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Chevrolet has been building new Corvettes since 1953. Today’s new Corvette sales are less than “brisk” as the world waits for the next-gen ‘Vette. There also seems to be two different camps when it comes to purchasing a used one.
There are those who feel Chevy never built a car worthy of the “Corvette” nameplate after the chrome fell of the front and rear of the car. Then, there are those who prefer the modern technology and creature comforts that a later-model brings to the bottom line. And of course, you’ll have those who choose to blend the line, infusing modern technology into a vintage body or even going retro, and swapping out their car’s factory EFI for a carburetor.
This Silver Beige Metallic '87 could be had for just under $5,000. With 70,000 miles on the L98-powered clock, the driver's window doesn't work (big surprise) and it needs some bodywork. There was no mention how well the gauge cluster has fared but the A/C leaks. If you're the type of enthusiast that does his own stunts, you could pick up this C4, do some work yourself and have a pretty nice C4. In our opinion, this is the low-end of the price range for a good, reliable car. You'll see some others listed here for less, but they NEED more! 
It’s no secret that we’ve got a couple of C4s in the Corvette Online stable. As such, we like to keep our eyes open to how these cars are doing on the open market. One place that has secured itself in the buying and selling realm are social media marketplaces. Facebook as their own version and we recently swam through the pages of offerings to check out the entire scope of what’s out there for today’s buyer.
Condition matters. Both cars have the later LT1 (Gen II) engine, and the Black '92 convertible (top) shows a fairly nice interior and the engine compartment looks unmolested, even though there's 136,000 miles on the odometer. Asking price? $6,500. The White '94 (bottom) shows promise, but the owner reports the trans will soon need attention. He discloses this, and says he doesn't need another project. For $2,500, someone could pick it up, swap the trans and have a decent driver. 
Styling preferences aside, each generation Corvette has both benefits and pitfalls, and knowing what you want is key when shopping, cash in hand. If you’re not generation-specific, you can actually jump ahead a complete generation or two for not much more money. That’s good for the shopper. Not so much for those looking to sell. We’ve seen a couple of C6 Corvettes locally that were just a couple of grand more than some of the nicer C4s that we’ve highlighted. Of course, condition will dictate value and you need to do your homework when running cross-generational comparisons. While we like the C6 as much as any other generation, that generation isn’t our focus today.
There is a broad spectrum of C4s available on the ‘net, and it pays to know what you’re looking at, and what you expect from the car. If reliability and styling are key, a nicely-kept ’84 is in the contention as much as any other car. Plus, you may find one of the early ones with some of the quirky carry-over items from the original design. Always a conversation piece.
These two good-looking '95 Corvettes make a great illustration. The red one has been personalized under the hood and interior. The Hunter Green one looks quite stock, but has a new water pump (no mention of the Opti-spark), newer tires, new oxygen sensors and a recently rebuilt transmission. Both have the LT1 engine and have similar mileage, the red one will set you back $8,000. The new trans, tires, water pump and O2s will only cost you an extra $500. Both cars can be reliable, but it shows how value can be found in either accessories or maintenance items. 
If you’re looking for high-revving performance in a C4 body style, a ’92 and later Corvette with the high-revving LT1 can set you back in the seat nicely. Not to be left out, those L98-equipped 1985-’91 cars are torquey little corner carvers in their own right. Get one of the Callaway B2K cars and you’ll feel what torque is all about. The Tuned-Port engine just doesn’t rev like many folks like to hear through those dual exhausts.
And, for those who aren't sure if they want a C4 OR a C5, there's this 1985 Corvette gen-blender with a C5 front and rear graft. Only two images, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and $1,250 each, as the asking price was $2,500. 
We found a few cars that represent the entire spectrum of what you might find anywhere in the country. The prices may vary slightly, but we think these examples are very representative of the market today. We’re not in the business of selling cars, so we’ve not linked to any of the offerings shown here. We just wanted to get you thinking about what might be available in your area, and who knows, maybe a Corvette or two will find a nice, loving, forever home!
