hey guys......
i found a really nice trans am that i would like to get. it is a 2002 trans am ws6. it is a real ws6 i checked the code.( not that i think it matters)
it has 64,xxx miles and it is the navy blue metalic color. problems- has a firebird front bumper, messed up driver side mirror, and its rebuilt title. very clean though....

how much do u think that car is worth.( keep in mind i will be trading in my mustang and financing the bird. i know i shouldnt finance a rebuilt title car but i have no choice.)
if that dealer gives me that car for 8k is it worth getting? if not let me know what i should tell this guy. cuz i do want that car

 

It's all up to you. Obviously you'll have more problems reselling the car with a salvage or rebuilt title. The more you can find out about the reason the title was rebuilt, the better. Obviously, you don't want to deal with someone like flooding due to the electronics, but something like a rear-quarter panel hit might not be too bad.

Mike

 

actually the dealer said it was hit in the front.... he replaced the bumper, the hood, the headlight, and front drivers side quarter panel. and the air bag.... i drove it.... it drives smoothe, shifts fine..... didnt feel as strong as the other 02's i have driven but it could be b\c i had 3 larger guys including myself in there. when i hit it, it pulled strong. no noises. like i said i liked it alot, im just not sure what a good price is for one with a rebuild title.

 

does anyone else care to chime in? im not worried about selling the car later on. i plan on keeping it for a very long time. no if something should happen and i have to sell it then yes i know it would be harder, that is why i wanted your opinions on what a good price would be.

 

hey man ive been there before. sounds like you really like the car, but i wouldnt chance it with a rebuilt title. The only way I would buy that car, is if the dealer would let me take it to a body shop of my choice to get the frame checked out, or hell try and find a pontiac dealer to do an inspection on it. If the dealer is straight up, they wont mind. About 6 years ago I was looking at a 99 z28 at some used car dealer that had been in a "fender bender" and rebuilt. Well I had to fight with them to let me take it to get checked, and turns out the frame was jacked. I was pissed. So dont just rush in on this because its cheap, its cheap for a reason.

 

Well my question is how much are the asking for it. If its a low enough amount, which it probably isnt, then go for it. But always remember that anything can happen tomorrow where you need to sell the car and thats going to make it difficult.

Do some market research and see what they are going for in your area. Obviously it needs to be substantially lower because of the title problem, and two, because they put the wrong bumper on it.

One of the best cars Ive ever owned had a salvage title, but I bought it so low it didnt bother me. In fact I sold that car for a solid two times what I bought it for. But keep all this in mind.

 

they are asking 9995..... but i feel 8k is a better number... and thats what i am going to offer them.... i was just wondering if u guys thought that was too much for a car like that. im really not sure what i wanna do. if he gives it to me for 8k ill do it... unless u guys advise otherwise.

 

Hmm, I dont know if rebuilt is as bad as salvage. Personally I dont think Id offer much more than 1/2 of KBB. I think thats an awesome price except for the title thing. Just remember youre probably gonna take a big hit if you ever need/want to sell it. But if it doesnt bother you, then go get it and post up some pics of the new toy!

 

As a general rule in the car business, a salvage/rebuilt/reconstructed title is worth about 35-40% of NADA retail, so long as everything is operational and it isn't obvious that the car was hit (e.g. panels not lined up properly, excessive orange peel in repaint, etc).

Don't bother with KBB...consumers use it as a crutch, but a KBB retail value literally isn't worth the paper its printed on. Dealers use NADA for a reason...its also the only form of value identification banks use.

 

Honestly, you can get a non-salvage LS1 F-body for that price.

 

Not an 02 TA. Other older f-bodies yes.

 

The year doesn't mean much if the powerplant is the same and the mileage is acceptable.

 

But again we're talking about possible resale too. The car in question is an 02 so it would come down to would you buy an 02 repaired title that checked out OK or a 98-99 for the same money??