What's this 2017 SS worth (locked engine)
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
I have a coworker who has one of these. Manual transmission. He bought it new in 2018. A tire shop damaged a wheel, and he had to get a lawyer to make them pay to have a new one built/imported from Australia. I rode in that vehicle one time, and it was pretty impressive.
I enlarged the photo and it looks like a machete to me!
GON
$175 Site Donor 2026
Since @RhondaHonda responded, here is the clue that connects the dot.
There is a salvage auction vehicle in the driveway. Very unlikely this is a coincidence. Look closely in the red circle.
The guy is more likely than not a professional hustler, and the entire ad is most likely a story. The sale of the car is likely legit, the story most likely not.
GM actually did offer Holden badges as a factory option on the US market SS
He may have been hauling meth in that thing. I wouldn't touch it with OPP.
On top of it all, there's no way this car will pass a smog check if required.
GON
$175 Site Donor 2026
If the story was legitimate, if I was in CONUS, and if no lien on the vehicle, after a CARFAX I would likely be enroute to Phoenix with cash to see if I could work an agreeable transaction (after a in-person inspection). Highly doubt the seller is motivated to provide a VIN, I suspect he is a top shelf con man, and he knows his target buyer, and it isn't me. He likely will not show the SS to an educated buyer.
An easy way to check the story is state you don't have the cash but can pay for the vehicle by paying his alleged attorney retainer to his attorney with a credit card. That will flush the truth out fairly painlessness and with little investment in time.
GON
$175 Site Donor 2026
A little update.
I was able to get the VIN and pull a CARFAX. SS spent from 2017-MAR2025 with a Washington State registration. In MAR2025, an AZ registration. Car was offered for sale PLMMOTORSPORTS in Phoinix 30MAR2025. Note PLM has over 500 google reviews, with a rating of 4.7.
The SS sold 18 days after being listed for sale at PLM. I think it is very likely the current seller's name is not on the title. The current seller more likely than not purchased the car with a blown engine, and more likely than not the attorney story is fiction.
The maintenance records are very thin (as reported by CARFAX). Carfax reports one minor accident. The SS had four identified owners, and was traded in to a Honda dealer in Kirkland, WA with 18,500 miles in July, 2022.
I am going to pass on the consideration of buying the vehicle, I have zero motivation of working a transaction with who I believe is a shark/flipper/hustler.
At $12k USD, I would in fact buy, but a shark/flipper/hustler can find a buyer in the greater Phoenix area with rich parents.
Finally, I did a KBB on fair value- surprised at what KBB appraised this SS for:
I was able to get the VIN and pull a CARFAX. SS spent from 2017-MAR2025 with a Washington State registration. In MAR2025, an AZ registration. Car was offered for sale PLMMOTORSPORTS in Phoinix 30MAR2025. Note PLM has over 500 google reviews, with a rating of 4.7.
The SS sold 18 days after being listed for sale at PLM. I think it is very likely the current seller's name is not on the title. The current seller more likely than not purchased the car with a blown engine, and more likely than not the attorney story is fiction.
The maintenance records are very thin (as reported by CARFAX). Carfax reports one minor accident. The SS had four identified owners, and was traded in to a Honda dealer in Kirkland, WA with 18,500 miles in July, 2022.
I am going to pass on the consideration of buying the vehicle, I have zero motivation of working a transaction with who I believe is a shark/flipper/hustler.
At $12k USD, I would in fact buy, but a shark/flipper/hustler can find a buyer in the greater Phoenix area with rich parents.
Finally, I did a KBB on fair value- surprised at what KBB appraised this SS for:
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He updated the ad. There's a picture of the car running (from July 2025) and appears to have the same style plate as the ad. I'm not thinking he's a flipper, way too much detail about the mods for this to be a flip from Copart.
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GON
$175 Site Donor 2026
My gut is he is a unlicensed car dealer, working from his driveway. I could be wrong, but the answers to the questions I asked matched what unlicensed car dealers state to deceive.
The key is if the title is in the seller's name, I speculate the title is not. I have been wrong in the past, and could be wrong now.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2026
1. No way is that worth 30,000. 10,000 to 15,000? Maybe if everything were there and the car was a manual.
2. G8s and SSs hold there value. Find a clean low mile SS (under 50,000 miles) for under $40,000 go buy it now,
Just make sure there is nothing wrong with it. You are getting a Camaro and sometimes a Corvette from the same year cheaper.
I follow the market because having the Caprice I watch all the Holden stuff. Not saying they should be worth what they sell for but
they hold their value.
SSs for sale.
I wonder if it locked up from oil starvation or the blower was lifting the heads and he was getting coolant into the oil.
2. G8s and SSs hold there value. Find a clean low mile SS (under 50,000 miles) for under $40,000 go buy it now,
Just make sure there is nothing wrong with it. You are getting a Camaro and sometimes a Corvette from the same year cheaper.
I follow the market because having the Caprice I watch all the Holden stuff. Not saying they should be worth what they sell for but
they hold their value.
SSs for sale.
I wonder if it locked up from oil starvation or the blower was lifting the heads and he was getting coolant into the oil.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
My ex boss grew up a Pontiac GTO fan and got one of the Holden based GTO-ish cars as a DD. We were attending training together - I knew the Instructor - he didn’t …
One quick Sunday email and the Instructor’s mint 1968 GTO was parked out front when we arrived … We started class late
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
Was going to say in the first photo that's an Az Route 66 special plate not a bumper sticker. Can't imagine a car with a blown engine goes through an auction with the previous owner's license plate?
Interesting project car if you have the attitude going in you're probably replacing the drivetrain from one end to the other and it will never be as valueable as an unmolested example. The back story doesn't matter if it's bought right and has a clear title.
Interesting project car if you have the attitude going in you're probably replacing the drivetrain from one end to the other and it will never be as valueable as an unmolested example. The back story doesn't matter if it's bought right and has a clear title.
I agree with you, but a drivetrain on one of these things is going to be pretty darn expensive. This guys is in fantasyland thinking this is a 30k car.
slo town
$200 Site Donor 2026
I'd never buy a car with a dubious past. I'd never buy a nice car from a dubious owner. I don't want to sit in the same seat and hold the same steering wheel that some dirt bag owned. For me a car is a personal item.
Scott
Scott
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2026
Holden emblem for those that don't know. With WA throw back plates. I love those plates.
