We went to look at a 1986 Trans Am tonite. It has 164000 miles, the transmission was given a performance rebuild 48000 miles ago and the motor was also rebuilt. The interior is in good shape, has been recovered in red and white, he said the t-tops dont leak, headliner is in good shape. It has a 2 year old paint job, it has a dent on the right front quarter panel, as we were riding around you could hear a rattle coming from underneath the car, he said it was a pipe rubbing against the headers, you did not hear it when the car was parked.

The check engine light also comes on then goes off. I was not able to drive it, he said he only had liabiltiy on it. He said the tires definitely need to be rotated and balanced, and it still has the factory wheels. He is asking $4600, is this too much????? What do you guys think??

 

what all performance parts did it have?

whats the specs on the engine.

kinda sounds about right depending on what it has done.

 

Its a TPI 5.0, only performance parts is the shift kit, shifts really firm going into 2nd gear.

 

I think $4,600 is way out of line. Id say the car is worth about $1,100.

here is why, Its repainted (possible earlier accidents/ damage).

The CE light comes on and off

Dent in the new paint job, would probably require MORE painting.

Its a 305.

Strange rattles under the car.

Tires need to be rotated.

164,000 miles.

 

yeah definitely not then

 

Way too much.

 

Seems high for a 86 305, the guy I bought my GTA from said it had a new paintjob recently, turned out it was three years earlier and it was by the body shop my friend now works at, my friend didn't work there at the time the GTA was there so we didn't realize it was his shop that did it until his boss saw me and him talking and told me it had a new paint job because the guy I bought it from raced a vette and crashed through a barrier and went into a field needed new quarter, nose, and repaint so a new paint job could be covering up some previous accidents. 164,000 miles is a lot and check engine is on. I think it is worth more than 1,100 with new interior, tranny, and engine. If it was all redone well I would say somewhere around $3000

 

4600 sounds like about double what I'd think its worth.

 

it seems high to me..but im not buying the car... is the price worth it/do you like the car enough to spend the money?

 

Yeah, $4600 seems like a LOT of money for an 18 year old car. The guy just called me and asked if I was still interested, I ran a CARFAX on it and it has the 5.0 TBI, but doesnt the TBI motor have the air filter on top? it looked like a TPI motor, my wife also agrees that $4600 is way too much, so we are gonna keep on looking.

 

It can't be a factory throttle body because there was none in 86 it could be a carb'd 305 non H.O.(LG4) or 305 H.O.(L69) motor or a TPI 305(LB9), and yes the throttle body does have the air cleaner on top

 

Check the 8th digit of the vin. If it is "F", then it SHOULD be a 305TPI (well, it was originally).

 

Ok, we found a 1988 GTA at a local car lot. It has a non standard 4-bbl 350 and 3 speed auto. Paint is in ok shape, has factory multi spoke gold wheels, prev. owner had installed different gauges (85 mph speedo), does not have t-tops, AC blows cold, radio does not work, interior is ok, sales guy said you have to finagle the headlight switch to get the lights to pop up.

They are asking $2900 but my wife knows the daughter of the guy who owns and runs the lot, so we might be able to get it a little cheaper, due to the size of the pics I took i cant post em, what do you guys think?

I did start the car, only thing i noticed was the smell coming out the exhaust.

 

Just to give you a benchmark on pricing - I've been looking a 3rd gens for a while. I finally found an 88 Iroc Convertible October 2003, with 1 year old paint and 2 year old top with 145K miles (45K on rebuild of engine) for $3500. It is all original (except the paint and top). The only problem is that the driver seat has a tear - since it's leather haven't been able to find the OEM replacement cover.

So I would say even $2900 for the 88 TA seems high.

If you're not in a rush for a 3rd Gen, you can find some reasonably price vehicles. I would really look for something that is all original (motor) although getting one all modded out is alot cheaper than building it yourself. You have to be carefull in buying a modded out car as you don't want to spend a ton of time/money tweaking it to get it driveable/reliable.

I'm not slamming modded out cars that are done right - I wish I had one, but there are a lot out there that are pieced together that does not work right.

Just my 2 cents

 

i second the modded thing..i see too many of these things just thrown together..

...i got my all orginal 84 Trans Am, t-tops, L69 motor, 5speed trans, and 73,000 orginal miles..the only thing not stock was paint...i found this car at a body shop first time i saw it was still in the booth....it cost me 5500 dollars including the new paint job..it wasnt in an accident the paint was just that faded blue..now its a metallic atlantic blue...i am very very happy with it...it is my first car and i hope i can keep it forever..

 

I would have to agree. That's alittle high for an 86 with that many miles. Yes it has a newer trans with almost 50,000 miles on it. Doesn't mean it's still worth more. Some think well I just spent $2000 on my motor so my car is worth that much more. It really doesn't work like that . just because a car has something rebiult doesn't mean it's worth more to me. Plus with that many miles on the trans I hardly would condsider that a new item. plus the fact that you couldn't drive it may mean he is hiding something. You get alot more of the story when you can drive the car. $2500-$3000 might be fair if it'spretty clean, but that is just a guess without seeing it. As for the GTA that car sounds like a buch of problems waiting to happen. Maybe for $1400, but not $2900. No TPI, or stock guages. Only if you get it cheap.

 

RUN AWAY..... as fast as you can in the opposite direction.

 

Sounds like an '82 Firebird LG4 200C