Okay, so I went and drove a Camaro SS Saturday - wow. So much different than my seemingly gutless Mustang (V6). Convertible, Borla Exhaust, aftermarket rims, Hurst shifter (odd feeling to me), leather interior, etc. Only has 64k or so miles.

For the bad, there is some body damage. One good size ding below the passenger door on the bottom trim, the tail light is cracked and bumper a bit messed up (looks like backed into something), the windshield is cracked (down the middle, pretty good size crack), the convertible top button is sort of falling off, when I moved the sun blocker to undo the top, that popped out and wouldn't go back in (the metal piece was actually broken off), and it seemed to be pretty bumpy on the highway. Few other things I'm probably not mentioning, but that seems to be the gist of it. The top was alright, starting to fade a bit, window alright, line across the bar where it seems to sit and start the actual frame.

Basically, he and his friend say "it's been taken good care of", whatever. Horse crap IMO. You can tell its been beat on, and albeit having that low number of miles, more seems to be wrong with it (albeit only cosmetically, because the engine seems great, and trans shifts smooth with no grinding) than there should be.
He's asking 10k for it. Was asking 12k a month or so ago, then I saw it re-listed for the 10. Main problem I see will be little things like exterior work, because the engine seems pretty good and strong and it shifts fine. If I put 2k of stuff into getting all that fixed, would it be worth it?

Also, the clutch felt really light compared to what I'm used to...not sure if it was just me or not, then again the 2010 VW CC I drove also had a very light clutch....could be just me?


Offered him 8k for it...took 8.5k. Seems like a good deal to me, and I'm taking it to a mechanic when I pick it up to just look over it once more. Obviously if the mechanic says it is crap I won't bother, but other than that...

Opinions?

 

You can find a low mile ls1 for 10k that's in good condition. Have you looked at trans ams? Same car underneath the body panels.

Just my .$02

 

Don't ask why, but I just really don't like the look of the Trans Ams...personally, I wasn't too hot on the Camaros for a while TBH, but I've warmed up to them with certain combos (grill + rims). I've searched around here, and I've found none with that mileage that has the SS package or a convertible (which I'm not crazy about, but it was nice...). This one also has black leather seats, which again I don't care all too much about, but adds to value.

Thing is, I may have seemed to nitpick a bit, but the car doesn't actually look bad, and looks very sharp from first glance actually.

 

 

What guitars/amps do you play, guitar?

 

Actually, I don't play guitar at all. The name comes from the short of my full name, Guitarrasdeamor or Guitarrassdeamor that I use on other sites.

Anyways, here are the pics and description from the CL ad:




And his description:

My family has a good Chevy dealer that I can take it to for maintenance and such that I trust, and hoping to get the small body things done on the cheap, though I can fix things like a cracked tail light.

 

I say if you are going to keep the car the same way it is now, performance wise, it seems like an OK buy bc the cosmetic work can be done pretty easily, but it all depends on the market of your area. If you are going to make it into a street/strip car, I say keep shopping for one with a clean body with high mileage bc you are going to take the motor apart and use new parts anyway if you want to make some ponies. That's just my opinion based on what I would want to do.

 

Thanks, yeah I plan to pretty much keep it the way it is now. I'm not into racing, though I wouldn't mind hitting the track once or twice in something like this just to see how I do. I've never done that, but seems like it would be cool. The largest things I'll do to this will be bolt-ons, if I do those.

 

Well since you seem like more of a look person than speed, I say its a good deal. It runs right and should be reliable for a while if it was taken care of and you take care of it yourself. The cosmetic can be fixed no problem. And even if the top is starting to fade, the weather is getting better. The top should be down anyways! lol

 

Carfax? How many owners? Definitely drive it to your local dealer. Even if you have to pay for the inspection. Loss of a around $100 is better than a waste of 8.5k.

I bought my SS in 2004 as the third owner. About the same mileage and I walked into a mess...by 96k, I was tearing the whole car apart. The money I set aside for major mods was mostly spent on repairs/replacements. A car that looks "beat-on" is definitely "beat-on". If the owner actually gave a damn about this car, they would have never let these "flaws" happen to it.

If you looking to buy a driver, this is prob not your car. I'm sure you'd rather spend $ on mods, not repairs.