so i am thinking about buying a very low mileage sub 10K, 2002 "ss" and i want to confirm it is a true SS before paying a premium ..

2002 , TTop, 6speed, it has correct SS hood/decals/ ss 17inch rims, and ss sticker badges.

i used the vin decoder on this site and it shows its a Z28

2dr Cpe Z28 Z28 msrp $22,830.00 / invoice $20,889.45

any way to know if it is a true "ss" i cannot view it in person to check the hood/ spoiler and i guess dont care if they are original, but with the mileage this has ide expect they are.. but you never know, its easy enough to buy and slap stuff on..

 

I think all SS are Z-28's they were taken to SLP to have the SS package added

 

Yes, all SSs were first Z28s, and that's all that the VIN will tell you. You'll need to check the SPID sticker (driver's door jamb) for the "WU8" RPO code. WU8 indicates that it's an original SS car. You can ask the seller to send you a picture of this SPID sticker so you can see the codes for yourself. That sticker also contains the VIN, so you can make sure it matches the one you've already been given.

Alternatively, you can also contact SLP (now SVE) with the VIN and they can provide the SS conversion data, if it is in fact an SS (SLP was contracted to do the SS package for GM on all 4th gen Camaros.)

 

check the RPO code

http://www.chevy-camaro.com/chevy-ca....asp?year=2002

 

perfect ..amazing......

heres hoping....

its got a couple minor cosmetic mods that makes me doubt the originality, but if its real with sub 10K miles i cant pass up a chance to possibly own this great collector.

 

so ive confirmed its a true ss, not from the RPO, which ide prefer, but from the Original Sales sticker, and it is .. with significant options... including the SS sticker package that i love.. short throw shifter...etc.. all optioned on the car... car does have some paint issues from being a southern car.. 10K miles.

Now the question..whats reasonable to pay for this? i was thinking it would be a steal anything south of 20K... not sure seller would go this low.. thoughts?

 

Moving this to "what's it worth" for better responses, since the conversation has now turned to value....

Not sure what the "SS sticker package" is, unless you're referring to the 335/345hp decals that could be bought from SLP for dual/dual or Blackwing & dual/dual optioned cars. I don't recall those decals ever being offered as an original option though, I seem to remember them being sold through the aftermarket retail SLP outlet. Other than that, there were no stickers - just badges (and stripes, if it's an LE car.)

$20k or above would be wishful thinking on the seller's part if the car has paint issues. I've seen #1 condition '02 SSs with M6 trans and full SLP content be listed (even by dealers) for $19-22k with under 5k miles and no paint issues. A 7k mile '98 SS recently sold here for just $15k in premium condition and detailed to concourse show level. These were not LE cars though.

At 10k miles, an example with paint issues sounds like a car that hasn't been treated to consistent indoor storage, and/or it has not received the sort of care that one would expect for a top dollar example. Numbers such as $20k wouldn't even be on my radar if the car has paint problems that are significant enough to be described as "issues". Somewhat of an exception to this would be the roof bubbles, this is an issue for all '99+ F-bodies and will affect even those examples which have received the best of care. It's costly (and/or difficult if you do it yourself) to fix, so it's still a consideration, but it doesn't automatically mean that the car has been neglected. If it has other sorts of paint issues, then it's not worthy of top dollar no matter how low the miles are IMO.

I would say that we'd need a better description of the paint concerns and perhaps some photos to get an idea of true value. But based on what is known so far, there's no way it's a $20k+ vehicle IMO.

 

thanks man... yeah i hopped on ebay quick after i wrote the above.. seller hasnt gotten me a price yet, but i should have it in the next few days...

Description of Paint issues: clear fade on hood/trunk/front bumper.... im thinking if i want to fix it im probably looking at about $1-2K.. for paint/new stickers.. but i would prob leave it like it was , so its original.. its a FL car.. so im guessing it sat outside a ton... crazy to me that i would be sat outside and not driven...

As for the SLP options: i did get a peak at the RPO stickers.. its for sure true.. but didnt get to see the slp sticker... on the original purchase order there are costs for the following:

ss performance package cost $3500: 325HP, 17in rims, hi perofrmance ride , low restriction duel outlet exhaust, ss badges.

Another Add of $3K for "35th anniversary slp edition" and more for "slp regulation" and short throw shifter

I for sure want this car.. just dont want to over pay .. ive already got 4 camaros.. but this would be by far my lowest milage one.. that would just sit and be driven to car shows.

Good info on the other recent sales... i feel like a 2002 definately has a higer value than a 98.. given options and paint condition.. im kinda thinking i wanna stick to a budget of 15Kish. any other weigh ins on value it greatly appreciated, ill probably only get a day or two to make the deal once its presented to me , before the buyer goes to other options.

 

A regular 2002 SS M6 (not the true LE anniv car) with 10K miles is worth approx $15.5K-$17K in MINT condition. Zero paint issues. 2 years ago such cars were bringing $16.5K-$17K. They aren't bringing more today.

Now if you have red/striped anniversary car, that's probably another $2K premium. Fwiw, we've seen some of those listed here with 15K-20K miles and sell for $16K-$17K. Can't recall if those were all A4's or not.

The car you are considering with paint issues, essentially negates the ultra low mileage of under 10K. Those cars should have been garaged 95-99% of the time and still have near perfect paint. If you have your mind set on a 10K mile car....the paint needs to be exceptional....or in this case....lowered $1K-$3K to account for fixing it. And you'll still have a re-painted car, unlike 95+% of all the 10K mile cars out there.

I would consider $18K to be tops for a true M6 2002 LE anniv coupe with say 9K miles. For $20K+ the mileage probably needs to be under 5K. Red car, special graphics/stripes on hood and hatch back. Just because there's a badge in the interior stating "35th anniv" doesn't make it a desirable LE model. EVERY 2002 SS got that badge.

With an MSRP of $22,830, that doesn't sound like near enough money for a true 35th anniversary LE car which would have been over $30K. Actually, $22K isn't near enough for an SS either. My '99 SS MSRP'd around $28K as I recall. The regular Z28's were about $3500-$4000 less, which was the cost for the SS package.

 

how would one know if its an LE car?

$22.. was what the vin search said.. and im sure that was the base z28 price , less options.. after viewing the original sales sticker.. it was $33,600 with all the options..

this is a red car with the stripe kit, and has the center exhaust, dual tone leather interior.. etc that listed above.. doesnt appear to have any modifications from stock..

 

it does have the "z4c" rpo code as well... so im guess that means its an LE car?

 

Sounds like it is an LE car, based on the RPO and details listed above. But that doesn't change how true the following is:

The car ceases to be as "special" as other very low mileage examples once it's had significant paint work. And it sounds like this one would need significant paint work. No telling what other aspects have been totally neglected if it just sat outside and was allowed to fade all these years. Fluids and such could be a mess. Coolant might be original from 2002, etc.

The options and low mileage definitely give the car some value and make it worth fixing up, but it's not worth nearly as much as a comparable example that's in the sort of condition which most folks would expect from a 10k mile, 15 year old "special interest" car.

If all the upper surfaces need to be repainted, then you're also looking at the need for a new decal/stripe kit. The car would need to be several thousand less than otherwise comparable "perfect" examples to be a good buy, IMO. It's hard to get a real feel for the overall condition without some detailed pictures, as I suspect other things are much less nice than they should be based on the paint issues. But ~$20k is outrageous based on what's known so far. Again, last summer/fall there was a 4k mile '02 SS M6, in NBM, with full SLP content (other than the LE package) and all factory options listed at a midwest dealer for $18.9k (a few of us discussed this car in another thread over the winter.) This was a true #1 condition car, nicest I've seen since these cars were new, but still it sat at that price until early this spring before someone picked it up. LE cars are worth a bit more, but I can't imagine paying more than the example I listed above for an LE car that has twice the miles and needs all the upper surfaces to be repainted - it should be several thousand less.

 

thx much.. yeah im kinda thinkin 15K is my max on this one.. preferably lower.. but i think 15 ish is fair market on this car.. and anything less is icing on the cake.. ill update the thread next week.. lt you guys know if i get it..

 

I don't understand paint issues on a car with those miles unless it was neglected. It is hard to imagine but that's the only way I see it. I lived in Florida my entire life until I retired here in NC in 2002. I owned a 1996 Formula (bought it new) and it spent 6 years in the state. Never a night outside but my wife actually took it to work 3 days a week for many years sitting in the hot FL sun. The paint was still excellent because I cared for the car. There were no issues and it was that unusual blue-green chameleon color too. We put 40k miles on that car and it was still excellent paint, at least 'very good'. A 10k miles car should be nothing short of excellent IMO.
I agree that the car must have been left outside and rarely waxed or cared for. My 1996 C4 was a FL car for nearly 20 years and it had 28k miles when I bought it last summer. The paint is very good to excellent right now as it sits in my garage, 6 years older than the Camaro we are discussing. All original. There is just no excuse for paint issues on the Camaro. RPM WS6 mentioned this already and I also would wager that the fluids are all original except for the oil. I would like to be wrong but this car is an enigma as you describe it. $15k now plus quite a bit of $$ in the near future still adds up. If I missed something on the tires, that's another $800 for a new quality set.
Be careful with this one. Neglected cars can be the worse. We haven't even discussed varmint issues if it sat outside either. It's a very real issue in FL, from mice to ants. Nasty, and smelly. Do NOT buy this car sight unseen. Sorry to scare you but I've been into cars for decades and just sharing experience. I wish you the best. Good luck!

 

dont worry your not scaring me.. these are all things ive thought about, as well as yeah this car must have been neglected in some ways. like i said i own a bunch of fbodies (finishing up with some rust repair painting on another 2002 z28 convt i own tonight).. so im well aware what issues our 4th gens have... and i know sitting isnt good for them... i fully expect to be replacing all fluids on this car.. (which doesnt scare me one bit). and who knows what bushings ill get to deal with... heres hoping the LCA bushings are in good shape.. we all know how fun those are....

It is definately an enigma of a car.. with the low miles and paint fade.. im working with broker on the car ( unfortunately) so i dont know the whole back story.. but all i can guess is the same.. that it was left outside in the sun a majority of the time, and not driven.... who does that on a highly optioned collector car....

but maybe thats all good for me and ill get it for a steal.. im really hoping i can get it for a good deal.. because ive wanted one of the 02 "ss" ever since they came out, but i was 22 at that time and no way i could afford it then Of the 10-15 fbodies ive owned, i never had a real ss. this one would be a keeper for sure...

down side is ill have to get rid of my 98 z28 hardtop.. to make room for this one... but thats ok , its a good trade..

 

Nearly every potential buyer of a 2002 LE anniv car with low miles is expecting great, orig paint. 90-98% probably have it. It's even more important for this car to have great orig paint than a regular 2002 SS. In 20-40 yrs that might not matter so much. For now it does. If the paint was hurting enough, I could see the car worth under $15K. As I mentioned earlier, forum members have sold their A4 LE's with approx 15K miles for $16K-$16.5K.

 

Some great advice/input from NC01TA and Firebrian above. Not much else to add except for this...

It's not necessarily the "sitting" part that hurts them, it's the "neglect" part. My '98 is currently at 17k miles, and it had 11k miles when I bought it in 2004. So you can see how little I drive it. But when I do take it out, it drives just as well as a 2-3 year old car with similar mileage. I just can't stress enough how well it runs and drives, even with such little usage over the years. Thing is, I don't neglect the car; fluids are still changed regularly, fuel is always treated with stabilizers, when I take it out it's for at least 20-40 miles of driving to get things well warmed up, it's always stored in a garage (semi-climate controlled) - never outside, etc. Basically this is a best-case scenario for a limited use vehicle, and I've been rewarded with an excellent experience doing so. Of course, there are no guarantees with a 15-20 year old car, but if you can find a low mile example that was properly maintained for it's role then you shouldn't be fighting a ton of "old car" problems with something of this age/era.