Looking to buy a firebird. Need tips

[casketcrewchick]

Hi. First off, I dont know where to put this post so i just stuck it here. I am looking to buy a firebird in a month. I was going to go today and buy one but I never bought a car before (I am 23 and my parents bought me a corsica 5 years ago, plus i dont need to go through world war 3 today). I need to know what to look at when going car shopping. I have spotted a really nice firebird that I am in love with but I need to really examine it. I am looking at a 2000 silver firebird with t tops and a cloth interior with 44,000 miles on it. My parents want me to buy a different car since my insurance company said my insurance would be 3600 for a year. I did a carfax on it and it said there have been 4 possible owners and its been in an accident with a parked vehicle. Everything else checks out ok and my parents also dont like the idea there were 4 owners. I Dont know about that though because i did a carfax on mine and it said there was one owner and that is not true... plus it said i had some kind of alarm system installed in it which i dont. LOL. This particular car (as well as another i want to look at again which would be my 2nd choice) has t tops. I need to make sure they dont leak, that much I do know. I dont have anyone to take with me (was going to take dad but he wont let me buy a car for some reason)... i do have a friend who i went up there with but he doesnt know too much about cars. I did a price thing on KBB.com and it said it is worth about 13500 but the dealer wants 14999. It has the sport appearance package and aftermarket Magnaflow dual exhaust which i think is why the price sort of is the way it is. I want to know if I can possibly get them to take off 500 bucks for those scratches on the outside. They are down to the white.

BTW i am not trading in my corsica because i know i wont get **** for it and i just spent a lot of money to get it running again so its good as new. I had to spend on it either way because no one will buy a messed up car, and i need something to drive right at the moment... I am going to sell it for $2000 bucks with the system too.

I would appreciate an email too if anyone wants to casketcrewchick@yahoo.com

Thanks!!

BTW please move this topic wherever appropriate.

[mcG]

4 owners seems kind of high for a 2000 with only 44,000 miles on it in my opinion
as with getting any used car, don't pick the first one you find, go out and check as many as you can before you make a decision

by the way where in nj are you?

[98Camaro3.8]

Take it to a mechanic and have them check it over before you buy it. Many will do it for no charge. They can check for obvious damage, leaks, etc. Good Luck! ;)

[Dominic]

Suggestions:
2000+ Camaro or Firebird V6
< 36,000 miles if you can get it
Insurance for me, 21yrs old = $900 every 6mo.

If its an automatic, try to find one with 3.42 gearing, maybe even a Y87 package with the positraction. Its nice to have even if you don't dragrace.

As far as everything else goes, color TTops or any other option, just be picky and get what you want [img]smile.gif[/img] The resale value on an Fbody isn't high, but they're nice cars and I love mine to death. [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]

Examine the paint, listen to how it runs, smell the transmission fluid to see if it smells normal or burnt (automatic), and just do little checks. If it needs new tires, you have lots of good choices, and you might can work it into the deal when buying it. The stock Eagle GAs which come on the V6s are not good tires and I recommend replacing them very quickly. They have a 45,000 mile warranty on them so they're worth money when you do decide to replace them.

If you need ANYTHING please email me, I will be glad to help. I am going out of town from Aug 3 to Aug 17, but I'll check my email periodically.

Goodluck and don't forget to tell us what you get and take photos of it!! :D

[Blazing_Firebird]

Maybe I'm just spoiled, but I got my 1999 Pontiac Firebird (ttops and all) with only 54,000 Miles on it for only 9,000...but then again, my family has known the dealer that went searching for a Firebird for me for years, so we got a deal...I think it retailed at 13,900 when I bought it for 9,000.

In my opinion, even coming from a teenager, I really don't trust that it had four owners...something has to be wrong with the car; I can't imagine why four people would dump it so quickly, even if it has good miles.

And for the price...14,000 seems...well, expensive (I dont know what year it is, though). I think its a bit too much, considering all the **** its been through...take a look around first, you'd be surprised at the deals people give sometimes.

[unleaded]

1400 is too much money imo. I am positive you could talk them down a couple of grand. 4 owners is a bit much for a 2k bird, have if possibe get an extended warrenty on it and if anything doesn't work right just have them fix it. Trust me on the fact that they will work the price down if you play a bit 0f hard ball.

[02PewterBird]

I would keep looking. The mileage is high, the price is high, the number of owners in a short period of time doesn't sound good, and the accident doesn't help.

The exhaust isn't going to increase the value of the car much if it does at all. I would actually consider that a drawback because there's a better chance the person who owned it before was into performance and might have driven the car harder. The sport appearance package was something like $1,000 new, but it's not worth more than $500 used, probably less than that.

Carfax might miss owners on cars sometimes, but I doubt that they would create owners that don't really exist. That's not as easy as it is to just miss something like owners that aren't listed.

[Messi4h]

Hey, I dunno if you would be interested but im in NJ and im selling my firebird. email for details if you want, koolaid338@yahoo.com
check some pics at www.cardomain.com/id/sh4terddreamz Well let me know, its got some mods and its been babied forever. :D

[ August 04, 2003: Message edited by: Messi4h ]</p>

[Messi4h]

http://www.camarov6.com/cgi-bin/ulti...c&f=8&t=003883

:D

[camaro_speedemon]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Messi4h:
http://www.camarov6.com/cgi-bin/ulti...c&f=8&t=003883

:D <hr></blockquote>

Your car is absolutely beautiful, it's ashame you're getting rid of it. I haven't seen it in person since I live in Fl. But from the pics IMO one of the cleanest looking birds I've seen.

$15K for a Firebird?!! :eek: That dealer is INSANE! Even with the W68 package and exhaust. You can get a Trans Am for that price! Look around a little before you buy it. You should be able to find one much cheaper. Check out Ken's bird if you can.

As for the motor, the 3800 is a pretty stong motor. I have 120K miles on mine, and drive it pretty hard, I haven't really had any major problems yet.

BTW I don't trust carfax, I ran one on my car, and it says it hasn't been in any major accidents. I had $4k worth of damage in my accident about a year ago. If that isn't major, then what the hell is?!

And welcome to the board. This place is an awesome place to find out about ANYTHING about Firebirds and V6 Camaros.

[rebelmark]

I got a 2001 Camaro with factory ground effects and 3.42/LSD gears for 12,000 bucks. You need to wheel and deal, and if they don't go low enough, walk out. My famous line at the dealerships are "I'm going to buy a (insert car name); whether I buy it here or somewhere else is up to you. Don't settle;

[Messi4h]

just wanted to add, if you have AIM or sumthin you can msg me at "sh4terddreamz"

[casketcrewchick]

Thanks for the replys!! I am going to look at another dealer in the area this weekend and see if they got any birds for sale. I was told there was a black on there by a coworker. I am going to keep looking around for a little more.

My parents wouldnt be freaking out so much if the insurance was cheaper on these cars. LOL I mean it IS silly for me to spend more per month on insurance than it is to pay for the car.

I live in Swedesboro, NJ btw.

[SlimJim1284]

My car:
*Leather interior
*T-Tops*
*sport appearance ground effects package
*Only 28,000 and no scratches
it was only $13500
Do NOT I repeat do NOT buy this car for more than &12000 or you are getting screwed in teh azz