Are 4th gen WS6's appreciating?
 

Was just messing around the other day looking at WS6's for sale, and the low mile ones < 30k or so, are stupidly priced now. Like C5Z and Terminator territory. Are they starting to appreciate?

Not really. I wish they were.

So far it looks like typical used car pricing still. In the spring sports car prices go up and in the fall they drop again. Rust free southern cars get a premium when they're shipped north. People make a career of buying cars in Florida in December and selling them in Michigan in May lol

Not yet, but for those buyers that want a pristine one or two owner ultra low mileage car, they will pay top retail. I certainly would if mine got totalled. I think many sellers are waiting for that right buyer and in no rush to sell.

Around here they certainly are going up in value. The prices seems to have spiked for decent cars.

No, not really, at least not in my area. Things have been pretty steady for the last couple of years.

There are a lot of dreamers who's cars stay for sale forever, but you can't look at those asking prices as a measure of actual value. Confirmed sale and purchase prices seem to show no real change in the last few years on average, but there will always be spikes when it comes to the most desirable and top condition examples - just depends on who's in the market at the time.

I tried buying 2002 ws6 6spd with 17k miles, 1 owner, SOM color...Gateway Classics wants $25k for it! They got pissed when I offered $16k... needs tires, power antenna replaced, lug covers missing & rocker area where 2 10mm bolts to fender is smached!
So I don't see them rising anytime soon

That's certainly a very desirable car which isn't easy to find, but anyone seriously considering an '02 WS6 at that listing price is likely going to be very demanding in their standards and expectations. Sounds like the presentation is sloppy for what it should be. About midway between your offer and their listing price is likely the maximum value of the car as it sits.

I ended up offering $19,500 for it... offer is pending. Stay tuned!!

^^ Excellent offer from what you describe. It's not pristine, but I'm mostly stunned that they wouldn't correct the simple issues (outside of tires) you describe to make the car right, especially at that price they want. If they come back with a price a little higher, don't let $1,000 or so keep you from an unusual find if this is truly the car you want. You won't remember it 3+ years down the road. I just paid top $$ for my C6 (also orange and needed new tires too), probably a little more than what I should have paid, but if I keep it as long as my TransAm (bought it new), it won't matter one bit. Think 'big picture' and best of luck with the negotiations.

I don't believe these cars will appreciate like first gen muscle cars do or will continue to do. Your CETAs/Firehawks may fetch more but a standard T/A, Formula or WS6 I just don't see any value there.

It probably depends on what gateway classics you go to but I've heard horror stories

A4, 57k, tons of upgrades .. $18k. I bet you could get it for under $17k. In Dallas.


http://www.texashotrides.com/2002-Po...s--TX/6385190/

Any update??

Not going to lie as I am typically on board with most that the market prices have seemed pretty stagnant the last 5 years at least on WS6 and SS cars (i.e. I say t his as the Z28 and base model trans am cars have seemed to move well into the 4 digit territory), but the WS6 market has seemed to push towards higher pricing. recently This being said I am not sure how many of them are actually selling but I have been looking for an 2001 or 2002 Black/Black WS6 6 speed with sub 75K for around 2 months now and can't seem to find any that aren't close to $15K.

When I was looking prior to buying my GTO about 2 or 3 years ago you could find plenty fitting the above description between $10-$12K with the occasional few even dipping under $10K. This is honestly one of the most common forms for this era with what like 10000+ units being produced I didn't think it would be this hard to find one. I refuse to pay $15K as there are plenty of other cars that can be had when you get into the $15-$17K territory so I will just revert to patience but it made me think of this thread for sure. I would generally say that if you want a decent WS6 and not a ratted out or high mileage piece that you are probably going to be paying at least $1-$3K more than what you would have 2 years ago.

The bold part is key, IMO. Listing prices don't mean anything if nobody is buying. The classic/special interest price guides (such as Hagerty) include listing prices as a partial factor in their calculation of value estimates, but this doesn't take into account how long some of those listings have existed. I've seen several local LS1 cars sit for years now at prices that nobody is going to pay. If you average in that data, you get a somewhat false representation of what the cars are actually worth (and anyone taking that skewed data as gospel will just further perpetuate the problem with more overly high listing prices that get no action).

Also, it's not the entire WS6 market that's in very high demand, just specifically the M6 cars from what I've seen. There's been a few fair/good (and even great) deals on auto WS6 cars in the last ~12-24 months that still didn't move quickly. It's a very narrow band of cars that are at the top of the value/desirability spectrum, and things drop off quickly from there.

I will note that I had a misconception on the production numbers for Black (41U) WS6 cars for 2001 and 2002 which might be a little more of answer of why it is a struggle to find a decent car anymore.

01/02 Black WS6: 4960
w/ 6 speed: 2832

Total Black WS6 (i.e. 98-02): 10632
w/ 6 speed: 5989

Note: Credit given to Johnny B for his spreadsheets.

This being said they are a little rarer than I initially thought. So if you take the 2832 01-02 Black 6 speed cars apply say a 97% assumption for interior being black and a 70% assumption for remaining cars that havent been wrecked and have less than 100K miles and well maintained. (2832*.97*.7 = 1923). The later assumption is just a wild guess but this being said your looking at less than 2000 units fitting my search criteria being in existence.

I will agree that I have been watching a few automatic cars in the 10-11K price range that still fit this criteria so I would be apt to say that it may just be a dry market at the moment. One thing I do note is it seems that this dreamers seem to effect at least initial list prices in that I asusme a guy might see say a 100K+ mile car listed for $11K so he adjusts his accordingly even though the 100K+ mile car may have been for sale for 2 years.

Gateway and other retailer/flippers' published asking prices are the last place to look for what these cars really sell for. Those are MSRP++.

It's the bottom priced 15% of offered examples, usually sold by private parties who have to sell now that dictate what you "could" buy one for. $18K-$20K for a 17K mile 2001/2002 WS6 M6 is what these were worth back in 2011/2012. They really haven't changed. When I was looking at that time I had a 1 owner (deceased) 14K miles 2000 black WS6 M6 being offered by a large Ford dealership for $16,500. It wasn't cheap enough for me. It was worth $15,500 to me as it had no paperwork with it.

You just have to be patient and scan all the on line sites like Autotrader.com, CL, Ebay to keep an eye out for that one car in your area priced to sell. I don't believe the 2001/2002 WS6's are rising in value.

Here are examples of very low mileage and great condition cars and their asking prices

2002 Trans Am WS6 coupe 4400 miles Bright Red Automatic $28,000

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/ct...558048467.html

2002 Trans Am WS6 convertible Bright Red 13545 miles Automatic $19,900

https://buffalo.craigslist.org/cto/d...554554955.html

2002 Trans Am WS6 coupe Bright Red 9389 miles 6-speed $25,900

https://cnj.craigslist.org/ctd/d/200...546767537.html

2002 Trans Am NHRA coupe Bright Red 8950 miles 6-speed $25,000

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/...543636089.html

There are limited buyers for sports cars. These prices are creeping into cars that are superior to the 4th Gen F-body. I believe they will sit for a long time until the prices come down.

A look at the cars that actually sold on E-bay will give you some insight on current real world prices WS6's Sold on E-Bay