RikkiTorment

I am looking at an 01 Trans Am WS6 with 91k miles on it. It apparently used to be a drag car and it was driven pretty hard, so it obviously needs a bit of work and some love. I was looking at the work order at the dealership and this is what it said:

O2 sensor bank 2 sensor 1. Repair wire harness and install air pipe and valve to address SES light and reverse modifications. Needs tires, water pump and belts. Tailshaft and pinion seals, and oil pan gasket.

They said that they can put me in it for like $8,500. Should I take my chance on it, or walk away?

uriykir

Id be really worried about it, I work at a dealer and I dont understand why the dealership wouldnt fix the check engine code unless there are some major problems. I honestly wouldnt want to deal with it, but if you do go through. Get some sort of warranty and dont waste your money if they want to sell it to you As-Is,

Cheap Guy

iTrader: (3)

FWIW, just bought a 1999 Z28 M6, 101k miles, in very good condition, from a dealer, $7400. It was originally listed at $10k.

WS6SP33D

iTrader: (2)

Not for $8500, i wouldnt buy it but thats just me!

RikkiTorment

It is "As-is". I drove it yesterday and the only thing that really stuck out to me was that the rearend made a ton of noise. I shot Fran from RPM a message about it and he said that it's a clean car and he knows exactly what is involved with it. He said he could definitely fix what's wrong with it.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

i wouldnt touch it. thats me though.

9WhiteCamaro9

^ Same here.

RikkiTorment

Can anybody give me reasons why to avoid it? Everybody is just flat-out saying "no". I know these cars are driven hard, and they definitely can take a hell of a beating. But give me some reasons guys. Is the price really way too high for a car that needs work? Should I completely ignore it because it was driven hard?

Fast T

Dont buy it.Tack my word dont buy it.I bought cars like that and ended up taking a lost.

98z8uup

iTrader: (7)

Look a little longer you may can find something better for the same amount of money.

Cheap Guy

iTrader: (3)

I won't go into detail but I bought a car that I thought only had a "few" problems and it turned out to be a nightmare.

If it's a drag car, there's no telling what was done to the car. A lot of used F-bodies are butchered by their former owners. For example, here's my previous car:



I didn't notice it until months later when I wanted to redo the sound system. No big deal, it was just the Monsoon amp that was cut out, but it was a sign as to how the rest of the car was done. I also found out later the car was in a wreck - CarFax and a CarChex inspector didn't find these problems before I bought it.

The O2 problem could be minor or it could be major - really no telling until someone gets into it. I got the O2 code on my previous car and it was a sign the cat was going, possibly due to the a head gasket going bad - it wen about 2k miles after I bought the car. When I traded the car in this past week for my new LS1, the SES came on again and I had to replace the cat ($700 original estimate, got it done cheap for $350) and the dealer didn't care - he still would have take the car with the SES on.

Tires? Now you're talking about $500 on the low end and the other "little" things start to add up quickly.

Seriously, you should be able to buy an unmolested LS1 for the same price or less, with out all the potential problems.

Joshiedoom

iTrader: (4)

I dont think the fact that it being a "drag" car has anything to do with it. Thats giving racers a really bad name. This is just flat out butchery done by some frikin idiot. When I changed my CD player from stock I found out where the previous owner had a dvd player installed. All the wiring was in the dash.. unhooked.. just crammed in there..

Stay away from wiring harness issues unless it is very cheap.
5500 bucks or walk away IMO.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Too much money for the mileage and the list of "known" problems. Plus, there are usually some "unknown" problems with any used car as well.

For $8500, you can buy a really nice LS1 car these days.

Cheap Guy

iTrader: (3)

Not trying to dog people who race - just saying what does it mean the car was a "drag" car? I'd buy a car from a hi po shop or a "drag" racer in a minute so long as I knew who did the work. Otherwise it's a crap shoot.

Jays_SSZ28

iTrader: (2)

FWIW my Z28 used to be a 9 second street car until the engine blew up. I bought it off craigslist as a roller, built it back to stock, then added the usual bolt ons.
It kind of looks like the rear and k member was was changed, possibly back to the original.

I even asked on here in the state forum where I bought it and a few people knew the car and seen it run.

Other than the monsoon amp wiring being cut nothing else was butchered.
When I was done I had approx $7000 into it and it had 89,000 miles and no problems.

Lanaue

iTrader: (3)

You'll end up puting more and more money in it. For what you buy it for you can find one that doesn't need that kind of work. Your gonna end up spending 10-12K when all is said and done.Your gonna find more things wrong with it. Just not worth it.I got a 99 SS with 95K on it for less than that.

dabest09

iTrader: (1)

Run away and don't look back.

RikkiTorment

The work order states "$650 for the 02 sensor, wire harness, installing the air pipe and valve to address SES light and reverse modifications." And it also says "Needs tires: $1,000".

Cheap Guy

iTrader: (3)

That's pretty much what I thought. Is the dealer flexible on the price? When I bought my car, people said no way was I going to talk a dealer down $3k. Well they came down $2600, plus gave me $4000 for my LT1, plus I was able to swap out my new tires and chrome rims.

I think most of us posting aren't saying don't get the car, it's just that you might be paying too high a price for what you're getting.

jwf02ta

I would hold out and look around it took me a while but i found an 02 t/a A4 with 82k miles for $3500 even if i need to put something major in it down the road i still come out winning