Im looking to buy a camaro and i have been for awhile. I found a 1997 RS with a 3.8L, T-tops, and power everything. the exterior and interior are in really nice shape but the motor had 180k on it? his asking price is $2900. im assuming that the owner took decent care of it becuase of the shape of the exterior and interior. so do you think it is a safe buy?

Ive done some research and ppl say that the 3.8L is solid but im looking for some more input.

 

Do you know a good mechanic? You should take the car to a good mechanic. Pay him for 1/2 hours worth of work. He can get a real good idea if the car was maintained and he might notice stuff you would not.

Ask the current owner if the intake or head gaskets has been done yet. These are common issues with these cars. 200K is not uncommon in these cars but you are getting close to 200K. Most of the 3.8's that fail, fail becuase of overheating. Either a problem with the electrical system or one of the above gaskets cause a coolant leak.

Of all the GM motors the 3.8 is one of the more solid designs. But even if the car has been well taken car of you are getting close to needing a rebuild.

 

alright thanks for the input ill have to ask about those gaskets. how hard is it to replace those gaskets. cuz if they haven't it sounds like a good project for me and my dad?

 

He is right on if he is askig 2900 that is a fair price if the car is in good condition but you may be able to talk him down a few bucks still. The 3.8 as said above is a strong engine and there are tons of guys that have driven well into the 300,000 plus range with good care.

 

Where are you from? One thing about price is that it completely differs depending on where you are. The same is true in housing that is with cars.

I live in Indiana and you could easily do better then that deal here. I bought a 97 with 68k miles on it 2 years back for $3900. I had to fix a turn signal (which I'm still having problems with), I had to get one of the wheels sanded as the erosion had brokin the seal causing it to go flat over a weeks time. the muffler had a hole in it, so I had to buy a new one. Even after all that and getting the tranny serviced I had less then $5000 in it.

However, if you live in Calafornia, Florida, Texas, New York or somewhere thta has a stonger market you will not get the price I got. It may be worth traveling a little ways to find a deal.

As another poster said take it to a mechanic first (I did) and don't rush yourself. The economy is really bad and there are people that are forced to sell things like that extra sports car so they can feed there kids or make there house payments. The ball is in your court and there loss could easily be your gain.

 

got 204k on mine no probs yet, 2900 is pretty steep v6s here in sacramento with that many miles are not uncommon at $2000 hell i saw a VERY nice convertible firebird v6 with transam interior,badges,rims, pretty much everything besides the v8 for 2800obo with like 115k

 

Hey thanks for the info guys. Well I bought it and I Love it. I know some of you said that 2900 was a little high for a car with 187k on it but you can't tell from looking at it. The Interior is FLAWLESS no tears in the seat no stains. The Dash isnt cracked. only thing that you could count as a flaw is that the driver side sun visor is faded from being bake thru the ttops im assuming. and the exterior is pretty good for a car with as many miles on it. few scratches and scuffs but no dents(nothing like the other camaros that we've looked at around here). its a RS so its got the ground package but its missing it on the front bumper. Once we got it home(I live in West Michigan, my dad had to drive down to Indianaplolis) we brought it to a Mechanic and he checked it out. it needed new valve cover gaskets, new brakes all around, and new gears in the rear end. That said There are a few things i would like to know. First i found a small exausht leak its on the little tube that goes up from the manifold into the intake. My dad thinks is the EGR Valve. He said that he had heard that some People just remove them? Also how do i disable the Factory Alarm system. i dont have a remote so when i unlock it with the key i dont even have enough time to sit down and get the key in the ignition before it starts going off. Thanks again Guys

 

It needs new Gears in the rear? Thats a pretty pricey repair did you get a quote?

 

No my dad brought it in and had them do it already. i dont wanna know how much it cost