Yulanious Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Hello all, 11 years ago I bought my first Z34. It was Red with Grey cloth interior and it was automatic. It had around 60K miles on it. RAN ABSOLUTELY AWESOME, that was of course when it ran. I had it in for repairs 6 times in the first 6 months. Thank God I purchased the extended bumber to bumber warranty. Two years later I sold it. I've recently got the itch to buy another one. I'm now 30 and understand things better than I did when I was 19. I'd like to get your opinions on somethings... I'm looking at purchasing a 1992 Chevy Lumina Z34. Only 48k miles. Garage kept. All stock. Mint condidion inside and out. Won a couple of shows. It's a 5 speed. <--- VERY IMPORTANT!!! All maintenance records. Tune up done at 44k and fuel injectors replaced. The guy wants $6,500 for the car. It's the best one I've been able to find and I've been searching for a while. No rust anywhere. No dings, no dents, no scratches, no paint chips, etc. You get the picture. Q1. Fair price? Q2. Should I keep it stock or modify it? Q3. Performance parts are either to hard to find or are no longer made. Are there modifications out there to boost performance (HP!!!) that will allow me to put back to stock if I decide to sell as a collectable down the road? Q4. Do you think the car I listed above will go up in value if I keep it in pristine condition? Any words, tips, opinions, or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks and I look forward to hearing what you all have to say, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 If its in as good of shape as you describe, I would pay 5k for it... The value will do nothing but drop because there is no aftermarket for these cars nor is there a high demand for them... You will have a hard time modding it as you can get a cold air intake and an exhaust and some handling stuff but other than that there isnt a whole lot of mods you can do... Are you planning on daily driving this car or just keeping it for a summer fun car? Either way, I dont see the value rising at all in the near future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 x2 if you want performance ideas i would check out 60degreev6 they have a whole section on modding a 3.4 and i compleatly agree with bigalwalker08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakngold4life Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Price sounds a bit high to me, but finding one in that good of condition with low miles is extremely hard, especially with a 5 speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 there is no way I would pay anywhere remotely close to $6500..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 I'd say $4k TOPS. It's still an old W-Body, despite the miles and rarity of the 5-speed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediabandit Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 If it is in that good a shape, 5-speed and that low mileage i would try to get it for $6000.00. I would be willing to pay that. Whether they are going to be collectors items or not isn't really important, if you like the car and want to keep up on it, then by all means go for it. I wanted one when i was 16 and never had a chance to get one until a few years ago because they are so rare around here, i paid $3500.00 for it, in great shape, had never been winter driven, no issues or anything but it did have over 200,000kms on it and is automatic, so for that mileage on the one you are looking at ,that price seems reasonable, especially where it is a 5-speed. Most on here may disagree, but i would spend the $$ on it if it is something you really want. I had no problems paying the $3500.00 for mine and would have paid more, and i now have over 300,000kms on it and still works great, stored every winter since it was new too, so it stayed in great shape. Only thing i have had to replace was the radiator and the alternator, other then normal wear and tear parts like brakes evidently. Good luck with the decision, and no matter what others may say, it is after all your own decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Its only worth what you want to pay for it. Not too many people will pay that much for a 17 year old w-body regardless of its condition. IMO, $6,500 is high though, I would try to talk him down some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yulanious Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 It definately won't be a daily driver. My other one was a daily driver and I just don't think these cars are built to do that. But boy did I love to drive that car. It's sad; you just don't see many of these cars around especially ones in good / great condition. One more thing...I remember how I used to pull up next to stock 5.0 mustangs and hang with them and sometimes actually beat them. Oh what a feeling that was. I can get it deemed clasic from my insurance company and only pay $240 per year for full coverage up to $8000. I pretty much have a garage lined up right around the corner from my apartment. $125/month, includes electric. I have everything lined up to purchase it. The only thing left is the money. Still trying to figure out where to get it. ) haha I appreciate all of your thoughts on this subject and would like to hear more. I just can't get this car out of my head and I don't want to pass up this opportunity because I'm quite sure I'll never find another one like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldscsc Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I'd have to say around $4,000 if I was in the market. A user just sold (I think) an immaculate Z34 5-speed for under $4,000. And why do you say these cars aren't made for daily driving? I assume you're talking just the twin cam cars, not all W's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I think he means with the condition its in and the fact its a rare 5 speed that he doesnt wanna make it a DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Welcome to the boards, $6500 seems rather high despite the miles and condition, but so long as it is worth it to you it is. Just keep in mind it will probably be a VERY long time till you could ever hope to see that back out of it. How mechanically inclined are you? Unless you are doing your own work, these engines can be rather costly to maintain, provided you can find someone to actually do the work. My other one was a daily driver and I just don't think these cars are built to do that. My 93' z34 was my DD for 5 years and 100,000 miles. Hands down the best car I ever owned. all it ever asked from me engine wise was a timing belt and an alternator in that time. Plus it delt with me being a dumbass kid who did dumb things, and that says something right there. If my 92 z34 turns out to be HALF the car my 93' was I'll be ahead of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yulanious Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Sorry, I meant the 3.4 DOHC cars weren't built to handle daily driving. And I definately don't want to make it a DD even though I would want to drive it as much as possible. Here's the thing... This guy's had it up for sale for over a year. He's had tons of offers, but none to his level of satisfaction. I expressed to him that I wanted to cut out all the crap and find out what his bottom line actually was. $6500 is what he said. BTW, he had it originally listed at $7900. I really want to offer him $5000 for it but I don't think he'll go for it. He says how rare the thing is. He is right. It even has the premire bose sterio system with a CD player in it that came as an option. Personally, I think the car is worth around $4000 even tho blue book value on it is around $2000. Car has history and stuff like that. $6500 is streatching me quite a bit. But as I said before, it's stuck in my head. PS. I'm very glad I found this forum, I needed to hear from other W-Body fans. I'm actually very mechanically inclined, just not expereinced. ) I enjoy working on vehicles. Although, I don't have extensive experience doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Sorry, I meant the 3.4 DOHC cars weren't built to handle daily driving. I've done it for years! Some of the best miles I drove were in my 3.4 cars. (all z34 luminas came with the 3.4 DOHC) 1992 was the most common year for 5 speed z34s, around 1500 made IIRC. a 91 or a 93 would be far more rare. And it IS fairly rare, however with our cars that does not necessarily mean $$$ value. This is a world where a one off custom GM prototype cutlass supreme turned pacecar convertible just sold for $12,000. It almost reminds me of the nut that I tried to buy a 92' GP SE "Richard Petty edition" with the 3.4 and a 5 speed. He was dead set on thinking that his pile was valuable cause of the stickers on it. As far as I know he never did sell the car. I suppose it is uncommon enough that I have kept buying Automatic cars and 5 speeding them... Bose with cd, eh? Unless he did some magic with it that was never a factory option. it was either cassette non bose, cassette with bose or CD non bose in z34s. Just so long as you have a drive to learn and work on cars you will be ahead of the game. Once you get used to the 3.4 working on it is not bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I have the exact same Z34. 92, red, 5-speed. a 9.5 out of 10 IMO. I had it on Autotrader for months at $3500 with no serious bites. I am now selling it to another member for less than that. So what im getting at is, that is a rip off!! Just be patient and find a better deal. They are out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yulanious Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Wish I would've know about your Z34 before you decided to sell it. How many miles on yours? I've been patient. 9 years patient. I now drive a 2002 hyundai elantra. I also own a silverado ext 1500. I have the DD and the pickup, now I need THE Z34. I absolutely loved my old one. Gave me tons of problems, but I still loved it and always wanted another one. Well if this ones slips by, at least I now have a place where there are tons of others who share the same passion as me for the Z34's. I'm sure I could find one on here later down the road. I still haven't given up on this one yet though. Wish me luck. I'll keep you all posted as to my progress. Hopefully, I'll be on here soon asking about modifications to my "new" Z34. Oh what a sweet day that will be!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 yep you have come to the right place. we'll help you find a sweet Z34. btw mine had the engine replaced at ~80k miles. Car now has ~134k miles, so the engine has ~54k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Glad I jumped on it when I did!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Oh and the LQ1 makes a great DD powertrain, put 100k hard kms on my old Z, and 20k kms on my Cutty Int'l with a LQ1 so far with ZERO engine issues. The only added maintenance item is the timing belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yulanious Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Wish I could say that about my first one back in the late 90's. Alternator, ignition module, fuel pump, 3 gaskets in the motor, rack and pinion, two transmition lines, radiator hose and front calipers. I think that just about covers it. It all happend between 60,000 and 90,000 miles. I had it tuned up when they dropped the motor to fix the gaskets. It ran absolutely awesome then. I then had the car repainted and the rims sent out to get refinished. She sure was a beauty. Guess that's why I'm so stuck on this one...doesn't need any work to be in pristine condition. I'd basically be buying a show quality car. We'll see. Thanks again for the input. It's good to see there are a lot of inthusiasts out there. Specifically for the Z34. Doesn't make me feel so nuts. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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