At $2,400, Is This 1989 Chevy Corvette A Non-Starter?
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Corvette will require retrieval on a flatbed for its next owner, as the seller won’t even try to get it up and running. Let’s see if it’s priced well enough to make this project car a passable deal.
Jonathan Bennett And His Late 1980’s Honda Accord | My First Car
We began the discussion of yesterday’s 2014 Cadillac ELR hybrid with a question: Have any of you actually seen one in the wild? Quite amazingly, I just did. While cruising around last Saturday night, I saw one on the road—moving under its own power! I felt that was quite the coup, but the $16,757 price tag on our contender ELR didn’t receive the same reception. Most of you felt the car was just as unpopular now as it was when new, which translated into a 57 percent No Dice loss.
Let’s entertain another round of questioning to get things rolling today. Are you a restoration specialist or an avid Corvette lover? Is wrenching your jam, and you’re on the prowl, looking for that next big fix? Most importantly, do you like to gamble on the assumptions of total strangers seeking to free up a parking lot slot?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then this 1989 Chevy Corvette may be right up your alley. According to the seller, it was bought from an estate sale and has not been driven for several years. The seller has not even attempted to start it, as they are under the “ASSUMPTION IS THAT IT WILL NOT RUN!”
In addition to its stationary status, this ’Vette seems to have spent some time under ‘ol Mister Sun as the paint is faded across all the horizontal surfaces. In the cabin, there’s additional evidence of a hard-fought life as the plastics are discoloring and the driver’s seat has suffered serious tears in the thigh bolster area.
On the plus side, the car appears to be complete, including its factory wheels and a smoked glass targa roof. It also wears new Atlas FORCE UHP tires, so while it won’t drive, it should at least roll. If you dig these early C4 Corvettes, then the interior’s digital dash and weird bread box on the passenger side are probably fan favorites, too.
We don’t get to see under the hood, but we can assume (there’s that word again) that the 5.7-liter L98 V8 is still in residence. When new, that made a modest 240 horsepower and 345 lb-ft of torque. In our car, that power is routed through a four-speed automatic. Or at least it would if the car were running. Mileage is not too bad on the car, at 91,000, and it does come with a clean title.
If you’re the kind of person who loves a challenge or a YouTuber whose entire livelihood is centered around making videos in which non-running machinery is brought back from the edge of the grave, then this Corvette will likely hold some appeal. We’ll just have to see if its $2,400 asking price sweetens the deal.
According to the ad, the seller is willing to go lower, but that’s pretty low to begin with, so how far could they actually go? They do ask that payment be made in large bills, so it’s not like they’re selling the car explicitly to make cash for a binge session at the titty bar, if that matters.
What do you think? Is this worn and weary C4 worth the $2,400 gamble to “take on somebody else’s problem?” Or is it just too sketchy at even that price to consider?
You decide!
North New Jersey Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Victor Lee for the hookup!
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