Hey, it’s Labor Day! I hope those of you reading in the U.S. are doing so while remembering and honoring the contributions of workers throughout our country’s history—while enjoying a little respite from your own work. You know who else appears to be taking the day off? The seller of this 1985 Corvette, that’s who! With a description of all of two words, we’re left to hope that Jeff, the seller, is really enjoying his holiday before he gets back to the serious business of convincing us that his car is worth $22,900. You can see for yourself on craigslist, or give Jeff a call and head to Solana Beach, California to see if he has more to say in person (archived ad).
Still, with an odometer showing just 2,276 miles (although the ad says 2,189, which seems awfully specific to be contradicting photographic evidence), and when your two-word description is “brand new,” what more is there to say? I am impressed that the digital instrument cluster appears to be fully functional, and with average fuel consumption of 10.3 MPG, I can understand why it hasn’t been driven more.
All the same, there’s more to condition than mileage. Jeff could share a little bit more with us about how the car has been stored, what steps have been taken to prevent deterioration from sitting, what, if any, components have been replaced, and so forth. It would also be nice to see some pictures of, at a minimum, the interior and engine compartment. At least, in the great tradition of Labor Day sales, the $22,900 asking price represents a discount of about $1,500 off the car’s original 1985 list price.
As for me, I prefer to celebrate the labor of the men and women toiling in the automotive industry by driving their products, and at this point, no buyer is likely to really drive this as-new ‘Vette—although it is cool to see one that’s been caught in a 32-year time warp. What would be your dream (traffic-free, back roads) Labor Day driver?
Yes, needs more description (why only 2K–if true– on a not so special car) but also photos of interior, engine, floors, frame etc.
I just looked at some pictures on google and the majority of the dash clusters for a 1985 Corvette have 6 digits. The picture shows 02276 which leaves the last digit out so we don’t know if it has a 5 digit or 6 digit, but the car has plates so it has been out and smogged over the last 30 years.
A carfax would be interesting on this one.
14 psi oil pressure. Hmmm….
I guess it is a plus the dashboard is still working.
Hey 14 psi at 53 rpm isn’t bad! Seems this one is suffering from typical 30 year old GM componentry. I’d look very, very close before making him an offer of about 2/3 of his ask, which he should gratefully take.
Perfectly normal for a 350 v8 at idle once warm. Doesn’t matter if it’s a L98 or LT1. About 10lbs per 1000 rpm is all you need.
My two word description: Ugly color
Previous Barrett-Jackson listing: https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1985-CHEVROLET-CORVETTE–198119
rmward194—Good detective work.
JC
I think he has it backwards.
You find cars on Craigslist to take to auction, not the other way around.
Hello Amigo Miguel, I went on to Barrett-Jackson.com to see if I could find out more about this “New” 1985 Corvette. This Vette (Lot #215) was offered at No Reserve at the Barrett-Jackson Auction held in Las Vegas this past October, 2016. At that time it was claimed to have 2,215 actual miles. It ended up selling for $15,000 plus the 10% buyer commission for a total purchase price of $16,500. My guess is that the buyer last October is now the current seller. It looks like the seller is trying to make nearly 40% on his or her money in less than a year which I think is extremely optimistic. I will leave it to you, the other worthy Barn Finds Readers and the overall marketplace to determine Fair Market Value but I am thinking less than $20k.
Now that it appears that the mileage claim is questionable, I am thinking MUCH less than $20k. See the comments below concerning the odometer.
So when is Employer’s Day? Not really sure why we only honor one side of the relationship. Last time I checked we don’t labor for some higher purpose. Unless folks are volunteers, that is. Or is “Labor” meant to include those who labor as employers?
You get to celebrate employers day every time your ledger balance is greater than zero on employee pay day.
It has to be 22K on the miles. I happened to see one last month with about 25K IIRC that could have just come from the showroom. They wanted $15K and doubted that they’d get it and it was a better color. IMO they might get $10K from the right person but more likely $5-8K. IMO there’s nothing special here except for low mileage and there are others out there for less $$ if it’s really your cup of tea.
My opinion.
If you look at the Barrett-Jackson link above it was the same car and they did verify that it had 2200 miles on it.
The car sold for 16K and now he wants 22K for driving it from Las vegas to San Diego.
Those classic car auctions bring all the money and more so trying to sell it on Craigslist after buying it at an auctions seems backwards to me.
I would not be surprised if this goes back on the Barrett-Jackson Auction block in Las Vegas next month but with a reserve. Maybe try the Barn Finds Auction first?
Odometer shows 22,000 some miles so what gives? Was it sold new in Smurf country where miles are measured smaller?
This ad proves that a picture is worth a thousand words!
A quick perusal of eBay will show you that 1985 Corvettes have six digit odometers, so this car likely 22k on the clock. That’s still low for a 32 year old vehicle but in the world of C4s, that brings the value down into the high four digits. 8-9k would be a realistic price for this, not 23k.
I don’t know what this seller is thinking. It’s not like a buyer attracted to a C4 Corvette with 2k miles on it and willing to pay a huge premium for that mileage isn’t going to check the Carfax, or even the odometer, before forking over the money! Duh!!
Hope springs eternal. If you look at BF for more than 10 minutes you realize that.
Something very strange here. 14psi oil pressure @ 530 RPM seems odd. I have never, under any circumstances registered 10.3 MPG on my 1984 and coupled with a 187F coolant temp, something is not adding up here.
I have owned Vettes most of my life and have a C4 now. IMO the 10mpg reflects a lot of idlining.
If the seller simply has conveniently cut off the picture of the instrument cluster to show the odometer reading as 02276 when it in fact is 022,76X.X miles, then I don’t know what this seller is thinking, either. I really think that the seller needs to state for the record the actual true mileage and provide clear legible photos of the entire odometer. Otherwise, this could possibly constitute FRAUD in which case the seller needs to withdraw the ad and get out of town. I truly hope that I am wrong and that the seller will step forward with undisputed proof of the facts.
It says (in all Capital Letters) “CALL JEFF FOR MORE INFO”, But there is NO PHONE NUMBER!!!
Message on Craigslist:
“This posting has been deleted by its author.”
Sorry but, I have to agree with Miguel that this car has 22??? miles. I have a 1985 with 32,972 and the dash is exactly like this one
I had an ’84 and thought it was 5 digits BUT I found promo pictures of the dash and it is the 6 digit odometer.
To me, it’s AMAZING that Corvettes which I consider world class cars capable of performing in that class AND serviced economically as opposed to Lambo’s, Ferrari’s, even XJS’s are SOOO inexpensive!
They’re too big for me but ARE americas sports car