Then vs. Now: 1973 Coupe Auctions (2020, 2022)

Posted On January 15, 2022

Although the air conditioning was not in working order and the tires were 14 years old, this very clean and original ‘73 coupe was a one-owner, 41,000 mile, original-paint, automatic-transmission car. This rear-chrome-bumper C3 remained with its original owner until acquired by the dealer selling it at auction. A numbers-matching 350ci L48 V8 was mated to the three-speed transmission and the saddle interior appeared to be in excellent condition.

The highest bid reached $16,101 before the auction ended. Surprisingly, the reserve was not met and the car didn’t sell. This was admittedly a very nice car and it seems like the high bid was a reasonable amount for this car at that time.

The link to the original listing is https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-chevrolet-corvette-20/

Now let’s see how much the market has changed in two years.

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This red 1973 coupe resided with the previous owner for over 20 years and was also powered by the base 350ci L48 V8 paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. But the numbers-matching engine and transmission were rebuilt eight years ago and the exterior was repainted. That seems somewhat strange if this car really had only 78,000 miles on it.

Nonetheless, it sold for $25,000. in a no-reserve auction in January 2022. In comparison to the yellow C3 with 41,000 miles and no refurbishment work, this almost-$10,000. difference in price seems hard to justify. But in this era of inflation due to things like chip shortages and supply-chain issues, I think this comparison between two very similar C3s in two very different markets is just another indication that it’s a great time to be a seller but maybe not the best time to be a buyer. It’ll be interesting to see if the auto market dips significantly when things finally stabilize/normalize.

The link to the original listing for this red C3 is https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-chevrolet-corvette-36/