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DO NOT buy a project Corvette...
By David Johns
I've loved Corvettes since I was a kid. My bedroom walls were plastered with Corvette posters and pinned up magazine photos. They're amazing cars and now that I've had the pleasure of owning a couple I love them even more. So why would I tell people not to buy a project Corvette? Because for the most part a first time owner doesn't have a clue what they're doing and will not enjoy the experience. Now I don’t say this to be a Corvette snob. Believe me there are plenty of those around, but I’m not one of them. Corvettes are excellent cars, but driving one certainly doesn’t make you anyone special. I say not to buy a project Corvette because I’ve seen way too many people get in over their heads. They end up losing money, time, enthusiasm and sometimes their car because they thought that buying a Corvette that needed work was a cheap way to get into an expensive car. For 99% of first time buyers this will never be the case. Even professional mechanics will often have disaster stories about their first few cars they tried to buy cheap, fix up and sell for a profit. It takes years of experience and a lot of skill to be successful at fixing up old cars economically. I recently helped a friend of a friend sell a 1972 Corvette Roadster. It's probably a $25,000 car when fixed up to good driver condition. But he had to let it go because the car was just bleeding him dry of money. Years ago he paid $5,000 for it thinking that surely he could fix it up for under $10,000 and still have a $25,000 car for $15,000. This guy had done his research on values, and spent a lot of time looking for the perfect project Corvette to make his dream come true. The problem was he didn’t do enough research into what it would cost to restore such a car. It still had the original engine and transmission, but not in running condition. The buyer made some assumptions on what was wrong with the engine, but once it got to the machine shop he learned there was quite a bit more work to be done than he budgeted. Same story with the interior, suspension, brakes and body work. All of these major components were in his budget for the restoration. He knew they needed work. What he didn’t realize is how much work and how expensive that was going to be. So he sent out what work he could afford to have done at a shop and figured he would do the rest himself. He had worked on cars when he was a kid and thought he could handle it. Unfortunately he ran into the classic problem of not enough time coupled with not enough skill. He could do some things, but they took much longer then if a mechanic had done them. And other things, like the vacuum head lights turned out to be very tricky to work on and hard to find parts for. He spent months and hundreds of dollars tracking down exactly why his head lights wouldn’t open properly. Eventually he ended up buying a whole kit to refurbish the complex system, at a cost of several hundred dollars. It’s a perfect example of how lack of knowledge on something that seems so simple can cost five times more than you expected. The better way to buy a used Corvette is to be realistic with your expectations and budget. Don’t try to get a bargain on a project car. It will eat you (and your wallet) alive. Look for the best car you can find with the budget you have. This might mean you have to revise your idea of a dream car. If you have $15,000 to spend don't set your sights on a super desirable 1963 convertible. It simply won't happen. You’re better off saving for a few more years to get the Corvette you really want in better condition. It will cost less in the long run and you’ll have a car that you can actually enjoy driving, not just a shell of a car taking up space in your garage.
Share my passion for classic Corvettes? You can find hundreds of classic Corvettes for sale at VetteHead.com. There are also helpful articles like How to Transport a Corvette, How to bid on eBay, and other tips on buying used Corvettes.
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Project cars like this can be like a drug to car guys, but resist the temptation and be realistic with your purchase. You'll be happier in the end.
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It is very strange how some people will buy a broken car yet scream blue murder if you sugest that they buy a broken pair of shoes. It is still possible to buy good, old cars in Europe for reasonable prices but that is because the owners cared for them. One thing I always made sure of before I bought any car was if I could repair them myself. (Mind you, my earlier cars could generally be repaired using a hammer, a set of spanners and a little common sense. What a pity cars got improved in such a technically challenging way!)
This can be said about any project car. I have done it and I know other people that have bought a project car just to find out that it was going to cost them more to fix it up then it might be worth.
Thank you for sharing this useful information, David. It truly depicks the saying,"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".
Keep up the good work.
Best wishes.
Frederick
I know someone who has a red 1957 T-bird in their garage. I don't think it will ever see the road again. Same problems of time and money.
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This intel was contributed by Machinist
Machinist
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May, 2012
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