[MotorCityChick]

I've been looking for a second car lately to keep from putting miles on my lease (and to have something paid off to drive after the Monte gets turned back in). I ran accross a 1998 Chevy Camaro Z28 on Craigslist. Black w/T-tops. 135,000 miles. The guy says it needs a little "TLC" (U-Joints, brake pads & rotors, mostly basic maintenance). It's all original and un-modified, down to the factory radio and exhaust, so it makes me feel like the car probably hasn't been driven very hard. He says it's never been wrecked, but I haven't done a CarFax or looked at it in person yet. He also buys & sells cars for a living (basically a used car salesman. That makes me kinda nervous). He's asking $5,000, but I'm wondering if I should offer him less (like $4,500). He says he's pretty firm on his asking price. I haven't seen many LS1 Camaros or Firebirds for under $6,000 that weren't beat up. I've never seen any that actually run & drive for under $5,000. But I'm still not sure. Any suggestions??? I told him I'd call him at 7:00pm to come check it out.

 

[HoosierRon]

"U-Joints, brake pads & rotors, mostly basic maintenance" sounds like another $3,000 to me.

 

[BigAls87Z28]

I wouldnt say 3k there Ron, more like 1k total.
135k miles is a heavy amount of miles even for an LS1.
I would ask him if itw as ok for you to take the car to a shop you trust and have them check it out.
Check brakes, drive line, front end, rear diff, and see if you can get some maint. records from the guy. If the guy is constantly selling used cars, then he most likely got that car for below 5k, so its possible it has more then he is leading on.

 

[likearock00]

I wouldn't. Just put that 5k towards your lease. I'm sure that'll buy you plenty of miles if you do happen to go over.

 

[Firebird00]

Well, rotors and pads can be had for about $200-250. I have no idea how much a U joint is plus labor but I bet it can't be that much. Check to make sure both windows go up and down, turn the a/c on full blast to see if its cold and run it for a while, check body panel alignment where the front of the doors and the back of the front fenders come together. Its very hard to line those panel gaps up so if they're overly large I'd be skeptical on the "never been wrecked". Look for moisture in the tailights too. Listen for valve noise as well. Some of the earlier LS1s clattered. I'd also have the fuel pressure checked. Fuel pumps are very expensive....ask me how I know.

 

[CobaltSScrazy]

^^^^ how do you know?

I'd stay away from it, offer 4,000 FIRM yourself since you'd have to invest at LEAST 1000$ into it.

Definitely carfax it. Take it to a mechanic before you buy it, one that you trust.

CobaltSS

 

[demonspeed]

You're all very off on how much it will cost to repair that stuff. Pads, rotors and U-joints are very inexpensive for that car and very easy to replace yourself. I had an 01 Z28 that had almost 100k on when I sold it in 04 (I got 10 grand for it as well). It ran like a top and never ever missed a beat. I say go there with $4500 cash and be happy with the deal you got (as long as the car is really clean). Take the other $500 and get the stuff repaired and you'll have a great reliable and FUN car for very little money.

You should peruse www.ls1tech.com for more info.

For S&G, I looked up your parts on Advance Auto, and for $100 you can get both fron and rear U-joints and front pads and rotors.

 

[AndrewGS]

Sounds like a deal to me, that is, if it hasn't been wrecked and beat all to hell. Normal wear and maintenance isn't a big issue, except for anything on the rear of the engine. With those kind of miles some of the suspension parts might be getting weak, stuff like bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc.

 

[CBECK]

Why would you spend money on another car to save miles? You would have to go tens of thousands of miles over to get even close to $5,000. Keep your money in the bank man.

 

[Slideways]

Why would you spend money on another car to save miles? You would have to go tens of thousands of miles over to get even close to $5,000. Keep your money in the bank man.

Come on, they're trying to rationalize buying an LS1 F-body, go easy on her!


Just admit you want the Camaro, you don't need a reason.

 

[MotorCityChick]

Well I figured I'd update everybody and let you know that I passed on it. It seemed like it ran pretty good (I think I may have heard some really faint clattering in the engine when he first started it. But the 3100 V6 in my old Malibu made the same sound when you started it while it was cold, and this was when it was pretty new). The semi-deal breaker was that I didn't like the amount of rust it had on the driver rear quarter panel wheel well. The body did look straight though, I didn't see any bondo and it wasn't obvious anywhere that the car was ever wrecked, but the rust was kind of a sore thumb. Even though $4,600 (his rock bottom price) wasn't bad for an LS1 Camaro, it still seemed like too much to me. He said he felt that the transmission had a delayed engagement from Park to Drive, but it felt fine to me. So I don't think it needed U-joints. Either way, I like to buy "steals". His car was just a "decent deal", so I think that's what made me not interested. For $4,000 I would have snatched it up. Thanks for everybodys help though.

 

[giagastormer]

Take it to a shop and have them check it out, well worth the $50.

 

[FISH]

Take it to a shop and have them check it out, well worth the $50.

Good advice giagastormer, just a little late....