Hi, I'm searching for a sub $5k weekend toy, with a 6 speed and would like a running driving car, not a project. I'm happy to do most of my own maintenance/repairs.

I'm in NJ and have seached CL, ebay autotrader, etc. and found 2 potential candidates:

Car #1 is 2000 z28, ttop, 6 speed silver with 172k miles, will need tires and front seats are worn/small tears.

Radiator, brakes and shocks have been done in the last 25,000 miles already.

Owner is asking $5k which I think is high. What do the experts think?

I was in the $3500 offer range maybe considering the costs I figure on below
$400-500 for new tires.
$300-400 for fluid flushes, etc
OEM seat covers seem pricey, may just put inexpensive covers on for the time being.

Car #2 is a 1999 black 6 speed convertible with 190k miles and said to be a good runner. Recent fluid changes, replaced shocks and 50% tread life tires, top replaced 2 years ago and in good shape are the highlights.

small PS leak, rear end whine is present when cold and 2 small dings present are the issues.

Owner is asking $5200 and says black 6 speed verts are rare
I'm not sure on an offer range for this car and the rear end whine repair cost might scare me off

Thanks in advance!!

 

You're not really in the realm of WIW here.... but what can go wrong in the future with cheap, very high mileage cars. That's a skill that some forum members do have....but not many.

Rear end whine has scared me off before. Unless you have the means to put in a new rear end yourself for under $1,000 I'd pass on that. While some T56's make it up to these mileage points, it's not the norm imo. I wouldn't touch any manual trans Camaro unless the trans was rebuilt somewhere in the 100K-150K mile range and displays no symptoms. And even then, it could be on the way out by 175K miles.

The owner is full of it that black 6 speed verts are rare. The most common color is black. So they're never "rare." Clean, surviving, medium mileage M6 verts priced under $10K probably are rare (50K-90K miles). They tend to be very low mileage cream puffs or mega miles abused puppies. Even some of the ones with only 75K miles can seem worn out.

My recommendation is stepping up to the $7K-$10K range and buying a car with 1/3 to 1/2 of the miles you are considering. But, finding well maintained 1998-2000 6 speed verts in that price range could be tough. It does seem anyone with a decent M6 vert wants over $10K if it has under 80K miles. The mileage premium is cheap for cars between 30K-75K miles. I'd take advantage of that. Chances are your toy could be in the garage getting fixed every weekend. If you're going that direction, then I'd find a like-minded person that has kept their 150K-195K mile M6 vert up to snuff with proper maintenance. You don't want to buy from sluggo unless you're a top flight mechanic who has access to cheap parts and enjoys working on the car more than driving it. Just my 2c. The wild card is whether are not your $5K purchase has an engine, trans, and rear end that will hold up during your ownership....to pass along to the next guy. And in the 2 cars you listed, there's not a word about engine/transmission noises/repairs/symptoms. I doubt they are symptom free, especially the trans.

Your title says "00 vert." But I would consider 98's and 99's as well. Even a 2001/2002 if the price is right. The last vert M6 I test drove was 2 years ago....a 2000 Z28 with 42K miles. I test drove it more to see how that M6 felt compared to my own. The vert had an untouched M6 with the sloppy factory shifter. It was certainly sloppy, ratchety, and slow to shift....almost like I was shifting on a school bus from the old days. But if felt like it had considerable life left. The AC on that car was not working....easy to figure out on a 85 deg early summer day. The salesman who went for the ride with me thought I was kidding when after the test drive I said matter of fact, the AC was broken. Didn't help their case any not knowing what was wrong with their own car. He called me at home the next day to tell me I was right. Surprise. Those guys were asking $12,995 for that car which I didn't think was very competitive. The overall driving experience in it was not that good. The car was not crisp, tight, or fun in any way shape or form compared to my 15K mile SS M6.

New Jersey seems to be a decent place to find some decent mid to lower mileage vert M6's on the cheap.

 

Thank you for taking the time with your post and the insight, much appreciated and makes sense. I havent had a chance to see either car in person yet and the recent snow will probably not help. As others have said before, I need to be patient and keep an open mind on my search. While I would like to spend more, currently that is not the case.

If I find the right car I can stretch it a little but definitively not up to $7-10k unfortunately.

 

I purchased my 00 SS for $5K. It had 191K miles but was very well taken care of and was a 2 owner car that always belonged to older folks. I'd rather have a high mileage car that was well taken care of than a 80K mile car that has not.

I suggest driving both cars and get the feel for the folks that own them. See what records they have and if they tend to be meticulous people or not. Meticulous folks tend to take care of their things and probably were cautious when they bought the car too.

 

Thanks Robert for the reply and I agree with you.
My other thought on budget is if I can pickup a decent car in the $3000-3500 range then I have some $$ for maintenance and to make future repairs. Cars that are $5-6k still have mileage in the low to mid 100k range.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

I agree with rebury, It does just depend on how well it was taken care of.

 

Sub $5k is hard to find on an M6 LS1, regardless of miles. You can find autos in the $3500 range with high miles. I would say they're about right on the price, you might find one for $4500, but I doubt much lower.

 

Who the heck is "rebury"?

 

I will be putting my car up for sale probably this spring(shortly, but its winter stored in the garage right now). Its been a great car, but i will be asking around 6500 firm and its a M6 with 65k miles on it black/ttops. Once i get it out of storage and clean it up i will post pics, but its a slight bolton turnkey type car and its also an American car that i brought up here when i moved to Montreal.