Right off the bat I know a link is going to be asked for....the reason I decided not to post one was simply to not make it completely obvious to the seller of the vehicle. With a google search, you can find it in like 2 clicks anyways I'm sure.

But thank you for taking some time to give me some insight! Im looking to pick up my first ws6. Ive been wanting one for years now and its finally in the budget. Saw this one online and fell in love with it. I made the haul to where it was located and looked at it but the owner and I could not agree on a price. I feel like he is asking to much. I made him an offer when it was first listed online. He wouldn't accept it and felt it could bring more......well here we are three months later and I'm told I'm the only one who has made an offer on the car haha. He is asking just a tick under $25k

Its a 2002 Sunset Orange WS6. One owner, no accidents, just a tad over 14 thousand miles, 6spd manual, black leather interior. VIN #2G2FV22G922138918

Now the exterior is pretty on point. Has a small nic in the crease of the driver door. Owner claims wind caught the door a few years after buying it and it tapped a concrete lamp post or something like that. Rear panel between the taillights is crooked and off center. Owner says it has never been touched. The body is rust free. Not a thing on it. The diff housing, exhaust, lower control arms, steering rods, and all that jazz has surface rust on it which I think is pretty standard. Body is solid though.
Interior is right there also with the driver seat having leather damage on the outside from getting in and out of it. Nothing is cracked or torn from I saw.

The thing has been next to never driven in quite a few years. OE wiper blades are still on it, OE tires are on it (Dry rotted, cracked, and popcorn separation to all hell) Only fluid ever changed was the oil.

Being all that, it's gonna take a little cash to get her street worthy again as all the fluids should be flushed with new tires and good ol'e wipe down. But is he asking to much or am I just being to cheap thinking $25k is crazy. I also get a vibe that there is some sentimental value there cause he originally wanted $30k.

 

That's a pretty gutsy move asking for 25k. You should search around a little more to get some comps on what they are selling for. Yes, the miles are pretty low, but that price seems pretty high.

 

I'd say $25k would be the high retail on it if the seats, door, and tires didn't have any issues. I would say it would be around the $20k range, maybe up to $22k at most.

 

Thats what I figured. I made him an offer at $18k and finally told him that I wasn't paying a dime past $20k cause that already was pushing it. He still believes he can get $25k even though I told him no one would. Yet, here I am with the only offer in 3 months.

 

This probably belongs in the 'What's It Worth' section in the classifieds here but in the meantime I think you are spot on with your assessment and pricing. Some owners/sellers just don't think rationally about pricing their cars and just hope for the best. Maybe he will get lucky with that very desirable color but the new owner will be into it for a few grand more than that $25k when all is said and done. That's quite high. If new quality tires were on the car, and documentation showed complete upkeep, I could perhaps be swayed, but the car almost sounds unloved.

 

First off, I have a 1999 Black WS6. One owner, no "real" accidents, just a tad over 140 thousand miles, 6spd manual, tan leather interior. I'll beat that guys offer and let it go for $23K.


It's going to take a lot more than that. If your intent is to take this garage queen and give it new life on the street, then it will require a lot more investment. The car is loaded with plastic and rubber. Like the tires, this stuff rots or gets brittle and needs replacing over time. Even a 14K car is going to start getting leaks, rattles, and squeaks. In order for it to drive like a new car, you'll need shocks, bushings, seals, etc.

 

Sounds like the car is less perfect than one would expect at 14k miles. Things like driver's seat wear shouldn't be existent at that mileage if the owner was properly careful. The storage environment (or prep precautions) may have also been questionable if the tires or any other plastic/rubber is in that bad of shape (the tires on mine are only three years newer and they have zero visible signs of rot. I also still have the assembly line wiper blades on mine, and they are in excellent condition even being four years older.)

Cars such as this one are usually what give folks the idea that low mileage, limited use/garage queen vehicles just "rot away" from sitting. This sort of general deterioration isn't actually due to limited use at all, it's due to improper storage/prep/maintenance over the long term (something which can be avoided) in such a role. Doing nothing but oil changes in 16 years is far from ideal (coolant and other fluids are still aging). Also, it sounds like most of that 14k miles may have been done earlier in the car's life, hence it sitting completely unused for several years. So there may be fuel system issues as well. It's unfortunate that many owners of limited use vehicles don't understand the dangers of "storage neglect" - limited use vehicles still need some attention and maintenance to stay in top shape. My '98 is at 18k miles and every fluid has been changed/refreshed several times in the last 20 years, even at such low mileage.

IMO, the price is too high and not appropriate for the presentation of the car. I think you made a fair offer (~$20k) and, as a private seller, I doubt he's got much chance of getting more than $20k without fixing some (or all) of those issues.

 

A mostly new car that is 16 years old is not a new car, the mileage is not a good measurement.

In addition to new tires, and all fluid and filter changes everywhere, tranny, engine, rear end, flush out the brake fluid from the lines with new, it is doable but not desire able. The seals on all of the brake calipers are probably going to blow once you start driving it, they are brittle too from disuse, the insides probably pitted. Even the sealed stuff like front wheel bearings may develop issues once it is driven.

Maybe you don't have to treat it like a barn find that you are trying to revive, but I would. If the tires are rotten that's fixable and obvious, but what else is just waiting for you to drive it?

25k IS crazy.

 

Alright, Im glad to know i wasn't just being picky and cheap. I know these cars are going up in value but I thought the dude is crazy. It breaks my heart though that its just gonna continue to sit with no sort of maintenance whatsoever. Its such a gorgeous car. But yes, I mentioned that any single rubber component is gonna need to be either inspected or replaced which isn't gonna be cheap. But no budge. Im pretty sure its a sentimental thing since he bought the car new graduating college.

And i apologize! I wasn't exactly sure what thread to place this in so I just did it in the general.
But Oh well, hopefully another WS6 like this rises to the for sale list here soon. Thanks for the input you guys!

 

Not really any more than general inflation. I haven't seen any recent spikes in this market specifically. Granted, there are always anomalies in either direction. I've seen many of the same overpriced cars sitting for sale for as long as 2+ years now.


FWIW, this probably isn't the case. Of course, it doesn't ever hurt to inspect these areas, but most of these items will likely be fine. My '98 is four years older, has basically the same mileage, and all my assembly line hoses and bushings and other rubber seals are just fine (only exception is the rear sway bar bushings, they are starting to squeak a bit in the cold). It would've had to have been stored in a pretty harsh environment for all that stuff to be rotted to the point of being marginal or failed (then again, if the tires were that visibly bad, then maybe it was a pretty harsh environment after all - mine are 13 years old and look visually perfect.) With some simple prep and occasional maintenance, these cars actually age very well in a limited use role. But I'd be a little concerned about the coolant and fuel/fuel system especially, since it sounds like they have been neglected and the car hasn't been moved in years.

 

Well, all those parts äre probably a bit stiff, hard to bend, and dry. (like we've gotten over the years)

 

...and now I'm sad.

 

Its OK and all fixable. I get emails about that kind of thing all day long.

 

I don't even think $20K is a deal on this semi-neglected car. I don't care if it's SOM. I recall 1-2 yrs ago a similar mileage SOM Firehawk M6 selling for upper teens. That's a rare car. I haven't seen any signs that WS6 SOM's are increasing in price. If anything they are flat or depreciating still.

Way to much neglect on this car for me to even consider paying $18K. Just too many risks. I bought my SS in 2012 with 12K miles. It was superbly kept other than fluids. And 6 yrs later at 19K miles, all the rubber and plastic parts are still mint and supple. No leaks. It never sat for more than a winter under the original owner. I take it out at least monthly unless the roads aren't clean enough. I took the original tires off at 16K miles only because of highway speed safety. They are sitting in the basement and don't show any signs of dry-rot, cracking, odd wear, etc. They look like 2-3 year old tires that are very supple.

My advice would be to locate a real 14K mile car that was never neglected...and consistently run...especially the 12-20 mile minimum "rule" on every time it's started up. With all the issues with your SOM car it sounds like a 30K-60K mile car....that happens to have 14K miles on the drive train. It's value is somewhere in between. I wouldn't get hung up on the odometer. There's probably an SOM M6 out there with 45K miles that appears much nicer than this one...and would be buyable for mid-upper teens. I recall last year a 20K mile SOM M6 fetched around $20K on Ebay. Has to be truly excellent though.

 

All great points by Firebrian above. I also agree with a minimum drive time for each starting of the engine. I let mine sit for 5-6 months every year, untouched, during winter storage, and then usually drive it once or twice per month during the on-season. If I'm taking it out, it's going to be for a cruise that's usually 10-50 miles or so. I make sure to run at least one tank of gas through it per year, and store the tank as full as possible over the winter (with an additive blend of Red Line SI-1 and Stabil). The car stays parked on rubber lined carpet (tires included). I've had great results with this routine for many years and, at 20 years old, this car doesn't exhibit the dreaded "rotting away" issues that some folks will tell you are a given with such limited use. It's all about proper precautions/practices (including ambient conditions).

 

I appreciate all the advice. Its gonna come in handy once i finally find one. Im gonna keep my search up! Hopefully one will pop up somewhere. Mileage isn't a terrible concern with me. Id like to stay under 50K if I could.

But I got the vibe that the vehicle just wasn't really maintained. Like it was bought, driven for the first few years for excitement then the gentleman started a family and its just been sitting in a garage with a cover over it since then not doing anything. Most car guys that upkeep their vehicles will go out there and at least wipe it down, clean the interior, what not. I was told that before it was posted for sale all that was done was it was (thats a lot of was's) washed. Nothing else. Guy never cleaned the interior, no leather protectant, nothing. It was almost dusty on the inside.

 

I'd pay 20, and that would be the end of it. I love SOM and that's why I would personally step up. I also value a low odometer. Throw on some new tires, fix the bolster and repair the door (what does it need for repair?), and you basically have a brand new car.

 

Essentially brand new SOM WS6 would be 10-500 miles on the odometer. Then you could ask $30K+ for it. 14,000 miles is nowhere near new. The car has depreciated about 30% in price. An essentially new one could still command around original sticker price....or more. Then it would be a museum car where you'd feel bad about driving it and lowering the condition.

This guy just might call you back at some point and agree to your asking price. Could take 6 month to 2 yrs though. I was looking at a 12K miles 2001 WS6 NBM auto vert back in 2011. They guy wanted $19K and wasn't budging. I'd have done $18K. That was the exact car I was after...an automatic WS6 vert with low miles. So I bought my SS instead. About 18 months later the car is back on the market for $17,500. Go figure. Note that 3 yrs earlier the guy was trying to sell the car at $22K. Dreams die hard. It did sell at $17,500...which was a great price. But the timing didn't work out for me.

 

It sounds like this car was a fair weather daily driver for the first few years of its life (which would explain the various blemishes/issues), then got parked with zero prep and forgotten/neglected for a decade. Now the owner is looking at it in his garage as a bank account. At 16 years old/14k miles, even if you repair the most glaring issues, it's not really a brand new/#1 type car at this point. Mine only has 4k more miles and has received proper limited use care its entire life, but I still wouldn't call it a #1 car either; such cars are not driven on public roadways.

I'm sure someone could make this into a strong #2 car with some repair and major detailing, but a $25k price is not appropriate for what the car is. I think the OP's offer was more than fair and the seller is being a bit foolish for turning it down - unless he doesn't really want or care to sell the car.

Some folks get a price/value in their head and refuse to accept reality. I've known of cars being for sale for years due to this.

 

I have seen 15+ SOM WS6 cars in the last year that were between 10k and 50k and between $15 and $20k accordingly. Depending on what you want there is at least one auto coupe and a few verts that are on the market at the moment. If you list your criteria here I can post ads that match but need to know if auto or very or camel interior are options as well as a price cap.