I looked at a 1998 Corvette today. It has a few issues but it's mostly what I'm looking for. Dealer wants full book retail as "Excellent Condition", of course.
Upon inspection, I could tell that it's been wrecked in the front. The damage wasn't too bad but the nose piece has been repainted (overspray on the marker lights) and the right front fender isn't lined up perfectly with the door. It's close but not a 'factory' fit.
It drives perfectly. Tires are worn evenly (completely worn out, but that's another issue).
Question: What is this damage worth? When I calculate my offer, I'm thinking about deducting $1000 just for this. Does that seem like too little, enough, or too much?
By the way..the overspray on the lights is a sign of sloppy body work and the fender should line up perfectly if the car was repaired correctly...those are BIG WARNING signs of half assed repair work done by the dealer/or previous owner at low cost just to get the car sold.
Like I said DON'T buy that car.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with Thundergod, don't buy a repaired Vette. I had naively purchased a 72 Vette and couldn't figure out why it felt squirrelly at speed through right hand curves especially if there were bumps.
2 years after I bought it, I found out that it had been hit > By the way..the overspray on the lights is a sign of sloppy body work and
A long time ago, Corvettes were built on separate welded box frames. When wrecked, they could be pulled out and straightened. The C4s had a sheetmetal frame that could also be straightened, however, the metal thickness was different and tended to be very weak where bent.
The C5 uses a hydorformed one-piece frame rail on each side that I have no idea if they can straighten today. I'm sure they cannot get it back to factory spec. I have seen a few wrecked at swap meets and it looks like relatively minor hits that have totaled the car.
Much of this is that the frames today are designed to absorb much of the shock, and doing that destroys them.
I would say the only way I would take it is a very thorough inspection of the frame for even the most minor kink or bend. If any are found, then I'd assume frame repair and run away. If none, then the damage was only body damage, and I would deduct heavily for the shoddy bodywork, since you don't know what else they did poorly. Something like 30-40%.
I would also check the title for salvage, rebuild, reconstruction, or a few other brandings that are placed on by states for wrecked cars.
Actually this is not quite right, yes, the frame is a very strong, strongest in the country at the introduction in '97, and more repairable than the C3s and much more so than the C4s. In fact the insurance institute cut the rates because of the advance in reparability of the C5 and its structure. It is in fact repairable to the point GM has repair sections available which I've not seen for years. It is so strong that it is designed to replace sections rather that try to straighten the frame rails. It proved such a success that the process is now used in the heavy pickups and pushed Ford to do the same thing, who now claim the strongest frame. To sell and service the new aluminum frame of the Z06 the dealer has to have a technician that is certified in welding aluminum available by GM dictate. My guess would be that would indicate reparability.
As far as the '98 in question the overspray may well have come from a touchup lackey and the fender fit is very possible from the factory. That would not be enough for me to dump the purchase, the price would. The first thing I'd look for is if the inter body shell has been re-glued, not easy to do and won't look factory. The glue joints will normally break before the frame is tweaked enough to be a problem.
With '98 Corvettes priced at $18K to $35K (purple, sounds like CAA CAA) and in the off season I'd never pay anything near book, what ever that is and which "book" they are using. Plus if Thundergod (flatulence at its best) says not to buy it I look more favorably at it, as he has no clue.
Try using an appraisal type of website for ballparks of what you should be paying; I use Edmunds.com but make subjective decisions on costs/deductions (such as those you describe). How did you come up with $1,000?
I think we are really talking the same thing here, just in different words. I guess I wasn't aware of the repair sections of the frames, or if I was, I had forgotten. But now that you mention that, I believe there were sections for the C4s also, but the access to repair was terrible.
The way the hydroformed frame rail is made does not allow itself to be restored by pulling and bending back to the original shape. The initial purpose of the hydroform was to eliminate the bending and hardened spots of the old bent and welded process of making frames. It is in many ways more like a piece of tubing than a channel. If you have ever bent a piece of conduit the wrong way so that it kinks, you know you can never get it strong again and the kink won't come out in straightening. In electrical wiring, that is insignificant, but where people use conduit for awning frames, tents, and such, this is an issue.
However, as you said that Chevrolet has made frame repair sections available, Chevrolet has skirted the issue of traditional straightening for repair and allow removing these sections that are forever weakened and replacing with a new section. This is why the insurance would give a good rating on repairability. And time is money, so the access and time to repair a C4 frame would leave it with a terrible rating.
So both of our advice is right. He should check the frame for kinks. This would be evidence of a wreck and straightening, however, not the correct way. Any welded in sections would be evidence of a wreck, but if the weld quality looks good and the car drives out right, then it should be good to go with the only negative being you know it was wrecked once.
Hello Rev, If you're looking for $numbers this example may be comparible.
I dented a 1996 right front fender by backing out of my garage. It was strictly cosmetic damage since I was going about 1 mph. I took the car to a NCRS award winning Corvette restorer and had the job done 100% right. Total cost was $3200. If this is comparible to the damage you are talking about, cosmetic damage only, then that figure would probably be a good starting point. However, my car needed no fender - door realignment. That issue could take your car beyond the "cosmetic" repair. I'd round up to $4000 for that, if it was still cosmetic only and much more if structural.
Not sure you could drive one with a "kink", but I get your point. Even with the strength of the hydro-formed rails it will flex when hit, that's why I say look for inter body joint repair. The frame will flex but the tub won't, and it can pop a seam and they're tough to fix properly. That includes the front inter fenders.
One case was from a deer hit at speed on an interstate, split the right side seam all the way down the frame rail and never cracked the fender. Hit was on the left side/center but it pushed the radiator support enough to crack the seam.
One of the things they mention in the rating cost drop was the clam shell hood being a high cost item, the one thing I liked most about the C4.
Out there somewhere is a bubba who will fix anything and leave it in ways you'd never dream. :-) Heck, think of all the C3 fiber optics that were soldered back together.
I know of a lot of people who have hit deer and totalled a car, but I spattered one once and it was simply like a burlap sack of loose junk when I picked it up. The only damage was flatspotting the front tires trying to get stopped when it junped in front of me.
I think the clamshell may have had the record for the largest one-piece panel made. And it was in the one place most susceptible to damage - the front of a Corvette. Real planning on that one. Chevy knew big panels represented a hassle in repair and had sections for the C2 and C3, but I guess they thought since it could be unbolted versus unbonded, they would be ok.
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