I remain amazed by how many C3 Corvette pace cars continue to show up with new-in-the-wrapper mileage, and this one in Oregon is the latest entry to the least used pace car sweepstakes. With just 104 original miles, it’s definitely in the top 20 – but given how many people seemingly expected these cars to be worth big bucks in thirty years, I never bet against one showing up with double or single digit mileage. If only they knew we’d be betting on dogecoin in 2021. Find the Corvette here on eBay where it’s been bid up to just over $23,000 with no reserve. By the way, check out that garage!
What’s crazy about this collection of American icons is how it used to be the gold standard for a personal collection; now, one has to wonder how much longer this trend will last as the next generation of collectors picks up steam and starts putting C4 ‘Vettes and Fox bodies in their garage. Now, I’ve never been in a position to buy a car with delivery miles solely for the purpose of an investment, so I can’t judge what goes through the mind of someone who sees it as a wise purchase. But to have a car you never drive in hopes that keeping the mileage low enough to net a profit later on – well, it’s best to find an example no one knows about.
In 1978, a pace car Corvette was a big deal. It was the first special edition of its kind for a Corvette, and dealers were selling every one they could get their hands on at a huge mark up. Right out of the gate, people were paying too much for these. Let’s say you bought one and didn’t drive it. Assuming you paid the MSRP (which you most certainly did not), that was $13,653 for the pace car. Plug that into an inflation calculator and it shows you that today, that money would be the same as spending $53,246.96 in 2021 dollars. So, you’re just over $20K with a car that’s essentially brand new, and I’d be shocked to see it eclipse $30K. Remind me how it’s worth it to never drive a car again?
The other factor that works against these pace cars is that they always seem repeatable. So if you’ve been on the fence about buying one, there’s no real urgency as there’s seemingly always another time-warp example waiting around the corner. The seller of this car may have the best presentation we’ve seen as of late, but the next guy will have just as clean of a car with the same sort of records and thick history file available for perusal. Buying a pace car these days should truly be a passion purchase, and not one made with hopes of flipping it for a profit – that purchasing model seemingly no longer exists for this special edition.
Hey Jeff. Quick note: it is a ‘78, not a ‘74 as listed in your title. You’re slacking!:)
Whoops, sorry about that – thank you!
Well said, Jeff. A nice car (especially for the hard core Corvette diehards) but to buy one as an investment is akin to shooting craps-rarely is there a big winner that hasn’t invested more than the return..
Want a return on your money? Buy real estate.
Want to have a good time driving? Go run a race with the SCCA.
This reminds me, I need to stop buying cars and find some property….
Not if you’re enjoying the cars you buy, Jeff-IMHO a $5000 dollar with 50 days worth of work in it can be more therapeutic than $5000 spent in 1 hour increments with a shrink.
Real estate isn’t a sure thing. I know a young couple who bought a house, put money and work into it, all as a starter house…and list money as the neighborhood lost value. It happens.
I still remember people buying C3 Pace Cars, Buick GN’s, Dodge Lil Red Wagons or some others, many times at a premium just to hide them away and hope someday to make a killing on them. Don’t prep it properly, and the vehicle deteriorates. Don’t pick the right vehicle and you won’t make that future killing you hoped for, In fact some would have done better to just bury their money than buy cars with it.
Personally I never cared that much for this one, so it’s just a driver to me,.
Gold was about $200 an ounce in ‘78. For the price of the Corvette ($20K) he could have bought 100 ounces. Now that gold would be worth about $191,000. So he bought a car he didn’t drive and will make about $5000? This is all hindsight of course…
Check out the garage? Yeesh. Looks like bricka-brack clutter from someone who went on a spending spree on CarGuyGarage dot com.
Oh man, that email list is cancer sometimes. Though on the rare occasion, there is a garage that makes you go “dang!!”, but more often it looks like you landed in an Antique mall from 20 years ago.
You are right, this looks like tacky reproduction signage. There is a big difference when someone actually pieces together a collection of real vintage signs, posters and other memorabilia. The difference is apparent immediately, when well done, it doesn’t look tacky at all. I have some friends that have stumbled across signs and other items that nobody will likely ever see anywhere else. I’ve got an original poster for a match race from 1970 between the Chi Town Hustler and Jungle Jim Lieberman at a 1/8th mile track located just south of San Francisco right across the freeway from Candlestick Park. Looking at things like that never gets old.
Steve R
Just like the ‘rare’ 1973 Eldorado convertible, there seems to be a never-ending supply of 1978 Corvette Pace cars.
* Make that 1976.
I remember the year and the frenzy over these cars. Every one I saw was being trailered. I went past a dealership outside of Columbus, Oh who had about 20 of them.
I believe that would have been Bob McDorman Chevrolet at Canal Winchester. I remember dropping in to see that huge supply of pace cars. He used to narrate his own local TV ads. After experiencing his flat delivery, one appreciated the “professionals” who are car dealer spokespeople.
I think I’ll stick with my Elvis collector plates.
1976 Eldorado convertible, supposed to be the last American made convertible, Bi Centennial edition even more special, people had their garages extended, and in they went, 45 years later a nice one could be had for 30 grand, just storage alone, if you paid garage rent, you went under
GM advertised them as “the last convertible” and when they started making convertibles again, an owner sued them. And lost.
Buy it and drive it as God intended
At least it’s the L82 engine, and not the base 350.
Does it run, stop, and shift?
At this rate, the under 500 mile club on these pace cars will outnumber the high (driven and put away wet) milage pace cars.
Scrap all the talk most people already know ,– tell what the car has , like is it a L-82 or a L-48 . Not much HP difference 210 -vs-180 or close to that , that’s the main reason why they don’t climb in value . Very nice car ,but no real power . Biggest Corvette flop in GM history . All due to government regulations, anything from 1973 -1988 didn’t have much power and now you can get factory cars with unbelievable HP . I like to have one , only if I had 25k to spend like pocket change on a all looks car.
I remember when that model was announced and a build of 1 per dealer and maybe not even all the dealers, something on the order of 1300. An uproar arose and they eventually built some 6500 to appease people. But a 43 year old car never driven is doomed to be a giant paperweight. I am a docent at the Revs Institute (check out that collection, one of worlds best) with 120 cars spanning 125 years and all are kept in running condition and all but perhaps 5-6 are actually driven on a scheduled basis including the unrestored 1896 Panhard.
Over $26k now, not only a weak money maker, but think about the room it has been taking up all these years.
Item location:
Salem, Oregon
I remember these 1978 Corvette Pace Cars and the the “Excitement” about them. When they first became available, they were selling for 5K+ over sticker!
By the end of the 1978 model year, they were selling for window sticker, or less…
If I remember correctly, each Chevrolet dealer was allotted one 1978 Corvette Pace Car, and there were approximately 5,000 Chevrolet dealers in 1978.
Most buyers paid sticker plus 10k. Pretty steep when the sticker was 12-13k.L82 4 speed cars are most desirable and will bring 50k in this condition. They were only supposed to make 500 pace car replicas but potential lawsuits cause Chevrolet to build one for every dealer. over 5000 copies. Still lots around in wrappers.
More than 6,000 of these so called investments built. I know a guy who had his original owner black 69 conv 435 hp perfect car and sold it to buy one of these heaps. As mentioned L82 stick was the way to go. But most of these cars were L48 automatics. So boring. A Buick GN is worth four times what this is. He should have bought real estate in Long Island.
I’m in heaven! More and more comments about the unrealistic value placed on Corvettes. There are far too many for their “value” to be continually increased.
Is this a good buy or not? Quick.
Nope!
Sold with a high bid of $30,200.
Steve R
I remember when these came out, they were selling for 50K in the LA Times. I read a national magazine article about a guy that bought 13 of them He put blower on 1 and put the rest in storage. I wonder what happened to them.