Advice on buying a Camaro

[kaz1961]

Hi Guys. I am looking to buy a mid 90's 6 cylinder Camaro. Any specific problems to look out for? From reading the posts on this board it seems that the water pumps and power window motors are two of the common problems. Found a 95 locally which is owned by an older couple with only 36000 miles supposed to be in excellent shape, always garaged until recently, asking $6,000, sounds like a good deal. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[IronMan]

If it has t-tops, make sure that they do not leak. Also make sure that there is no damage around the insulation for the t-tops and windows.

Look at the front fog lights (if any) to see if there are any cracks. If so, they make work now, but not for long.

As for any car look underneath and follow all the body lines to see if you can tell if it has ever been wrecked.

I would get a carfax report. It won't catch everything, but it may catch something.

[LTNone]

When I bought my 95 in 1999, the backup lights did not work - had to replace the switch in the tranny (Mine is an M5).

I have seen older people driving them so I know they do buy them.

General advice:

Check real close in the door jambs, hatch, under the hood, behind fuel tank door. When repairs are made, the sheet metal (or plastic) on the exterior is often well done, but the jambs usually give away where a car was wrecked. I would also look underneath at the floor pan for dents or signs of straightening.

Go to www.edmunds.com and enter all the specifics about the car (options, mileage, color, etc) and find out the retail value, so you can find out if it is really a "deal".

(Please disregard if you already know about all this stuff).

[Loochy88]

well, nothing against the 3.4's but you might wanna look for a 96+ just cause the 3.8 has so much more power. of course, if thats not what youre looking for, then that one sounds like a pretty good deal. (also, some of the 95's had 3.8's)

[Big Tymer]

i know it only has 36000 miles but still doesnt sound like a good deal to me.. i got my 94 v6 camaro, with bose system. with 100k on it for 3800.... thats 2200 bux..... tranny still good... only thing gone bad on it was window motors.... but thats just my opinion... btw do a carfax on it... only 36k on a 95 sounds fishy....

[Luis829]

With those miles i feel it's a good deal. Take it from me, I'm in the car business. I just recently purchased a 1998 CamaroV6 myself and I'm looking foward to doing some mods. Chance are the car your looking at has a 3.4 but hopefully the old couple opted for the 3.8
I'll try to send you a pic of my 98 i got for $6k ;)

[mailman]

Other problems that are likely to occur are alternator replacement and oil leaks especially the rear main seal. My 97 had 45,000 miles a year ago and so far I've replaced the alternator, both window motors, and the water pump--business as usual. Hope your year doesn't have the same problems with plugs wires that 97s have. They go bad alot.

[98Bird]

Fishy? Nahhhh!! I bought my 98 Bird with only 7k miles on the clock. Also drove by an elderly lady. Only drove it to like church and to get like groceries. 6k is awesome of a price to me! Just to bad it isnt a 3.8

Now my car is approaching 20k miles and ive had it just a little over a year? :(
I hate commuting back to work and school. I need a daily crapper.

[Chrisz24]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 98Bird:
Fishy? Nahhhh!! I bought my 98 Bird with only 7k miles on the clock. Also drove by an elderly lady. Only drove it to like church and to get like groceries. 6k is awesome of a price to me! Just to bad it isnt a 3.8

Now my car is approaching 20k miles and ive had it just a little over a year? :(
I hate commuting back to work and school. I need a daily crapper.<hr></blockquote>

Me too, I bought mine in january with 10,000 and now I am almost at 20,000, it isnt that bad, we are both still ahead of the game with miles.

[Red94Camaro]

Well I use to have a 94 Camaro 3.4, now I have a 2002 Limited Edition RS and just recently got a 1985 IROC Z28. My advice to you is to get an 80's IROC Z28 or Z28. I got mine with mods on it for 2,000 and it runs great. The 80's Z28s are easy to work on and parts are very cheap. Can do a lot more with the V8 if you are looking to put a lot of mods on. and dont let anyone tell you they are bad engines because they work great. Can get more power out of it than the V6. Mine is an auto with a shift kit, flowmaster, few other minor things. Look for an IROC first.

[mcG]

that sounds like an awesome price, especially for those miles. i got my 97 firebird with 82,000 miles on her from a dealer for around $6000, but when you look it up, it's worth around $8000. i haven't had any major problems since i got it 5 months ago. good luck

[treklav]

take it to your mechanic so that he can see if anything is wrong with it before you buy it. I had that trouble with my car when i bought it. Day after i brought it home i had to replace the water pump. NOT cool. Just thouhgt i might give you that littel bit of advice, becuase i know from experience.

[Fat_kid_in_little_camaro]

Wow you guys are nice on your cars. i got my car a year and a half ago, and already have put almost 60k (yes 60,000) miles on it. almost time for a new one!

[Jeff Pristelski]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> Found a 95 locally which is owned by an older couple with only 36000 miles supposed to be in excellent shape, always garaged until recently, asking $6,000, sounds like a good deal. <hr></blockquote>

A 95 with only 36k on it is pretty rare. I have seen cars claiming low mi but if you stick your head under the dash and check out the wear on the pedal surfaces, it was clear that they were full of ****. With 36k on the car, the pedals should still be in good shape. Be careful, I would be a bit hesitant on this one.

Also check underneath the car around the places where you're supposed to jack up the car, look for fibre-glass damage. Many people don't know how to jack up these cars, and end up screwing up where the panels connect up.