been lurking, got a question

You don't say where you are located, but there are search engines that you can use to find comparables to see if you are getting a good car at the right price. For instance:

Sounds like a decent car at a low price (especially for a convertible). You'd be hard-pressed to beat that price, so if you trust your brother-in-law, why not go for it? After all, how much can you lose if you later decide you want something better.

Is there a way you can get a professional mechanic to give it a thorough going over before committing? Frame weakened by rust is probably the biggest issue. Remember, even if you have big problems with the car, you still have to maintain family harmony!

The method of sensing intake airflow improved in 1989 models, so that might make me tend to go for an 89 or later, but not a big issue.

I'm in Buffalo NY and my bro-in-law had his mechanics check it out thoroughly. He doesn't want me "bad-mouthing" him to the rest of the family. The car was stored winters and the frame looks pretty fresh considering the year and our climate. I'm really considering buying this one, about 99% sure it's the way to go. My only concern is that i dont want to buy a car based on the low price. All the used vettes from '88-'92 that i've looked at had 29k miles to about 45k miles. This one has 80k miles but i would think GM can make a vehicle that runs strong for at least 150k (if maintained), should i be too concerned about that 80k miles? Thanks for the link. I didn't see any c4's in those listings with 80k miles in there either... d'OH!

walt

Im glad its an automatic and not the 4 plus 3 manual gearbox, otherwise , id tell you to seriously forget about it.

Hello Walt, Sounds like a ball-park car and unless it's been abused or neglected will be a sound car. My C4 experience says, upgrade the headlight door gearboxs, abide by the service schedule, flush and change coolant every two years, swap out alternators every couple of years, drive-it-like-you-stole-it every once in a while and aside from a cat convertor replacement you'll have 100K in real fun. Keep the roof panel snug and if it begins to squeak, get it aligned. Unless abused you'll get well over 150K from the L-98. This is a real fun car below 40mph -- great off the line and a good KITA around freeway on-ramps. If you're going to autocross, consider upgrading brakes and adding a cooler for the power steering. Here's a suggestion: Go to > , plug in Chevrolet, then zip 92123 (bases the search in San Diego) and then select 'Corvette' and 'any distance' from zip code. I'd suggest a date range of 1987 thru 1990. That will give you a couple of hundred cars nationwide to look at. Click on the "price" header and it will sort in ascending order. I just took a quick look and found '88s from $ 3500 up to $ 49K for an '88 with just 660 miles. I've tracked down my last two used cars from autotrader listings. Generally, I think sellers here ask about 10% above the going market price.

-- PJ '89 Hookercar, '02 e-blu 6-spd coupe

wallster wrote:

Thanks for the info, i really appreciate it. I've read almost all of your suggestions (headlight gearboxes, alternator, etc) in this forum before. I borrowed a different '88 convertible a few weeks ago for a few days and i fell in love with it. As far as the mechanical end of the maintainance of the car, i'm a hands on guy

so this should be fun.I've rebuilt a bunch of cycles (and just plain built) and last year irebuilt a jeep wrangler so this sounds like something i can get into.I've always wanted a corvette convertible so now i really cant wait toclose the deal. I'll keep ya posted once she's in my driveway! Thanks again,

Walt

get him to make the bill of sale a lot lower. save yourself on the tax and tags.

---snip---

I would say get the vette and keep the bike...

my2¢

He'll work out something... off the record ; )

just selling 2 out of 3... for now (don't tell the Mrs.)

Gawd 'key, I thot I was the only cheapskate that cheated Gov. Arnold. Cheesse! Slippery slope.

-- PJ

always been a cheapskate. (every penny saved in one place can be spent in another) wouldn't think of cheating the gov. getting over on the state a little, is a different story:-)

g'day

I know the climate, Buffalo is my hometown. You want higher mileage cars?... here you go:

there ya go, those are up there (geesh, the last one had over 200k) That's great to see, people actually driving them and they're still looking (and presumably) running well. I'm just waiting for the word to go get the car now, i feel like a kid at christmas! Thanks for the link.

walt

On Fri, 23 Jun 2006 19:15:52 -0700, PJ puked:

In fairness, taxes have already been paid on that car. Maybe a couple of times, even...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

sounds fair to me !!!

Yes committing sales Tax fraud is always a very good choice listen to this guy and you could get a sales tax assessment for full value and have to pay more tax then what is really owed by you.

Nothing ever good comes from acts of fraud and posting such things like this in public forum is an act of conspiracy and could get you prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Be very worried of any one suggesting things like this to you.

A large number title companies closed their doors across the USA for this practice and various other infractions leaving the owners of the cars with out titles or having to pay allot higher taxes on purchases

"No here No Now" wrote absolutly nothing of value in message

---snip---

you sound like one of them "good ol boys" that tell the court what they want to hear so you can get picked for jury duty :-)

do look for a clue troll-boy :-)

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 20:17:21 GMT, "No here No Now" puked:

Great, now we're getting legal advice from spammers...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

yea, I should of just kill-filed the jerk..