Is this car worth $8k?

[charlottenian]

I'm always looking to buy and sell things, I was given the number to a guy who has a 1975 Corvette with 58k original miles and has A/C. I was told that I should be able to sell the car for $11k easily but he needs $$$ today and can "sacrifice" it for $8k. I don't know much about older cars so I thought to post a few pics of it and get people's take. Looking at the door, I can already see over spray on the molding which looks bad. I have no idea what these cars are worth. I'm not looking to buy it for enjoyment, it would be purely business so if there is no margin for me on it then I have no interest on it.

[Mother Grabber]

Looks shiny on the outside, but beat up on the inside and under the hood. Unless you've taken it out and can confirm its in good running order, I'd stay away from it. It feels like it was made up for a quick sell. His $11K value is for one in good condition...which this is not.

[Chimera]

It's your choice, but I would say hell no.

The 1975s had no power; since this has the original engine and an automatic transmission, well, you get the point...

If it were a stingray convertible with a manual in that same condition, I'd consider talking him down to about $6500.

But to put it plainly... you won't get $11,000 out of it... unless you're willing to put about $15k into it after you buy it.

[Anybodyhome]

Found this for you to consider:

Ugly Duckling:

1973-1982 C3 Coupe - these top contenders sport wonderfully swoopy third-generation Corvette “Stingray” styling, but were hobbled with an anemic series of 350 cubic inch engines, producing only 180-200 horsepower. Most of them were also delivered with the same automatic transmission delivered in a 1/2-ton pickup truck of the same model year. Yet, this generation of Corvettes is still carbureted and easy to upgrade. A little creativity with one of these could deliver a phenomenal custom ‘Vette.

The seller did nothing to enhance what little resale value there is in the car, and, he may have actually devalued it by painting it some off the wall shade of orange... obviously not a factory color unless someone thought it was a code 70 Orange Flame. But the pic doesn't look like flame...

Code Color Quantity

10 Classic White 8,007

13 Silver 4,710

22 Bright Blue 2,869

42 Bright Green 1,164

56 Bright Yellow 2,883

67 Medium Saddle 3,403

70 Orange Flame 3,030

74 Dark Red 3,342

76 Mille Miglia Red 3,355

These are the colors and quantities of Vettes built in 75.

Even if you were to sink 10-15k into this and do a nice resto-mod, you probably won't get more than $20k- breaking even in this very soft collector-car market may be difficult.

Good luck!

[Carolina Husker]

Automatic? Eww.

[hepcat]

Automatic? Eww.

Who drives an automatic sports car?

[cookinwithgas]

Corvette owners do. This generation is an awful "sports car". When I was in the Navy I had friends with 1980 Corvettes, a black one and a champagne anniversary model of some kind. They were uncomfortable, the body flex was nuts, the transmission terrible, and unless you were going 80 it was like trying to manuver a 2 ton slug on the road. The top leaks easily as well.

But if you want a Corvette and don't have a lot of money, hey, it still looks cool.

[Davidson Deac II]

Rust under the hood would turn me off. If its been allowed to rust there, then the odds are the owner hasn't taken care of it.

Might be worth it if you are a mechanic with time to put into it, but otherwise no.

[Skew]

Your penis must be this small to buy this car.

'....'

[sharkkiller]

Short answer is "No."

see above for the longer version.

[4Corners]

Looks shiny on the outside, but beat up on the inside and under the hood. Unless you've taken it out and can confirm its in good running order, I'd stay away from it. It feels like it was made up for a quick sell. His $11K value is for one in good condition...which this is not.

take it to a mechanic you trust to give u an opinion on the engine. the inside looks like a ticking timebomb to your checkbook.

[charlotte49er]

I have had a 72 Stingray and a 90.

I redid both of them, the 72 ended up with a ZZ3 GM crate motor Holley 750 double pumper, chrome, 1984 Corvette wheels, and a shift kit in the automatic. You have to feather the throttle if there was any moisture on the road or you'd just sit there and spin the tires.

I agree with who ever said to get it around $6,500. Otherwise $8,000 is too much. The nice thing is, you can get a lot of the trim and rubber seals through JC Whitney.

[TheSmartGuy]

take it to a mechanic you trust to give u an opinion on the engine. the inside looks like a ticking timebomb to your checkbook.

I agree. These cars are very labor intensive to repair and you could end up being in it for more than its worth. A real mechanic can quickly tell if it has been dogged. Check for things like burns in the carpet and signs of body repairs. If it has a spoiler made from 2 coffee cans and a piece of plywood beware,,,To be honest used corvettes are for people who are mechanics and have plenty of time to work on them,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,unless you got plenty of cash to pay someone else to work on it...If you want muscle go find a nice 5.0 stang for 2k

[Gin and Juice]

U would be lucky to get 3500 for that car, but there is a sucker born every minute.