Help! Is my car worth it?

[smkn gts]

Hey Everyone,

I haven't really thought this through but I was thinking about selling my car in hopes of taking out a loan and buying a new ws6 with lower miles and supercharged or maybe even a bike. So I have a 98 trans am with 95k miles on it. This spring I have spent about 2500 dollars on the car to get wheels, tires, brakes, lid, and a full 3in magnaflow stainless exhaust with electric dump from the manifold back. The car is in excellent shape but one of the quarter panel is in need of a good polish which I have been planning to get the entire car detailed anyway. My trans am is an A4 fully loaded with t tops. My t/a is not a ws6 it does have the aftermarket fiberglass summit hood with a very good paintjob. We are the second owner and the car has been in my family and babied for the last 5 years. The entire front end has been completely redone includin rack and pinion, struts and I am pretty sure the tie rods, the job cost 1500 dollars alone and this was done last summer.

So I guess my question is, do you think 10000 dollars is to much to expect to get for the car in this economy? I understand that there are many cars going for less but after all the money i spend this summer i was hoping to get about 10k for the car. I would also like to mention that trans ams and firebirds are very rare around where i live, in fact i have only seen 1 trans am this summer!

here are a few pics, let me know what ya think please.

Thanks guys

[c5z28]

It would certainly be cheaper to buy a car already modded. In Cali since cars are plentiful you would be lucky to get 8k, out there I don't know. I have seen s/c f-bods go for 12-13k if you could get a minimum of 8k it would be a wise"r" choice.
Really shooting yourself in the foot buying those wheels and full exhaust.

[smkn gts]

Yeah, thanks for the tip, I think you are right, I was planning to keep the car longer but i dont like that my miles are soooo high so I dont want to spend tons of money to dig into the engine. If i didnt have the wheels and tires I would be fine with getting 8k but it doesnt look like I am going to get the 10k I want but it sucks cuz i still owe 3k on the car

[MrMasterCraft]

Well since you asked, and since i still search frequently around craigslist and autotrader, I'll go ahead and voice my opinion...

It looks like your car would retail right around $8k give or take a few hundred bucks. This is what NADA lists it at anyways.

I look at what other fbodys (and even mustangs) in my area are going for. Look around craigslist in your area or nearest city, and see what they're asking for theirs. This is what I would do, to give you a general idea of what your car is worth, and what you should put up as an asking price. Since it sounds like you don't NEED to sell it, if you don't think you're going to get as to what you want, as the car is worth, DON'T sell it!

Honestly, I'd be willing to give you $5500 for it, but I think you could manage $6500 from somebody out there, fairly easy. Don't take my word for gospel, but that's just my opinion. I'm sure others will chime in with theirs. Location plays a BIG ROLE in this, as you're dealing with a 12 year old car with 100k miles on it

[67CamaroRSSS]

High mileage? 95,xxx is nothing to these cars. My 98 is my DD and it has 180,xxx and runs just fine.

[MrMasterCraft]

In Cali since cars are plentiful you would be lucky to get 8k, out there I don't know.

Y2K Z28, body kit, cam/exhaust/etc. C6 wheels, lowered 80k miles asking 7500obo in my area

$8k for that car is wayyyy too much, IN MY AREA

You'd be surprised what a 2-3 hour drive would make in price difference... if you can get a thousand - or even a couple thousand - more for your car, I'd make the drive for sure

[MrMasterCraft]

High mileage? 95,xxx is nothing to these cars. My 98 is my DD and it has 180,xxx and runs just fine.

I have to disagree with you on this one. A Cummins will run 300,000-400,000 and even higher on mileage. Doesn't mean a damn thing, 100,000 is still considered high mileage in the auto industry!!!

[smkn gts]

Yeah see when i take opinions around here 10k doesnt seem to bad because there arent very many fbodys, the economy in michigan is so bad and everyone drives mustang 5.0 fox bodies because they can build a big engine and make them so fast. But there are only a handful of camaros and almost no trans am in sight

[MrMasterCraft]

Yeah see when i take opinions around here 10k doesnt seem to bad because there arent very many fbodys, the economy in michigan is so bad and everyone drives mustang 5.0 fox bodies because they can build a big engine and make them so fast. But there are only a handful of camaros and almost no trans am in sight

This is either really good or really bad... but being that there aren't many, someone will bite at your car for a high price eventually, I'm sure! Put it up, sit on it, somebody will come along....

[smkn gts]

Thanks for the advice! I think I just might. It sucks to sell the car because now i got about 15k into the car and its only been technically mine for 2 years my dad owned it before me and almost never drove it! The miles are the main reason I want to sell the car because i want to go the extra mile and get an already built car in this economy but i figured all these die hard f body guys here would tell me like 7-8 but location might make all the difference

[justinmc978]

anywhere from 8-10k is fair, you have the right idea about stepping up to a 01-02 ws6, those are my plans as well

[MrMasterCraft]

Thanks for the advice! I think I just might. It sucks to sell the car because now i got about 15k into the car and its only been technically mine for 2 years my dad owned it before me and almost never drove it! The miles are the main reason I want to sell the car because i want to go the extra mile and get an already built car in this economy but i figured all these die hard f body guys here would tell me like 7-8 but location might make all the difference

You could get $6k, perhaps $6500 in my area. You drive an hour and a half northof me and you'd be looking at $7500-$8k.

[smkn gts]

Yeah I am looking around in autotrader and craigslist online and within 200 miles of where I live there isnt anything under even 12k for a trans am. The most similar to my car has more miles and the owner is asking 10000. I think it would be fair to wait around for 10k but if someone gave me 9000 I would probably be fine even though I still owe 3k on the car. I would like to upgrade to a better ws6 with the mods already done or I might just get a bike and a truck if I cant get a good price on insurance since im only 19 lol

[MrMasterCraft]

Yeah I am looking around in autotrader and craigslist online and within 200 miles of where I live there isnt anything under even 12k for a trans am. The most similar to my car has more miles and the owner is asking 10000. I think it would be fair to wait around for 10k but if someone gave me 9000 I would probably be fine even though I still owe 3k on the car. I would like to upgrade to a better ws6 with the mods already done or I might just get a bike and a truck if I cant get a good price on insurance since im only 19 lol

To heck with it, buy a truck and a boat

[smkn gts]

We got a boat =) I want an f150 and a gsxr750 but if i cant get about 9-10k for my trans am I wont be able to afford it all because I only got so much saved

[tatertot91]

imo keep it
you poobably wont get what you want for it, the mileage isn't extremely high and i think you are better off knowing that car has been babied as opposed to a heavily modded one that has been beat to hell. Plus, if there are barely any TAs to begin with i'm betting you'd have to dump even more cash to find one you really like.

I say keep it, but thats just me

[smkn gts]

Yea but I am not afraid to drive 8 hours to get the car of my dreams if that is what I have to do. Right now is the perfect economy to find a car like this but at the same time it is the worst time to sell my car.

[tatertot91]

Yea but I am not afraid to drive 8 hours to get the car of my dreams if that is what I have to do. Right now is the perfect economy to find a car like this but at the same time it is the worst time to sell my car.

100% true

[smkn gts]

I hoping the rarity of my car around here will work to my advantage and atleast get me 9000 for my car but im going to shoot for 10k

[MrMasterCraft]

From what you've said, it sounds like you won't have a problem getting it... you'll just have to sit on it for a little while until someone bites.