New guy looking to buy a Camaro
#1
01-07-2015, 07:04 AM
New guy looking to buy a Camaro
The name's Jason and I'm heavily considering buying a Camaro. I had a 2003 Mustang GT, but I got T-boned on Christmas morning (great gift, huh?) and it's likely going to be totaled; even if it's repairable, I have the option of just taking the $8,400 and letting the insurance company have the car, and that's a heck of a lot more money than I would've been able to ever sell it for. So I was looking around and I figured I'd try my luck with the Camaro, which I find to be incredibly aggressive and beautiful looking. I'm looking at 2010-2013 models, so nothing ultra new but nothing over a decade old like my Mustang was.
I just had some questions and concerns that I hope you guys can help me with. First and foremost is the car's reliability. My Stang did okay for the first year or so, but then it was repair, repair, repair! It's like I'd fix something and then next week something else would break.
It cost me thousands and you can imagine how annoying that got. Will the Camaro require a good bit of maintenance like that, or nothing more than the average vehicle these days? Any problems specific to the car, like transmission issues, suspension, electrical, etc? Will it hit a point after a certain amount of miles (say 80-100k) that the repairs will start to come more frequently?
Second is performance in winter conditions. I live in Wisconsin so we can get some ridiculous winters sometimes. I'm not planning on driving it everyday in blizzards or anything like that, but if I had to, would it be alright? With my Stang, I just put sandbags in the trunk (about 300lbs or so) and it was fine for the most part, I got through some bad weather with it.
Thirdly, are there any major differences between the performance of the specific models, such as the LS, LT, and SS? I know obviously the SS is a lot more powerful and geared more toward a racing style, but is there anything else that you'd really notice between the models?
Overall, what do you think about the car?
Sorry for all of the questions, but I want to get as much information as I can before I jump into another muscle car. If there are any sites you want to recommend, feel free. I appreciate all of your help.
I just had some questions and concerns that I hope you guys can help me with. First and foremost is the car's reliability. My Stang did okay for the first year or so, but then it was repair, repair, repair! It's like I'd fix something and then next week something else would break.
It cost me thousands and you can imagine how annoying that got. Will the Camaro require a good bit of maintenance like that, or nothing more than the average vehicle these days? Any problems specific to the car, like transmission issues, suspension, electrical, etc? Will it hit a point after a certain amount of miles (say 80-100k) that the repairs will start to come more frequently?Second is performance in winter conditions. I live in Wisconsin so we can get some ridiculous winters sometimes. I'm not planning on driving it everyday in blizzards or anything like that, but if I had to, would it be alright? With my Stang, I just put sandbags in the trunk (about 300lbs or so) and it was fine for the most part, I got through some bad weather with it.
Thirdly, are there any major differences between the performance of the specific models, such as the LS, LT, and SS? I know obviously the SS is a lot more powerful and geared more toward a racing style, but is there anything else that you'd really notice between the models?
Overall, what do you think about the car?
Sorry for all of the questions, but I want to get as much information as I can before I jump into another muscle car. If there are any sites you want to recommend, feel free. I appreciate all of your help.
#2
01-12-2015, 07:34 AM
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Tokeland, Washington
Posts: 21,637
hay rex welcome to the forum. went ahead and moved your thread to the 5th gen section for you. should have a response from the fellas here. as far as i know the 5th gens are a great car with few issues. not sure how they handle the snow/ice
#3
01-12-2015, 07:58 PM
When you are buying a used car you are risking getting a car that has been beaten. There are a lot of 2010-2013 used Camaro's around that are X rental cars. You really want to avoid them. It really does not matter who makes the car. if it has lived the first 3 years of its like with little to no maintenance and beaten daily it is not going to be dependable for the rest of its life. I would try to avoid the 2010 just because that was the first year. That is a general rule you can apply to any car after a major redesign.
You want a clean car fax, one retail owner, the complete service records. It nice to see a car with all the service done at the dealer Not that the dealer does better work it just the owner did not penny pinch when it came to maintenance also look for a car that is still under or just out of warranty. That way you know they are not dumping the car because of problems. Don't get sucked into how clean the car is. A professional car detailer can make anything look Mint. I have seen cars that I would not get into made to look showroom ready. To me nothing is worse then armorall on a dry rotted tires. Anytime you buy a used sports car you assume risks. You could be getting someone's garage keep baby that have never been ridden hard or you could be getting the car that has done hundreds of 1/4 mile passes and has a swapped intake because the other one was drilled for a 200 shot of NO2. Those two car will not treat you the same over the long haul.
The 1SS is the base model V8. There is a big price jump between V6 and V8. When GM does its 20% off thing you can pick up a V6 for $17,000-$24,000 new, So keep that in mind if you are looking at V6s. I have seen people asking 17K for 3 year old V6 cars with almost 50K on the clock. You may want to check with your insurance company on V8. Expect to pay about 10K more for V8. Stick is going to be cheaper tan Automatic. The RS (v6) 2SS (V8) are all the bells and whistles, more style, same go as their less expensive brothers.
New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews | Cars.com
There is a huge mark up on used cars so their asking price should be a starting point. If the car has been on the lot for a little while you can beat them up and walk away then show up on the last day of the month and offer them $500 less then the best deal they offered. If you can line up your own financing a head of time they will know you are not a newbee.
You are on a Camaro site and we are Camaro lovers so you know we are going to say they are great
IMO GM has the best engineering. When maintained GM cars last. My 96 has 220K on it. You would be amazed at how many parts are still original.
You want a clean car fax, one retail owner, the complete service records. It nice to see a car with all the service done at the dealer Not that the dealer does better work it just the owner did not penny pinch when it came to maintenance also look for a car that is still under or just out of warranty. That way you know they are not dumping the car because of problems. Don't get sucked into how clean the car is. A professional car detailer can make anything look Mint. I have seen cars that I would not get into made to look showroom ready. To me nothing is worse then armorall on a dry rotted tires. Anytime you buy a used sports car you assume risks. You could be getting someone's garage keep baby that have never been ridden hard or you could be getting the car that has done hundreds of 1/4 mile passes and has a swapped intake because the other one was drilled for a 200 shot of NO2. Those two car will not treat you the same over the long haul.
The 1SS is the base model V8. There is a big price jump between V6 and V8. When GM does its 20% off thing you can pick up a V6 for $17,000-$24,000 new, So keep that in mind if you are looking at V6s. I have seen people asking 17K for 3 year old V6 cars with almost 50K on the clock. You may want to check with your insurance company on V8. Expect to pay about 10K more for V8. Stick is going to be cheaper tan Automatic. The RS (v6) 2SS (V8) are all the bells and whistles, more style, same go as their less expensive brothers.
New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews | Cars.com
There is a huge mark up on used cars so their asking price should be a starting point. If the car has been on the lot for a little while you can beat them up and walk away then show up on the last day of the month and offer them $500 less then the best deal they offered. If you can line up your own financing a head of time they will know you are not a newbee.
You are on a Camaro site and we are Camaro lovers so you know we are going to say they are great
IMO GM has the best engineering. When maintained GM cars last. My 96 has 220K on it. You would be amazed at how many parts are still original.
Last edited by Gorn; 01-12-2015 at 08:18 PM.
#4
01-23-2015, 06:13 AM
Jeez, I didn't realize it had been this long since I posted on here. I'm sorry for the super late response, guys.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
Thanks, that's a good tip. Helped me to eliminate some 2010s that were around 15k, but if it's more prone to problems then I'll spend the extra money to get a newer year.
Good advice. It hadn't crossed my mind about rental cars before, but I live in Wisconsin and I don't think I've ever seen a sporty car being used as a rental (it's mostly more economical stuff like Corollas and small Fords). I'll keep my eyes open though, especially for the warranties.
Yeah, I was just curious. I can't afford a V8 right now. V6 will have to do.
There is a huge mark up on used cars so their asking price should be a starting point. If the car has been on the lot for a little while you can beat them up and walk away then show up on the last day of the month and offer them $500 less then the best deal they offered. If you can line up your own financing a head of time they will know you are not a newbee.
You are on a Camaro site and we are Camaro lovers so you know we are going to say they are great IMO GM has the best engineering. When maintained GM cars last. My 96 has 220K on it. You would be amazed at how many parts are still original.
I really appreciate the help, mate. I'm trying to absorb as much info as I can so even if I'm not able to get one now, I'll be able to buy intelligently later down the line.
For reference, I've had my eye on this one for about a week or so now: 2013 Chevrolet Camaro LS, $17,995 - Cars.com
I haven't test driven it yet, but so far it looks okay to me.
When you are buying a used car you are risking getting a car that has been beaten. There are a lot of 2010-2013 used Camaro's around that are X rental cars. You really want to avoid them. It really does not matter who makes the car. if it has lived the first 3 years of its like with little to no maintenance and beaten daily it is not going to be dependable for the rest of its life. I would try to avoid the 2010 just because that was the first year. That is a general rule you can apply to any car after a major redesign.
You want a clean car fax, one retail owner, the complete service records. It nice to see a car with all the service done at the dealer Not that the dealer does better work it just the owner did not penny pinch when it came to maintenance also look for a car that is still under or just out of warranty. That way you know they are not dumping the car because of problems. Don't get sucked into how clean the car is. A professional car detailer can make anything look Mint. I have seen cars that I would not get into made to look showroom ready. To me nothing is worse then armorall on a dry rotted tires. Anytime you buy a used sports car you assume risks. You could be getting someone's garage keep baby that have never been ridden hard or you could be getting the car that has done hundreds of 1/4 mile passes and has a swapped intake because the other one was drilled for a 200 shot of NO2. Those two car will not treat you the same over the long haul.
The 1SS is the base model V8. There is a big price jump between V6 and V8. When GM does its 20% off thing you can pick up a V6 for $17,000-$24,000 new, So keep that in mind if you are looking at V6s. I have seen people asking 17K for 3 year old V6 cars with almost 50K on the clock. You may want to check with your insurance company on V8. Expect to pay about 10K more for V8. Stick is going to be cheaper tan Automatic. The RS (v6) 2SS (V8) are all the bells and whistles, more style, same go as their less expensive brothers.
New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews | Cars.com
There is a huge mark up on used cars so their asking price should be a starting point. If the car has been on the lot for a little while you can beat them up and walk away then show up on the last day of the month and offer them $500 less then the best deal they offered. If you can line up your own financing a head of time they will know you are not a newbee.
You are on a Camaro site and we are Camaro lovers so you know we are going to say they are great
IMO GM has the best engineering. When maintained GM cars last. My 96 has 220K on it. You would be amazed at how many parts are still original.
For reference, I've had my eye on this one for about a week or so now: 2013 Chevrolet Camaro LS, $17,995 - Cars.com
I haven't test driven it yet, but so far it looks okay to me.
#5
01-23-2015, 08:11 PM
Just because you do not see rental cars in your area does not mean much. There are car auction in every city. If there is an area that can sell X rental car because no one know about them then that is were they will end up. There are guys that make their live studying auction results like the stock market and shifting cars that are selling poorly to where they are hot. If two X rental cars sell at a auction for regular wholesale price this week in Albuquerque you can bet there will be 6 there next week.
Just something to think about, That is a base car. MSRP around 23K? No one pays full MSRP. Twice last year GM offers 20% off MSRP on the Camaro. That means you could have bought a 2015 new for around $18,400 New cars tend to be easier to finance and you can get better interest.
Another thing to think about. GM will be releasing the all new Gen 6 2016 Camaro in July. Selling 2015 leftovers with that new 2016 on the lot is going to take a little more then the normal 20% off sale. The great resale value on the 5 gens will drop within a year because they will be the old style.
Just something to think about, That is a base car. MSRP around 23K? No one pays full MSRP. Twice last year GM offers 20% off MSRP on the Camaro. That means you could have bought a 2015 new for around $18,400 New cars tend to be easier to finance and you can get better interest.
Another thing to think about. GM will be releasing the all new Gen 6 2016 Camaro in July. Selling 2015 leftovers with that new 2016 on the lot is going to take a little more then the normal 20% off sale. The great resale value on the 5 gens will drop within a year because they will be the old style.