It is just opinions so no one is right or wrong. But the fact it is a R title will hurt resell. My guess would be that is a $8500 car without the R title, 5k with R title. It could go $5500 and I would not be stunned. With most cars the percentage would be lower due to the R title but with a LS1 you got what the drive line is worth. If you parted out that car you could hit 3.5K easy just with the main parts. Just the seats will bring $600 Engine and trans are $2500. The guy who bought the car from the insurance could have made a nice profit just parting it out. I think where the guy is twisted up is he thinks the car is worth 10-15K without the R-title. That is a Firehawk with 75,000 miles price not a TransAm with 92,000 miles price.
This assumes the repair is top notch. If you can tell there was a major repair when looking underneath or there is any body line mismatch then the car is worth more parted out then as a car.

 

In my area, 02's with that type of miles are in the mid $8's asking range. Which means realistically selling in the $7's. I think even that is a bit high in this market. With that guy holding firm at $6500 for a rebuilt, it's no deal at all.

 

I'd be very skeptical about the salvage title. The car looks clean but I feel like you can get one without a salvage title for around that price. I found mine searching through various sites like aol autos, yahoo autos, car finder, etc... I paid a little more buying it from a dealer rather then an owner but she was worth it being super clean and only having one owner.
I went down to PA to get mine. Check PA, Jersey, upstate NY, CT, however far you're willing to travel but you'll find a good one.
Just my .02
Goodluck on whatever you decide.

 

I bought a car with a salvage title before and the car turned into a money pit. I honestly would never buy one again no matter how perfect it looks. When I tried to sell it......I couldn't get rid of it. I finally ended up selling the car for dirt cheap just to get rid of the nightmare. Keep checking Craigslist...you can find a clean one for a great price once in awhile.

 

It all depends on when and why it was totaled by the insurance company. Heck a 2002 V6 80K on the clock could be totaled by side swiping a small fence post at 15 MPH. The car is a 100% safe but not worth the cost of fixing the comedic damage, she is a total. But if a 02 SS was totaled in 03 that took some damage. I have seen cars repaired that should have never been repaired. We had an 89 L98 Iroc with less than 3,000 mile on it that hit a tree at 80+ MPH. I am not joking; the battery was pushed into the firewall. The body man even joked about fixing it. 28K car with 21K worth of damage. They had to fix it. I repaired the column and did the alignment on the car. If you gave me that car when it was done I would have parted it out.

Even on R title check the carfax. You always should ask why it was R title but trusting people in the used car trade is a mistake. If the word flood shows up anywhere on the carfax it’s a parts car. Never try your luck with a flood car. You are going to end up lying to sell it or parting it out and the day it leaves with be the happiest day you had while owning it