Buying a used TA

[Dyno247365]

I'm looking for a 95-97 trans am, gotta be less than 100k miles and gotta be a six speed. Where should I be looking and what do you think a reasonable price would be? I haven't found a stick shift yet in the newspaper, not a good sign, how rare are they? I'm guessing people don't want to give their's up. Last thing...what should I be aware of when test driving these beasts?

[FormulaLT1]

Well Autotrader as well as the local classifieds to your area and I also bought a few cars off Ebay but made sure they were local so I could check them out before the bid. Normal issue's with LT1's will be the rear , opti's , a few people have claimed oil leakage problems with rear main seal and timing cover area (although I never had this issue myself), your also gonna want to make sure the tranny is in good shape. If its a auto you want to make sure it has quick firm shifts and upshifts and downshifts without issue or hesitation and if its a stick you want to make sure it goes easily in and out of eat gear and without a mushy feel to the clutch or having to go too far to the floor. A good way to find that the car has been abuses is to check the rear quarters. They tend to get dimpled and wrinkles from alot of heavy throttle conditions.

[Dyno247365]

Originally Posted by FormulaLT1

Well Autotrader as well as the local classifieds to your area and I also bought a few cars off Ebay but made sure they were local so I could check them out before the bid. Normal issue's with LT1's will be the rear , opti's , a few people have claimed oil leakage problems with rear main seal and timing cover area (although I never had this issue myself), your also gonna want to make sure the tranny is in good shape. If its a auto you want to make sure it has quick firm shifts and upshifts and downshifts without issue or hesitation and if its a stick you want to make sure it goes easily in and out of eat gear and without a mushy feel to the clutch or having to go too far to the floor. A good way to find that the car has been abuses is to check the rear quarters. They tend to get dimpled and wrinkles from alot of heavy throttle conditions.

What do you mean mushy, how's the clutch supposed to feel?

[FormulaLT1]

Its suppose to be firm without having to go too far for it to release. A mushy or sponge like clutch can be the cause of many issue's that a buyer will most likely not want to deal with.

[Dyno247365]

Did they make hardtops? If so, how many? Say for 1997

[Dyno247365]

Speaking of mileage, what's a good mileage to buy these cars at, reasonably priced? How many problems should I expect over 100k? How much difference could 30k make on the LT1 or T56?