General LSX Automobile Discussion - Looking at a 98 TA with 90k, What should I look for?

Hey everyone, I've been looking to get into the fbody world (own a wicked fast 98 mustang GT...not) and noticed there's a black 98 trans am for sale near me with 90k miles at a dealership. They're asking a little under 11k for it, so I plan on talking them down. I figured this was a common question but I searched quite a bit with no results so what the hell:

What should I look for when I go check this car out on saturday? I really want to cover my bases and make sure there's no suprises if I were to buy the car. Also, what do you think I should try to widdle the salesman down to pricewise? It's an M6 by the way.

Thanks in advance guys!

I would look at the doors weather strips outside. Then inside door panels on the top side to see if they are cracked. 98 ls1 have a habit of having bad oil pressure any thing over 30 psi at hot idle is good. Check the headlights make sure both come up and down with no noise after they are off. I would say 8,500 to 9,000 would be a good price for it. Take it to the car wash and clean it and see if there is any leaks t-tops ect.

Treat it as you would any used car. Make sure to listen carefully to a cold start for any engine noises and look for exhaust smoke at startup. Test drive to see if it drives and stops smooth and straight. Look over the body for signs of repairs, window chips/cracks, paint condition and alignment of panels, doors, hood ETC.. Check operation of all lights, windows and accessories. Look at the tires for even wear and condition. Under the hood look at the antifreeze condition, oil color and level and signs of leaks. Make sure there are two sets of keys and fobs. Typical problems are headlight motors and power windows and some of these cars were born with piston slap.
Make the dealer fix any small problems "BEFORE" you take delivery. If it has major problems move on.
Asking price has a lot of room to inflate the price of a trade-in. Look at Kelly Blue Book and NADA to get a feel for the trade-in value of this car and add a small profit to this for your offer. Don't be afraid to offer what you really want to pay for it. You won't hurt thier feelings!!! I just bought a Formula for $7,000 below the dealer sticker. It always costs money to be in a hurry, be patient.

"Looking at a 98 TA with 90k, What should I look for?" ... A Priest!! lol!,..

I think the car is close to stock (I think lid and catback). What should I look for to see that the car hasn't been beaten on? I've heard of the whole piston slap issue with the ls1, it's real noticable isnt it? If a window is slow, is it tough to replace? Thanks!

Stress Marks Are The Key Factor To Determine If The Car Has Benn Ragged On.
These Look Like Ripples In The Paint Near The Edge Of The Panels On F-bodys, They Are Commonly Near The Rear Window.... But Check The Entire Rear End In Good Light. Whe I Was Looking At A Few I Would Make Them Put The Car On A Hoist So I Could Inspect. Look For Leaks And Bolts That Look Newer Than The Rest (sign Of Repair) Also, These Cars Book Way Lower Than What They Are Worth So Use That To Your Advantage.

98 ls1 have a habit of having bad oil pressure any thing over 30 psi at hot idle is good.

What? Mine is banging 22psi hot, should I be worried? It doesnt consume much oil between changes either.

Stress Marks Are The Key Factor To Determine If The Car Has Benn Ragged On.
These Look Like Ripples In The Paint Near The Edge Of The Panels On F-bodys, They Are Commonly Near The Rear Window.... But Check The Entire Rear End In Good Light. Whe I Was Looking At A Few I Would Make Them Put The Car On A Hoist So I Could Inspect. Look For Leaks And Bolts That Look Newer Than The Rest (sign Of Repair) Also, These Cars Book Way Lower Than What They Are Worth So Use That To Your Advantage.

i completely agree these cars book lower than they actually sell for around my area also so that can definetly help you, also most all dealerships will let you take the car to an independent mechanic of your choice so you can have him inspect everything then start wayyyy low and work up on the price. good luck

What? Mine is banging 22psi hot, should I be worried? It doesnt consume much oil between changes either. lol i agree mine ran 25 at idle tops

The piston slap usually shows up for a short time after a cold start. If the engine has been run recently you won't hear it. It reminds me of a louder version of lifter tick. GM says this is normal and doesn't affect longevity. You decide but I won't knowingly buy one with it. The slow windows should be obvious and doesn't need to be a deal breaker. Just make the seller fix it or discount the price so you can. The passenger window is the usual offender. Lower and raise each window separately and see if they seem to move at a normal speed.

I just talked to the guy on the phone, he said the car is in great condition, the interior is flawless, it has a performance clutch, and after market exhaust. From the pics it looks like really good condition. The guy says he only buys good condition performance cars (the dealership also has cobras mach1s vettes, an A4 T/a, bimmers and a Lightning). How should I go about lowballing this guy if knows about T/a's? (It's my first time buying a car, my mustang was bought off a friend)

For $11k that thing better have some wicked mods.
I've got a 2000 z-28 with 65K for $10K
He's got to do alot better than that.
When you talk to him just nit-pick everything, tires, brakes, miles, anything to get him down. If you get desperate tell him your tring to deside between his car and another.

What? Mine is banging 22psi hot, should I be worried? It doesnt consume much oil between changes either.

30 psi and higher would be a good sign of a tight motor and good oil pump. 22 psi at a hot idle would be a little low but i have seen motors go on as little as 10 psi not good

Hey everyone, I've been looking to get into the fbody world (own a wicked fast 98 mustang GT...not) and noticed there's a black 98 trans am for sale near me with 90k miles at a dealership. They're asking a little under 11k for it, so I plan on talking them down. I figured this was a common question but I searched quite a bit with no results so what the hell:

What should I look for when I go check this car out on saturday? I really want to cover my bases and make sure there's no suprises if I were to buy the car. Also, what do you think I should try to widdle the salesman down to pricewise? It's an M6 by the way.

Thanks in advance guys!



Waaaaaaaaaaaay over priced. I got mine for $7900 87k miles A4. I'd say check the major leaks. That's the only real problem i've have. Oil leaks, tanny leaks, rea end leaks. Right now I got one that I'm hunting down.

Also the passanger side window can be bad, mine is dying now after a year and half since i bought it. And piston slap. I didn't know what it was and didn't know it existed back then. But I definately got it. It's a ticking noise and it goes away if the car has been warmed up takes all but a 2 min drive to go away.

If it is an M6, check the clutch fluid. I wish I'd done it.

also, drive it and check the headlights. Mine worked the first time I used em, but failed at driving speeds.


I'm convinced a well maintained LS1 will run for a long time, but that being said, check everything important.

All fluids.
Tire Wear.
Possible leaks
Antenna Motor
Headlight motor
Fuzzy speakers (mine were blown)

my hot idle pressure was at 20psi. i changed my sending unit and it went up to 40psi at hot idle.. have u gave that a shot?

I recently looked at a 99 Trans AM A4 at a stealership here in Salt Lake. The description they gave me over the phone made the car sound like it just rode off the showroom floor. It has 60k on the clock and they want $11,900.

SO, to make a long story short, I went down there, looked over the car and test drove it. Exterior was flawless, Interior was too. Still had that new smell. Unfortunately thats where most people stop...
I popped the hood and did a little digging. The oil was black, the PS fluid was DRY!, the coolant had mud/sand in it. Hoses were dry rotted. No kidding! Shows what morons these guys were. I went inside and checked out the service records. Turns out the car had been swapped from dealer to dealer for over a year. No one could sell it. No record of tranny fluids, oil changed once a year to two years, everything was a mess. After I found all of this they gave me the cold shoulder and wouldn't go down on the price. Theiving dogs.

Cliff Notes: Check EVERYTHING!!! Inside/outside/upside/downside.

Check handling/alignment. My 98 camaro with 103.5K when I got it had bad tie rod ends and LCA bushings which I didn't realize, I thought it just needed an alignment. Ended up costing me quite a bit.

Well I went and test drove the car today. I loved it! Found out the car has a new aftermarket clutch, short shifter, hooker catback, custom sub box, and lid (says ls1 on it, don't know the brand). The guy let me take it out for a test drive, and I loved every minute of it. I got a lot of looks, and some dude in a red viper gts gave me a thumbs up. Let me know what you guys think of this and how I should go about getting the best deal.

The good:

-No bad engine noises
-All fluids looked good
-Had great oil pressure right on startup
-No rear end noise
-Exterior paint is in really good shape for a 90k mile car
-Sounds awesome!
-Window motors work good (passenger is a little slow, but works just fine).
-Tranny shifted real nice (except reverse, see below)
-very clean interior
-New tires

The bad:

-headlight motors go up just fine, but when they go down and theyre all the way down, it sounds like gears are grinding on each other. Is this an easy fix?
-Had a semi difficult time getting into reverse. The guy said the shifter linkage just needed to be adjusted
-stereo is kind of weak, It sounded like most of the sound was coming from the right side and not a lot from the left. Is this just how fbody stereos are? or is this one bad?

The dealer was a really nice guy, and it was a smaller dealership with a lot of performance cars on the lot. The guy says he usually goes for completely stock cars but the previous owner treated this car really well. He offered me a full powertrain warranty and the abillity to make one large down payment, and two smaller payments. I had him take the car off the lot for me, but he said that 2 other people called about the car in the past two days. He's gonna keep it put away until monday, which is when I said I'd know if I could buy. He also said he will fix any minor detail work before he lets me buy the car. He was a real stand up guy and not like any dealer I've encountered before (gone on test drives, dealers were very pushy). This guy never once pressured me into anything.

Here's some pics, note the car is dusty from being on the lot, but the paint is super clean:

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc87/HaughFamily/DSC00497.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc87/HaughFamily/DSC00466.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc87/HaughFamily/DSC00465.jpg

I am no expert on mechanics, but I can tell you my 98 T/A is pretty sound at 210,000+ miles. Window motors are a bit of a pain to replace, but cost around $150 or less. I think the best advice is get a mechanic to do a good once-over, even if it costs you a couple of hundred bucks, it could save you a lot more than that! The seller can be a prince of a guy, but simply not know about some major, or several minor problems. I know the thought of spending that much for an opinion is tough, but it may give you some bargaining room if you still want the car after a mechanic gives you a list of items that will need attention in the next 20K miles. The stereo, if stock Monsoon, is OK at best. If music is your thing, plan on replacing the whole thing. Don't let the exhaust sound cloud your judgment. Many will sound great, and cost a bunch less $$. Check pricing here on LS1TECH, and other sources. That car is pretty, but it that price is heavy! I would think you could find an '00-'02 for that kind of money. Hope you join the F-body community, with this car or another.

Of course the dealer is going to tell you other people are looking at buying it. Thats sales tactic numero uno.

Don't be rushed. If Monday rolls around and you don't feel comfortable that its a good decision then wait. It may be there, it may not. But know this isn't the only WS6 out there within your price range. Hell for 12k you can get a newer one with around the same miles.

Go with your gut man. We aren't the ones making the payments! If it seems like a good deal to you, and everything inside and out looks good, then go for it. Just don't fall for the "You have to buy it within the next day" ordeal. Thats their way of putting urgency into the equation and getting 11k out of YOUR pocket. Do your homework and meet them in the middle.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!

The only thing is, I've been searching craigslist, autotrader, here and ls1.com for 6 speed trans ams since July and this is the first one that wasn't at least 200 miles from phoenix. Plus the dealer is offering a 3 year powertrain warranty for $200 on top. I would Ideally like to widdle him down about a grand, do you think I'll be able to? I think 10k would be a good deal for both parties (with the stuff fixed, headlights, stereo?, reverse gear). I'd much rather have the car working right and pay a little more up front, but of course I want to get the best possible price. Should I low ball him at 9 and go from there? I just dont want to lose the car, trust me, I've waited over 4 months for a black M6 TA to show up anywhere near phoenix.

Well given the situation and the fact that YOU think its a good deal, I would say if you can get him to repair all thats needed AND give you the 3 year warranty for his asking price, then go for it.

Typically when people go in with the mindset that you have (don't want to "lose" the car), 8/10 will end up paying what the dealer wants. Not what YOU want.

Just remember you have the upper hand...you're the buyer. If the guy is as reasonable as you say, you should walk away with a deal.

If you can get him to provide the powertrain warranty and repair the small items that you have mentioned at the $10K figure then jump on that deal.

ok, one thing i noticed right away is the WS6 badge on the back, but the wheels have ABS center caps... they should say WS6...

are they trying to sell it as a WS6...?

Nice looking car man. Hope you get your hands on it

ok, one thing i noticed right away is the WS6 badge on the back, but the wheels have ABS center caps... they should say WS6...

are they trying to sell it as a WS6...?

Yeah, they are. I was wondering that, I also couldnt find the door plate to look for the WS6 code. There was nothing on the inside of the door. I'll ask them about that as they may have taken them off for some reason. I'll also ask them for the ASC number. If they can't provide it, I'll still try to buy the car but I'll get them to ding the price a ton.

were there any stickers on the inside of the driver door? maybe they were taken off the try and hide the fact that its not a real WS6...

That would be Ideal for me. I don't care that it's a real WS6, I just like that it looks like one (minus wheels, which it will be getting better ones later anyways). This should be a major zinger in the sale. This actually is way to my benefit. I should be able to get it below 10 now. Anything else I should look for?

do a carfax on it and be really careful about the trans 1st and reverse if they are hard to get into can mean broken rings or forks. When i first got my t/a it was my first manual and didnt know about the trans. reverse was easy to get into but 1st was real hard and required alot of force. I was too excited to really notice. But once i got it home i had probelms with it and had to have the transmission dropped and looked at. Turned out 1st gear was half way gone and the syncros were worn real bad. it was $1600 to replace 1st and put carbon rings and bronze steel forks in. I wish i would of known that and had the dealer pay for it. Thats my 2 cents be careful on the tranny.

and check the ws6 things i know it was posted before but the wheels should be ws6 if it is a real one and ask about the door stickers if they are not there. and make sure it has both keyless entry's and keys. mine only came with one.

Shouldn't a real WS6 have the raised airbox? I can't tell if this one is because I have nothing to compare it to. Here's an engine bay pic I took:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/Bluestrat/DSC00471.jpg

ive been looking for almost 4 years, and havent found the right price!! every one i seen with around 40-55k miles is around 18. is that right? so me seeing this one for 11 is a suprise, but i generally dont look for anything older than 2000. i prefer 01-02. and the stickers missing from the door panels could mean panel replacement. thats another thing to look into. or like someone said hiding that it is not a ws6. arent the vin numbers different for a ws6 as well? not sure, but i thought they were. it looks nice though, good luck!!

I have the VIN, is there a way I can decode that to indicate if it's really a WS6?

thats a nice car

Shouldn't a real WS6 have the raised airbox? I can't tell if this one is because I have nothing to compare it to. Here's an engine bay pic I took:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/Bluestrat/DSC00471.jpg

that is a WS6, and yes it has the raised air box

Ran a carfax, everything came up clean even emissions. It was a two owner vehicle that the first owner sold at ~40k miles. If that is indeed a real WS6 by the airbox, does that mean that perhaps the 98's came with the ABS wheels? I know they came with single tailpipes which made them different from the newer ones (this one has a catback)

EDIT: Just got off the phone with the dealer, and wow, I didn't know tax/title/lisence was that much. With the car at 10,500, the total would be $11,900 with all the issues fixed. The car is not a real WS6 aparrently, but damn it's a nice car. Plus the dealer would be able to service it. I'm going to talk about it with him for financing and see how I can make it work. Let me know what you guys think

[QUOTE=bluestrat;7941978]Well I went and test drove the car today. I loved it! Found out the car has a new aftermarket clutch, short shifter, hooker catback, custom sub box, and lid (says ls1 on it, don't know the brand). The guy let me take it out for a test drive, and I loved every minute of it. I got a lot of looks, and some dude in a red viper gts gave me a thumbs up. Let me know what you guys think of this and how I should go about getting the best deal.

The good:

-No bad engine noises
-All fluids looked good
-Had great oil pressure right on startup
-No rear end noise
-Exterior paint is in really good shape for a 90k mile car
-Sounds awesome!
-Window motors work good (passenger is a little slow, but works just fine).
-Tranny shifted real nice (except reverse, see below)
-very clean interior
-New tires

The bad:

-headlight motors go up just fine, but when they go down and theyre all the way down, it sounds like gears are grinding on each other. Is this an easy fix?
-Had a semi difficult time getting into reverse. The guy said the shifter linkage just needed to be adjusted
-stereo is kind of weak, It sounded like most of the sound was coming from the right side and not a lot from the left. Is this just how fbody stereos are? or is this one bad?

The dealer was a really nice guy, and it was a smaller dealership with a lot of performance cars on the lot. The guy says he usually goes for completely stock cars but the previous owner treated this car really well. He offered me a full powertrain warranty and the abillity to make one large down payment, and two smaller payments. I had him take the car off the lot for me, but he said that 2 other people called about the car in the past two days. He's gonna keep it put away until monday, which is when I said I'd know if I could buy. He also said he will fix any minor detail work before he lets me buy the car. He was a real stand up guy and not like any dealer I've encountered before (gone on test drives, dealers were very pushy). This guy never once pressured me into anything.



Headlights making noise going down means the gears are on there way out usually its the gears that go on these not the motors. Its not the most fun thing to repair just got done doing them on my car. That gives u a little bargaining room if it were me though id have him fix it before i bought it though. And the reverse thing is kinda iffy aswell id want that taken care of. Or have him bring the price down like have him pay the tax tags title fee. thats what i had the dealership do where i bought my car cause all 4 rims had bad curb rash on them when i bought it. Instead of replacing them they payed all those BS fees.

Well I went and test drove the car today. I loved it! Found out the car has a new aftermarket clutch, short shifter, hooker catback, custom sub box, and lid (says ls1 on it, don't know the brand). The guy let me take it out for a test drive, and I loved every minute of it. I got a lot of looks, and some dude in a red viper gts gave me a thumbs up. Let me know what you guys think of this and how I should go about getting the best deal.

The good:

-No bad engine noises
-All fluids looked good
-Had great oil pressure right on startup
-No rear end noise
-Exterior paint is in really good shape for a 90k mile car
-Sounds awesome!
-Window motors work good (passenger is a little slow, but works just fine).
-Tranny shifted real nice (except reverse, see below)
-very clean interior
-New tires

The bad:

-headlight motors go up just fine, but when they go down and theyre all the way down, it sounds like gears are grinding on each other. Is this an easy fix?
-Had a semi difficult time getting into reverse. The guy said the shifter linkage just needed to be adjusted
-stereo is kind of weak, It sounded like most of the sound was coming from the right side and not a lot from the left. Is this just how fbody stereos are? or is this one bad?

The dealer was a really nice guy, and it was a smaller dealership with a lot of performance cars on the lot. The guy says he usually goes for completely stock cars but the previous owner treated this car really well. He offered me a full powertrain warranty and the abillity to make one large down payment, and two smaller payments. I had him take the car off the lot for me, but he said that 2 other people called about the car in the past two days. He's gonna keep it put away until monday, which is when I said I'd know if I could buy. He also said he will fix any minor detail work before he lets me buy the car. He was a real stand up guy and not like any dealer I've encountered before (gone on test drives, dealers were very pushy). This guy never once pressured me into anything.



Headlights making noise going down means the gears are on there way out usually its the gears that go on these not the motors. Its not the most fun thing to repair just got done doing them on my car. That gives u a little bargaining room if it were me though id have him fix it before i bought it though. And the reverse thing is kinda iffy aswell id want that taken care of. Or have him bring the price down like have him pay the tax tags title fee. thats what i had the dealership do where i bought my car cause all 4 rims had bad curb rash on them when i bought it. Instead of replacing them they payed all those BS fees.

I didn't realize all those fees get capped on the asking price. It was gonna be tight money wise for me to do this anyways but now I don't know if I can afford it. The problem is I havent seen an M6 trans am in phoenix since July for under $13k, let alone a black WS6 (clone). The dealer will only go 10.5k w/ tax, title, lisence 11.9k. He says hes got 3 people that want to check the car out. Depending on the financing options he has, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I don't want to regret not buying this car, but I don't want to stretch myself too thin financially.

Alot of times when these cars are hard to put into reverse its hard for them to go into 1st as well. Most of the time this can be changed with a fluid change. Check the hydraulic fluid if its black your reverse problem can more than likely be fixed easily, and if you change the hydraulic fluid on it do the drill mod while you are at it. I got screwed on my car, the guy got 1000 over retail because i looked for 4 1/2 months and finally found the car i wanted and he knew what he had. Dont worry about what kbb says the car is worth. If you love the car it really doesn't matter how much it costs. Good luck

The car went into first just fine everytime, just a couple times it was tough to get it into reverse. The salesman said he drove it this morning and it was the strongest running T/A he's had in a while. He said he encountered the reverse problem and attributes this to shifter linkange adjustment from the short throw shifter.

keep looking i would say the dealer is trying to get you to buy it for over value of the car with issues. they are more out there that are real ws6 cars for the same money just my two cents worth

shifter linkage adjustment? hmm...i never adjusted any of my 'shifter linkage'


you can buy my car, for alot less and comes with some extra parts :)

My posts are going to seem repetative, so bear with me.

Forget what they are saying about it being the strongest Trans AM, and three people are going to buy it on Monday if you don't. While there may be some truth to their statements half of it is just sales talk. And obviously its working.

Now that you have found out that its going to be a lot more than you expected I'd say just wait and save. Being car poor sucks.

I ran the numbers and my dad is gonna let me put the car under his policy, so insurance should'nt be as bad as I expected. I don't really have any expenses right now so I crunched the numbers and it looks like it may work. I'm still gonna try to widdle the guy down a little, but sales bs aside, I don't think I want to pass this one up.

30 psi and higher would be a good sign of a tight motor and good oil pump. 22 psi at a hot idle would be a little low but i have seen motors go on as little as 10 psi not good

I would say that depends on the motor. LT1 have notorious low oil pressure. I had a 94 that ran at 5 to 10 PSI at idle for lots of years.
That would be low for an LS1 though.

make sure you check out the hood and make sure it fits flush very well. And the reverse thing is not an easy fix even with a different shifter it shouldn't have a problem. Tell him to fix that and everything else. FYI my 1999 t/a real ws6 with 46k was only 14500. ANd i drove from ohio to florida to get it and drove it all the way back to ohio

if he is not helping you out with the price, and it sounds like you really want a ws6. i would wait!! but thats me, i will hold out till it feels right. thats why ive been waiting for 4 years!! lol but me im holding out for a real ws6 at a good price just me!! good luck

Let me recommend that you join your local club. I found AZFBA in the Regional section. Here is their site: http://www.azfba.com
Jump on there, someone may know this car, and there may be someone thinking of selling what you want. It sounds like the dealer was trying to pass a clone off as a true WS6, and while you are interested in the look, this seller either doesn't know the car as well as he indicated, or he is dishonest. Either way, alarms are going off. A third party mechanic can be a wallet saver; your local club members will gladly recommend one.
You posted on LS1Tech looking for experience opinion, and in most replies, you are getting warned. Deals come and go. I got my 98 TA M6 (not an WS6) in 2000 for $17K with 42K mi. That was an OK deal then, seven years later, I wouldn't feel good paying more than $8-9K. '98's are the least valued late 4th gens, all the years look alike, but there are several changes in the '99-02's. I love mine, but for $11K, I'd find a real WS6 (over 29,000 were built, a good % were black), even if I had to travel a state or two to get it. I'd have to believe you can find what you want somewhere in TX.
Just put out the word on local club forums that you WTB a late 4th gen Black WS6, so many were made that someone is looking to move one for sure. You may not be seeing them on lots or in the paper, but they are likely selling within the local clubs, at least they are in my area.
Everyone here wants you to have the best experience possible.

pretty good advice. honestly man, look here. some of the best cared for cars are found on this site. you may find a better deal than you thought too. i wouldnt pay 11k for a 98 car with 90k miles on it. more like 9 at best.

go to a bank or credit union and see how much they will finance you for and go from there.

Let me recommend that you join your local club. I found AZFBA in the Regional section. Here is their site: http://www.azfba.com
Jump on there, someone may know this car, and there may be someone thinking of selling what you want. It sounds like the dealer was trying to pass a clone off as a true WS6, and while you are interested in the look, this seller either doesn't know the car as well as he indicated, or he is dishonest. Either way, alarms are going off. A third party mechanic can be a wallet saver; your local club members will gladly recommend one.
You posted on LS1Tech looking for experience opinion, and in most replies, you are getting warned. Deals come and go. I got my 98 TA M6 (not an WS6) in 2000 for $17K with 42K mi. That was an OK deal then, seven years later, I wouldn't feel good paying more than $8-9K. '98's are the least valued late 4th gens, all the years look alike, but there are several changes in the '99-02's. I love mine, but for $11K, I'd find a real WS6 (over 29,000 were built, a good % were black), even if I had to travel a state or two to get it. I'd have to believe you can find what you want somewhere in TX.
Just put out the word on local club forums that you WTB a late 4th gen Black WS6, so many were made that someone is looking to move one for sure. You may not be seeing them on lots or in the paper, but they are likely selling within the local clubs, at least they are in my area.
Everyone here wants you to have the best experience possible.

pretty good advice. honestly man, look here. some of the best cared for cars are found on this site. you may find a better deal than you thought too. i wouldnt pay 11k for a 98 car with 90k miles on it. more like 9 at best.

go to a bank or credit union and see how much they will finance you for and go from there.


You're not going to get any better advice than that. If none of whats been said has helped you make up your mind than nothing will.

another FYI My dad got his 99 SS with 79k for $8500

Going with my uncle to check the car out again tonight. I'm 95% positive I'm gonna bail on the deal. The whole calling it a ws6 thing when its a clone bugs me. The ONLY way I will continue with this is if he drops the price a grand plus. I've realized it's smarter to continue waiting, save my money and get exactly what I want not from a stealership (I really wanted ebony interior, dont really like the grey so that obviously means an 00-02 car). If there's one thing I learned from this experience, is that the LS1 T/A WILL be my next car, I fell in love.

Thanks LS1tech for all your help!

never a bad decision to wait for exactly what you want. You will find one. But dont pass it up if he comes down and its what you want. Sometimes settling is not a bad thing. I wanted a 2000 and up t/a but ended up with the 99 and could not be happier.

I completely agree, I loved this car. The main factor to me is that I KNOW I can get a better deal on a black WS6 M6 with 90k than $11,900. The other fact is, the dealer is selling the vehicle as a ram air trans am (not ws6 specifically, even though it has the badge which is really sketchy and kind of lame). Theyre marking the car up because of the hood and badge essentially and they know what they're doing because some stupid guy that didn't do his research is gonna see the hood and the badge and buy it as a WS6. The problem is, when it comes time to sell, you've got yourself a clone and not a true WS6 (with the wheels and suspension) which could be a lot less valuable to someone. Like I said earlier, the only way this is gonna happen is if he comes down in price about a grand or more.

sounds like you know what your doing, and i agree there is better deals for 11900 but if you wanted a ws6 lookalike i dont really see a problem with it i would have made it one if i got a regular t/a. but definitely agree he needs to come down. so that the final price is 10500 or less.

That's exactly the page I'm on. If I bought a base T/A it would get the hood anyways. The problem is it simply the car isnt worth what he's asking. It's a really nice car, just overpriced.

That's exactly the page I'm on. If I bought a base T/A it would get the hood anyways. The problem is it simply the car isnt worth what he's asking. It's a really nice car, just overpriced.
couldn't have said it better, you will find the right one I know what you mean by its the first you found in your price range and everything in a long time i did the exact same thing for a year before i got mine.

$8000 here for m6 1998 with 76k Miles I believe..don't rem. Id try to get him down to at least in the 9s 8-9ish if he wont budge just wait..they'll go down in price man and besides winter is coming what are you gonna need the car for now anyways you got next year to look yet as well. I say if you cant get it down then wait till next year when you have more cash and go searching then. Might find something cheaper