The allure of a used cheap performance vehicle is so enticing not many car enthusiasts can ignore. However, after a few unlucky episodes, most people learn from their mistakes and take every enticing car deal with a pinch of salt.
We all know someone who never learns from past sour experiences. They hate to lose, but more than that, they can’t seem to get over ‘good deals.’
Tyler Hoover of Hoovies Garage tops the list of car influencers who can’t help but buy lemons, closely followed by Alex Palmeri of LegitStreetCars.
Two months ago, Palmeri booked a one-way ticket to West Virginia (800 miles / 1,287 km away from home), hoping to drive back a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, the way it was called back then, he’d bought sight-unseen for $16,000.
The car was listed with a ‘bad engine,’ but the Palmeri was sure it was a simple fix since it was a 50,000-mile (80,467 km) car with a clean title. Well, he was wrong and had to book an expensive ticket back home. Worse, he had to get a new 6.2-liter M156 engine replacement.
Two months later, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is still holed up in his friend's garage in West Virginia. If that’s not stressful enough, Palmeri made another bad investment. He bought a modified 2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am WS6 (48,000 miles/ 77,249 km) sight-unseen for $13,000 – talk of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/Legit Street Cars
Since he had to fly back to West Virginia to check on his stalled 2009 C63, he’s hoping to drive the Trans Am back home to Chicago (700 miles / 1,127 km) away.
We understand his uncalculated decision. It’s tough to ignore the F-body Trans Am. It’s a legitimate time capsule and a tribute to what Chevy and Pontiac were like back in the day. What's best, Palmeri's unit had a six-speed manual transmission.
The 2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am came with a 5.7-liter LS1 capable of 325 hp (330 ps). It also had an LS6 intake manifold such that when you popped the hood, it’d feel like a Z06. Palmeri says back in 2001 and 2002, the automaker ran out of LS1 blocks, and as a result, some of these units came with LS6 options.
Fortunately, Palmeri made a good bet with the 2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The only problem it had was a loose torque arm. The 10-hour trip to Chicago was flawless.
We recommend catching some of that adventure driving from West Virginia to Chicago in the video below.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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