Hello all. I have always liked the LT1 cars and am 90% sure I will pick one up soon. The car of choice is a 97 SS, M6 with 64K on the clock. The previous owner obviously took great care of it. It is red with the tan seats/carpet & black dash & console which I think looks really sharp. The car is stock and I plan on doing full exhaust, air intake, and probably a new head unit as the car does not have a CD player. Car is also a hard top. No T tops!!

Anything I should know before buying? Anything to look for while deciding to buy?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Nick

 

How much is he asking? A clean car with only 64K is definitely something to consider if the price is right. A couple well known problems with the LT1 motor is the rear intake oil leak and of course, the optispark (distributor) which has a reputation as well. Other then that, it is still a solid motor that should last a long time if taken care of properly.

 

He is asking 8K but I told him I thought the car isn't worth more then $7,500 and that is what I would agree to pay.

Should I just stick my finger behind the intake and feel/look for oil?

Nick

 

Yeah, get a flashlight and take a look, it would be pretty apparent if it were leaking. I would also give the rest of the car a lookover as well, including the undercarriage. It isn't uncommon for people to bottom them out or hit something and do substantial damage to the k-member, oil pan, trans pan, exhaust, ect.

 

Thanks. What do you think of the price of $7,500?

Nick

 

Definitly look under the car. After I bought mine I was doing a tune up and noticed that the crossmember was banged up and the catalytic converter had scratches all along it. Sometime in its life my car had done some off roading.

You'll often hear of people complain about the rear end, but the rears aren't a problem unless you are running sticky tires and driving it hard, so whether or not the rear end will be a problem is up to you.

Otherwise they are solid cars, and I'll own one as long as I possibly can.

 

I think that 7,500 is fair for a 97 SS M6, especially if it is clean with those miles.

 

It looks like the KBB puts it at around 6700.00 A mint conditioned, low mileage, one owner car might be able to justify a little more. I would try to chew him down still and see if he goes for it.

 

Wow, thats not a bad price considering I see LT1 SS's with low miles going for no less than 15k.

 

In my zip code, 06484, it came in at $7,850 for good condition. Part of the country could have something to do with it.

Nick

 

And that is what is selling me on the car. Its clean and appears to have been taken very good care of.

Nick

 

Hmm.. even when putting in your zip code and in excellent condition, I'm still coming up with an amount of 6700 for a private party sale.

 

Weird. Only extras I put was SS package, leather seats & power seats.

Nick

 

Maybe you are trying the suggested retail value as that car is listing for 8000 grand in that case. That would only apply if you were buying the car from a dealership.

 

What also matters is what are you willing to spend. Do you feel like this is the car for you? If a car met all of my criteria I would be willing to spend perhaps a little more if it was exactly what I wanted.