It is sad to see iconic brands such as Pontiac lost to the automotive world, but their vehicles live on as a reminder of better times. This 1999 Pontiac Trans Am is a perfect example. While it may be a long way removed from its Pony Car roots, this 30th Anniversary edition is with us today. You will find this particular Trans Am listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Aldie, Virginia, it is offered for sale with a clean title. The price for this 30th Anniversary Trans Am has been set at $31,000.
The seller of this car is its second owner, having purchased it off the original owner in 1999 with 600 miles on the clock. Since then the car has remained garage-kept, and the odometer has now reached 16,000 miles. Certainly, the car looks to be in good condition. There are no obvious issues, and even stone-chips seem to be in short supply. All of the original features that marked the 30th Anniversary edition such as the blue power top and anodized blue wheels are present and look to have remained pretty much as they left the factory.
We get one shot of the interior, and what we can see is in keeping with the claimed mileage for this car. The upholstery looks good, with no obvious wear or discoloration.
Under the hood is the 5.7l V8, which is backed by a 6-speed manual transmission. As you would probably expect from a car of this mileage, it all looks pretty clean under here. That engine pumped out 320hp, which gave the car pretty respectable performance figures, even by today’s standards. The seller has left the car largely original, although he has added a Borla exhaust, headers and intake. Of the 1,600 30th Anniversary cars built, only 535 were convertibles the same as this car. I have been trying to verify how many of these were fitted with a manual transmission, but the seller’s claim of 175 sounds quite feasible.
When the last Trans Am rolled off the production line in 2002 it marked the end of an era. With the demise of the brand in 2010, the opportunity was gone for us to see what a 40th or 50th Anniversary model could achieve. Prices on the 30th Anniversary vary wildly in the market at present and is very dependent on vehicle mileage. These vary from a low of $23,000 for a car with 75,000 miles on the clock, to a high of $55,000 for a car that has covered 5,000 miles. This one sits at $31,000, so with only 16,000 miles traveled, that probably makes it about right.
I love Firebirds and Trans Ams of all eras, and always wanted one like this. But I thought they were too pricey for what you got on top of a regular Trans Am convertible when new, and dozens were put away so they can’t be that rare now. If somebody had a nice driver that they didn’t think had been hit with Barrett-Jackson dust, I might be a buyer sometime.
This car exemplifies what an awkward era of car design the 90’s was.
It really is too bad Pontiac isn’t around anymore. I’d love to see what their Firebird would look like today. Something based entirely on the 67-69 look, not the ridiculous 2nd gen styling cues based on the first gen body, aka the current Chevrolet Trans Am Bandit edition.
What’s awkward about 4th gen Trans Ams, Camaros , Lexus SCs, Mitsibushi 3000GTs and Supras just to name a few. ‘90s styling was fine. All those cars are still beautiful today.
Clearly you and I have a very different definition of ‘beauty’. I can’t think of one car from that decade I would describe as beautiful.
Have to give him this much, jackc37, the front end on this car does want some tweaking. The intakes on the hood, real or fake, whichever – are fine but placed with the ones below, well, put a pic of that with the word “awkward” in websters. So, clean that up along with the bumper area, ditch the openings just aft of the front fenders – or better yet, redesign & move them up top as a nod to the 70’s & early 80’s cars – and this TA would be stunning.
I like these too, especially the blue anodized wheels. I feel they should hold their value well.
That car looks great, especially after sitting in a dusty barn all those years.
Oh, wait…
One man’s barn is another’s heated and humidity controlled garage.
If I wanted to see these kinds of cars, I’d go to Hemmings. I sent in a tip on a beautiful unrestored 1949 Frazer Manhattan barn find from the dry sunny climes of eastern Washington, but this and 2010 Dodge Vipers are what we get instead. This isn’t what most people envision when they hear “barn find.” Perhaps a name change is in order.
So sad that the General dropped the axe on Pontiac and Olds. Same goes for Chrysler’s Plymouth. Would have been nice to see how the T/A and the ‘Cuda would have evolved. Or how about a 442?
Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
Way over priced for a 1999. Even with only 16,000 miles. You would have to seriously love this car buy at that price. (I have one myself) but I still wouldn’t pay $31k for this. At $31k that is approximately the price this car was when it was new. There’s no way it is worth that much.
As much as I loved the 4th gen Trans Am, for $31k, I would be looking at a 5th or 6th gen Camaro or perhaps even a C5 or C6.
No C5 is worth anywhere near $31k…
I always thought the trans am was 1 to 2 steps ahead of the Camaro as in styling
The iroc was ok but….
I think it is overpriced. Maybe in another 30 years if kept in this condition. I do like it and had a 1995 LT1 Trans Am with a 6 speed manual and it sure was quick. 1100 rpm cruising in 6 th gear got excellent fuel mileage.
A nice car but not solid gold as the seller thinks. Way overpriced!
With these cars it isn’t hard to find a low production variant. Compared to other Firebirds, 1600 cars is a high production number. For example, my 96 Formula is one of approximately 1500 built. Less than 700 came with the 6 speed manual. 74 were painted purple and it is one of 44 built for the “export” aka non US market. One of a handful isn’t hard to achieve. I would imagine that using percentages, it might very well be a one of one (purple 6 speed Canadian market Formula). But that is more of a curiousity than a addition to its value.
I remember when Pontiac came out with this new snout. The headlight covers don’t blend in and look like an afterthought. Overall it is an awkward looking front end compared to the previous treatment.
I’ve lost touch with values so I’m not going to speculate on whether this is a good price or not. I do know that they are climbing up in value.
They have always been less popular than the Mustangs. For a more or less modern car, they are something you don’t see everyday.
The lt1 car was ok but the ls1 was leaps ahead i had a mint black car like your and I couldn’t get 6500 with 70k and a 98 with 230k I sold for 11k in worse condition, I planned on keeping it cause I wasn’t gonna take a penny less but I ended up trading it for a g8 with 120k with a bad lifter and tires
Lots of people saying this car is way overpriced… NADA has high retail around $24500 and the ad does say “or best offer” which automatically starts the negotiations… You always ask for more than you would expect to get… you can go lower but you can’t go higher ;)… that being said, its a beautiful car… too bad I’m married…lol.
I always felt these cars were over styled. The previous generation looked a lot cleaner. The Post 93 Camaros looked good I thought, but the Firebirds look like a comic book car.
Why is it stated this is one of 175?
I believe it may pertain to the manual tranny… the only data I found with that number (175) related to the 1999 Firebird was the WS6 Formula coupes built that year… all 30th Anniversaries had the WS6 suspension… that being said, there were only 535 convertibles so regardless, pretty rare.
And some folks think C7 Corvettes are over the top. The twin chickens on the snout was as far as I got