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ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

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Old Jan 21, 2011 | 02:43 PM
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ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Jason (site owner) said he'd be making a history section soon, but for now, I'll post this here. Here's a short history overview. I'm really excited to see this car.



The LT1 bodystyle SSes only existed in '96 and '97. In '96, you could get bright teal metallic, polo green metallic, black, bright red, and arctic white. In '97 you could get sebring silver metallic, polo green metallic, black, bright red, arctic white, and 30th anniversary arctic white with hugger orange stripes.



Bright teal metallic is the rarest early 4th gen SS color. Sebring Silver is the 2nd rarest early 4th gen SS color to my knowledge, though I haven't had the time or interest to break down each color individually for putting on my site. 99% sure it's second rarest.



There were 317 coupes in sebring silver, 41 convertibles. Compare that to the '97 30th Anniversary Edition SS that was a supposed limited edition: 659 coupes, 240 convertibles. You can already see how incredibly rare these '97 sebring silver SSes are.



Of those 317 coupes, 249 of them had t-tops. 68 were hard tops. 44 of those 68 had the monochromatic paint option, meaning they didn't have black roofs and etc. This is one of those 44. If you include the transmission, it is one of only 24 manual transmission ones.



That's 1 of only 24 cars considering only extremely important options. There are many, many cars that will come out as 1 of 1 on compnine's decoder, but that's considering dozens of RPO codes, many of which don't even really matter to a person. What really matters (to me) when considering rarity is: color, t-tops yes or no?, monochromatic yes or no?, and transmission. Interior color can matter, especially the plastic. Most people prefer the gray/black over the beige no matter what year. Some people like cloth, some people like leather.



The interiors are kind of a pain to narrow down because I don't remember all of the RPO codes for them and haven't wasted time compiling a list for all years yet. This car has the 142 light gray leather, and just considering that option, of those 24 cars (mentioned above), 16 of them had this leather. All around, a very desirable car. I know I'd love to have it! It has very slight damage and is pretty low mileage, so it's a great car.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1997-...item3a62862216
Old Jan 21, 2011 | 03:17 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

It's a rare car indeed, but the engine bay was never touched, why????? Check out the pic's on the e-bay link below the last pic!
Old Jan 21, 2011 | 03:32 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Yeah, that engine bay horrified me. I didn't want to show that lol.
Old Jan 21, 2011 | 10:02 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Judging from the pictures of the front bumper fitment, that car has also been in some sort of front end wreck.

Another thing about the silver paint, it was a $299 option.
Old Jan 21, 2011 | 11:50 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Yes, you can definitely tell the car has been in a parking accident of some sort. The mount area by the C on the passenger side headlight bucket has a slightly less dramatic pucker than our Z28, that's sadly had a similar parking accident, but it's visible. There's a closeup of the bucket on the ebay ad, and the paint is messed up pretty bad too. Still, repairable, and rare.

Is that a price mentioned in the brochure or where'd you get that info for sebring silver? Or are you referring to the D82 monochromatic paint option? I've never paid a great deal of attention to prices, so I'm not sure.
Old Jan 22, 2011 | 12:43 AM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

yeah too bad about that enigine bay, if that guy just cleaned it would make the car much more appealing to a buyer, thoguh I wouldnt have much interest in it myself, these car have been around for 14 years now, I want something newer. Most people want new cars, not cars that are 14 years old, I actually cant believe someone is bidding $5k for it. Some who has a real love for muscle cars and shifting gears I guess.
Old Jan 23, 2011 | 09:20 AM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Still an incredibly rare car.

I mean, find a M6 LT1 car that hasnt been in some kind of a fender bender.
Old Jan 23, 2011 | 11:13 AM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Originally Posted by nascarnate326
Still an incredibly rare car.

I mean, find a M6 LT1 car that hasnt been in some kind of a fender bender.
Old Jan 23, 2011 | 10:36 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Is that a price mentioned in the brochure or where'd you get that info for sebring silver? Or are you referring to the D82 monochromatic paint option? I've never paid a great deal of attention to prices, so I'm not sure.[/QUOTE]

The price is listed on SLP 1997 Camaro SS Information Bulletin #2, dated July 15, 1996.
Old Jan 25, 2011 | 02:53 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

there is the same car with t-tops and 100k miles around my area for sale. Its really nice, 6spd and completely stock.
Old Feb 1, 2011 | 02:44 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Over the last few days, I don't know if this is coincidence or because I've made this topic, but I've seen at least 3 other sebring silver '97 SSes come up for sale. Insane.

Most importantly, one of the 41 convertibles is for sale. I've requested a picture for my site without the nose and rear cut off. Exciting. This is the first one I've ever seen to my knowledge.
http://cars.oodle.com/view/97-chevy-...eaver-dam-wi/#
Old Feb 1, 2011 | 04:08 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

$6000...are you kidding me? That guy is giving that away!!
Old Feb 1, 2011 | 04:15 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Originally Posted by Whitefish
$6000...are you kidding me? That guy is giving that away!!
You might notice the "reserve not met" which means that the market demand (max bid price) was below what he (the seller) thought the car was worth. That being said if I was in the market for a LT1 SS (I'm not, since I already own one ) the max bid price would've been higher because I would've paid more than $6000 for that car and I don't even really want a hardtop car.
Old Feb 1, 2011 | 04:21 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Originally Posted by 6SpdLT1Z
You might notice the "reserve not met" which means that the market demand (max bid price) was below what he (the seller) thought the car was worth. That being said if I was in the market for a LT1 SS (I'm not, since I already own one ) the max bid price would've been higher because I would've paid more than $6000 for that car and I don't even really want a hardtop car.
I was talking about the convertible Brangeta just posted.
Old Feb 1, 2011 | 04:28 PM
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Re: ebay find of the week: extremely rare '97 sebring silver SS hardtop

Originally Posted by Whitefish
I was talking about the convertible Brangeta just posted.
I don't think the convertibles hold their value as well. I know I personally wouldn't buy a convertible unless it was for the wifey or something.



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