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I am looking to purchase an absolutely beautiful 1987 Trans Am. It has 63K original miles, 2nd owner, garage kept all of its life, perfect paint, super clean interior, 305 TB injection, 5 speed manual transmission, Hard top (no t-tops), new Goodyear Eagle GTll tires, original hatch and hood shocks still work strong and original stock cassette radio.What is this car worth? The seller is asking 10K or best offer.
Last edited by 242turbo; May 22, 2020 at 12:47 PM.
Reason: neatening up
That’s a sharp car, how’s the underneath? The 5 speed makes it compelling. I’m a Firebird guy but 10k is a little steep for a TBI car IMO, I wouldn’t go higher than 6 to 8k but it really depends on what your looking for and the market in your area. If it’s an original car in great shape that you want to keep mostly stock than this is a nice car but if you want more power or a car to mod this probly isn’t it.
I'd do Carchex or another pre-purchase inspection. That will tell you a lot that you can't see in photos. For example, this car was likely repainted. The 2" (MOL) fade graphics striping at the point where the main body meets the ground effects (red/silver) is gone. If it was blue/silver or black (I don't personally favor red cars) I'd give $10K for this one but it never hurts to negotiate.
There were no TBI cars in 87. It's either TPI or carbed.
It's too bad it's not a WS6 car, it's easy enough to swap the parts, but if a person doesn't want to modify it, the handling will be a weak substitute for the same car with the WS6 option.
The price isn't bad, but it's not great. Not bad enough to walk away if that's exactly what you're looking for.
Not to dampen your spirit, im just going to tell you the reality of what this car leaves a lot to be desired. The speedometer is a 80 mph so that's an automatic LG4 4bbl 170 hp 305, non ws6, rear drum, 15 in wheels, its been repainted but pretty well done compared to repaints ive witnessed. This car boils down to just a base Trans Am, the only thing it has going for it is miles and originality besides the paint and its a very clean looking car. That and the 5 speed makes more desirable over the auto. I wouldnt pay anymore than 7-8k tops for this car and that's me being generous on a good day for a base T/A like this one, and im not a fan of red but it's beside the point. If its the car you want and can get the owner down to 8 or even 7 then I'd say you did well for what the car is. If it was a LB9 5 speed or L98 Auto WS6 4 wheel disc car then i can see the owners asking price.
Pretty big difference between a 5.7L GTA and a base Trans Am. Maybe you can find a 5.7L car for the same price and condition, maybe not. You'd have to spend some time hunting if you want a deal. The nice cars with fair prices, usually never even make it to the online marketplaces, they get scooped up by acquaintances and resellers before most people have a chance.
If you want a trans am with a 5spd and you're on a budget, settling for a non-WS6 car with an LG4 isn't the worst thing. I mean it could be a TBI 305, or a base Firebird, or a V6. It's just closer to the middle than to the bottom of the totem pole. To be fair the vast majority of thirdgens fall in the middle of the totem pole. 82-86 were the top selling years, and those cars were all 305s at best. The best performing thirdgens are 89-92 which are some of the lower production years. The only thirdgens that were really "HOT" were 305 TPI/5-speeds, and 350 TPI cars, and they make up the minority regardless how you look at the numbers. Most thirdgens are dog *** slow pigs.
i usually search irocs cause im not really a trans am guy but have seen alot of gtas for around 10k that were pretty nice .. ill check around and see what i can find .. with the coronavirus around it seems like alot of people our holding out on selling right now ..
If you want a GTA with the 5.7 (as you previously stated) and T-Tops then you're limited to 1989 as that's the only year you can get that package. Unless you find one with C&C aftermarket T-Tops or an exported GTA that didn't have the 5.7L and T-Top package limitation.
I like the car, and $10k is not a lot of money these days. See 200K mile trucks going for mid 20s, any new crap box SUV is +$35K. Looks like it's at a dealer and they are probably some desperate to sell, make them an offer.
A little tired. 
