Bad F-Body
10-07-2004, 09:42 PM
#1
Bad F-Body Has anyone ever purchased a used F-Body and something be wrong with it...if so what and how much did it cost to fix it...i'm starting to get leary of spending 14k on a car and it not be a good one...just perenoid i guess...certain precaution's i should take??...things i should definatly check?
10-07-2004, 10:21 PM
#3
12 Second Club
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Salisbury, MD
Posts: 170
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I bought my car 2 years ago for $13,000(without taxes and tags) from the dealer. My car had all rotors warped, slow passenger window, 2 leaks, and a small dent. I fixed one of the leaks myself and slowed the other leak to a crawl and the dent just looks like small distortions only seen at certain angles. So my rotors cost I think around 38 each and i never replaced the passenger window motor, and a tube of silicone is just a few bucks. I did all the work myself so basically it came out to around 125 bucks. Make sure you give the car a good looking over and test drive.
10-08-2004, 12:02 AM
#4
the throwout bearing was TOAST in my car, i knew it when i bought it. i replaced it along with the slave and clutch. my passenger window has been slow since i got it and went out the other day, it stops alot and is hard to get rolled up all the way. ive got a new one sitting at the foot of my bed im gonna put in on saturday though.
10-08-2004, 02:20 AM
#5
Bought my 99 almost 2 years ago for 13K and alls i had to do was replace my waterpump and a headlight motor. But that can happen with any car/truck. The passenger side window rolls up alittle slow but no big deal... I have 95K miles on it and still runs like a champ. No smoke, No slipping tranny.. All and all worth the money and thrills!!
10-08-2004, 08:47 AM
#6
11 Second Club
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Montgomery, IL
Posts: 1,831
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
bought mine in febuary, slow passenger window(i didnt know it was that common), both cats were fried replaced under warrenty tho(im gonna get an ORY so i really didnt care), front brakes where to the backing plates, trans fluid was black, and weatherstripping around the hatch has a cut in it about the size of my thumb but it dont leak
10-08-2004, 09:05 AM
#7
all of those things seem fairly minor...i guess noone has run into anything bad like the motor or tranny breaking....but i guess really you could tell if that was going when you test drive it....this is a 99 ws6 with 63k miles for 13,000...good deal or not?
Trending Topics
10-08-2004, 10:24 AM
#11
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Newton, KS
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, TA's usually cost quite a bit more than Zs. And a WS6 will cost even more than a reg. TA, so I would say the price is about right if its in excellent shape.
10-08-2004, 12:14 PM
#12
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Brew City, WI
Posts: 360
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by 777
Has anyone ever purchased a used F-Body and something be wrong with it...if so what and how much did it cost to fix it...i'm starting to get leary of spending 14k on a car and it not be a good one...just perenoid i guess...certain precaution's i should take??...things i should definatly check?
10-08-2004, 02:24 PM
#14
Listen to the car at cold startup to see if it's a slapper motor. Piston knock is a common problem in the Ls1's unfortunately. The sound of piston slap is unmistakeable. Gm doesn't seem to think it's anything to worry about. The new car owner who has to add a quart of oil every 500-1000mi would think otherwise.
Last edited by 777; 10-08-2004 at 02:47 PM.
10-08-2004, 02:49 PM
#15
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: San Diego
Posts: 1,229
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It all depends on your experiance with cars to be honest with you. I'm a LOT more sensitive to a vehicle than my wife is. 
Damn thing could be burning down around her ears, but it starts, and drives, so it must be fine. The only problems with F-bodies in general are very minor. They tend to rattle a bit. SFC's and a STB will solve a lot of that though. I've got the slow window motors too, but what can ya do? Tranny's are trash talked a lot, but if you pay attention, it's only by people who are dumping a TON of HP into them. I've yet to year of one giving our early with less than 400rwhp. Engines are a beast! 
I've heard of massive abuses going on, but the LS1 just grins and bears it. That price is really pretty damn good. KBB is under-rating the cars which is really hurting the market. I'd say the market is willing to pay almost 3k more than KBB is saying they're worth..... But again, what can ya do? Just test drive the ***** off it. Look for smoke at WOT, and smell the dip-stick for a gasoline smell. All these things being absent, I'd say you've got yourself a nice deal on a nice car. 
Damn thing could be burning down around her ears, but it starts, and drives, so it must be fine. The only problems with F-bodies in general are very minor. They tend to rattle a bit. SFC's and a STB will solve a lot of that though. I've got the slow window motors too, but what can ya do? Tranny's are trash talked a lot, but if you pay attention, it's only by people who are dumping a TON of HP into them. I've yet to year of one giving our early with less than 400rwhp. Engines are a beast! I've heard of massive abuses going on, but the LS1 just grins and bears it. That price is really pretty damn good. KBB is under-rating the cars which is really hurting the market. I'd say the market is willing to pay almost 3k more than KBB is saying they're worth..... But again, what can ya do? Just test drive the ***** off it. Look for smoke at WOT, and smell the dip-stick for a gasoline smell. All these things being absent, I'd say you've got yourself a nice deal on a nice car.
10-08-2004, 02:57 PM
#16
thanks that makes me feel a lot better knowing that things don't go wrong with them that much...im just 18 and dumping 14 grand into a car.(almost all of my money(besides my camaro) is pretty stressful...i'm sure everyone can relate or somewhat understand
10-08-2004, 03:06 PM
#17
TECH Regular
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 411
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
look for:
-accident damage
-paint damage
-all mechanical items working such as lights, windows, gauges, blinkers, etc.
-listen for any motor noise not normal hence piston slap
-if a six speed check the clutch
-check tires
-check underbody
thats all i can think of off top my head
-accident damage
-paint damage
-all mechanical items working such as lights, windows, gauges, blinkers, etc.
-listen for any motor noise not normal hence piston slap
-if a six speed check the clutch
-check tires
-check underbody
thats all i can think of off top my head
10-09-2004, 09:14 PM
#18
ok i drove it today...there was quite a few things wrong with it...unless it is typical with v8 fbodies...first off the clutch seemed to engage really high...it was almost at the brake pedal before it started engaging...plus i was letting the clutch out and it got to a certain point about half way up and it like flew out...just doesn't seem normal...any guesses on what that is ...or is it normal....second there was crazy rattling when i got on it...around 4k and on...i guess valves? my friends firebird (v-6) did the same thing...plus everytime i swithched gears i would hear loud clanking in the rear end....(differential i guess) almost sound like something was rolling around in ther...just wondering if anyone could tell me what the cause of these things were....the clutch was really annoying...almost so bad that it would make me not want to get one...however it was crazy fast..haha
10-10-2004, 01:45 AM
#19
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: San Diego
Posts: 1,229
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nope, that's not normal at all..... Sounds like he broke it, and now's he's trying to off-load it on you. Pass it up, and keep looking. You'll find something out there soon. 
10-10-2004, 01:00 PM
#20
haha soon...thats a funny one...it's been about 8 months of looking...still no t/a...also this car had rear drum brakes....wtf...i thought all f-body's came with 4 wheel disc...and the e-brake....no resistance whatsoever it was completly shot...