Jet49

I'm in the same boat. Looking in my area of St. Louis and I see alot of beat up or not having things like ac, headliner probs, headlight motors etc. f-body ls1's with 120k-150k wanting $6500-7500+ Its crazy. I think it would be pointless to buy a car that has been barely maintained for such a premium just to say you have an F-body.

I think the hardest thing to find when talking with a seller or on ads is they give practically zero info on the car, even the mileage sometimes.

Freaking some Bmw's and higher priced cars of the same years are now cheaper than F-body's lol.

So I think I have come to the conclusion that I want to find a roller ws6 hopefully under $2500 and get an lq4 and a trans.

82cetuner

iTrader: (9)

my buddy just got into a SUPER clean c5 corvette for 14k I say save up and get what you want, plus financing 2 or 3k would be a super cheep payment anyways

97camaro383

iTrader: (31)

I agree with him, my gfs dad picked up a c5 with 65k on it for $10,500. Just save the 8k and keep looking around, you'll find you something eventually.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The prices at dealers are pretty high in this area. Here's an example of an '02 SS with 21k miles for $22.5k:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...25518961&Log=0

There are actually several high trim level cars listed right now within ~50 miles of me for $22-29k, with between 3k and 20k miles on them. These are all SS/WS6/Firehawk/CETA/LE SS though.

There aren't very many sub-20k mile Z28s/Formulas or even base Trans Ams left around here, other than some convertibles, so it's harder to pin an average price on them. Of the garage queens that are left, it's mostly just the higher trim level and special edition cars. I think that my '98 Z28 might be one of the lowest mileage, non-convertible base model LS1s in my general region.

I8UR4RD

iTrader: (16)

I don't tell many people this, but I got my 2002 Trans Am Ws6 (black auto) with 29k miles on it from a woman (1st and only owner) with no mods done to it for 13k.

their are deals out there. just gotta wait and look. hell youd be better off shopping on here for one.

crazymofo1986

iTrader: (3)

thats my plan, harder then u think.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

I have had great luck with craigs list over the years you just need to be smart and recognize the bs , over time you can develop a pretty good sense if your dealing with someone being forth coming with info.

I was also in sales for a living for a long time mostly selling pre owned boats and did a lot of long distance deals both in and out of country where I had to convince the buyer that when I picked them up at the airport and brought them back to the store what they saw would match their expectations from our conversations and pictures shared ( mostly $20-80k range some lower or higher) what I found to be very effective was when I would offer to take pictures of the worst flaws I could find and promise that when they saw it in person they would agree I had sent them pictures of the worst scratch ,chip ,tear ,etc... maybe you should be asking for pics of the worst flaws ???

I always put condition way above miles/hours when purchasing a car , boat ,or anything mechanical - most of my vehicles have well over 200k and have no issues on original drivetrain components.

Someone mentioned looking on here , 2 of my 3 ls1 cars I found in eastern classifieds here on ls1 tech ( both autos) and the other I found on craigs list ( my 6 speed) but it turned out he was not only a member here but I had seen him crack 11's at the track about 6 months before I bought it and spoke with him briefly at the track as I was running low 12's in another platform ( v6 w body) and had interest in buying an ls1.

I have $10k total in the purchase of all 3 cars and all were under $4k , all had more money in mods than my purchase price - my point maybe buy less car and have 4 or 5k set aside for the upgrades you know you will want....

Camaro_94

iTrader: (5)

Figure out what you want. I had several fbodies before I owned my Z06... LS1 and LT1 cars. Even with my Z06 I still missed them, so I bought an 02 NHRA formula and I like it as much as my Z06. Cheap to mod and maintain, cheap to buy, and easy to make fast. The Z06 is an all around better built car, no doubt about it, but fbodies offer pleanty of good things too.

If a vette is what you want though, save your money until you can get one. Don't waste your time on the Fbody unless you plan on keeping it or find an amazing deal on one.

59 camaro

iTrader: (29)

here u go

https://ls1tech.com/forums/vehicle-c...-step-van.html

slikrider20

iTrader: (9)

It doesn't matter anyway, i made a rash decision the other day and quit my job of 2.5 years......now i gotta find a new job before i even think of buying a car. Sucks. I go from wanting to take out a 15k loan on a z06 to buying a f-body cash to quitting my job within 3 days. I think i've entered my 1/3 life crisis.......(i'm 24)

slikrider20

iTrader: (9)

Well i got me another job and am back in the market.

I'm going to have to lower myself to 6,000$ for an ls1. Am i screwed? I am constantly kicking myself for selling my mystic teal car.

TyCZ28

Picked my 98 Sebring Silver SS hardtop up for $5500 has 86k miles with some tastefull mods (Headers, tune, T-body, Tick MC, and Monster clutch)

only needed some tires $550 and i need to respray the hood

LS666

Got my 02 at the dealer i was working at .. for 8k with 80k miles on it
It was a little old lady car too.... I talked to her and her husband who bought it new ,got kinda lucky i guess .. it had a extension on the clutch pedal so she could reach it when i got it lol

Cheap Guy

iTrader: (3)

I'm not a fan of buying cars long distance. I did a "one-way" ticket deal and ended up making a bad and expensive buy. When you buy a car a long way away, it is hard to do a complete exam of the car and like someone mentioned above, it is harder to walk away. A local car allows you to take your time, possibly taking it to a mechanic you trust.

I noticed that prices have leveled off for these cars in the past few years. I think it is because cars in good condition are becoming more rare, but you should be able to find a decent car at that price so long as you are flexible about things like color.

slikrider20

iTrader: (9)

That sounds like a pretty good deal. I found a 2000 Pewter Z28 with cloth, power options and t-tops. 135k miles. The guy wants 6k but i feel that is a little to high with those kind of miles.

slikrider20

iTrader: (9)

Opinions on that car? ^^^^^

TyCZ28

Looks clean. but for 6k id want an 01/02 or less miles

slikrider20

iTrader: (9)

Me as well, but there just isn't anything for sale right now in that range.

gofasterdammit

To bad your not in the northeast. Im asking 8k for my 99 t/a. It has 107k on it and it all bolt on and black.

BOBS99SS

iTrader: (2)

Honest save up a few more grand and you can get a beyond sick f body, you can get alot for 8 grand though, i was going to sell mine but than i realized what i would get for it i just decided to keep it and mod more instead of getting a vette, ls1 camaros are still the best bang for the buck, i really wanna make my car an auto though, good luck in your hunt