Help with value of 2002 Firehawk

[gonzo99ta]

So I need some help in determining the value of a 2002 Firehawk

Car in question is my brother's car and I may be in the market to take it off his hands or just assist him with sale.

2002 Firehawk
Sunset Orange
M6
only 16K miles
interior is like new
Body is good (paint needs a thorough detailing though as he has had it sitting outside for a while without washing and i noticed a few paint areas getting "hazy")

Here is the problem:
Motor just blew a few days ago. i talked to him last night and he said it was making a strange sound like bad knock sensor and like it had marbles inside. He shut it off and when he went to start again to check further it blew and he noted oil leaking from below.

He was getting it ready to sell before it blew anyway, but now he doesn' have the resources to fix it before selling.

NADA doesn't exactly take this equation into it's values. closest NADA value is "rough Trade in" which is $10K.

So what is a low mileage 2002 Firehawk with a Blown motor worth?

Anyone seen similar cars for sale?

[2002ssslp]

If it is nice inside and out I would say 8 to 10k max.

[SMWS6TA]

That value is for a running car, like Keith said 8-10 max and only because it's a Firehawk. If it was a regular Trans Am or WS6 it would be far, far less.


Personally I would store it and wait till I could fix it. Finding a used block isn't hard, he's got lost of options that are cheaper then he thinks.



Suitable replacement motors from lease to best.

5.3 - very common, low end of power range but still better then on jack stands
LS1 - lots of guys swapping out these for bigger motors, used one goes for $1500 long block, $1000 for short.
LS6 - hard to come by these days, 02< LS1's are LS6 blocks with LS1 internals, can't even give a price on it
LS2 - 6.0L Aluminum block not a cheap replacement, but not too expensive either. Not sure of what they are going for.
LQ4/9 - 6.0L iron block, very common and easy to get, long blocks go for around $1200, short as low as $300 (I got mine at that price), many options to mod & build with.

All of these you can reuse your heads, intake, fuel rails, headers, transmission, etc. Most of these will require a tune. The LQ4/9 there is more info too it, if interested ask me.

[gonzo99ta]

That value is for a running car, like Keith said 8-10 max and only because it's a Firehawk. If it was a regular Trans Am or WS6 it would be far, far less.


Personally I would store it and wait till I could fix it. Finding a used block isn't hard, he's got lost of options that are cheaper then he thinks.



Suitable replacement motors from lease to best.

5.3 - very common, low end of power range but still better then on jack stands
LS1 - lots of guys swapping out these for bigger motors, used one goes for $1500 long block, $1000 for short.
LS6 - hard to come by these days, 02< LS1's are LS6 blocks with LS1 internals, can't even give a price on it
LS2 - 6.0L Aluminum block not a cheap replacement, but not too expensive either. Not sure of what they are going for.
LQ4/9 - 6.0L iron block, very common and easy to get, long blocks go for around $1200, short as low as $300 (I got mine at that price), many options to mod & build with.

All of these you can reuse your heads, intake, fuel rails, headers, transmission, etc. Most of these will require a tune. The LQ4/9 there is more info too it, if interested ask me.

My brother is the seller. His keeping it is not an option as financial reasons dictated it had to go before it broke. He was getting the inspection/emissions done to get ready for sale when it broke. His fixing it is also not an option as he has been "between jobs" for several months and has $0.00 to repair it. I'd like to see him be able to keep the car, but that just isn't an option any longer. He is only keeping his truck for a daily driver.

I'm considering buying the car as a future project, depending on the price. I'd like to get a modified LS1 to drop in it and guessing to get it going again will be atleast in the $4k range. I was actually surprised the NADA showed $10k for "rough condition" car... I was thinking in the $7K range to allow me a decent reapir budget without getting buried in the car if i decided to sell it myself.

[SMWS6TA]

$4k will give you one hell of a crate motor......

I can tell you this, no one is going to give him what he needs/wants. sorry to sound brutal and I'm not trying to be.

[2002ssslp]

As far as value goes I would buy this package with the blown motor and rebuild it when I had the money. You have to remember that this car will be worth far more in the future with the numbers matching motor. It sounds like it may have have bad bearings. I would do the bottom end with a crank kit for about 1k plus labor and keep the motor it was born with. This is a good investment for someont out there.

[98TransAmWs-6]

If I had the money I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

[SMWS6TA]

ditto....

[35th-ANV-SS]

Nobody has even seen pictures of the said car, and you would buy it in a heartbeat?

If the motor blew at only 16K, that means he beat the living shit out of it - which also means the rest of the drive-train and rear end has also been beat to hell - no thanks.

[98TransAmWs-6]

Nobody has even seen pictures of the said car, and you would buy it in a heartbeat?

If the motor blew at only 16K, that means he beat the living shit out of it - which also means the rest of the drive-train and rear end has also been beat to hell - no thanks.

If it were in the condition as described. I have another TA so I have spare parts . I just like the color and the fact it is a firehawk. Plus, what I have in mind is to restore it to its former glory!

[35th-ANV-SS]

Also stated it needs a buff job...which could mean a paint job for us real nit-pickers By the time you put in all the time and labor to get it back to its glory days you could have just paid more to get one without these issues...and enjoy it the day you buy it...not months or years later.

Replacing parts is going to do nothing but bring the car value down also.

Cars like this need to be completely OEM with original parts to increase in value over time.

Yes, I am being very negative, haha.

[98TransAmWs-6]

Very good points. Well the parts from my TA I would use are OEM but I also would not sell it so value to someone else means nothing to me. I missed the buff job part in the original post. It also depends on the level of a buff job required. Like you stated to get a better idea I would need pictures. Then again I hate buying used cars even though sometimes you have to especially when it is no longer produced. But all of this is superfluous since I am not actually going to buy it. I am for now on going to call you Mr. Cynical jk.

[gonzo99ta]

Nobody has even seen pictures of the said car, and you would buy it in a heartbeat?

If the motor blew at only 16K, that means he beat the living shit out of it - which also means the rest of the drive-train and rear end has also been beat to hell - no thanks.

If it was beat on I wouldn't be considering buying it myself.

My brother ordered the car new in 2002 and it's only been to the track maybe three times at car shows with a track day.

I don't have current pics of the car as I don't live in the same state as him, but I just saw it in Sep. The interior is flawless, but I made no claims of the paint being flawless as I know it needs a good detail job... not quite ready for a repaint though.

[gonzo99ta]

I just talked to him last night and he confirmed he will not be fixing it and he wants to sell "as is".

He has a hard time checking email on a computer so I will be setting up some internet ads to assist in the sale of the car. He mentioned he wanted $9500.

More than I want to spend at this time, but I hope he gets as much as he can; he could use the money these days. If he doesn't get any bites locally in a few weeks, I'll see if he is open to my price range. I'd feel like I was kicking him while he was already down if I offered what I'm willing to spend with out giving it time to sell on the market 1st.

I'm going to try to get him to send me some current pics, but once again his computer skills are limited.

As far as repairing the original engine goes, I figured on replacing the block as he mentioned he saw oil dripping from under the engine after it blew... which leads me to believe that thing is shot. it never leaked any fluids prior. I think he said it was a knock sensor that might have been going bad when he took it to get the inspection done. It made some noise... he shut it off. when he went to start again to check further is when it blew.

If anyone is actually interested in buying the car it is in Bucks County, PA... a few miles out of Philly.

[35th-ANV-SS]

If it was beat on I wouldn't be considering buying it myself

Sorry, but motors don't blow up at 16K miles when you baby them. Say what you will though.