Cruzer23

iTrader: (3)

https://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5534585118.html

nada clean retail is $8,900

is $9k fair? and if he wants to sell he will take or would like 9,400 be more fair for the shape and aftermarket wheels?

thanks

Firebrian

In the fall of 2011 after 4th gen prices about bottomed out my local Chevy dealer had a nearly identical 2000 SS vert with 74K miles. It was silver. The asking price was originally $12,000 on autotrader.com. It was a 2nd owner car who bought it with 21K miles from one of the biggest Chevy dealers in country...and drove the car back home 500 miles.

I test drove that car and it had issues: a rear end whine, the brakes pulling hard to the right, considerable wind noise (could be normal for a vert), and the cold startup engine "slap." I wasn't thrilled. They really tried to sell me hard on this. It was the first SS I had ever gone to look at. I came back a second time after hours and put a spot rot/magnet tester on the metal panels. Interesting that I found spots of extra paint or putty all over the right qtr panel and wheel lip in particular. I wonder what went on? I looked at the hood and rear spoiler very closely as the sun was glaring at sunset and noticed paint bubbles starting in several places. All that put together make it a PASS. 2 months after I saw that car I bought my current car at 12K miles for $12K.

By the time that dealer got all my feedback their SS price had been dropped to $9500. The car was put on Ebay 3 times without selling. The last time up it only bid up to $9,000 and did not sell. I don't know what they eventually got it for. I suspect they either wholesaled it away or someone gave them $8500-$9,000 for it. It's not worth any more than that today if the mileage is unchanged. In trouble free condition and 45K-65K miles a '98-'00 SS vert could get some lookers. But it seems once they pass the 70K threshold into middle age the interest level plummets. I would negotiate hard on your car if it checks out decently. It really comes down to how trouble free and nice it is. Obviously, the 74K mile I saw was no cream puff kept out of the weather and meticulously cared for. That car was essentially daily driven for several years, even in New England winters.

I wouldn't pay extra for the after-market wheels. I'd tell them to keep those and give the stock ones instead. The photos seem to show that the car is potentially nice for the mileage. Nashville beats New England for a daily driver. I could see paying $10K-$11K for a meticulously cared for 75K mile vert that "looked" like 30K-45K miles. I think the car I looked at was more like 100K miles of wear/tear/exposure. NCO1TA is a vert owner and lover. Would like to hear what he has to say.

Cruzer23

iTrader: (3)

The pics make it seem it's been garage kept. He has already lowered the price $500 in a couple weeks. Don't know if that means he wasnt getting any offers or not.

Even if it's it garage kept condition it would be hard for me to want to pay more than the $9 it's worth according to online. Those are at excellent and clean retail condition

Firebrian

Those NADA and KBB prices are also give too low a mileage premium. NADA gives only +$1,000 between a 125K vs. 75K mile car. KBB puts that difference at $2,000. I think they are both too low. I don't think you can typically go out and find a super clean 75K mile vert for $9K...or maybe not even $10K. It really comes down to the condition and a test drive.

The price guides are just guides. And typically, they are tilted to make dealers money, especially on the buy/trade-in side. They can ask whatever they what once the car is purchased and placed on the lot. My sig line car "lists" in those price guides for under $9,000. Good luck finding one. They don't even give a premium for an M6, which is a 10-15% drop right there.

I understand that when purchasing from a private party your goal is to make the price guides a FIRM line in the sand that no sane person would go above. Just don't let the seller know that dealers typically ask well above "clean retail" or "excellent" for lower mileage, clean examples of special interest cars. You can buy a slightly beat 2000 SS vert for $8K. And you can probably find a superb, 1 owner mint specimen for $10K. I'd take the $10K one. If you look at what constitutes an "excellent" or "very good" vehicle on KBB, I'd say almost no 75K mile cars could meet those requirements. Heck, even my 17K mile car misses on 2 of the 9 requirements for "excellent," and it's already listed $3K-$4K too low. As I read the "good" condition requirements on KBB literally, I'd say very few to none 75K mile 2000 SS verts could be better than that. So that means none of them should be worth more than $7500. It's what the price guide says. Buyers have to shake their heads when they see 85% of all of these priced WELL above the guides.

OK, the owner was asking $10,400 and has dropped another $500 to $9,900. It's certainly worth looking at if it's within an hour of you. Have you called the owner to ask details about the car and it's ownership/maintenance history?

There aren't a lot of SS verts with under 100K miles to choose from under $11K in price. But 2 on that list seem like they have potential: one owner 1998 A4 with 33K miles and a 2000 50K mile M6. They're out there, but well scattered. There's another 2000 SS vert A4 with 44K miles in my local area that showed up 2X on Ebay in 2014/2015. The owner started out asking around $20K and no bids. The next time around it started a few thousand lower and still no bids. Some people do dream. They didn't believe in the price guides either....so they went by their gut feel, which was even more erroneous.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/Used+Cars/Convertible/Chevrolet/Camaro/East+Lyme+CT-06333?endYear=2002&engineCode=8CLDR&engineCodes=8C LDR&firstRecord=0&listingType=used&listingTypes=us ed&makeCode1=CHEV&maxMileage=100000&maxPrice=11000 &mmt=[CHEV[CAM[CAM|SS]][]]&modelCode1=CAM&photosOnlyActual=true&pricesOnly=t rue&searchRadius=0&showcaseOwnerId=1360232&sortBy= derivedpriceASC&startYear=1998&trim1=CAM|SS&vehicl eStyleCodes=CONVERT&Log=0

Cruzer23

iTrader: (3)

i agree that a perfect car is worth any amount a buyer is willing to pay. my budget is probably 10k

if money was no object i would just find the nicest one out there.

i didnt look into how kbb or nada value the cars. i just have no idea what a car is worth and went to them for ideas. plus when i buy a car using my bank they use nada value to base their loans so i figured it would be a good choice.

but thats also why i posted here to ask people that deal with these cars a lot. i know him asking 10k isnt unrealistic or anything(he was asking 10900, but lowered it to 10400). and since both nada and kbb say 9k is the ideal price i wanted to ask if that was fair before i offered and offended the seller.

convertible isnt my ideal, but im not against it. there is 2002 trans am, 75,000 miles and they are asking $9. i know its no SS but i its in equally as good shape(via pictures).

Firebrian

If verts are not your thing, keep looking and expand your options. The best bang for the buck are the base model '98-'00 Firebird formula/TA and Z28 LS1's. $9K sounds a bit much for a 75K 2002 TA. I looked at a mint 48K mile 2002 TA a couple years ago and was willing to pay $10,500 for it. The dealer wouldn't budge. And that car looked like 20K miles. With 30,000 more miles I figure maybe $7,500-$8,000 for your 2002. And even then, I'd want it to be way above average looking for 75K miles. Then again, I look at NADA and they value that TA at over $10K in clean retail. That seems strong to me. A 1998 would list for $2500 less with the same miles. They give more value to the later Pontiac years than they do for the Chevy. Yet, a clean 2000 Chevy SS vert at $9K with 75K miles seems quite reasonable, to me a better value than a 2002 TA coupe w/75K miles at $10K.

Just keep looking through the ads on line and you'll get an excellent feel for what stuff is worth. Then it's a matter of matching up the condition you expect for those miles.

Cruzer23

iTrader: (3)

do verts have lots of wind noise?
i only have 2 complaints about them, they dont look as good with the top up vs a t top and the blind spot is bigger. at least it was in one i test drove years ago, dont remember the year

i offered $8k for the 2002 with 75k miles. no response yet

there is a 98 trans am, 126,000 miles, hes asking 6k. perfect interior, outside looks good from pics. i wouldnt mind grabbing it for 5k just because it would be cheapest option

Firebrian

The 98 can be clean looking but ensure you won't have brake, suspension, steering, exhaust and drive train work looming. Very few people sell these with high miles when NO work is required. I sold my 2 owner '98 Z28 with 115K miles because it rattled pretty good. Sort of figured that a $1K-$2K suspension/steering bill was coming my way. That car was 100% original underneath including shocks. What I didn't know way back then was that these engines are good for 200K miles. I thought they would start to experience problems from 125K-150K so I wanted out. That was a mistake. I sold that car to a dealer for $3K who then flipped it for $3,800. It was exceptionally clean and very attractive. None of the cosmetic issues you'd expect for over 100K miles.

I would think the verts must have more wind noise with the top up. I've owned 3 of them, though never in an LT1/LS1 F body. But, most of your summer cruising is top down. I could care less about wind noise then. From May-September my tops were always down. Almost never drove them in the rain...unless I got caught which only happened a couple times in 10 years.