1999 Firehawk selling prices

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bcugk
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2015 5:27 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ontario

1999 Firehawk selling prices

Post by bcugk » Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:47 pm

Hello,

I'm new to the group and i have found a 1999 Firehawk conv for sale, one owner, 40K miles, black on black, rarely seen rain, very nice condition.

Asking price $17K, Nada price guides say around $15 in excellent condition for the 1999's.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Derek
2000 Firehawk C015
1972 Cutlass Convertible

Mattie
Posts: 79
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:57 am
Location: Sarnia, ON, Canada

Re: 1999 Firehawk selling prices

Post by Mattie » Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:59 pm

Offer $15K, if you're happy with the car. Any nice convertible (regardless of type - within reason of course) is prob worth that.

Can't buy much for $15K anymore.
mattie

2000 T/A Firehawk #C15
Black, T-tops, 6spd.

ajsfirehawk
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 12:55 am
Location: Johnstown CO

Re: 1999 Firehawk selling prices

Post by ajsfirehawk » Mon Apr 27, 2015 10:05 pm

I agree with Mattie, you can't buy much for $15K these days. You are buying a car that has bottomed out for pricing, it is truly special. If the car is right and it makes your heart pound, work on him, find his lowest price, and buy it. Even if it is $17K, if you keep it and drive it, you will never regret it. In 5 years you won't care or remember that you paid an extra $1,500.
02 Trans Am Dark Blue M6
97 Firehawk#00070/Sebring Silver M6
79 KZ650 SR
82 KZ1100 LTD

Firebrian
Posts: 175
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:15 pm

Re: 1999 Firehawk selling prices

Post by Firebrian » Sat May 02, 2015 10:48 am

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2000-Pontiac-Fi ... 7675.l2557

Here's an Ebay car that I don't think sold for a fixed price of $17,500. 2 owner 2000 Firehawk vert M6 with 26,000 miles. Blue with white top. I thought it was a fair asking price for the car if it was sound and up to date on maintenance. I'd value a '99 in the same condition with 15,000 more miles at about $2,000 less. Asking prices on these tend to be high. But, it's also true that 90% of them don't sell until they reduce the price considerably. There was a very nice 1 owner 2001 A4 FH vert with approx 10K miles on here about a year ago - sold for around $20K. The collector demand for our LS-1's drops off considerably at the 40K mile point....and even more at the 50K and 70K mile targets. One advantage to a 25K mile car is that you could enjoy it for years and still sell it for strong money with mileage in the 30's. If your intent is to put 50K miles on the car over 5-10 years, then none of that matters.

Need more information on your car as other things do affect the price. Has the car been tracked, dragged, significantly modified? Verifiable maintenance history, especially with all the fluids? 1 owner is a big plus as they should be able to give detailed info on the car. A '99 FH vert is a neat car. They made far less of these guys in the first 3 years than they did in 2002 (only 75 total in 1999). Still, it's the 2001-2002 cars that garner the most attention despite much higher production numbers. A pristine 40K mile car that was fastidiously maintained by a fussy owner could easily be worth the same as a so-so 25K mile car. That's NOT usually the case but it's something you should be ready to pay up for (ie +$1K to +$2K). Though in the end, mileage is still the biggest driver of price. Convertibles tend to be tougher sells than the coupes. I see that very much so in the WS6 and Camaro SS. I'd value a vert about 10% more than a coupe.

If the car is a 6 speed (and it's still completely sound and quiet) that's a big plus as most performance oriented are after those. I run into nice WS6 verts fairly often, most seem to be automatics. If cruising is your thing, the M6's can be a pita. Figure the M6 is worth at least $1K more than the automatic...and possibly up to $2K the cleaner and more well maintained the car is. So there are guys that would pay $15K for this '99 as an automatic, and others who would step up to $16K as a 6 speed. A black M6 is very desirable even if it is the most produced color for 1999. People love black on black muscle cars. Clean and well-maintained lower mileage FH verts are not that easy to come buy without running all over the country.

Firebrian
Posts: 175
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:15 pm

Re: 1999 Firehawk selling prices

Post by Firebrian » Sat May 02, 2015 11:26 am

Don't get too caught up with NADA or KBB as they can be quite misleading at times. The NADA "classic car" pricing for a '99 Firehawk doesn't ask whether it's a coupe or a vert, or the mileage. That makes sense for a 40 year old Trans Am but not so much for a '99. They list an exc FH for $15,700 "high retail." That's another way of saying the most a "dealer" would think of asking for such a car. NADA for a regular '99 WS6 vert is $10,900. So a FH would be another $1K to $2K more......$13K max. So that's nearly a $3K difference between their "classic" and "regular" pricing. Makes no sense. And a "high retail" car would have to be the very finest of any 40K mile car. Probably not too likely.

KBB comes up with $12,200 for a WS6 vert. Add $2K for a FH option and you get $14,200 "excellent condition private party" pricing (top 3% of all cars). So the price guides suggest to me that "list" for the car is in the $13K - $14K range. Or course, both NADA and KBB tend to underprice these cars when miles are <60K.....possibly underpriced by $2K for the mileage difference <60K. That's not something you want to tell a seller though.

In any case the original range in the earlier posts of $15K-$16K is reasonable depending on condition. $17K is very strong and the car would have to look and perform like a 20K mile car. That can be done. I looked over a 2002 Trans Am coupe a few years back with 48K miles. Darn if that car wasn't owned by an more elderly couple and looked like 20K miles. The engine bay was immaculate....interior spotless and no signs of leather seat wear...not a hint of the usual inner door panel cracks that plague the Firebirds.

Firehawk wheels tend to corrode if subjected to rain, cold weather, etc. Soft top condition can vary wildly after 40K miles. A car left outside a lot can easily have blistering clear coat by 40K miles. One thing you don't have to worry about with a Vert is the issue of bubbling/blistering roof paint on the Firebirds/Camaros built from around mid-April 1998 to 2002. That's a problem if you're leaving them on a show field or at work on a hot summer day. The verts get a skate on that one. Personally, I like the automatic verts for their ease in driving and the longer drive train life of the A4 vs. the M6.
Last edited by Firebrian on Sat May 02, 2015 9:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

bcugk
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2015 5:27 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ontario

Re: 1999 Firehawk selling prices

Post by bcugk » Sat May 02, 2015 12:31 pm

Thanks for all the info, hope to see the car tomorrow.
2000 Firehawk C015
1972 Cutlass Convertible

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