Interesting note. My apologies if the inquiry was strange. You will find some die hard 4th Gen fanatics on this site so I am always interested to find what exactly it is that brings those here. Usually it is because the platform is cheap but rarely do I see someone who has means and has had newer platforms come back to the 4th Gen. I am with you as a kid the WS6 was probably the most just pure bad *** car from the new era (i.e. I was very involved as a kid in restoring muscle cars in the late 90's early 00's) and I have always wanted one. I will be in the same boat you are in a few years and have actually contemplated selling my LS2 GTO to go back to a 4th Gen of which an 02 WS6 would be my car of choice.

Funny how the cars of youth can impact you to the point that your willing to look past all the flaws and still desire to go back. I sold my 96 SS a few years ago and constantly find myself talking with my wife reminiscing on the Bose stereo the thing had in it. Honestly the best stock stereo equipment I have every seen. That coupled with the SLP two out the left exhaust and LT1 exhaust note and I feel strong that I will be buying another here in the next 5 years unfortunately lol.

 

The WS6 and other special versions are definitely going up in value, and selling, if they meet certain criteria.
1-3 owners, no young owners, no winters or rain (or very little exposure to rain), documentation, low to very low miles, no to light mods at the most, ext.

Anything that's heavily modded is not worth nearly as much,
And these cars are selling, I even followed up a few that were on autotrader where a dealer was asking over 20K for a WS6, both are sold.
So yea, they are rising in value and as the nice examples get older and more rare, their value climbs with it.

The Firehawk draws less attention then a WS6 with the more tame, less aggressive hood.
The LT1 Firehawks looked like base Formula's with nice wheels and the R/A hood/single exhaust, nothing that special visually or much more appealing then a normal Formula.
It is more rare though, for sure.

WS9 simply means the car is a V8, nothing more.

This doesn't make any sense.
Many muscle cars of the 70's were not that desirable at the time, and 3 decades later.
Odd ***** like the Gremlin and Pinto rose in value due to rarity.

The 4th Gen WS6 is MUCH more popular then those cars ever will be, and in 20-30 years I see a car like mine pulling a crapload of money.

You don't know that, and all information and arrows point the opposite.
Mecum has original cars with 20-50K that sell for ridiculous amounts of money.
You seem to have a 4th gen fbody lodged in your thinking as something that will never be desirable in the future, or even now, and that's an opinion that's quickly getting trounced by fact.
Sorry RPM I got mad respect for you and we have been through this and we mostly agree, but in regards to a nice WS6 that meets the criteria I mentioned your wrong on this, and what people are starting to pay for these cars is inarguable.
And their not even that old yet.

 

I'm not sure what sort of "facts" you're referring to, but nobody is even getting original MSRP for ~30k mile garden variety WS6 cars, and it only gets worse if you adjust that for inflation.

Here are the facts as I see them: I bought a brand new WS6 in July of 2000, its sticker price was just over $31k. Using the inflation calculator I posted above ( https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm ), that's about $45k in today's dollars.

My statement that you quoted above was taken out of context, so lets put it back together:

1st, by "astronomical gains", I was referring to that select group of '60s/early '70s muscle cars that are actually worth many multiples of their original inflation adjusted MSRP (which was a point I was debating from earlier in the thread). A 32k mile original '00 WS6 is not going to be one of those cars (meaning not a Hemi Cuda, not an LS6 Chevelle, not a '69 Z28, not a '73 SD455 Trans Am, etc.)

2nd, a 32k mile '00 WS6 is never going to be a true #1 condition car without a restoration - especially since finer examples with much less mileage will likely continue to be available well into the future.

A garden variety LS1 WS6 car is simply not special enough to ever bring many multiples of inflation adjusted MSRP at any point in the foreseeable future - especially and unrestored 30k+ mile example. Remember, you'd have to get $45k for one today just to match MSRP in 2000. Nobody is getting that kind of cash unless perhaps they have a CETA or 30th WS6 with delivery mileage or something like this. Even getting original MSRP *without* adjusting for inflation is not currently possible for 30k mile examples.

But you're right, we've already been through this and we just don't agree on certain points regarding value. As someone who has owned several of these cars, two since brand new including a WS6 car, I'm a realist about what these cars were (and are). There were 10s of thousands of them built, they use the same exact engine and drivetrain as 10s of thousands of lower trim level counterparts, and cars built since their time have only gotten faster.

There is no reason to believe, nor any evidence to support, that any WS6, except perhaps for the very highest order of car (meaning those with the absolute lowest mileage available and highest desirability and/or rarity of options), will ever outpace inflation to actually be worth many multiples more than its original MSRP.

But I think you might be taking my statements to mean that I feel these cars have no value. Let me be clear about the fact that I'm not expressing that at all. For those of you who bought these cars used, you might in fact sell one for more than you paid (though, unless you're quickly flipping it, it's debatable whether or not you've actually made a "profit" since you'd have to consider the cost of ownership at the very least), but the vast majority of these are not investment grade vehicles (nor is one with 30k miles today comparable to a '70 Chevelle SS LS6 with the same original mileage at 48 years old). It's hard to speculate 30+ years out, but enough of these WS6 cars have been tucked away that even a 30k mile example is not that low of mileage (nor super hard to find) when speaking at the collector level today or in the foreseeable future.

Part of the reason why some of those '60s/early '70s muscle cars are so valuable is because so few people thought to tuck one away (on top of the low production stats for the highest level engines, and the ability to create much more unique cars with greater optional content). That makes the overall pool from which to choose very small. On the other hand, it seems that a lot more folks tucked away some of these higher trim level 4th gens in the hopes that they could "cash in" at some future point (ALL of them with the same drivetrain, many with the same options). This may prove self-defeating, as it has created a larger pool of very nice examples from which to choose - which means greater price competition thus a lower ceiling on value as compared to some of those original cars from many decades prior.

 

Maybe not MSRP or over that like some rare original Nova, but they are hiking in price and this thread, quite honestly, is proving that there is some substance to this topic.
I believe that a 30K WS6 (mint, no mods, low owners, ext) someday they will be highly collectable (honestly I think they are collectable now, but only the finest example) because less and less survive the mod bug year after year, and more and more get driven. And one day, yeah, a 30K mile Mint WS6 might yank in 35K...look at other cars with higher production numbers and less popularity, and what they sell for now. Just saying!

How in the world do you know how many have been tucked away?
Cmon man!

Clean examples are becoming more rare right now, imagine 10 years from now!

Your right about certain examples of cars, like a Yenko Camaro being limited and worth a lot of money, but to say a highly popular, somewhat rare WS6, last of its kind (NO MORE PONTIAC MOTOR DIVISION, these are the last real genuine Trans-Ams) Trans-Am won't become valuable over time is simply bonkers RPM!
Bonkers!

 

Sure, given enough time and inflation that's certainly possible. But $35k then might not be comparable to $35k now, not to mention the cost of ownership in the mean time.

Based on the amount that pop up for sale. You can often find them for sale in most major population regions of the country in that 30-50k mile range, especially during the summer season. And even lower mileage ones continue to pop up for sale on occasion. On the other hand, how many similarly-aged Bonnevilles are listed for sale in that same mileage range at any given time? Now that's a car which used to be super common (I had a '96 as a daily driver), but nobody ever tucked them away. Would be tough to find a really nice one now, but I digress...

Some of the Pontiac purist collectors aren't super excited about these "last Trans Ams" because they have a corporate engine. Many of those guys consider the '79 400ci T/A to be the end of the line for true Pontiac performance vehicles. Granted, the later generations of enthusiasts might not agree but, again, the big money is only going to chase the highest order (best possible condition, lowest possible mileage, most desirable content) of examples when it comes to 4th gens.

Nobody is saying that these cars have no value, or won't have any value, they just aren't going to be the next Hemi Cuda. And, on a related note, the "real" value gains/profit potential is debatable when factoring inflation (vs. other forms of investment) and cost of ownership (especially for anyone who bought one brand new).

 

 

​​​​​The OEM W$6 hood is definitely appreciating, probably at a faster rate than the actual WS6 cars

Invest in the OEM hoods not the cars if one wants to make W$6 money

 

This is a big reason for me as well. They are modern enough to have certain desirable features and refinements, but still retain that raw machine feel - much of which has been engineered out of newer platforms in favor of buffering/cabin isolation. Other major reasons for me are the nostalgia factor (my first brand new car was a 4th gen Z28), my history/knowledge/experience with the platform, my love of the styling, and the fact that these cars fit me like a glove.

Don't get me wrong, I love some of the newer Corvettes as well, especially C6s and even the older C5s have really grown on me in recent years (so much so that I've seriously thought about adding a C5/C6 to my collection), but I'm not interested in buying one as a replacement for my 4th gen. In fact, I'm always on the look-out for more 4th gens and, should the "right" one come along, I'd really rather get another one of those if anything.

I know that a lot of folks only see these cars as cheap speed, and their bang for the buck is certainly part of the appeal, but there are still some of us 4th gen owners who can afford much more expensive toys yet choose to keep these modern dinosaurs as part of our collections for one reason or another.

Haha...this is an interesting point. There's probably more money to be made in collecting the most desirable (and/or frequently needed) OEM parts, especially NOS but even nice used ones. Hoods take up a lot of space though.

 

I recently sealed a deal with a 96 Formula WS6 w 34K miles... Hard top, cloth, M6.... You don't see these everyday or even at all.... This one is pristine and I plan on keeping it that way.
suspension work and a Borla catback are all I have planned for it. Its truly a great cars.. spent 10 years in a climate controlled hanger being driven every month or so ( weather depending). I have owned more LT1/LS1/L98 Fbodies that I can count. I do "flip" em, but I enjoy them too. This one I may keep.

 

In your opinion, what would you value this car at? I'm sure you didn't pay what you think the car is worth since you tend to flip them, but how would you value this in comparison to the amount you would actually sell this for? If I were to say I wanted this car right now, what would be your price? The car does look great for being over 20+ years old and black as well.

 

It's also not comparable because the classic muscle car era lasted less than 10 years, less than 5 years if you exclude Corvettes and focus on the 1966 - 1971. The special cars from that era are truly special when you consider how short a period of time it was an what happened from 1973 until the late 80's when we started seeing fast factory cars again. The modern muscle car era has been alive and well for 25+ years so all the different models years and styles are muddled together, so if the era ever ends, there will be 30+ years worth of muscle cars to choose from.

 

Until the LS era there were few fast factory cars and even then they weren't all that spectacular. The early performance car era shouldn't be confused with the pony car/muscle car era, There were plenty of fast cars from mid 50's early 60's that people forget about.

 

Doesn't change the point, so we are 20+ years into this era if you don't count it starting until LS cars came out.

 

No matter how you look at it, If you are buying a car for it's possible future value you shouldn't bother with a high production car period and the WS6 is a high production car. The fact is that car will be worth less after you factor in inflation than you paid for it and that doesn't count storing and maintaining it for the next few decades while you wait and see if it will ever become collectible. If you look at what's hot in the collector market it's very low production/ rare optioned and desirable to a large audience. Very few cars ever meet all of them at the same time.