[VIDEO] Let’s Talk About Mileage, Originality, and Matching Numbers When Purchasing a Corvette

Our friend Lyle from C&S Corvettes in Sarasota, Florida recently offered up his advice to a customer when asked about buying a Corvette that was low miles, original, and in excellent condition. While those three points are always important, it often depends on other factors car to determine whether or not a Corvette may be a good buy.

Lyle starts off the conversation talking about “low miles” and says it’s really dependent on the car’s age. On a car that five to seven years old, having low miles means that the age hasn’t done enough to be indicative of the car’s age. On a Corvette that may be 10 to 15 years old with less than 10,000 miles, you have to do a bit more due diligence to ensure that mechanically, it is in a condition that is commensurate to its age. For a Corvette that is 20 to 25 years old, Lyle suggests this is where you really want to see some documentation about how that car has been maintained.

At 10,000 miles on a 20- to 25-year-old car, things that look fine may not be fine, because things like brake hoses and bushings and other things tend to go bad from the inside out and they aren’t necessarily apparent that they’re failing when you just look at them with your flashlight when it’s on a lift. So, you definitely want to have some sort of background on how this car has been cared for over its life.”

“Numbers matching” is another important factor for buyers and it deals with the stamped or cast numbers on the engine block, transmission, frame, and other major components.

Lyle’s take may be somewhat controversial, but he believes that numbers matching only matters on investment grade cars and the kinds of cars that are trailered to shows. That’s because he feels that if you’re buying a Corvette to drive and really enjoy the Corvette experience, the quality of the car is much more important that matching numbers or originality.

“Some of the worst driving or functioning vehicles to come into the shop were the nicest, fully-restored, numbers matching, NCRS Top Flight Bloomington Gold cars ever. But they drove like garbage because they never drove.”

There’s some more good advice here in this video, so if you’re looking at purchasing a Corvette that has been out for a few years or longer, you will certainly find some nuggets of wisdom being offered here.

Source:
C&S Corvettes / YouTube

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