https://ls1tech.com/forums/vehicle-c...-10-500-a.html

I am not certain if this is good practice or not and by no means am I trying to offend the owner but I am more so just trying to gain an understanding of what is the real value of the car.

I have been a fan of CME setup and do have a desire for the car but at the moment I have been more so shopping around for a good deal on an LS1 car (WS6, SS, GTO) then settling just to have something in the garage.

KBB/NADA value is below the listed price but I am not certain if that accurately reflects the rarity of the options on this car.

I also think it would make a nice pair with my 96 SS (first and last 4th gen)

Can anyone provide me with any input on what is honestly a market value for this car (after I correct the minor dent and Cat issues)

 

For cars under 50K miles I typically assign 50% of the price of the original option to the current value. The anniv LE option was $2500 and the CME $1,059. So an anniv LE with CME would be worth approx $1500-$1780 more than your typical, clean 2002 SS with 70K miles. With a dent, popping trans in 3rd, cat issue, modifications, etc. one could argue it might not be worth that premium, especially at 70K miles. $10K-$12K would be a reasonable price if the car was very clean, dent fixed, and all problems corrected. If the car pops out of 3rd gear now will other gears soon follow? Will it start to pop out of 3rd even under normal to strong acceleration? A good question for your local transmission shop.

A large % of these collector anniv cars have been well stored with limited miles put on them. It seems a lot more difficult to find them with over 50K miles than it is <50K miles. They made plenty of them so they aren't rare, not even with the CME. 70K miles is no babe in the woods...and not low mileage for one of these. A clean 70K mile car is probably worth about $5K less than one with 20K miles. While there are a lot of big asking prices on these, most aren't selling at those numbers. Out of over 20 Ebay completed auction listings for 2002 LE's the past 90 days, there isn't a single example with >50K miles. A sold CME M6 with 36K miles went for $16K in July. I would figure that car about $4K more than a similar 70K mile one.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks-...olor=Red&rt=nc

 

Good advice Firebrian. If the car was in very good to excellent condition, no problem at all with the seller's asking price. I helped Bandits96ss a full month ago via PM ref this same car. Although the seller appears honest in his assessment of the car, he obviously won't drop the price. That's his prerogative. The car hasn't sold so we are correct that the price is much too high for the issues/problems the car has. You certainly wouldn't want to have thousands more into this car before you ever get it registered and titled. It could very easily require that much.
Bandits96ss, hang in there buddy. Don't overpay.

 

Thank you for the response from both.....

I didnt mention this as to not overexpose the seller but he has moddified the asking price from 10500 to 9250

With out knowing the extent of the body damage I could assume repair of the dent and CEL light to be around 1250 which would lead me to the original asking price.

Do either you or firebran believe this would still be overpaying at 9250 or it accurately reflects the car.

NC01TA as I stated before I have read alot of your posts and respect your opinion which is why I have reviewed a far amount of other cars but have swong back to this one because all of the other deals feel through.

 

You might want to have someone in NJ take a closer look at the car for you. It's not worth guessing that the dent and CEL light might only cost $1250. The photo provided is not good enough to make a reasonable guess on that quarter panel. I had a small crease in the lower driver's rocker panel on my '98 Z28 from someone backing into it. I was quoted around $600 as I recall. I never did have it fixed since the car had around 80-100K miles at the time and it was low enough to not be that noticeable, esp. on a white car. That's a very small panel and the paint wasn't broken.

Is everything else up to snuff too so that you don't spend additional money on tires, fluids, etc.? $9250 certainly could accurately reflect the current value. But, there's just not enough information/info to be sure. If it were me I'd want to be more sure that the trans is not going to end up being a major repair bill...and that replacing a Cat will clear up any emissions issues/lights/etc. Don't get worried that you haven't got your car yet. If this isn't the one, then one will pop up in front of you when you least expect it. Pull all the strings you can to ensure you are 100% confident this car fits your needs at the right price. An enlarged picture of the quarter panel can be taken to your body shop to see what they think. Pose the popping out of 3rd gear issue to your local trans shop and see what they say. I googled "popping out of 3rd gear" and the link below came up. I'm sure there are many more you can read to get some thoughts....worn synchros seem to be a common cause, also forks.

http://forums.nicoclub.com/help-clut...r-t136580.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/manual-tr...-3rd-gear.html

http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_would_a...ip_out_of_gear

https://www.google.com/search?q=manu...t+of+3rd+gear+

 

Thanks for the kind words Bandits96ss. $9250 is certainly better but I'm still worried about the tranny. The 4.10 gears are another question too. Was the work done by a professional shop? Is everything OK in that rear end? All these things have the potential to be horribly expensive. Let's say that you can fix the dent and CEL for that $1250. You still have the unknowns of repairing the tranny and perhaps other things. If you need rubber add another $800 or so for a decent quality set. If you can do the fluid changes yourself, no problem. If not, add another $500 for a shop to do the Dexcool, brake, power steering, rear end if needed. It all adds up. So many scenarios exist. If you are OK with the 4.10 gears and there are no issues back there, the tires and fluids are fine, and the tranny can be professionally fixed for under $2,000, then you have a 70,000 miles ride that is ready to go for about $12,500. That would be OK, although a bit on the high end IMO. On the other hand this car has the potential to be a $15,000 car before you ever get behind the wheel. That would be way too much for a 70k miles example. I think of my own '01 T/A 'vert with 44,000 miles that is show quality and needs nothing. One owner, 'stock', garage kept that I might sell for $14,000 if it were for sale. I know it isn't an '02 anniversary car but look at the 'best bang for the buck' LS1 comparison. I just don't like to see fellow owners get hurt or burned. I err on the low side because there is always something needed on the horizon for our cars that are now a minimum 12 years old. Personally I'd pass on the car, even at $9250. I have helped other buyers recently get some much lower mileage sweet rides for under $14,000. The search takes awhile and sometimes a road trip is necessary.
I wish you the best.

 

Well put by NC01TA. I agree with everything he said. Just too many risks/unknowns with potentially large consequences.