Looking to buy my first f body. This ad caught my eye while searching on CL.

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/4895461722.html

Seller is about 3 hours away form me so I'm just going to bring some cash.

How would you price this car?

Is $10k a fair number considering the car is in good shape?

Any advice is truly appreciated!

 

I would say yes, this car looks like it has been well cared for...do a car fax etc.

 

$10k would be a fair price as long as it has no additional needs, i.e., tires, brakes, etc. and has a clean title history. Some common problem areas with these cars are slow power-window motors, door panels cracking, and cracking of the dash. I would take another person with you when you go; it is always a good idea to have a second pair objective of eyes and ears.

 

Seems pretty clean. Normally at this mileage for a northern car those air intake fasteners would be showing rust. They could have been replated/repainted too. But, that would show some care and detailing applied. The AC receiver/drier has been changed out as there's no stenciling on top. Probably a good sign that that the AC system has been serviced so you don't have to spend $500+ on it later on. The AC compressor could have been changed out as well (another plus). Factory units were Delphi or AC/Delco.

Check for any signs of roof paint bubbling. It could have already been addressed to with a new roof panel. The key to the car is probably the tightness/quietness of the 6 speed and the rear end being quiet too. You don't want a 6 speed that's been beat on. It has the original air intake baffle so wouldn't be a surprise if the original shifter was still on it. Radiator caps were plastic so this one probably was changed. If the skip shift feature is still hooked up, even better. If there's no tearing or obvious heavy wear on the driver's seat, a good sign the owner(s) were careful getting in and out of it.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. Didn't think of some of the aspects mentioned.

How would you guys feel as sellers if i wanted to drive the car in the type of weather we have up here near Chicago? Extremely cold temperatures right now plus salt and snow aren't exactly the perfect conditions for a car that has been well taken care of. And it's not like I can just take it around the block really quick. I'm going to want to run through all the gears, pull on it, ect.

 

I probably wouldn't do it as a seller unless I felt you were a probable buyer upon the completion of a satisfactory test drive. And we all know that many people showing up are tire kickers, looking to get something for nothing. Of course, if you drive several hours to see a car, someone is serious. Before a buyer did that they should be pretty sure of the car's faults and what it would really take to buy the car. It really comes down to how desperate the seller is. And at this time of year there are very few buyers around. If you waited a month (or until the roads are at least dry) you still might be the only potential buyer. A test drive in snow isn't going to tell you, or the next potential buyer all that much. I'd keep tabs with the seller shooting for the first day the roads are acceptable. If the timing doesn't work out, there will always be another car. If you go with cash can you trailer the car home the same day (or have a temp plate ready to go?). The few times I've done that I've always had to come back another day once I got DMV tags. I never got screwed handing over cash and coming back days later for the car....but there's always that first time.

 

Tomorrows the day. Making the 3+ hour trip to look at this car hopefully everything goes well and i can have it in my garage by tomorrow evening!

This is pretty huge for me as I've been saving for about 4 years for this moment.

I have looked and driven other WS6 but a black on black stock low(er) mile m6 has always been what I wanted and I was never able to settle.


I've been talking to the guy everyday since I posted this on Feb 18 and have learned that neither the dash or door panels are cracked which is a big plus. I've also learned that there is some sail panel bubbling and he already had a quote for $300 which I guess I can use to my advantage. Also I ran the VIN through Auto Check and everything looked really good. No accidents, ect.

I'm going to try and stay focused when going over the car and I think it will be difficult haggling with this guy but I'm hoping when its all said and done I'll pay between 10-10500.

If anyone has anything to add post it up I'll probably be browsing on the long trip there.

 

Good luck with your test drive. There are numerous excellent posts in this Forum WIW and/or New Owners sections on about everything you need to check for. I'd pay particular attention the potential noises/bumps/clunks/whines/etc. coming out of the transmission in all gears as well as neutral.

$300 might be a reasonable price to temporarily hide the roof panel bubbling but it will come back since the cause is the gassing of the glue that's permeated into the roof panel. I can't tell you how many months/years before the roof bubbling comes back. If the car is not exposed to the hot sun it could last many years. The only permanent fix is a new panel (nice used one from a pre-April 1998 LT1/LS1 donor car or new aftermarket $600+). Repairs might typically cost $1,000-$1,500 depending on how much you can do yourself in the prep work. While it's not fair to expect the seller to discount the car in that amount, it's probably just as fair to figure that $300 is an underestimate of "fixing" it. If the car is going to be a daily outside driver then warts are expected. Most outdoor/uncovered cars probably have this issue. There are posts on the site giving more detail on roof repairs. On an otherwise excellent car I wouldn't be deterred by some slight roof bubbling. I've found that a fabric dash cover for these cars also is a close to fit to covering most of the sail panel. I've actually used it in that capacity.

Autocheck, CarFax and other sources only list what repairs were reported by professional shops/insurance claims. I ran into one low mileage WS6 that had 2X as many repairs/issues listed on GM's warranty/service records than the CarFax had. In that particular case the CarFax listed brakes and exhaust repaired under warranty in the first 3 years. The GM service history showed them replaced TWICE in the first 3 years/15K miles along with a new shifter, window motor, side mirror, and cats. Now that was serious abuse. They are still good sources but far from perfect. Check the body carefully for dents/repainted areas. The quarter panels and rockers are the only metal parts so you can bring along a refrigerator door magnet or just rap the panel with your knuckles for sound variations.

The very first LS-1 I considered buying 4 years ago had a large area repainted on the upper quarter panel into the wheel well (found via a cheap Year One $8 spot rot/paint thickness gauge). I don't think the dealer even knew....or cared. There were also some areas on the upper edges of the hood and hatch back that showed subtle distortions in the paint. The car had 74K miles. Between that, a rear end whine, the brakes and alignment pulling to the right, it was a pass. During your inspection at least swipe the bottom of the AC compressor checking for wetness. Even if the receiver/drier/LP lines were all replaced, the compressor could still be original. Check the clarity of the clutch fluid, coolant, etc. Find out what coolant is being used in the radiator. These cars originally came with Dexcool (orange) "good for 100K miles." Some owners never changed it. Many of them have been changed back to the regular Green or Yellow glycol. What's potentially bad is mixing the 2 brands which can form sludge.