ok guys heres the deal, at the local auto yard there is an 2000 monte carlo SS for like $5000 no idea on how much the mileage though. but heres the thing i had some real good memories with my LS and i only owe $240 bucks on it. is it really worth it to trade up? the body looks perfect and i have a little rust on it, and the other thing is that the SS has the surfboard spoiler and i hate it. its very conflicting, on one hand i love my car very much but i know there is only so much i can do with the 3400 engine, but with the 3800 i'm wide open to do anything! if u guys could help out that would be great

 

It don't sound to bad to me I do not like that spoiler ether for me it would come down to the miles on your car and on the car you are looking at. I would really want to know that first

 

Can't beat a nice 2000 SS

 

I could be wrong here, but doesn't $5k for a 10 year old monte sound high? I know the 98/99 GTP's are even below that- so I can't imagine a less optioned car 1 year newer would be worth that much more. Really depends on the mileage tho.

 

$5000 does sound high but than again i plan on doing an L67 swap on the LS which is about $2000 if i'm lucky, i also need tires ($500), exhaust($350), etc. so i'm thinking with everything that an SS has (3800 motor, the trans., rims, SS body kit, and sun roof) i think i would be saving a little cash and time. I think i might take it for a spin see if i like it. i have alot of sentimental value with the LS, but if its worth it and i can do it financially (keep in mind i work at a sears and i need to save for college), i think i'm going for it.

 

so i went creeping around the SS and got the mileage 126,000 miles and there is 165,000 on my LS. its dark out so i didn't get a good look at any imperfections. but tomorrow i'm goin to test drive it and maybe see if i can do a trade in/ put my monte on craigslist it would be sad to see her go though

 

Just checked on KBB- private party value is $3200-4300 for a 00 SS w/ those miles. You say its at a local auto yard- you mean a junk yard? Obviously they're not going to get dealer prices out of it.

Honestly, if you're willing to spend $5000 and you want an L67- try driving a loaded GTP (98, 99, 00, somewhere in there). I'm not trying to knock montes in any way, but IMO the styling, HUD, heated leather, etc would really make a nice upgrade from your LS- on top of the L67/4t65HD right out of the box without spending another $1000 on the SS to make it into an L67.

 

eh i'm not too big of a fan of the grand prix just their GTP engine, LOL. i don't think i could get enough for my monte anywho, i mean i have ALOT of rock chips in the hood and someone recently gave me 2 little dents in my trunk plus all the other imperfections. i'd be lucky to find some rich college kid that can't get past that " oooooh it has racing stripes it must be fast!!!!" and its a local small town dealer sorry, its one of those mom and pop places with 15 cars in the lot. 90% of which are trucks (i live in a redneck town unfortunatly, not trying to make fun of people but seriously straight pipes on an S10 do not= awesomeness)

 

if you put an L67 into an LS that has 167,000 miles...

I hope you have a big budget for suspension, brakes, on top of the engine and transmission and tuning.

 

This '00 SS is $5,000 and you only owe $240 on your LS?

Why not stick the $4760 ($5,000- $240) in to your LS and keep it? You know what kind of car your LS is. Big gamble here the '00 SS is a decent car. It could be within one week you have to sink another $2,000 in to a trans rebuild? (experience talking here)

I am not knocking the SS. I too know the attraction can be too much to bear. Believe me, when we got the '03 Pace car there was a big difference in handling and several other factors that sold me on the car versus the 3 other Montes we have. Even my '06 LTZ didn't handle as good.

But just consider keeping the LS and using the difference in price to make your car nicer.