If you, or anyone you know is looking to buy a Vette, be wary of this dealership. I recently bought my first Vette, a 69, from CnV and I will never buy another from them, nor will I recommend them.

When the car arrived the battery was dead because of a short in the electrical system, it needed a new starter and battery, the hood could not be opened because the cable and hood latch did not work, it was leaking, both, power steering fluid (needed a new control valve and cylinder) and anti-freeze (freeze out plugs were rotted), the radiator and radiator support were held in place with a piece of welded angle iron, the seats did not lock in position, motor mounts were missing and the spare tire was a flat donut on a yellow rim. There were other problems, but you get the idea. After paying top dollar I spent in excess of $2100 for repairs that should have been done by CnV since they were aware of the problems and were more than obvious.

When I informed CnV I was told to have the car repaired and submit the bill. CnV offered to pay $1000 which I did not accept and didn't even cover the cost of labor. It is interesting that CnV charges $65 an hour for labor, but would only pay $30 an hour.

I don't want others to have the same problem, so if you are thinking of buying a Vette from a dealer buy from a reputable and ethical dealer. I wish I had.

This is good information. I had been going to there website almost daily checking inventory to see if they had any good 69's in stock. I even called about a couple a while back. Thats to bad you got shafted on your first buy. I am waiting to recieve mine, maybe this weekend. I went to the dealer in Florida that I bought the car from and we went over everthing that we could. The dealer then took the car to a shop and we got it up on a lift and he showed me known problems witht the car. He has made the repairs and will ship the car tomorrow. I hope you get some type of relief from these guys That just ain't right!

BTW which 69 did you buy from them. Just curious.

I bought a 69 Red/Red convertible, 300/350 with automatic transmission.

Sometimes its worth the 200 to 400 for a round trip ticket to inspect before you buy. You always take a gamble when buying sight unseen.

good info I too got shafted by coffee's corvettes in old forge penn. sold me a 78 l82 4 speed with a bad motor that at first was diagnosed with an exhaust manifold leak still in the process of working this out but no offers have been made be careful out there lots of dubious dealers

I was considering cars from both CnV and Coffee's. I visited Coffee's several times and they continually steered me away from the C3's that were in stock. I almost bought at C4 but that wasn't what I wanted so I decided to keep looking. I did recently buy a 79 from Roger's in Orlando. From what I fouud out prior to the purchase was that the dealerhip is reputable. I still spent some money to have an independent evaluation done on the car. Most of the items that were found to need repair were taken care of by the dealer at no cost. The AC was inoperable (still is) and they offered to repair it at cost. I declined as that is something that can be repaired fairly painlessly. My point is that if you can't get to see the car in person either send in a mechanic or another forum member and have the car gone over. Or have the dealer drive the car to a Chevy dealer of your choice and spend the extra bucks for an evaluation.

Let the buyer beware. Always pay cash if you can, it puts you in control. You have to control the purchase.
Remember, the Corvette does not mean a thing to a snake oil salesman. Try to buy from an individual owner, with owner history and maintenance history. There are other cars out there. The higher the price, the bigger the margin for the seller. You never beat a man at his own game. Spend the money on airfare, it will be the best purchase you ever made.
Problem is, we all have buyers remorse, no matter what we buy. Research, research, research, and by all means, have patience.

i had a car offered by cnv - topdollar inspected-the whole front end was on wrong, they knew. it cost me$90 to find out, not much but why must we expect to do this? what's wrong with integrety and value for money? i'm not one for the 'sue-it' culture, but sue the b8888ds

good luck

The problem is that most of the cars are snatched up by a dealer before we even get a shot at them.

I too paid $200.00 to have a 1970 "all original car" looked at. It was supposed to be a 350/350 4 speed with every option including A/C. Turns out to be a 350/300 hp with after markey A/C, big block hood etc. You get the picture. My wife was pissed! I almost did not get my vette because of it.

I went to Corvettes at Carlisle last year and the dealers all had spotters they paid to watch the cars come in. What an aggresive bunch. I had cash but I was by myself and missed my dream vette because of a spotter. The dealer bought the car and added 10 grand to what the owner sold it for. It was a 1970 Daytona yellow convertible with 454, and every option including A/C and deluxe interior.

I gave up Lionel trains because the dealers took all the fun out of the hobby but at least we have this C3 forum for which I am forever grateful!

If any of the vendor/dealers tell you it is not about the money turn and run as fast as you can. It is all about the hobby for most of us and only about the money for the vendors and dealers.

All that being said.There is nothing like the wind and sound of my roadster with the top down.


Bill