How much a Pontiac Firebird cost in 2002 compared to today will make you feel very nostalgic
Published on Oct 06, 2025 at 7:30 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Oct 03, 2025 at 2:17 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Back in 2002, you could walk into a dealership and drive out in a brand-new Pontiac Firebird without emptying your life savings.
Whether you wanted a simple V6 coupe or a V8 Trans Am with Ram Air, the numbers were surprisingly attainable.
Pontiac is gone now, and so is the Firebird, but its price tags from the early 2000s hit harder the further we get from them.
Line those 2002 figures up against today’s money, and it’s pure nostalgia.
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What the Pontiac Firebird cost then vs now
In its final year, the 2002 Firebird base coupe started at $20,050 with a 200hp V6.
Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $36,000 today – a figure that now feels closer to compact SUVs than to performance coupes.
Opting for the convertible version set you back $26,965.
In today’s money, that works out to nearly $48,000.
Even so, the idea of a drop-top sports car for under fifty grand in 2025 feels almost unreal.
The sweet spot for enthusiasts was the Formula trim.
At $25,995 in 2002, it packed a 310hp LS1 V8, enough grunt to put it in the same conversation as far more expensive European cars of the time.
Adjusted for today, that’s around $47,000 – still solid value for a proper V8.
At the very top sat the Trans Am WS6, the dream spec for Firebird fans.
Around $30,000 bought you 325hp, a Ram Air hood, and the most aggressive styling of the lineup.
Translate that into today’s dollars, and it’s roughly $55,000 – the kind of number that barely buys you a base model sports car now.
Together, those trims bring the sting of nostalgia.
What once felt like a stretch is now a bargain compared to how far performance pricing has drifted.
Firebird nostalgia lives on in unexpected ways
The Firebird may have disappeared from dealerships after 2002, but it hasn’t disappeared from the road.
In fact, it keeps finding new life – sometimes as a reliable daily, other times as a forgotten relic brought back from the dead.
Today, the 4th-gen Trans Am LS1 is ranked the most reliable modern American muscle car to buy used, beating out Mustangs and Camaros of the same era.
And the evidence of the Firebird’s reliability is everywhere.
One abandoned 1987 Firebird sat in the woods for 22 years, yet its V8 still fired once it was rescued.
And in Wisconsin, a 14-year-old detailer revived a 1999 Firebird, restoring it from moldy wreck to showroom fresh with plans for an LS1 swap.
Stories like that underline why the Firebird still tugs at people – it was built tough, and it was priced so right that owners still see it as worth saving decades later.
If you had a time machine and $30,000, 2002 was the year to cash it in.
Because a Pontiac Firebird was more than a car, it was the dream of affordable luxury muscle.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
