Don.Frijole

I'm looking to get a 98-02 Trans Am, but I'm not looking for a 70k miles WS6 climate controlled collectors car. I'm looking for slightly beat up, but reliably drives. My question is, what's a decent mileage for these cars? Is anything above 150k something I should avoid, or are these engines as bulletproof as yall say? Where's the goldilocks zone, essentially. I appreciate any insight.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

70k miles on a car that's only 22-26 years old wouldn't really qualify as a "climate controlled collector's car" in my book. That's about ~3k miles of driving per year, which would be more typical of a weekend toy or a seasonal driver. It's spent a lot of time outside to have that much mileage, and it can certainly still be a very nice car if someone took proper care of it but it's not really going to be on the radar of any serious collector. At present, the true "collector's" examples will typically be MUCH lower mileage than that (top tier, #1 condition 4th gen F-bodies can still be found with 4-digit, sometimes even 3-digit, mileage). For example, my own meticulously cared for '98 Z28 is now at 19k miles, and I would consider its condition to be excellent, #2+ even, but it's still not quite in the same league as a sub-10k mile #1/Concours condition "collector's" example.

I think we would need a better understanding of how you personally define "slightly beat up". Maybe post a specific example (such as an ad) of a car that might fit your needs, and then we can better help you in this quest.

For me, this zone would be somewhere in the 50-100k mile range. Anything over 100k will have likely seen winter driving in my area, which means rust, and that's just not what I want to deal with. Something in the 50-100k range would probably be just worn/used enough that I wouldn't feel bad about using it as a driver, but still nice enough to be worth the cost of any repairs and not have a bunch of rust in the engine bay and undercarriage. Of course, depending on your climate (or the climate in which you're shopping) the rust/winter concerns might not be much of a worry. In which case, higher mileage might not be a problem.

Y2K_Frenzy

I bought a “low mile” (27k) Z28 two years ago and pretty much every piece of rubber could use replacing. It also needed new shocks. Anything you find will probably need something addressed. The crappy part is that there are parts that are already obsolete and more parts are getting get obsoleted every day. I’m talking about maintenance items too. Just the other day I was looking for some Moog brand shock mounts since they were the recommend brand on here, but they have been discontinued. So I wouldn’t buy an old beater that needs a lot of stuff because some of the stuff you might not find. Or if you do find them they’ll either be expensive or of poor quality, and sometimes both. You might have a hard time finding a 98-02 without a bubbling roof. That’s another expansive fix.
The engine should last a bunch of miles. It’s everything else that falls apart around it.

Don.Frijole

The reason I'm targeting less maintained examples are because with the prices where I live (NC), that'd be the only way I'd see me being able to pay less then 10k. I'm seeing 189k miles, several things needing replaced, and modded out the wazoo being listed for 17k. Thats the norm it seems. I see reasonably priced examples every now and again, with about 100k miles, but they're halfway across the country. If 100k+ is "high mileage", than just about every car listed near me that isn't a WS6 going for 20k is something I shouldn't even look at.
As or what I mean by "slightly beat up", I'll see if I can find an ad later, but I'm thinking maybe a bit of peeling paint, cracked dash, maybe needs new plugs n wires, but everything essential and harder to replace is in decent condition.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Finding a '98 without the bubbles is easy; only the last couple months of production of that model year had the problem so the vast majority of them are fine. It's the '99+ cars that will all bubble unless someone has already done a proper roof repair.

I definitely agree here. The engine would be the least of my concerns, assuming it's stock, even at 100k miles or more. But all the other stuff...yeah, 22-26 years old and especially with that kind of mileage it's probably going to need some love.

Usually, if the car is cosmetically rough then it's unlikely that someone has gone to the trouble to keep everything else up to proper maintenance specs. Again, the major parts might be fine but it's probably still going to need some stuff that goes beyond just plugs and wires if it's a rough example.

Y2K_Frenzy

They’re relatively expensive now that is for sure. But I’m not sure what alternatives you’ll find for $10k. I think even 2011 Mustang GT’s etc are running more than that but it would be more modern and with less obsolete parts. Maybe.

Don.Frijole

Fair enough, but it is kind of a bummer reading forum posts from only a couple years ago regularly talking about buying good sub 10k cars.

That makes sense. I guess I'll keep that in mind.

I do really like these cars, but I'd hate to spend more than about 12k on one, because that's sort of getting into clean C4 corvette territory (a car I also really like), and past 15k is getting into C6 prices. I was hoping a trans am woukd be the more affordavle option, but I guess I'll just have to make up my mind haha

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I agree on the C4 comment, but I'm shocked that you can find decent C6s in the ~$15k range in your area. The cheapest ones I ever see in my region are still low-mid $20s for something even in the 75-100k mile range. I don't really see many super high mile Corvettes in my area as they are almost always a second/weekend car here due to our weather, so I really don't know what they would be priced at in the 150-200k+ mile range. Perhaps those are the ones you're seeing at $15k or so?

Don.Frijole

So sorry, I meant to say C5, not C6. I doubt the C5s listed for around 15k are in optimal condition, but the ones 18k and up seem decent, and that's about where all the trans ams around me are priced.

Treburkulosis

My car has 70k on it and it showed when I got it. It really only needed a good detail and a two step paint correction. I would say my current car at 70k runs as good as my 98 when it rolled 100k. Miles are just miles as long as its taken care of.

NC01TA

I'm thinking you are in for a major disappointment looking for a slightly beat up muscle / sports car no matter what brand. Trans Am, Mustang, Challenger, Corvette. Wanting to buy a money pit doesn't make much sense to me because that is exactly what you will be buying. An example of this type car was probably owned by many people and probably not maintained to proper standards. Abused at some point?? Probably..... Yeah, you will find something for under $10k and be up to $15k in no time at all, and still be in possession of a $10k car. The money being thrown into that ride will never be seen again when the day comes to sell. A waste of money and you will be calling your car a POS. I would abandon this plan unless you are very skilled at DIY repairs.
SAVE YOUR MONEY and buy a decent example when ready. Your ownership experience will be a positive one.

LS1 TJ

One thing you need to watch is the so called "southern" car that may have spent most of it's life in the northern part of the of the US.
Any car you consider I would have a mechanic/body guy inspect the car. Will cost some money but could save you a ton of money later.

NC01TA

So true. That same idea exists for flood cars. Thousands were moved from Louisiana after Katrina as well as recent hurricanes that have struck Florida. The flooding and damage are NOT showing up on Carfax either. The possibilities of getting bad examples are endless..... Looking for a so-so car to start with, not a good idea unless a wonderful mechanic and restorer all in one.

LS1 TJ

I was in NO a year after Katrina. We traveling to a plant west of the airport. Off on one side of the road there was totaled car salvage yard. Cars stacked 4 high for as far as the eye could see.
Bad thing about flood cars it that it's just not the water but all the crap that is in that water. Sand, dirt, sewage.

Y2K-WS.6

iTrader: (1)

I picked up a 2000 WS6 in 2020 so a 20 year old car with 38k miles. Luckily it just had tires put on so that's an expense I was spared but... it needed a complete cooling system due to no maintenance in at least a decade. It was one of many things I spotted when I looked it over that got me money off. Check engine light saying converter and O2 sensors took a lot off the price. As had been mentioned every piece of rubber under the hood. Radiator and hoses were being done anyway, all vacuum lines and may the GM engineers burn in hell, heater core lines.

I bought the car from an admitted poser who knew nothing about cars so that helped get lots of money off because he didn't even suspect what I was telling him I found wrong. He was afraid of the car and had put only 3k miles on the car in 8 years. He drove to car shows and cruise nights in his county to lean on it and take complements from real car guys.

After the cooling system and stuff like removing the p/s cooler and the throttle body steam line I ended up putting 3k on the car in that first summer. By not driving it like a p*$$y and blowing out all the built up carbon in the converter and on the sensors it hasn't thrown a code since I cleared them in 2020. Even a low mileage car is going to cost you to keep it on the road. But you'll have something worth investing in instead of a piece of crap someone else beat to death and dumped leaving the next dope with the repair bills.

Y2K_Frenzy

Yeah, these things are “hobby cars” now days.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Keeping on top of maintenance makes a considerable difference. 19k miles on my '98, and I've owned it since it was just a few years old. Cooling system is 100% original (even the coolant level sensor has never gotten gummed up), but I've kept the coolant changed religiously. No rubber under the hood has needed replacing other than the belts (I keep the hoses and accessible vacuum lines treated annually with 303). No fuel system or O2 sensor build-up/gum/varnish issues as I put Red Line SI-1 and Stabil in every tank of gas (which is only once or twice a year). Many folks with low mile cars don't stay on top of these things, or they buy one that saw many years of neglect before getting it on a proper maintenance program (such as my '74 car - it had pretty much every type of "low mile/sitting" issue that a car can have when I first bought it - took me two years of chasing these issues to get it reasonably reliable), so it's really all in how you store and maintain the car. None of this is to suggest that the car is perfect; it's 26 years old and certainly does have some flaws, but it's pretty surprising how fresh a car of this era can still operate when someone has kept up on key aspects of maintenance.

NC01TA

^^^ Nailed it!! Maintenance, especially documented, is key to any purchase. Just hit 85k on my car and I have every bit of info imaginable on it since day 1. Every oil change, every trip to the shop, every convertible top detail, even the common brake fluid and power steering flushes I do with the turkey baster is written down. Spark plugs? Belts? New tires? Leather conditioner applied to seats? Yes on every count. It takes 20 - 30 seconds to document things. I'm surprised more owners don't do it personally because my memory is not sharp enough to even remember the last month I applied wax to the car. Right now as I write this, I could not tell you when I last waxed the car. Was it May or February? Time can fly on you. It doesn't help having 3 rides though.You should see the small stack of index cards I have for the T/A.
Some day the new owner of my car will get all this detailed history. Short little notes written on index cards as shown below which I keep in my garage cabinet.. There will be no questions needed.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Haha! I do something very similar! I keep a little notebook in the glove box of each of my cars, and I write down every maintenance or parts-replacement related event with a date and mileage. I don't take notes on the cleaning/detailing/surface prep aspects because I do a major annual detailing event each spring for every one of my "toys", and then touch-ups after every weekend of usage, so no need to take notes as the schedule is very consistent. But just saving the receipts isn't nearly as helpful as keeping a log (especially when you're doing much of the work yourself so there isn't always a detailed receipt to save) like your cards or my notebooks.

JohnnyBs98WS6Rag

iTrader: (1)

Personally, I keep all my car's maintenance records on a spreadsheet. When it comes time to sell the car, I just print out the record for the new owner.

I find Lotus 1-2-3 works just fine.

(j/k, been using Excel since the mid '90s, each car has its own "tab" in the same file.)