I just sold my all black 2000 Monte Carlo LS with 140,000 miles. Needed paint work (bad), and had a blown head for $1500. A little under what I wanted but I'm happy so you should get at least $2,000 I'd say but any lower and I would just part it out and you will make around $3,500 if you do it right

 

Don't trust a dealer on what they will give you on a trade..
They are just smoke $ numbers. or Smoke & mirror #'s.
They have every vehicle marked up so that they can hit customer's with a high number & make the customer feel that they are getting more for their trade `in. But in reality, it's all smoke...It pays to do you homework if you are trading.

Ask them what they will pay you for your Monte Carlo in real cash number's...

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Selling privately...Check your market & see what same & similar vehicles are selling for & then set your price...It's difficult on a forum to set a price without seeing and checking a car out in person. KKB is just a guide/ballpark estimate...

Clean it good, take good pictures & test market it on Craiglists or other free sites. Good Luck & keep us updated.

 

Exactly. I don't care how good the 3800 series II engine is. It's still got 255,000 miles on it. Most people wouldn't even give a car a second look if it had that much on it. Not on a gasoline powered engine.

I honestly think most of the people offering you money for your car are probably interested in parting it out. Maybe making money from selling the wheels, interior, etc...

I'm not trying to insult you or anything. But think about it realistically. If you were looking to buy a car, how much would YOU pay for that car?

 

That is my general take. Unless the car was completely restored, the body, suspension, bushings, drivetrain, interior still has 255,000 miles.

Since you know it's got a bad transmission, call a transmission shop and just get a quote to have the trans rebuilt. What this does is gives you and idea what a potential buyer has to put into the car right from the get-go to make it right.
Also, do some additional homework, look at your local classified ads and see what people are selling a similiar car for (I'd also compare it with other W-body cars of similiar year/miles).

Aside from my Monte and the Impala (most recent two cars we've purchased), all the cars my wife and I have bought for reliable daily drivers ranged about 7-10 years in age 90-125K miles and the prices ranged from $1500-$3800 out the door. These cars were a Z28 Camaro, Buick Century and about 3 of these were early-to-mid 90's Grand Ams (one I am still driving currently).

If you want $3000+ for your Monte, the question remains, for $3000, what else can people willing to spend that amount of money on buy for that price.

The miles and the bad transmission are the tough part of the sell.