Whats the better deal?
99 Firehawk or 2002 Ws6?
Both M6, vert, extra low miles. Both great condition.
They are within $1000. Assuming they are the same price, whats the better buy? I like the WS6 because its the last year but the Firehawk is an slp numbered car.

 

The fact that the WS6 is a 02, is the deal. Both are good deals. But the WS6 is newer. The hawk might turn more heads if you live where nobody drives one. But that WS6 will turn heads just as much with a good exhaust!

 

The fact is you don't see Firehawks or WS6's around anymore, period, especially clean/well kept ones, so that's a wash. Get the 2002 WS6. Last year of the Trans Am, it's a specialty Trans Am, and it looks way better than the Firehawk. You may think I'm crazy, but in my opinion, there is NO better looking car than a WS6, period.

 

I think the WS6 gets the edge....for now....but maybe not in 5 years. While the Firehawk is certainly rarer, they don't quite get the respect they should (at least not yet). The hood and rear spoiler on the WS6 are far more radical. The final determinant should be condition/mileage/# owners/documentation and options. The 2002 model year probably carries a $2K to $3K premium over the 1999 due to both being newer and having performance improvements done. Then again, the Firehawk imo carries a $1K to $2K premium over an identical WS6. Personal preference determines how you value that difference.

Longer term the '99 FH vert is a pretty rare car with only 76 built this year. While all colors are scarce, anything but black is downright rare (2-6 built per other color in an M6 vert). 18 of them were black (45% of the M6's). With 4 white verts built, I'd be hard pressed to turn that down for a longer term buy...or the Sebring Silver (2 built). While the 1999's tend to get no love I like the idea of a car with only 2-6 built and likely never running into another one while you own it. You probably can't say that for the 2002 WS6. If the WS6 were SOM, well I'd jump on that. Any other color is not that special even though I'm partial to white. One data source shows over 1600 WS6 verts in 2002. That's a far cry from 76 FH verts in 1999. While I see low mileage WS6 M6 verts pop up every month, what you don't see are the low mileage FH M6 verts. Where'd they all go? Down the road these very low production FH verts will probably gain on the WS6's. Right now few seem to know or care about them....and they don't look as "cool" as the wild WS6. 1999 was the first year for the LS-1 FH vert (none made in 1998). The longer I type the more I appreciate how scarce the 1999-2001 FH verts are.

What are the mileages on the 2 cars you are considering? The comparison might change if both are 10K, 20K, 30K, or even 40K mile cars. And many people would consider all of those as "real low" mileage.

 

Bottom line is low mileage WS6's or Firehawks in great condition are rare. Unless you're buying the car to sit on for 40 to 50 years to sit on and try to make a lot of money re-selling it, buy the car you like best, period. Everyone is different, but I don't know anyone who thinks the Firehawk looks better than a WS6.

 

id go with the ws6 . its newer , so it has the ls6 intake already , it has the better and easier to find 411 pcm if you ever need one . You can get sweet lotb badges.

and its the newest .

 

Last of the Breed is my username on LS1.com.

 

Just head over to the Firehawk message boards/forum if you want to find people who think the Hawks look better. There's a seat for every car. If there was truly no one who felt the Hawks looked better they'd bring no premium to a WS6....and might even sell for less. I've yet to see that. There are plenty of LS-1 enthusiasts who feel the "boy racer" curves of the WS6 are overdone, hence they own FH's, Formula's, SS's, Vettes, GTO's, CTS-V's, etc.

http://messageboard.firehawk.org/vie...94231a5acf669a

You don't have to wait 40-50 years. In 5 years the 1999's will be 20 years old. In my state that will qualify them for "antique" DMV plates. You might be able to drive your FH/WS6 "modestly" for 5 years and not see it lose any value. What all the LS-1 F-bodies have to worry about is the increasing number of high HP cars coming on to the market. If we get to the point where your basic V-8 Mustang is essentially 500 hp, there will be fewer and fewer people looking at 320 hp WS-6's. The Mustang moves up to 435 hp for 2015. The Challenger SRT scat pack moves up to 485 hp. 2002-2004 400 hp Z06's with miles in the lower 20K's are now falling into the lower $20K's. Again, more competition for the F Bodies. I can understand the "last of the breed" notion. I'd still rather own the "rarest of the breed." But I don't want to own a car that doesn't drive great regardless of whether it's "rare" or "last of breed."

 

blkbowtie98, if the cars are truly apples to apples and the difference is negligible, the decision is strictly yours and you can't go wrong either way. Both would be fine purchases to drive. If putting them in storage for 20 years, go with the Firehawk.
On a totally personal note, I also would prefer a one owner car with full documentation and paperwork. Is either car representative of that?

Rise of the Phoenix, the above post by Firebrian is quite accurate ref your statement that 'no one prefers the Firehawk looks'. You don't have to go to another site to find someone that prefers the looks of a Firehawk over a WS6. I prefer it as well. I prefer my base Trans Am over the WS6 and purchased it that way when new. I had a choice way back then. I like the sleek look. Still do and would never trade mine for a WS6 even all these years later. I also didn't need to spend $3,000 extra for something I didn't want. Throwing blanket statements out there as fact is not helpful to the OP. Not everyone is on the same page. Let him decide without distortion.