I've been looking for a trans am and I think I found the one.

One owner. Auto. Stored winters. Very clean on the inside drivers seat has a bit of wear in one spot there are small cracks on both doors near windows.

The good:
OEM ram air hood & air box (filter?) that was added when purchased
New suspension hardware, shocks, springs, bushings, motor mounts, ball joints, and brake pads
New exhaust from the cat back
Transmission rebuilt 5 years ago
Rear end rebuilt 3 years ago
17 in American Racing rims

The bad:
AC doesn't work
Rear end whine when accelerating (ring and pinion gears are out of alignment according to owner, they were replaced at 70k)
Motor makes noise when starting cold but goes away after warming up
Small ding that is hardly noticeable
Spider web cracks in the paint behind license plate in front
Paint bubbling near ttops


Few extras including:
Stock rims
Stock hood & air box
Strano performance lowering springs, control arms, and other stuff to lower the car that I would probably just sell.
Old snow tires with steel rims


The owner wants 5k is this reasonable?
craigs link:https://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/6111545267.html

 

I think $5K would be a decent deal for a 1999 Firebird LS1 A4 with 90K miles even if the car had nothing rebuilt. So here you've had the trans, suspension, and exhaust redone. That will save some money. Too bad the rear end was "rebuilt" and now whines. Who can say if that's a whine leading to failure or just using the wrong fluid/additive combo? Living with a constant whine could be a pita. Find out what this original owner has already done to try and resolve it. Why wasn't that brought up to the shop when they first did that work? The engine noise could be something as simple as the standard cold startup valve train/piston knocking. If it's something else, that could run you another $1K and up.

The not working AC will run you $400-$800 for a compressor replacement + other standard replacement parts. The free parts tossed in don't hurt and sound like they could be worth $500 or more.

Certainly some warts here to consider. You don't want to be stuck with a big engine/rear end repair bill soon after you buy it. Normally I'd say an original owner car is a big plus. In this case, the original owner has let a few things slide. For the transmission being rebuilt 5 yrs ago, I'd like to know at what mileage. It was 75K or less I'd wonder what the owner did to end its life prematurely? Even 90K miles is early for an A4 trans to failure unless you're racing/tracking it hard...or...ignoring fluid changes.

I'd figure a 90K mile Trans Am with everything up to snuff and working fine is around $7K. A couple of well rebuilt and upgraded 1998-2000 Trans Am M6's sold for right around $8K on this site the past couple of years.

Nice touch that the owner wants to count your $5K in cash before you even test drive the car. Like this is some babied and pristine garage queen. That requirement alone might keep me away....lol. At $5K it doesn't seem like you'd be buried or anything. You could show up with the $5K....not be happy with the overall package....and counter with $4,500 or $4,000. If they don't like it....leave. They know you have the cash. I'm from the New England area as well and decent and fairly priced Trans Ams aren't that plentiful.

 

Thanks for the reply Firebrian.

When I first contacted the owner I did ask about the whining rear end this was his response

The rear end whines under accel because the pinion gear and ring gear are slightly out of alignment. The car needed rear wheel bearings and when the technician opened the rear end to do that job, he found that the ring and pinion gear were worn. So, I had the shop replace the gears and bearings inside the rear end. Problem is, the new gears are wearing like the original gears. The shop thinks that there’s a problem with the rear end housing.The original gears still had life in them at 70k miles and the replacements should last that long.


I will inquire about the trans and see why it needed to be rebuilt.

 

So it looks like the transmission shop put the blame on the factory "housing." I wouldn't buy the story that they will last 70K miles as well. This guy might want out of the car before anything else major breaks. I test drove a 2001 SS A4 w/74K miles back in 2011 and it had a rear end whine. Very annoying. The dealership took the car in on trade from the 2nd owner and said they would take care of it. I didn't want to go any further though. I had my own 1998 Z28 A4 to 115K miles when I sold it and it didn't have any noises or bangs from the engine, trans or rear end. The original suspension and shocks rattled some on bump roads....I knew something was needed there.

It sort of feels like the owner put some abuse on the trans and rear end along the way. Maybe the engine too. If there's a leak from the AC system, they should be able to tell you exactly where it's from....unless they never bothered to check.

 

I would go with never bothered to check, he mentioned it would hold a charge but eventually stopped doing that. Unrelated to this car but I have been looking at another https://syracuse.craigslist.org/cto/6076047299.html Nothing rebuilt but from what you mentioned before ~5k for 90k miles is reasonable this one has 10k more miles and nothing rebuilt. No mention of rear end whining.

 

nvm the syracuse one is sold

 

He wants to count your cash before taking you for a test ride? This isn't some investment grade show piece that lives in a bubble and requires great effort and risk to take on the road. Don't want someone to drive it themselves until they show some cash? Fine, I could understand that and might ask for the same depending on the situation. But I wouldn't categorically insist on proof of funds prior to taking interested shoppers for a ride. Most reasonable sellers can tell if someone is serious after some phone or in-person conversation, no need to sound so hostile in the ad.

Between all the issues listed and his recurrent references to it being "as is", "18 years old so drive it easy", "sorry", etc., I wouldn't expect much out of this car. $5k is a fair price for what you *appear* to be getting, but with all those issues and the need for so many new parts (at a relatively low mileage where such shouldn't be needed), I'd be worried about what's under the skin. That $5k car could quickly become an $8-10k car, at which point you could have started with a much nicer example.

My thinking is along these lines:

I sold my '02 Z28 at ~110k miles and it didn't need any of the major items that this Trans Am has already had or needs by 80k miles. All those rear axle issues shouldn't really be present at this mileage in an auto car unless it was driven pretty hard during some period. Same story for the trans.

The engine noise sounds like it could be simple (and common) LS1 piston slap. You'd really need to hear it in person (and be familiar with it) to know for sure, but if that's all it is then it's nothing to worry about.

The bubbling roof paint is a major repair to deal with (roof replacement), if you care to fix it permanently.

It definitely sounds like a car that needs some love and attention, and that hasn't lived the easiest of lives, so I'd expect having to put some cash into it - which wouldn't be the end of the world at that relatively low initial price point. You just have feel reasonably confident after inspecting it that you're better off fixing up this one vs. buying a nicer, more expensive one with which to start.

 

The usual good stuff by RPM WS6....and saying it much better than I ever could. You have a knack for that, sir.

 

Thanks for the reply RPM WS6. I am definitely reconsidering this car now. The issues you and Firebrian pointed out have raised my suspicions on how well this car was treated. I would much rather wait and find a car in better shape for around the same price. There are too many maybes here.

 

Thanks for the kind words, but you shouldn't sell yourself short. You give some great advice here as well.

 

At that price point, you might not find anything a whole lot better though. I think your options are to either expect some [perhaps major] repair expenses right away with a cheaper car (such as this), or save a bit more and get into an example that likely won't need much right out of the gate. Point being, either way it's going to cost you - it's just a choice between spending cash to fix something up, or putting more towards something that's nicer in the first place.

 

lost me at the green undercarriage

 

This is typical/common for the factory black 4th gens and not at all alarming:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/paint-bod...ck-02-ws6.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-l...rcairrage.html

 

Learn something new everyday i guesd

 

He just knocked 1k off the price. Is that enough to offset the cost of future issues based on the description?

 

There really isn't any way to answer this without a crystal ball, I'd say to check it out in person and get a feel for the overall condition before deciding if it's a car that's potentially worth sinking several thousand more into. I'd expect that it will need a whole new rear, but your options there range between $300-500 for a good used stock rear to $2-3k+ for the various aftermarket rear options (or something in-between if you rebuild the original rear again.) I'd also consider the trans rebuild to be suspect since it sounds like those are the same guys that [unsuccessfully] rebuilt the rear end and then blamed the subsequent failure on a bad factory housing? Or whatever the story was. Trans rebuild can range in price from ~$2k (less if you know someone or can do much or all of the labor yourself) to 2-3 times that much depending on how "built" you want it to be. And then you still don't know if the engine noise is common piston slap or something more serious (another reason why you'd really need to check it out in person first.) If the rest of the car gives you the general feeling that you wouldn't mind spending $4-6k addressing some of the listed issues and redoing all those areas that have been done but that might not have been done well or right, then it might be worth the gamble. Otherwise, hold out for one that's in better condition and/or gives you a better feeling after an in person inspection.

Any further speculation prior to checking it out is really pointless. Many times I've found myself going back and forth on a car based on an ad and pictures, wondering if it's worth it. Often times, once I go to actually look at the car I can tell within a matter of minutes (sometimes even seconds) if it's worth another moment of consideration; all that time spent debating and analyzing take a back seat to gut feelings and obvious observations once you look at some of these cars in person.

 

My 99TA is a six speed with heads and cam & 4.10s...its had most of the problems listed above.

For comparison:

AC failed = compressor etc for $900
10 bolt whined with 4.10s and bad axle bearings at 157,000 milestone. Cost to fix 10 bolt the estimate was $1200 for new axles and gears plus other parts and labor. I got an 8.8 rear.


I'd keep $2500 to $3500 in reserve for repairs if you buy the car.