Used Cars: car value

Question
Hello Roger,
I have a '94 Corvette, coupe...nothing special or unique.
62k miles...decent 20-foot car.
It has a replacement LT-1 motor.
I know there is a deduction in value with a non numbers matching car.
My point, what figure, or percentage, (ball-park) would I deduct from value?

I will give the car to one son, and equivelent in cash to another son, and I am trying to divine fairness....whew.
If you have more than one kid, you know all about ''jelly-bean counting".
thanks.

Answer
Hi Loren,

Interesting question ...like most questions the answer is ...it depends. For starters it depends on the scarcity and condition of the car ... a 94 Corvette isn't of a vintage yet that tend to distinguish it from the pack ...I do know that it was either the 94 or 96 that had the last version of the C4 engine. Obviously as this car ages gracefully and starts to become more collectible you will want to have most of the cars original DNA intact. I saw a 71 or 72 Cuda go through the auction at Barrett Jackson's for over 2 million bucks that had a replacement engine but was otherwise flawless ...if it would have had the original matching engine it would have added another million dollars plus to the sales price.

That said there has been an ongoing problem with fakes especially with Corvettes and the fraudsters have gotten so good that the fakes are very difficult to detect. For your purposes I would calculate zero difference in value between the two. Very few buyers will even care enough to ask and even fewer still will refuse to buy it if they don't match. The only time it comes into play is when the car becomes a collector car that someone intends to bring to back to factory new condition and then show it and enter it into shows etc. Two teenagers won't even care, all they will want to do is drive it

Let me know if you have any follow ups this is an interesting topic