63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

[Bob Lanham]

I am a new member of NCRS and unfortunately a non-Corvette owner. 20 years ago I wrecked an original 1972 LT1 with less than 50,000 miles. The only repair shop in the area that I trusted wanted more to fix it than I paid for it. I ended up selling it for peanuts. I am finally in a position where I can financially consider purchasing another Vette. My favorite years are 63 - 72 and I really like the high performance engines.

What is the best way to get an idea of what a Vette is worth?

[Patrick H.]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Bob,

Welcome back (potentially) to the world of Corvettes!

There are several ways to get ideas of Corvette pricing, but here are a few that will take you the rest of the summer to study:

1) Both Corvette Fever and Vette Magazine provide annual pricing guides. These are at least useful to see if someone's asking prices is WAY off the mark.

2) The CPI (Cars of Particular Interest) Value Guide can be purchased at larger bookstores on a regular basis.

3) If you are anywhere near Bloomington Gold or Corvettes@Carlisle, GO! There is no faster way to determine instant pricing than to see hundreds of For Sale Corvettes and be able to evaluate the condition/options/motor combinations yourself. Take a couple of interesting prospects for a drive; you can learn a LOT in a HURRY this way.

4) Purchase (or even subscribe to) monthly For Sale magazines such as Corvette and Chevy Trader, etc. These can often give you a ballpark range of ASKING prices, assuming that the descriptions of their cars are accurate.

5) Meet up with, and possibly join, local Corvette Club(s) and/or NCRS Chapter. Often you will find involved members who would be more than willing to help you find the car of your dreams. It took my Dad 6 years of looking for the "right" Corvette before he bought it, and I helped him do a LOT of looking first. But, for our admission price to Bloomington, we got to drive several Corvettes, both good and bad, that helped us make our decision.

Good Luck!

Patrick Hulst

[Patrick H.]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Bob,

Welcome back (potentially) to the world of Corvettes!

There are several ways to get ideas of Corvette pricing, but here are a few that will take you the rest of the summer to study:

1) Both Corvette Fever and Vette Magazine provide annual pricing guides. These are at least useful to see if someone's asking prices is WAY off the mark.

2) The CPI (Cars of Particular Interest) Value Guide can be purchased at larger bookstores on a regular basis.

3) If you are anywhere near Bloomington Gold or Corvettes@Carlisle, GO! There is no faster way to determine instant pricing than to see hundreds of For Sale Corvettes and be able to evaluate the condition/options/motor combinations yourself. Take a couple of interesting prospects for a drive; you can learn a LOT in a HURRY this way.

4) Purchase (or even subscribe to) monthly For Sale magazines such as Corvette and Chevy Trader, etc. These can often give you a ballpark range of ASKING prices, assuming that the descriptions of their cars are accurate.

5) Meet up with, and possibly join, local Corvette Club(s) and/or NCRS Chapter. Often you will find involved members who would be more than willing to help you find the car of your dreams. It took my Dad 6 years of looking for the "right" Corvette before he bought it, and I helped him do a LOT of looking first. But, for our admission price to Bloomington, we got to drive several Corvettes, both good and bad, that helped us make our decision.

Good Luck!

Patrick Hulst

[Tom B.]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Bob,

Patrick offers many good suggestions. What I might add is to research prices on-line with dealerships, some of which have extensive inventories. I'm not trying to promote anyone's business or publications, but to give you a clue, one such dealership is "Pro-Team" based in Ohio, another is "Corvette Mike" and there are many others to list.

What you definately need to know, and probably do, is that dealerships are at the "high end" of the price tag (which is justifiable to support a business).

I have also used Hemmings Motor News which has extensive for sale listings of all makes and models of cars.

These two areas can give you a good "ballpark" price in a short time, but before you seriously buy, I would have researched more than just price. There are other resources of information you need to consider, and since you have recently joined NCRS, then check out the Driveline issue with books of resource material for the model years you are interested. All are at discount prices to members. Best Wishes. Tom

[Tom B.]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Bob,

Patrick offers many good suggestions. What I might add is to research prices on-line with dealerships, some of which have extensive inventories. I'm not trying to promote anyone's business or publications, but to give you a clue, one such dealership is "Pro-Team" based in Ohio, another is "Corvette Mike" and there are many others to list.

What you definately need to know, and probably do, is that dealerships are at the "high end" of the price tag (which is justifiable to support a business).

I have also used Hemmings Motor News which has extensive for sale listings of all makes and models of cars.

These two areas can give you a good "ballpark" price in a short time, but before you seriously buy, I would have researched more than just price. There are other resources of information you need to consider, and since you have recently joined NCRS, then check out the Driveline issue with books of resource material for the model years you are interested. All are at discount prices to members. Best Wishes. Tom

[John Rohe]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Bob,

In your search you'll come across claims of "matching #'s" cars vs. non-original motor cars (a.k.a. "NOM"). You'll need to decide for yourself if it matters to you whether a car has its original motor or not. If not, then you have alot less to worry about. If so, you will want to arm yourself with as much information as possible on what to look at to determine if a car truly has its original motor. I'll recommend Alan Colvin's "By the Numbers" as a starting point. These books (one for 60-64, 65-69 and 70-75) go into loads of details on motors as well as transmissions, alternators, etc... For about $30 each they are a tremendous investment.

FYI, your interest in high-horsepower makes this all the more important as it is usually more lucrative for someone to fake #'s matching on a high-horsepower car than a low-horsepower car.

Take your time. Decide what you want after looking around for a while. Don't buy before you know what you're really looking at. Have fun looking.

Good luck, John R.

[John Rohe]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Bob,

In your search you'll come across claims of "matching #'s" cars vs. non-original motor cars (a.k.a. "NOM"). You'll need to decide for yourself if it matters to you whether a car has its original motor or not. If not, then you have alot less to worry about. If so, you will want to arm yourself with as much information as possible on what to look at to determine if a car truly has its original motor. I'll recommend Alan Colvin's "By the Numbers" as a starting point. These books (one for 60-64, 65-69 and 70-75) go into loads of details on motors as well as transmissions, alternators, etc... For about $30 each they are a tremendous investment.

FYI, your interest in high-horsepower makes this all the more important as it is usually more lucrative for someone to fake #'s matching on a high-horsepower car than a low-horsepower car.

Take your time. Decide what you want after looking around for a while. Don't buy before you know what you're really looking at. Have fun looking.

Good luck, John R.

[Steve Epps]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Check out http://www.traderonline.com/auto/search/index.shtml Search for the year you are interested in. I even have it e-mail me with each days new listings. I'm currently looking for a 69, and on any given day their database has 120 to 160 1969 corvettes.

Gd luck on the search!

-Steve

[Steve Epps]

Re: 63 - 72 Corvette Pricing

Check out http://www.traderonline.com/auto/search/index.shtml Search for the year you are interested in. I even have it e-mail me with each days new listings. I'm currently looking for a 69, and on any given day their database has 120 to 160 1969 corvettes.

Gd luck on the search!

-Steve