http://www.prestigeautomall.com/web/...Ohio/32130217/

What you guys think? I live in Lincoln, NE but they said they would be willing to take off $350 for the price of the airline ticket.

 

Did you look at the Car Fax? It's got some warts. Accident to right front around 31K miles in early March 2003 (winter accident?). Failed 4 emissions inspections from June 2007-Jan 2008. Probably passed on the 5th try. But a couple months later it was put out to pasture and sat for 8 years/260 miles if the CarFax is to be believed. Maybe it never did PASS inspection. And earlier on this thing was racking up the miles at around 15K-20K per year for 3-4 years. And it's basically gotten little mileage since 2005. Then off to the Pennsylvania auto auction in July 2015 where the current dealer probably bought it in August. And a couple months later it's still unsold which suggests they wanted too much money (think $10K+). Touted as 1 owner. I'd assume (until proven otherwise) that this car was driven 3 or 4 winters up in the Buffalo NY area where big snow falls are common. It's hard to pile on 15K-20K miles just driving from April-November. Former owner history probably went bye bye after the auto auction.

I wouldn't be willing to take a plane trip from NE to OH on a dealer's words and some photos. There's enough in the CarFax to scare me off. Fine if a local purchase where you can dig without expenses. I already had one guy tell me this year they did a 600-1000 mile plane flight deal only to find out the car had "issues" kept hidden by the seller and he was already stuck having made an offer....plus eating the expenses to get there. Fwiw, there's another large retail dealer in Cuyahoga Falls (assuming there's only one of these) that specializes in new and used FBodies/Vettes. I checked them out once and they're one of the major players in the nation. I remember a 2000 SS I was looking at in CT came from that dealer. If you're gonna make that trip, I'd have a couple of dealers to check out and spend 2-3 days if you're that serious....so that you know you're likely to be able to drive back with a reliable car. I know Nebraska is probably not a hot-bed of activity making your search tougher.

Lambert Chevy/GMC is the dealer I was thinking of. And Don Sitts Chevrolet shows up a lot on Autotrader.com with used '98-'02 FBodies. Lots of big dealers in this area. The guy I ran into saw the Lambert 2000 SS vert with 22K miles on the internet and flew 600 miles to buy it....and drove it back. After 6 years or so he traded that car in for a 30K mile Z06 Vette in 2011. Fwiw, that 2000 SS with 74K miles had a repaint on the upper right quarter panel. Never even asked about it once I found it with a paint gauge. Just passed on the car since it started showing light bubbling on the hood as well and had a rear end whine...it had the engine piston slap too. That car took the dealer about 6-8 months to sell over the fall/winter/spring. It had 3 appearances on Ebay...none resulting in a sale as the price dropped from $12K to $10K to $9K.

 

Wow, I really appreciate the time you spent to put in that post. I agree with you. I decided against it..

Right now, It's between two local cars. '96 SS or a '00 SS. 96 is an original SLP car and has 134k miles. The 2000 is Pewter and has 63k miles. Both are 6spds. 96 is $5,500 and the 2000 is 9,500. They are both 3 owner cars and basically stock. Both very very clean, new clutches, fluids changed, etc. The 96 looks like it has 40k miles, literally.

 

Or....

 

I agree, it's just too far to take a gamble with all those red flags. If it were local it would probably be worth checking out as it doesn't look bad for the mileage in those pictures. Pictures can hide a lot though, which is why I'm generally very hard on my judgement of cars based on pictures. If you can see obvious flaws in typical sales images, then you can be certain it will be even worse in person.

That price is pretty good for the mileage, considering it's a dealer. There's a similar one near me at the moment (same color/miles/options and also at a dealer) for $10k - over priced for sure, it's really worth something closer to the one linked above. But dealers usually ask too much, so the fact this one is fairly priced right out of the gate leads me to believe there are some hidden issues (perhaps relating to all those failed emissions inspections, all the years of non-use, and/or the accident repair, etc.)

 

Based on those two pictures, I would never guess that SS has anywhere near 134k on it. Someone was truly careful with that car, and really went above and beyond in terms of cosmetic care/mindfulness for a driver. Does the engine bay and undercarriage look just as nice? If so, it'd be a shame to pass up for such a low price. You'd have to expect some needed repairs (either now or very soon) at that mileage, but with that level of cosmetic care it's unlikely that the car is a mechanical basket case at all (unless the most recent owner has had it just long enough to beat the remaining life out of the drivetrain.)

But these cars are not really comparable due to the LT1 vs. LS1, unless you don't really care which engine you get. Personally, I like bright red a whole lot more than Pewter (two of mine were Pewter, I got sick of the color both times, I hope I don't make that mistake a third time!) If you have your heart set on an LS1, you might regret going with the other (of course you could always do an engine swap, but that may or may not be something you're willing to consider.)

 

Normally I'd say take the LS1 over the LT1, and the red over the pewter, and lower mileage over higher mileage. If the LS1 wasn't pewter you'd be 3 for 3. So it comes down to your own preferences vs. future repair costs. At a 135K miles I'd be worried about all major mechanical and electrical systems. If you can do all the work yourself, then probably no big deal. I'd want to know what suspension, steering, brake, exhaust, window motors, AC compressor, radiator, etc. was possibly already done to the car. If the LT1 got 100-125K miles on the first clutch, that's pretty good. I'd want a detailed documented history on the LT1 to jump in with that many miles...including a record of all fluid changes. You can pretty much guess that many major mechanical/electrical systems on the LS1 have not been done yet at 63K miles.

When I sold my '98 Z28 with 115K miles it had the appearance in and out of a 55K mile car. But I can assure the suspension probably needed work as it was still on original shocks, bushings, etc. I guess answer to which one to choose will come down to how forthcoming the 3rd owners are with the car's history of maintenance and use. And they may not even have a clue what owner #1 did. Or you just might wait for something else to come your way that is exactly what you're looking for. What would be your ideal car as far as year, color, options, etc. ? The winter bargains will be coming on the block soon through March. Prices will likely drop further. I wouldn't be in a rush to buy in mid-October. Even if you get your car it will be sitting for most of the next 5-6 months (more insurance to pay too). That's why I'd prefer Jan-March as better months to try and find bargains. Though in your region you might be hampered by not being able to even test drive a vehicle. I was lucky with my January 20th SS purchase as we had just gone through 2 weeks of no snow or bad weather. I got a 6-8 mile test drive in...though I couldn't verify the AC was actually working good since it was 25F degrees outside. The day after I got the car home it snowed heavily and the car couldn't get out again until mid-March. In March I found out the AC wasn't charged due to a compressor leak.

 

If you have the money saved, then take the time to get what you want. You may not be able to control what comes up for sale and when, but if you are looking and have a clear list of what you are looking for, eventually it will come along and you will have to move.

These cars do not have dramatically different performance from Chevrolet to Pontiac or from Formula to Trans Am. LT1 to LS1 does make a difference. And so does their looks which is completely subjective.

Years-
Colour-both exterior and interior
Mileage
Condition
Powertrain-LS1 or LT1
Transmission-Manual or standard

 

This is the toughest decision ever. I didn't realize how much more expensive LT1 parts were. Maybe I should just go with the LS1.

 

If it's that tough a decision, maybe you should wait until you know you're looking at a great deal and/or the exact right car. I settled for a good deal that was close to home. And a year later the exact car I was looking for (2001 NBM WS6 A4 vert with 12K miles) popped up 50 miles from me. Sort of regretted not waiting and settling for a 12K mile '99 SS M6. Never hurts to wait.

 

I ended up going with the LT1. It looks great from the outside, but man I hate the interior. So many rattles. I might just have to make the exhaust louder!