How much does a rare color matter to you when buying a collector car? On some makes and models, it’s a big deal. Cars that are custom ordered from the factory and end up being a one-of-five or other miniscule number will always command a premium. In the case of this C4 Corvette, this Dark Bronze example was a color offered by the factory, but most owners seemingly chose other more conventional colors. The seller is asking a premium for his car listed here on craigslist, and the $10,000 price tag seems steep for a car that doesn’t run – rare colors or not.
The seller doesn’t provide any details on the history of the Corvette, but this photo could lead you to believe he found it hiding in someone’s backyard under cover. The seller’s location is Naples, Florida, where I suppose outdoor storage like this could be considered acceptable given the lack of snow. Still, it doesn’t help matters to be stored in a car cover that can easily trap moisture and wreck havoc on the finish. That fortunately did not happen here as the Corvette’s paint is in excellent condition, but it still doesn’t solve the mystery as to why it doesn’t run.
The asking price is high no matter how you slice it, but the seller does note this Corvette is a one-owner car with just 36,000 original miles. Since this era of the Corvette isn’t prone to catastrophic failure, I’d speculate it’s a simple issue that will allow it to fire right back up once fixed, like a faulty fuel pump. The seller doesn’t detail whether the low mileage is due to years’ worth of sitting, but it seems likely given the photo of the car sitting in a backyard covered up, and this shot showing it being kept hidden by the old couch pillows. The bodywork, wheels, and glass all look to be in very nice shape.
The seller claims he’s installed a new battery and one new tire, which makes me wonder if this is the case of someone hoping for a quick flip but now stuck with the car they don’t want due to the non-running condition not being an easy issue to solve. Who knows – he could be the original owner, or he may have found it hiding in a local yard and brought it home without transferring ownership. Whatever the story, the color is a nice change of pace from the usual blacks and reds, and while that alone is not enough to justify the asking price, this ’84 Corvette still looks like a very nice example of the often overlooked C4 chassis cars. For $3,000 to $5,000, I’d consider it worth the risk of buying a non-runner.
I’d say 2000 as is, it’s in nice shape, low miles, I believe the problem is something stupid like fuel pump or relay, but things can get expensive on these first year c4 cars real quick, I think 2000 is more than fair…another reminder, cars don’t like to sit….
The “rare” color doesn’t do anything for me. I saw a one of one 1970 cougar at a car show yesterday. It was the only convertible of that color that was ordered with a sport steering wheel. The owner was laughing as he told me that.
This Corvette is the first of the C4s so it has the crossfire injection fuel system. Also known as “cease fire” injection. I agree 10K is too much for this car while not running and I think the seller would have a hard time getting that even if it did run.
Its a rare color for a reason….
I remember that a couple of the first C4s in my town were a similar two-tone, but they were both silver over grey. It wasn’t a good look, even if the C4s seemed incredibly advanced and cleanly-styled at the time.
This whole case fire thing is a canard made by people who just enjoy running down someone else’s vehicle. My 84 crossfire runs perfectly.
My 84 c4 runs awsom.
The intake is ported but the crossfire is all stock.
I catch negative comments all the time..ls or big block…why it runs perfect and is kinda quick at mid 13’s in 1/4 and a tremendous top end..
Crossfire is so rare ..it is special !!!
I drove one of these when they first came out. At the time I had a ‘76 so when a local doctor I worked with bought one this color he tossed me the keys. I took off and some 20 miles later ran out of gas. Did he do that intentionally to limit my driving? When I got back I never told him that story and I sure didn’t leave him with a full tank.
As Raymond said, it is about 8,000 dollars over priced. These cars are really a dime a dozen right now.
Laughable. I’ve seen pristine examples of C4s go across Mechum and gavel at 7-9K. And here is the kicker: they actually drove them through the auction. Yes folks, the cars were in running condition. Rare color because no one orders gaudy paint colors. No pics of engine or interior is a major statement also. But, as PT Barnum said “There’s a fool born every minute.”
An acquaintance bought an ’84, two years ago, with 8K original miles. It’s a red, base car, with a grey cloth interior, and an automatic. It ran great, when he got it, and still does, with some minor maintenance. He paid $8200.
I have a Nice, blue ’84 that runs great and I could be talked into letting it go for half the price of this one.
The only thing Rare about it is has the junk ass cross- fire injection and the 4+3 junk ass Doug Nash transmission with overdrives to match the sorry ass 350 @ 200 HP . Not worth much coin at all .
Does that mean you don’t want to keep yours?
I had an 85 in this color combo it was nice and had the Z/51 suspension I sold it and now drive a Laguna Blue 2014 2-LT Pace car replica ( I think ) anyway I sold my 85 for $10,000.00 but it ran and drove great it had 31,200 miles good paint and interior. The 84s are mostly the red headed step child of the C-4s so good luck to the seller and buyer
Don’t hold back, James. Tell us how you really feel about the ‘84’s.
Located in Naples, FL