First off, I've been looking on this site for awhile and think it's been great so far. I grew up with Vette's; my dad still has his 74 Stingray that he bought when he graduation the AF Academy (holding my breath for that one, one day!)

I have an opportunity for a (possible) great deal on a 1995 Vette. A friend of mine bought it 2 years ago for a whopping $5k, and he's offering it to me for $7k (probably get it for $6500 though if I decide to buy it).

It's black with chrome rims, paint is in pretty good condition (couple faded spots, but can't tell unless you look close). I don't know the specifics, but he put in a performance chip (not sure which one yet), upgraded the radio to an Alpine system, and a Vortec (Vortex?) air intake system. Tires look good, he put two new ones on the rear I believe.

He let me take it for a few days to see how I like it. It will be a daily driver, however, I don't go into an office every day. I work from home 1/2 the time, and ride my Harley alot (when it's not 30 degress like it was here this morning oddly enough). I picked it up last night. It runs strong (no hesitation or anything like that). The only downsides I've seen so far is the driver window appears to be off track, or the power window motor isn't working, and it only goes down about 4 inches. The alignment is slightly off, it pulls to the right while cruising. Clutch feels good, steering feels responsive, and the ride is good (a little rough, but not bad considering it is a sports car.)

Is there anything in particular I should be looking for in regards to known problems? And/or is there anything I should be aware of in regards to future upkeep? I don't have a ton of money to spend, and don't really think I'll be upgrading much on it (might return it to stock if it increases reliability). But the chance to finally own a Vette is too tempting to not consider it seriously!

I know based on the price, even $7k is about half the nada and blue book values.

Thanks for any replies!

Welcome.

It definately seems like a good deal, so I'd say get it. I wish I could find one at that price -- I wouldn't hestitate. Then, take it to a good independent garage - ask around and find one that knows vettes -- and have it looked over thoroughly. And fix EVERYTHING that needs attention, including the window and so forth, which could cost some $$. Align it, etc. The point is to start out with it in good condition -- consider that part of the deal

if you plan on driving the car in the snow or when its icey out i would not consider it for that type of weather. But other then that i would buy it and bring it to a chevy dealership and have everything fixed. Depending on the milage you will never loose your money a corvette, keep it in good shape and it will keep its value.

Sounds like you have a winner on your hands and I say go for it, not to often you will have the chance to buy a Corvette for $7,000. By the way, how many miles does it have on it?

Luckily for me Kyle, I live in Arizona, very little ice (at least in Phoenix!)

It has less than 80k miles on it, 78k and change. I keep debating it. Ironically, my wife is all gung ho about me getting it (but then, she was all gung ho about when I wanted my first Harley too!) The only thing that really keeps me hesitating is the upkeep. I have been driving Nissan's and Toyota's for the past 10 years or so, and have gotten used to regular gas, little upkeep and maintenence, that sort of thing. This friend of mine is just that, a good friend, so I'm not as concerned on the current state of the Vette, as he is pretty good about keeping his vehicles in good running condition (another Harley rider actually, and he's helped me work on my bikes, and does alot of the work on his cars himself).

He offered it to me about a month ago, mainly because he was paying for two houses (waiting for his first house to sell, which it just did) and was about to start getting a pool installed at the new house, so he was looking at selling for that reason. It's not a crucial that he sell it now, so if I don't take it, he won't put it up for sale, so I could probably have a shot at it again in a few years.

Why would you put it off for a few years? Whats going to change between now and then?