the information. For cars older than 1975, there are much better sources of information available.

I said you were right.

I do not trust the Classic Car prices from NADA. I don't know where they get these but most of the time they are not even close.

NADA newer car prices go back to 1992. These guides are what I use when I price and sell cars. I will also check local "For Sale" ads to be sure I'm priced competitively. When I sell a vintage car I have to rely on the sites in the thread I posted.

[Carl N.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Does this also apply to C5s and C6s?

Pat,

I follow most online sites and the C5's seem to be holding up better than the C4's but the '97, 98's & 99's have really decreased in the past 6 months in the DFW area. Only ones still holding good value are the really low mileage Z06's and FRC's. 04's have held up good if clean and low miles, In the C6's, the 05's and 06's are now down to the level of 04's the new C7's will cause more of the older C6's to drop, just the way it is.

Right now it is a buyers market almost everywhere in the southeast.

Low milage, one owner, documented C5's are getting hard to find.
IMO (not to slam the C'4s as I have owned and driven) the C5 is a much better value and fun to drive, just IMO.

Carl

[Floyd B.]

Re: C4 Pricing

Does this also apply to C5s and C6s?

IMO, C5's and C6's are still good used cars so the traditional indices (NADA, Edmund's and Kelly) are fairly reliable. Corvettes of all years hold their value better than the market overall.