Milk Jug

Considering putting my WS6 on the market, unfortunately no idea what it's worth. Can't find any good comparisons on CL, cars.com, or anywhere else.

It's a 1999 Sebring Silver WS6 with grey leather. Has a 6 speed with 72k miles, and I'd consider it cleaner than all but showroom cars. (I'm a detailer.)

Mods within past

Milk Jug

Sorry, post cut off for some reason.

Mods within the past 12k miles are:

-skip shift eliminator cable

-SLP lid

-SLP ORY 2.5" (still has cats)

-SLP LM1 catback

-6LE Corsa Clone tips

-Tick Performance adjustable master cylinder

-UMI color matched strut tower brace

-Emblem Pros rear "PONTIAC" lettering

-Reconditioned OEM WS6 wheels

-New Sumitomo tires

-New Duralast Gold rotors and pads

Cons:

-whining rear end (was like that when purchased with 59k

-cracked door panel

-misc sensors need replaced (I can do that)

-bad headlight gear (can do that too)

Firebrian

Even with exceptional detailing, I don't see how a 70K mile car, no matter how clean and shiny, could be worth more than a "clean" and nice appearing 55K mile car. Most of the car's value is still based on mileage, though you can get a plus for superb condition at that mileage. Whoever comes to see you car gleaming like that will try not to go home without it. Central mid-west is a fairly strong area for these cars.

I come up with about $11K-$12K for this. It's possible you could squeeze out something extra via your detailing curb appeal. I used 2 points of reference. A 1 owner, black 2000 WS6 M6 with 14K miles that was offered to me for $17K a few years back. Adjust that down $500 for a '99, and then down another $4.5K for miles, and you get $12K. My '99 SS M6 with 17K miles is worth around $13K. Add $1.5K for the WS6 Firebird over an SS. Then subtract that $14.5K by the mileage difference ($3500-$4500). Using $3500 I'd get $11K.

A well kept and nice looking WS6 M6 of any year is going to attract attention. Your car with 70K miles is probably in a range where you don't see very many. Most seem to have 0K-45K miles or 100K and up. The NADA and KBB price guides will understate the mileage premium for a 70K mile car. They also give zero value for an M6 (a $1,000-$1,500 mistake that benefits many buyers).

NADA "clean/top retail" is only $9350. That's definitely too low though some people around here have bought at those types of levels from sellers who think the price guides are the final word. Your car is only given a $1400 mileage premium over the expected 165,000 mile car. How nuts is that for almost 100,000 lower miles! That's 1.5c per mile! Even more nuts is that for a 14K mile 1 owner '99 WS6 it's valued at $10,762....or 30-35% low. Let me know where I can "buy back" 100,000 miles on a WS6 for $1,500. Best money you can spend. I've seen a number of cases where WS6 M6 buyers have paid $10K for 100K mile cars.

The rear end whine would concern me, even if you've been able to avoid any trouble over the past 13,000 miles. I've only test driven one LS1 with a rear end whine (a 2000 SS A4 with 74K miles) and it was a major reason why I passed on that car. I didn't want a $2K repair/replacement bill in my future. Your mods don't make much difference either way on a 70K mile car. But, to get top dollar and see it go quickly, you'd need to address the rear end a bit more (at least pin point the source or eliminate important ones: pop the diff cover and have an inspection done). No doubt, you paid less for this car because of that whine. Very nice looking car that looks more like 35K-55K miles....engine bay is exceptionally clean for the mileage.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/1999/...-Am-WS6/Values

Milk Jug

Thank you Firebrian, I genuinely appreciate the detail in your response. I will take your advice into consideration.

I had the rear end looked at, and the culprit is the passenger axle bearing. (I would have the rear end rebuilt vs. replacing that single bearing.)

I was called an idiot for toying with the idea of starting my car at $10,500.

You are correct, I purchased the car without any modifications for $9,000 in July.

Firebrian

What's the cost of replacing a single axle bearing? And I suspect the differential looked fine internally?

Well, you bought the car quite right to begin with as long as the axle/axle bearing is not more than $500-$1,000. The stock rear end is a weak link. So most people would end up replacing it with a stronger unit. That's the $2K+ bill. Sounds like your pretty much on top of things.

Fwiw I did a check on the national autotrader.com for all 1998-2000 Firebird V8's with under 75K miles, priced at under $13K, with manual transmission. Just 2 cars qualifid. Only one of them is a WS6....1-owner car priced at $13,000. Pickings are slim on these at that price level. They usually sell right away when priced right. I expanded the search out to $14K and under 100K miles. A couple more cars showed up, most of them Trans Ams. Only 1 is similar to yours....a 1 owner, 1998 bone stock WS6 M6 with 81K miles at $11,750.

I did one more search for any 1998-2002's WS6's with under 45K miles and under $16K. NONE listed...just 2 clones. You have to hit $17K-$20K to start running into a number of M6's. When selecting both auto and manual trans....a total of 13 cars pop up. They don't grow on trees.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/Used+Cars/cars+between+8000+and+14000/Pontiac/Firebird/East+Lyme+CT-06333?endYear=2000&engineCode=8CLDR&engineCodes=8C LDR&firstRecord=0&listingType=used&listingTypes=us ed&makeCode1=PONT&maxMileage=100000&maxPrice=14000 &minPrice=8000&mmt=[PONT[FBIRD[]][]]&modelCode1=FBIRD&photosOnlyActual=true&pricesOnly =true&searchRadius=0&showcaseListingId=0&showcaseO wnerId=0&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&startYear=1998&tra nsmissionCode=MAN&transmissionCodes=MAN&Log=0