Is this car worth it?
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,452
Likes: 3
From: somewhere that doesn't get snow
Is this car worth it? I looked at a 1996 WS6 Trans Am today that had 142,xxx miles on it. It's a 1 owner car and she had the window sticker, $28,xxx new. It had a few lights on (SES, ABS INOP and low coolant) but seemed to run ok once we jump started it. It did die after 20 mins and was having trouble starting after that but we left it because the owner said she was going to replace the battery.
Some known issues i found
1. driver side power window is shot (did the go down 1/2 inch and stop for 3 minutes deal, it took me 10 mnis to get it back up)
2. driver side headlight motor grind.
3. spider cracks in both bumpers and fading paint on part of the hood and one headlight door as well as all over the front bumper
3. some rust bubbles under the gas door. it didn't look terrible but it's there.
4. cracked dash and rip in drivers seat. the bolser is good because it was redone recently.
5. she said it had working AC but when i turned it on the blower motor wasn't working so i couldn't verify that. she was kind of suprised to find out that wasn't working. apparently this car sits for a few weeks at a time.
She's asking $3500 for the car but i might be able to talk her down to $3000. I was thinking of buying it and reselling it but i don't know if its worth much more than $3k?
here's a few pics and a walk around video
video
Some known issues i found
1. driver side power window is shot (did the go down 1/2 inch and stop for 3 minutes deal, it took me 10 mnis to get it back up)
2. driver side headlight motor grind.
3. spider cracks in both bumpers and fading paint on part of the hood and one headlight door as well as all over the front bumper
3. some rust bubbles under the gas door. it didn't look terrible but it's there.
4. cracked dash and rip in drivers seat. the bolser is good because it was redone recently.
5. she said it had working AC but when i turned it on the blower motor wasn't working so i couldn't verify that. she was kind of suprised to find out that wasn't working. apparently this car sits for a few weeks at a time.
She's asking $3500 for the car but i might be able to talk her down to $3000. I was thinking of buying it and reselling it but i don't know if its worth much more than $3k?
here's a few pics and a walk around video
video
Last edited by 1995blacktattop; May 5, 2011 at 09:04 PM.
FFS is it that hard to not drip gas on the 1/4 panel? I see a good amount of rust on the under body aswell.
But all and all, low coolant light is just the sensor im sure, ABS is gay. Dunno what the SES light is about.
buying and reselling you wont make much of a profit after the repairs.
But for 3k if someone wants a real 96 ws6, jump on it!
But all and all, low coolant light is just the sensor im sure, ABS is gay. Dunno what the SES light is about.
buying and reselling you wont make much of a profit after the repairs.
But for 3k if someone wants a real 96 ws6, jump on it!
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,452
Likes: 3
From: somewhere that doesn't get snow
yeah i guess it does have a bit of rust under there. here is my car with 133k underneath (well the pic is from a year ago but i don't drive it winter so not much has changed)
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
$3000 is not a bad price for a WS6. I bought my SS for $3450 with 83K on the clock. The car was beat to hell, but it did run and drive with no major knocks or other mechanical issues. So it was a risk, but I really wanted it..for myself.
I have been slowly restoring it on a budget. To date I have close to $2000 in it; about a $5500 total investment. It has come a long way, but still needs paint. I honestly dont think i would make a profit if I sold it.
Here is my thread with everything I have done so far to bring her back to life. Maybe it will help you decide if you want to take something like that on or not lol.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-m...cue-build.html
I have been slowly restoring it on a budget. To date I have close to $2000 in it; about a $5500 total investment. It has come a long way, but still needs paint. I honestly dont think i would make a profit if I sold it.
Here is my thread with everything I have done so far to bring her back to life. Maybe it will help you decide if you want to take something like that on or not lol.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-m...cue-build.html
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,452
Likes: 3
From: somewhere that doesn't get snow
FWIW i'm merely looking at this car to buy and resell with a little or no work, or try to get a friend of mine to buy it. i already have my 95 which is one of the cleanest over 100k mi LT1 cars you'll ever see.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,452
Likes: 3
From: somewhere that doesn't get snow
she really wanted to see it fixed up, not parted out. apparently some kids offered her $4k for it but wanted it for the motor and what not so she didn't sell it.
Its all about the area you're in. IIRC, you're in Florida now, right? Probably not a huge market for those down there. Back up here, in the good 'ol midwest (
sarcasm) you could probably sell that car for $5k...I can here all the morons now "it's a real ws6!?"
sarcasm) you could probably sell that car for $5k...I can here all the morons now "it's a real ws6!?" 
I wouldn't pay but 1500 for it. That may be my cheap *** talkin or just the fact that people pay way to much for crap these days (IMO) but to me... it's a 1500 buck drive the livin **** out of it 16 to 17 year old kids car. Or at least thats what we all drove when I went to high school. Slap a quick paint job on it for 1k bucks (500 to free if your bud or your self worked in a paint shop) and it would look good long enough for you to fock it up. Blow the trans and peice it back together for a couple of years untill you got out and started working, then drive it off a cliff and save anyone else the headach of what you had done to that car in 2 to 3 years. Ahhhhhhh, the good old days. cheap cars, cheaper *** women (don't know WTF happend there!!!) and cheap *** gas at .89 a gallon.
On The Tree
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
Its an okay looking car..but idk about 3k, sounds like it could need an opti with the whole dying after 20 minutes and not starting back up, plust the clear coat gone, rust, 142k miles. I paid 3700 for my '95 formula with 116k that is in immaculate shape inside, good shape outside, and is reliable and a high 12 second car..so in my opinion 3k is steep for that car. BUT, in the end it's up to you man.
Paint and rust are the worst parts about it. Paint sucks and cost big bucks especially with rust unless you do paint and body regularly. Working on anything under the car and in the engine bay that’s rusted...........well I'd rather stick my dick in an electrical outlet for 8 hours then deal with working on a rusted car like that. If it wasn't rusted I would maybe go 2k, but just because the hood is worth something it doesn’t mean anything else is worth the time to tear down and mess with, especially since it has pretty bad rust and the interior is worn pretty good and unless you have the space to store the parts until you sell them it’s not worth them getting in my way. So you justified 800 bucks for hood and stuff. The engine has 140k on it so it’s a used lt1. 300 with everything 500 with trans and all ACC’s. Then what…. beat on some rust, go get some tetanus shots, beat on some more rust, go get another set of tetanus shots, sell a control arm for 35 bucks. It’s more of a personal thing but for part out or for purchase it’s a 1500 dollar car to me all day. It would be something to beat the **** out of since rehab would cost so much unless you have a shop set up to do it and you have the experience but I’ll tell you even they are gonna want to pay only about a grand for it. I would roll it off a cliff the min I had to try and unbolt anything underneath of it. It just takes 3 times as long to do simple things and I have too much other **** to do.