Should i sell my 96 WS6? I hardly drive it, cant take it on dirt trails or camping, im stuck to the pavement.

What would be a decent price to ask? Runs and drives great after all the work I've done. Should i part it our or sell it whole? Always parted previous fbodies, but never had a ws6 with tge ram air.

Sell it whole, part it out, or hold onto it longer? I dont *need* to sell it, but cant a 4x4 or anything else unless she goes.

What do yall think?

 

Why part it if it still drives OK? It'll be worth more complete as a driver than in parts. If you are not driving it on a regular basis, you might as well sell it (unless you want to start your own museum / collection).

 

Photos? mileage? it's all in the details.

 

For the vast majority of cars from this era, the potential exists to gross more money by parting it out (a garden variety '96 WS6 TA is no exception, unless it has has ridiculously low mileage, such as 3 or 4 digits, and perhaps some rare and highly desirable options in addition). But, that means total disassembly of the entire car, selling ALL items (which could take quite some time), and dealing with the dozens and dozens of different buyers necessary to get all those parts sold. Even if you charge full price for shipping and packaging, you still have to consider your time in terms of packing/prep for shipping, dealing/negotiating with the buyers, tending to the ads and, most of all, the extensive labor involved in taking the car apart. With this in mind, parting out a running car usually only makes sense if you're retired/unemployed (i.e. have a ton of time on your hands) and/or you absolutely need the most possible amount of money regardless of how much effort it takes (plus you have the necessary tools and skills to properly disassemble the car).

Ultimately, if owning the car is preventing you from doing/owning other things that you'd rather do/own, then selling it makes sense. Personally, I have two cars that I rarely use - but that was always my intention for them so I don't see it as a problem nor do they prevent me from having other things. So I wouldn't sell them just because I don't drive them often. But your situation sounds a bit different. If the car doesn't bring you some kind of joy that's greater than any associated liabilities, then you should definitely sell it IMO.

 

Well, i got my answer fellas....



My reasoning before was just because i dont have the room to keep it from always baking in the sun, i HAD an extra car which i drove almost full time, blah blah.

I haven't read the long reply yet, apologies if this is gone over, but i read the beginning. This ws6 doesn't have any desirable options besides the ram air. Otherwise, its it different than a standard trans am. I already know i could get 1000-1200 for the hood and intake setup, 1000$ for transmission, 800ish for the engine, then can strip all the other good parts. I made 2700$ parting out my last Trans Am and it was in worse condition with a blown motor. So, parts wise, the money is there. But, like mentioned, it takes time, gotta deal with a few flakes and storage, which im already short on.

However, all of this doesn't matter and the thread is pointless because i wrecked my main car, so El Pollo Fiero is getting renewed attention. Thank god i already fixed the AC....

 

RPM WS6 hit the nail pretty good. The car DOES bring me joy when i drive it. I just have 3 daughters, all still in car seats. But, we also have a suburban, so its itt like i have to pile them in here with me. I waa keeping it as a side car/project, but maw in law been bitching, so just had me thinking. I personally have the skills and tools to tear it apart. You cant really factor in your labor when it comes to this stuff, unless its what you do professionally.

I have a full time job, i consider working on cars more of a hobby, so i never factor in time or labor for these kinda of things. But, all your points ate good, just not exactly for my particular predicament. Before the wreck, i was considering selling simply for the minor inconvenience of having a 3rd car. We have, had, 5 cars at the house.

Anyways, ******* Murphy.

 

For reference, 142k on the clock. Replaced all suspension bushings with MOOG, got 1LE bushings for rear, sway bar ends and bushings, front hub assemblies with TimKen or SKF, cant remember, slotted/drilled rotors, GTO rims, Solomon tuned, LPP long tubes, or XS Performance, whatever, removed emissions, new motor and trans mounts, torque arm bushings, timing set, oil pan gasket, timing cover seals and gaskets, one of last AC Delco optis, OVTC MSD wires, basically maintenance type stuff, no real upgrades yet. Revitalized i guess, not suped up.

All new AC and Heater systems. Hoses, lines, evap core, heater core, radiator, condenser, water pump, blah blah blah.

Started working on interior. Both doors have new regulator/motor units, adjusted to not leak or rattle if half way. 2 sets of t-tops revamped to not leak. No cats. Im sure theres something I've forgotten. Was treating it like a survivor and giving it more years, removing restrictive crap, and letting her be a free breathing bird like the good Lord intended.

Pictures will get loaded later on. Also got a new phone, and dont di the cloud thing.

 

Parting out a perfectly good car in good running shape is always a shame. These things get destroyed needlessly and as a result there are fewer of them out there to enjoy. They aren't super rare cars, but when parting them out happens more often than not, the bodies just get crushed or deteriorate in a field somewhere. Once they are gone, they are gone.

 

Given all the work done to sort and revitalize the car I would sell the car. Personally not a fan of parting good cars and it will take a long time to fully part and liquidate. With proper maintenance 4th Gens can 300,000+ miles. My daily 4th Gen has 250,000 and still going strong.

 

Time is the most valuable resource we have, it's the only non-living thing that's truly irreplaceable and cannot be stockpiled or saved for later. IMO, it's very important to factor your time into any decision regarding a rate or means of return (i.e. is the extra money made by parting out the car really worth your investment of time - since that means less time to do other things). With that in mind...

Working on cars as a hobby is one thing; I agree that you can't assign a dollar value to that time since the return comes in the form of entertainment, gaining and/or refinement of skills, and personal fulfillment. But, parting a car out to maximize sale profits isn't really a hobby related activity IMO - especially since much of this process has to do with managing ads, dealing with potential buyers and shipping items. I don't personally know anyone who would consider those aspects a "hobby", which is why I would argue that you still must weigh the opportunity cost (meaning those things you won't get to be doing because that time needs to be invested in the process of selling a car piece by piece) vs. additional profits in your decision.

But I guess none of it really matters now if you're going to be counting on this car for transportation in the near term. Sorry about the wreck by the way....that really sucks.