I'm looking to sell my Trans Am, and am having a hard time due to the rebuilt title. What is the forums opinion on what I should be asking for my TA? The attached picture was taken before I put the new wheels and tires.

Here is details sheet I put together for it:

Mileage: Less than 38,000
Transmission: Automatic
Engine: LS1 V8
WS6 Package
T-Tops

Aftermarket Add-Ons:
• Functional Firehawk hood and airbox
• Pioneer Premiere speakers and subwoofer
• Pioneer Premiere amps with Monster cables (2400 total watts)
• Koni yellow 4/4 on car adjustable shocks
• 18” / 17” Corvette Grandsport replica rims w/ new tires (less than 500 miles)
• Flowmaster exhaust

Known Issues:
The AC does not work due to a leak in the compressor.

This vehicle had been stolen before I purchased it in 2007. Parts were stolen from the car and the insurance company gave it a salvage title. I purchased the vehicle and replaced the parts and got a rebuilt title for the vehicle. This car has never been in an accident and has not had any frame damage.

 

The rule of thumb for a "R" titled car is 50% of the KBB value.

 

^This....unfortunately the "R Stamp" is a branding that the car will live with its whole life so I hope you either got it for a good price or you don't plan to recoupe normal market value.

I would offer that having documented proof and photographs of whatever caused the "R" title is probably your best defense. My car too is an R Title but I got it cheap and knew upon buying it that I would never sell it just for the sheer fact that I couldn't.

In your case you have a very special situation in which no body damage was done at all and its a shame that it was "totaled" out for something like what happened.

The general rule is 50% but I would note that personally and as well as probably to the right buyer 60-75% market value would probably be a good buy.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

A stock 38K mile A4 2001 WS6 would probably be worth in the $12K to $14K range. KBB value for a very good to excellent, private party transaction is $12,300-$13,000. I figure $14K is too much to pay and $12K is a great deal. You can occasionally find clean ones with <40K miles for $12K but not very often. I've only seen one car advertised in the past year and that was a white 2001 A4 with 32K miles for $12K.

Figure the AC compressor replacement will run $300-$600 depending on whether you do it yourself of sub it out. The Firehawk hood is probably worth more than a WS6 hood but a pain to swap back out, repaint, etc. Have to figure that 90% of the buyers who want a WS6 want that wild hood, even if it is more common. But since it's a R title who's going to worry about it at the reduced price?

Now how much of that standard KBB amount to deduct for an "R" title? 50% of KBB at $6,150-$6,500 sounds insanely low to me for 38K miles, and especially if the car was not actually hit. If I was sure of that source information I'd be a happy camper to fork over $6500 for a clean, 38K mile car. Though, if the car was joy ridden and beat to heck while the thieves owned it, that's a concern. If it was just stripped of easy parts the same day it was stolen, that's better. Has the car been repainted following the original theft? That could be a + or a - depending on what damage was done and the quality of a repaint.

I concur with Bandits96ss 60-75% value...or $7400-$9750. Something in the $8's seems doable to me...maybe even $9's. Was just looking at an R title 19K mile 2002 M6 Camaro SS vert in my area. That would normally be a $15K to $16K car. The dealer was asking $10,800. It had front end body damage at one time. The car last sold in 2009 for $12K on an auction site. So this one is in the 60-65% range.

KBB is not a bad pricing source for 2001-2002 WS6's with >30K miles. But they fall down on the 1998-2000's, and cars with much lower, or much higher mileage. I was surprised to see that an identical 1998 WS6 to the OP's car would be almost $5K less per KBB. That's insane for 3 model years. Please sign me up for a 38K mile 1998 WS6 A4 for $8300. I have ready cash....lol. And if you're doing Camaro's, well KBB is still out to lunch across the board for those. And they give $0 premium for an M6 which quite often ends up being an extra $1K to $2K in dealer pockets. They are getting a few things right though....just not enough of them.