Firebirdfan

So I'm probably going to buy a TA tomorrow pending a test drive and inspection of the car. The car is a 99 TA (non-WS6) with 170k miles and an auto tranny. The car is bone stock (minus some stereo work I think).

My questions are about what I need to check on the car? I know of some things:
Oil Pressure on startup (~35-40psi idle, +approx 8-10 for every 1000 rpm)
Motor Knock
Squeaky Pulleys
Howling rear end
Leaking PS rack
Leaking rear main seal
Tranny fluid leaks
Tranny slipping/not going into gear
Checking Tranny fluid for being too dark/burnt
Rubber under the rear valence (burnouts)
Rear end leaking/seal

Anything else? Carfax came back clean. Car's been mainly in Tennessee it's whole life and has never had a reported wreck. It's had 5 owners and the last one PILED the miles on (like almost 100k in 3 years). I have a feeling he drove a long way to work every day. I find it hard to believe that you could put that kind of mileage on a car without driving on the highway constantly.

I'm planning on giving $4500 for the car (plus tax).

Thanks for the help guys.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Looks like you got most of it nailed down....Overall condition of the car is an indicator in my mind of the maintenance done on the car. I like to see if stuff is caked up in the door jambs, filthy motor, no tread on the tires, needs an alignment. The stuff that would indicate they just drove the car and didnt worry about taking care of it. You will get a feeling for the car after you have looked it over well

Joshiedoom

iTrader: (4)

You got it downpat it seems. For the price if its in good shape its a steal. These cars last forever.

billyb

iTrader: (15)

??????? i'd keep lookin, thats a lot of miles for anything. that many miles could end up nickel and dimeing you to death !!!

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

with that kind of mileage id check out everything.

SOMbitch

iTrader: (8)

Your oil pressure warm should be 35-40. Cold it should be 50-60. If it dips under at first before rising under WOT run from it.

Pinion seals leak on all these cars so don't worry if it is wet but if driiping that is a red flag..

A lot of these cars have piston slap so if it is a little noisy on cold start it is okay if it goes away when warmed up. My 99 5.3 Z-71 will have anything from a light tick to a diesel sound but after 30-45 seconds quiets up. 196K and still my DD...

2000TransAm24

iTrader: (2)

Check all fender gaps, check headlight motors, make sure body panels appear to be same color, check heat, check a/c. I'd check out this stereo wiring, i had a friend buy a 96 t/a and the previous owner ghetto rigged his stereo system to hell, there was even stuff wired to his blinkers.

Firebirdfan

Why's this bad? Oil pump has some bypass/internal leaking?

And yeah, I know the car's got a lot of miles, but I've yet to find ANY other LS1 cars even near that price that are anywhere close to me. I've tried to buy 4 Cars this year (2 LS1s, 2 LT1s) and every deal has fallen though for some reason or another. This car might be different. Frankly, I'm tired of waiting, and if this car looks good, I'm gonna buy it.

myk

iTrader: (4)

I dunno, man. I know how frustrating it can be but I think if you wait it out and find a unit with waaaaaay lower miles you'll be better off in the end. No point in getting over your frustration now, only to get pissed off again as you're having to deal with a car that has 170K on it.

Oh and no disrespect but LT1's shouldn't even be an option...

firstinlastout86

iTrader: (4)

You got everything down...if you are not worried to much about the miles i'd get it for sure. My GF and I picked up her first LS1 for 4k it had 160K on the clock and stock....now she has an 85mm TB, Lid, TD's and LT's with 170K stock A4 and rear she went 12.9 and its her DD

firstinlastout86

iTrader: (4)

+1 dont even look at LT1's lol opti-sparks!

Firebirdfan

Well guys, just got back from looking at the car. Turns out it was a total pile. Car had spidercracks all over the front and rear bumpers. Looks like the person didn't realize that the truck in front of them might have a hitch on it.

The hood/front end also didn't line up quite right. Had a MAJOR (1" minimum) gap between the bumper and hood next to the drivers side headlight. The hood had also broken the little "tip" at the top of the drivers side fender when I opened it. Oh, not to mention, there was rubber stuck to the front of both rear fenderwells.....burnouts much? There were also cracks on the sail panel on the passenger side....how do you do that?

The interior was SLIGHTLY better than the exterior. Most of the panels were in decent shape and none were cracked, but one of the five people who owned the car ghetto-rigged the HELL out of the speaker system. I found a 10' coil of wire sticking out from under one of the rear seats and the wiring at the rear speakers was exposed and not even capped at the splices (just kinda twisted together). Did I mention that there were two (not one, but 2) nasty shirts in the space where the spare tire goes and in the t-top storage area? Yeah...that's wonderful.

The car was a major disappointment. Definitely NOT worth the asking price in any amount. Maybe a $2000 car at best, and I didn't even dig into the mechanical aspect of the car at all. Didn't even both test driving it. Handed the guy the keys back and said, "thanks for wasting my time. Next time describe the car correctly."

My search continues....somewhat....this ****'s gettin real old. This makes car number 5 that hasn't worked out this year.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

that sucks that people dont take care of their own cars.....

STG

iTrader: (1)

Have you tried expanding your search area? Geographically speaking? A plane ticket and a few days of driving isn't much compared to the overall cost of the car, and I'd say it's worth it for the right car.

Finkledbody

PistonSpring

iTrader: (1)

Have you tried craigslist? That's where I found my 98SS, aside from a little cosmetic damage to the body, some what high mileage, bald tires and no cat back exhaust or cats. I think I got a good deal.

Firebirdfan

Here's the thing. I'm in college, yes, but I'm currently co-oping (which means working full-time). If I was in classes, yeah, I could take a full day or more easily. Sadly, I don't have that luxury right now. At the beginning of the year, I may. However, I'm currently searching this forum, ltxtech.com, corvetteforum.com, craigslist, autotrader, aol.com (autos section), and a few others for a car. I've got a 200-250 mile radius I'm looking through. I'm finding jack diddly. There is NOTHING in the little cluster of states known as tennessee, georgia, south carolina, and north carolina. (I haven't searched the atlanta craigslist too much because it's about 4 hours from where I am currently, I'll search it when I go back to school/home).

I've found a few cars, but most are 5+ hours away. That's a LONG *** drive to look at a car when all I've seen of it is the equivalent of a cell phone pic. And who's to say that the car won't be like the one I looked yesterday and the trip would be a total bust? Now, if it was a total bust while I'm in classes...no big, I've lost a day. A total bust while I'm working....yeah, that pisses me off. Lost a whole days pay yesterday because the guy lied to me about the condition of the car.

It'd be a whole lot easier if I could spend $7000 on a car. I'd have my pick of them easily. But I can't. I've got $4500 max to spend on the car, and I still have to pay taxes and get it registered. I'd like spend no more than $4000 (which is why LT1s and early C4s are an option). This cap isn't unreasonable to me because I'm looking at cars that are a minimum of 11 years old with easily 100k miles. It shouldn't be hard to find one, but people think the cars are made of gold rather than pricing them according to the economy and the age of the car.

/rant

bwilde86

iTrader: (5)

a great place to look for used cars is at racingjunk.com. its a great website. but keep at it and take your time i shopped for my car for a good 6 months...i was like you and looked everywhere online. I got car magazines. i was looking at cars everyday after work and on weekends. finally i was driving home from work and i passed a rinky dink auto lot. i it sitting there. it was far away and figured that it was beaten past recognition. but i pulled in anyway. and it was SUPER CLEAN. i couldnt believe it. the seats werent even worn. i didnt get the best deal in the world its a 2002 WS6 with 90k miles for 9 grand. took it everywhere to get it checked out. my uncle is a gm mechanic and he looked it over top to bottom. looked at car fax had no accidents at any point. and i was the second owner. first owner was an older guy and used it to travel to work and back. he had maintenence records and it was bone stock. Was black leather with black exterior and manual. was the car i been looking for for ages. so my suggestion is dont settle. wait and you will get the car you are looking for. and talk money i talked him down from 15 to 9 cuz i noticed it had a bad headlight motor and there was moisture in the rear driver side taillights. not 6k worth of damage but none the less.

99Z28Newbe

WAIT IT OUT!! Same thing here, I had 5000.00 to spend and had been through 4 fall outs. I almost lost my money in a scam on 01 TA, that was a close call. I used cars.com and autotrader.com and found my 99 Z28 with 138,000. You will know when its the right car, the 4 I missed out on all gave me a bad feeling about something. Everything was right with the 99. Z I got it from the original owner who was 55 or so I'd say. My Camaro was 1 of 5 he owned, a 60 something, 70 something, 99 z28, 2000 SS and 2010 SS (DROOL!) I got a folder over 2 inches thick of all service performed since it was new. Newer rubber but bone stock. I ask if it would spin the tires just to see what he would say. He said "I'd imagine it would." He said I love Camaros and wanted to drive one everyday so the 99 was his driver, thus so many miles (Mostly Hwy sales calls he said). I got there and the car was damn near mint. Every bit as nice as the 97 Z28 I got brand new. It doesn’t even feel like I got a new car, just my old one back.... Till I hit the gas then I notice I have a LS1 and not an LT1. I did have to drive over 4 hours from Michigan to Ohio but it was worth it! So I say hold out, you can find a good F-body for 5 G's.

z28camaro1090

Dude way to high on the price. I bought my 98 for 2k it had a bad rear. I dropped 500 into it the pinion bearing was bad and it is done now. cost me 2500 for a ls1 body with 115k on it and about 80k on the motor as the first motor the idiot hit a puddle and blew 2 fist sized holes in the block. There are alot of good deals right now with the economy just wait it out look on your local craigslist.. 4500 with the car in that condition is too much.. its gonna be at 7g to fix it after taxes..