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Alright guys, I have came here for advice many times but just now registered so sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place or something.....my question is whether or not the car I have been looking at is worth the asking price... it's a 1998 trans am non ws6 but it does have a ram air, though I don't think it's functional? The outside of the car looks really clean from what I can see and has no clear coat peeling and such. The interior is also clean with the exception of the familiar crack in the dash (but It's not bad at all). He even sent pictures of the underneath and there is no rust to be seen. The guy tells me it has a strong running engine with no issues. The dash shows 130k miles but here is where it gets tricky, it has 3.73s but the odometer was never changed so it actually has less but idk how much less. The previous owner put the gears in so it could have quite a bit lower.... The catch is that the tranny is shot (a4) and will need replaced. Me and my dad would do it ourselves and have no labor cost. He wants $3,500, is it worth it? Also it seems like the owner doesn't know what he's talking about half the time and could be full of crap...anyways it's a clean title. but the exhaust is is missing the back tail pipes... The car is all stock that I know of......any advice would be appreciated! (Sorry about the long post! I hope it's okay to do this)
That mileage isn't tricky, its still 130k... Its what the DMV sees, its what a dealer would see and what carfax sees. For fun lets say it was a 3.23 car and swapped to a 3.73 its only 3-5 mph off on the speedo in the long run.
Overall it doesn't look like a bad buy but with anything you can always get something cheaper, it is a 98 which is the "bastard child" year, I would try 2500-3k offering on it myself. It looks clean from the paint and interior. But I wonder why they pulled the catback off the car, that has me a bit confused for a stock car.
What is exactly "shot" mean with the transmission, loss of forward gears, reverse, slips etc.
That mileage isn't tricky, its still 130k... Its what the DMV sees, its what a dealer would see and what carfax sees. For fun lets say it was a 3.23 car and swapped to a 3.73 its only 3-5 mph off on the speedo in the long run.
Overall it doesn't look like a bad buy but with anything you can always get something cheaper, it is a 98 which is the "bastard child" year, I would try 2500-3k offering on it myself. It looks clean from the paint and interior. But I wonder why they pulled the catback off the car, that has me a bit confused for a stock car.
What is exactly "shot" mean with the transmission, loss of forward gears, reverse, slips etc.
he said when you are going 60 the speedo says more like 80, so if he drove it for a year and a half like that how much could that potentially put the odometer off? he says that the gears were put in a few months before he bought it.....and to my question of "does it go into reverse? and can you drive it forward at all or will it not move?" his reply was "it will not move at all" in drive or in reverse...and ya i was wondering the same thing about the catback, thats the one thing that made me a little mad was he didnt even mention that being gone untill i saw the new pictures he sent me and i asked about it. he said he took it off to replace it with a new "chrome one" his words.... keep in mind that is a guy that acts like he knows what hes talking about but you can tell he has no idea what hes talking about sometimes....tho i dont think hes trying to hide anything because before i told him how far away i was located he told me to come check out the car for myself and i wouldnt leave without it.... he blames the tranny going out on his wife who supposedly "didnt know how to drive it right with the shift kit" (forgot to mention he said it had a shift kit in it)... which idk if that even makes sence? but he also was blaming the speedo being off on the shift kit so he sounds a bit clueless on some stuff... and he is pretty firm on 3500, he wont really budge
doesnt look bad i'd offer 3k maybe and check with a sponsor like proforma built trans to see when their next sale on a stage 1 tranny might be. check into a circle D 3200 stall, maybe a summit sfi flexplate (aprox $85), b & m super cooler. i have an aluminum deeper trans pan. the basics free egr mod, free ram air? air lid, lca's w relo's, poly TA mount (budget) or new TA. I'd add a catback muffler system magnaflow. headers, then a tune. goodluck. find an old super chevy article may 2004 ls1 do's & donts. ps your stock cats are worth money so dont throw away if removing.
doesnt look bad i'd offer 3k maybe and check with a sponsor like proforma built trans to see when their next sale on a stage 1 tranny might be. check into a circle D 3200 stall, maybe a summit sfi flexplate (aprox $85), b & m super cooler. i have an aluminum deeper trans pan. the basics free egr mod, free ram air? air lid, lca's w relo's, poly TA mount (budget) or new TA. I'd add a catback muffler system magnaflow. headers, then a tune. goodluck. find an old super chevy article may 2004 ls1 do's & donts. ps your stock cats are worth money so dont throw away if removing.
hes pretty firm on the price but ill see what i can do! how much would the mods you decribed cost?
That mileage isn't tricky, its still 130k... Its what the DMV sees, its what a dealer would see and what carfax sees. For fun lets say it was a 3.23 car and swapped to a 3.73 its only 3-5 mph off on the speedo in the long run.
Overall it doesn't look like a bad buy but with anything you can always get something cheaper, it is a 98 which is the "bastard child" year, I would try 2500-3k offering on it myself. It looks clean from the paint and interior. But I wonder why they pulled the catback off the car, that has me a bit confused for a stock car.
I don't buy into the whole 98's aren't as good thing. The computer being different is the only real issue and even then it's not a problem unless your doing a 900hp FI build, I'd actualy rather have a 98 so I don't have to worry about paying $1500-2500 to replace a bubbling sail panel. If the car was originally a 2.73 car the speedo saying 80 at 60 would be about right but still the what the odometer says is what the car is worth.
I wouldn't pay more than $2500. With those miles even if the car had a good transmission and it's whole exhaust it would be a $5500 car on a good day, it's going to cost you around $2k to fix, so if you can't save $1000 for the trouble of buying a broken car whats the point. Also who knows what else might be wrong with the car, there is nothing worse than when someone that knows nothing about cars thinks they know what there doing.
I wouldn't pay more than $2500. With those miles even if the car had a good transmission and it's whole exhaust it would be a $5500 car on a good day, it's going to cost you around $2k to fix, so if you can't save $1000 for the trouble of buying a broken car whats the point. Also who knows what else might be wrong with the car, there is nothing worse than when someone that knows nothing about cars thinks they know what there doing.
i have found a few trannys for around 700 and there wouldnt be labor since we would do it ourselves.. so assuming the engine and rest of the car is okay if i had 4500 in the car it wouldnt be to bad would it?... the reason i am even looking at this car is because my budget is 5k to 5,500 and theres is nothing in my area or even every state around me for close to that...it pisses me off, i live in the middle of nebraska which seems to be the worth place to buy a ls1 trans am. i have been on craigslist nonstop for the past year and a half, you could get on there right now and find me any trans am on craigslist for under 7k and i can tell you the whole description....every trans am around me is for like 7 grand with 150k miles... people are selling 1995-1997s with 155k miles for 7k as well....then i get on texas craiglist and i find 5 trans ams in 5 mins with under 115k miles for 5 grand...pisses me off
every trans am around me is for like 7 grand with 150k miles... people are selling 1995-1997s with 155k miles for 7k as well....then i get on texas craiglist and i find 5 trans ams in 5 mins with under 115k miles for 5 grand...pisses me off
Just judging by description and pictures I absolutely think it's worth taking a hard look at, it needs a little tlc but in my opinion I think it's worth it, as long as the motor runs strong you will be good, and for the above post that said 98's are the "bastard child"....... That's just a ridiculous statement. Mine is a 98, and anyone who can't tune a 98 as opposed to the other years should probably not be tunning cars. If that car was by me I would be the owner of two 98 t/a's
i might as well look at it since i can always say no, i just wish i knew a little more about things like you guys when i was actually looking at the car in person. it will be a little harder to tell without actually being able to drive it, but is there anything to look for specifically on these cars while the engine is running to see if its a strong motor?..... aslo what would you say a good price for a ls1 trans am is with around 120 to 130k miles?
That's what I was thinking, as of now I believe I'm looking at it on Saturday and he's bringing it half way... any last thoughts? If the engine is great and I put in a transmission and have 4 to 4.5k in the car and it runs good I would be really happy
I'd stay away from it unless he's willing to come down.. Honestly a buddy of mine bought a 2000 SS with the same amount of miles with a bunch of stupid stuff broken equating to about the same price as that bad tranny.. He paid 4k for it.. That being a non WS6 and not an M6, there is no way in h*** I'd pay more than 3 for it.. Honestly with a bad tranny and an A4 I wouldn't pay more than 2.5 for it..
I am selling in SS right now with some more miles almost in your price range but FL and TX ain't exactly neighbors...
09-04-2014, 09:45 AM
1998 trans am worth price? 
