i found a 91 305 TBI Firebird, black on black, hardtop, power everything, 91000 miles, one owner (was an old man too), never ragged out, for 4500, or my ****ty 92 beretta and 2500 dollars.

My grandparents will prolly be pissed, but should i buy it? it runs damn good and will get a little sideways on takeoff.

Let me know what to do....

 

I wouldn't get it for that much, maybe $3500 if it's absolutely perfect, like no scratches in the paint, perfect interior, new tires etc. You can pick up a pretty mint Trans am/GTA or iroc/z28 for the same price. They cheaped out a lot on the suspension and drivetrain on the TBI/base model cars. Personally I would hold out for a 350, unless you're like me and HAVE to drive a manual car. You can pick up 6 speed LT1 cars for 5500-6500.

I paid either $4000 or $4400 in '97 for my TBI car from a dealership with 70,000 miles and a 90 day warranty, power everything etc.

 

i dunno its REALLY taken care of, and im getting a WONDERFUL deal on my car. way more than its worth. all i have is 3000 and my car too, and not many options. plus, ive been burned pretty bad before, and i know this car was taken car of.....

the exterior has one TINY ding behind the rear tire on the drivers side and the interior really is perfect. i dont think another good deal will come along like this, at least around here.

besides, suspension work is half the fun

 

Talk them down some, TBI cars didn't sell for much more than that new in '91.

 

Dude.. seriously.. I picked up my '88 in *SWEET* condition for under a grand.. for 4500 I'd be expecting a mint GTA with a 350.. period.

 

This is what I did to my sub $1000 TBI car I got off my dad... in 5 years it finally looks good finally AND after some light mods last year runs 15.4@91mph in the 1/4 mile...

 

to shed some light i paid 3k for mine 4 years ago, it was a low milage (70k at the time) , it was a 1 owner car and the owner of it was a retired GM mechanics Wife , The car was in AMAZING condition inside and out.

i don't think that an identical bird is worth 1500 more than a camaro.

i would guess that with some looking you can find a better deal, but at the same time, diffrent markets have diffrent prices, i would look in the papers and call a few dealers, if 4500 is on par for a 91 TBI bird in your area, then get it, but i bet that with a few calls you will find that TBI birds aren't fetching that kind of money.

 

I would sell your car, take the money from that and your $3000.00 and find something else! Like everyone else says, it sounds like too much money. Out here in California that is a $2500 car. Im sure if an old man owned it for 90,000 miles and never pissed it out there is most likely a ton of carbon buildup on the valves, restricting airflow and making a factory slow car even slower!
Good luck!

 

thats an easy fix, think NO2!

 

I agree with him. Find an IROC-Z or a Formula with a 350 in it. You will be much happier down the road with that.

 

Im gona get killed, but I have to go aginst the grain here.
I say if you like it get it. where I live the retail value of a TBI F-body in good condition is almost $5000. it is also very hard to find an F-Body of any year that hasnt been beat to crap where I live.

to find out for sure if it is a good deal check it's value at Kelly Blue Book

 

to help out too... i paid 2000 for my 92 5 spd... fully loaded tbi in great shape except for the little dents in the fenders... but it had high miles at 113,000 and i have had no problems besides fixing what mess i made when i installed my headers... ooppsss...
never go for what they are asking always try to talk them down!!! i have sold many of my previous cars . i have owned 10 cars since i was 15 and all the ones i sold i asked about 1,000 or so more than i wanted so when they haggle with you you will get what you want... make an offer like 3,000 or 3250... he might drop the price to 4000-3500 its always worth aking...it is still a free country so negotiate with him. and the more excited you act in front of him about buying the car the more he is gonna stick to his price.
also find any and all defects inside and out... make sure you point them out to him and say little things like well thats gonna need to be fixed... or whatever!!
th place i bought my 92 model from wanted freakin 4500 and i talked them down to 2000... if i can talk the gm used car lot down to 2000 then you can talk the old man down too!!!

 

Just take me with you some time to look at it and i will tell you if it is worth it or not

 

If he's offering you such a good trade on your Beretta, that means that on a clean deal with no trade he'll come down in price. Find out how much he wants for it with no trade, then worry about getting rid of your beretta on your own.

 

care to shorten that killa sig of yours???

and i say dont be afraid to look outside of a 30 mile radius of where you live. a good car a good ways away is worth the trip IMO

 

I have to agree with Dragons91RS on this one. Down in this part of the world 3rd Gens are rare and when you do find one its high. I paid $3500 for my '91 TBI car in ok condition, but thats what I wanted so I bought it.

Sounds to me like you've already made up your mind anyway so go for it. Do whats best for you.

 

I bet yall guy's wish you could be like me. I bought my camaro from my girlfriend at the time back in 99 for 1300.00 You cant beat that, Hot girl and a hot camaro.

 

it all depends on teh area you live and how much you want the car. i live in one of the most expensive car markets in the country(halfway between philadelphia and new york city) around here an rs in good condition with over 100k on the clock can still get 4000 pretty easy. for a one owner 90k car that was professionally maintained and adult driven you coudl pay a lot more.

later
tim

 

Sounds high to me - but what do I know?

I paid $500 for my 90 RS 6 months ago - it's by no means perfect, but it runs good. After I fix EVERYTHING, repaint, and add mods to boost it to 275hp, I'll still only have $2000 in it.

Guess I'm too tight! lol

 

if i had the chance to do it over again i would have waited for a 350tpi iroc/z28 to come along instead of buying my 88sc 305tbi. biggest mistake for me was not really doing any research on thirdgen camaros. but when you find a camaro and get all excited about buying it there was nothing that stopped me from getting it. i say hold out for a 350 car you will be so much happier later.

 

man if you were in canada... well atlantic canada where i live.. 4500 is a pretty good deal on a third gen right now.. i payed 4500 and that was a very sweet deal 2 years ago... now a lot of third gens are going for at least 4000 to 6000... and for 90's and up, z28, trans ams, it can range from 8000 to 10 000... just had to let everyone know what third gens are going for here....
Corey

 

I picked up my 91RS with 93,000 miles for $4000. The car was owned by a mechanic, and was garaged the entire time. So far, no problems, and most of the miles are freeway miles. The inside and out was absolutely fantastic. Everything was stock, but I did the exhaust and a filter. Overhall, I am happy with the price I paid for it. In Southern California, the 3rd gens I see are all nasty, with faded paint, cracked and faded vinyl, or disgusting gold rims. I'de pay $4000 again for it, even with 104,000 miles that it has on it now

 

i really don't wanna make a big deal about this.. but i have the window sticker from my 91 RS camaro and it sold for 18,000$. that's a lot more than 4500( at least for me ). surely the firebirds (even base models ) did not sell for 4500 new in 91. you probably know more than me though

 

look i live in vabeach... and this is a big military town... these dealers try to rip people off everyday around here this clown i call my freind just paid 18,000 for a 02 base model sentra about 5 months ago!!! i tried to tell him not to but he got taken!!! always talk them down!!! just because the sticker says one thing doesn't mean to just go and pay that... haggle with the guy!! even if you only knock 200 off the car thats 200 you can spend on performance parts!!!

 

The real question is, how bad is your Barretta. If its worn out over 120,000 miles, rusted, dented, ect, then i would say its not a bad deal if the RS is in as great a shape as you say. Although you will probably get the tpi bug after awhile (we all want more power no matter what you have, so don't feel bad.) the tbi cars are reliable and for a car that nice thats a bit sporty and, despite the cheaping up of the suspension, handles very well. Not to say the tpi cars aren't reliable, they are very reliable, (its a chevy small block, hard to screw that up, although they have its called a 307, anyways). If you like it and your baretta is as toasted as you say, then its a good deal. Sure you may find a better deal on a tpi car the day after, but then again you may never find a good deal on a tpi car in your range, so get what will make you happy.

 

I paid $5000 for mine with 100k miles on it, was in great shape.....but my luck 6 months later I spun a bearing in the engine and had to get that replaced. Dropped a new crate engine in it, just now getting finished paying for that. Hopefully now I can start making some mods.

I say if you want the car.....get it, its your money.

 

well, i HOPE that that was sarcastic...mine was about 17 grand in '91 according to what i have seen published in books, etc.

what it comes down to is the market. up here in central NY, good cars are more expensive, and harder to find (because of obvious reasons if you live up here).

no matter what though, ALWAYS try to talk them down. show up with a handfull of 100 dollar bills, and throw him an offer. money talks, especially when it's within an eye shot.

if it's a nice car, and taken care of, and what you are looking for, then the price doesn't necessarily have to be a deal breaker. i mean, if it's what you want, then that has to be worth something to you - maybe an extra few hundred bucks than you wanted to spend.

i paid 5000 for mine back in may of '98 with 100k on it. it was a little more than i wanted to spend, but it was exactly what i was looking for, so it was worth it to me . but, that's just me.

whatever you do, just make sure you try to talk him down...play the game, and in my experience, the buyer usually wins.

-Brian