I still have not figured out what to do. It has been on my mind for the week now. The 98 is almost perfect now. I have everyting in tip top shape and plenty of extras. The car gets lots of complements. This car is everything you might want in a Camaro for looks and style. Right now I am thinking it would be worth 4-$5000 on the street. With the way I keep it and considering it only comes out for play, my original thinking is when it is about 20-30 years old it would be worth 7-$10,000. On the other hand, the Z is a 35th and is, unlike the 98 was when I found it, is almost perfect. Not a flaw to be found anywhere. Same look, same body package, same color (without the strips), and has T-tops. The RPO codes say there was only 708 with Artic White and 702 with the performance package made of Z-28. What will it be worth when it is 20-30 years old if kept pristine and miles low?

 

By the way, it is great getting all your guys advise. Even if I don't make the move, I have had this situation come up before and wondered what others would do. Thanks for the thoughts and opinions.

 

Hi Viperlohr,

If the potential deal has been on your mind for a week, roll with it. Ive been in your shoes where I just couldnt stop thinking about a particular car..... my solution was to buy it!! If I liked it, Id toy with it, play around with it for a while, if not, Id just sell it off. At least I satisfied my curiosity!!

Now.... I would not advise buying a 4th generation Camaro as an "investment" vehicle. I mean even if the car gains some value in 20 years, its not going to be a ton of value. Think about what parts youll need to replace over the next 20 years. Will you be able to recoop all your money and make a profit? I seriously doubt it. Unless youre looking at a Berger car or equivelent... investment wise, I dont think youre purchase should be predicated on resale value.

You buy a car to enjoy. If you enjoy driving it.... fine. If you like waxing/buffing.... fine. Everyone is entitled to enjoy thier car in thier own way. That said, just make sure you do actually enjoy the car.

Waiting 20 years for a car to rise in value isnt really enjoying the car in my opinion. Buy the Z28 and youll see that the LS1 will give you miles of smiles. Youll wonder why you waited so long to move to a V8!!

Good luck in your decision whatever it is.

 

You buy a 4th gen cause you love the cars not as an investment. These car has been falling in value the last 18 month. They did not sell a lot of Camaros in 2002. Remember this is the year that made GM decide to pull the plug on the F body. The factory even running one shift produced too many cars.

So now you into the question how will the future judge the 4th gen. There are not as many around but there is also not a lot of guy that hit 45-50 years old wanting to buy their 4th gen dream car.

Something to think about. What is a 84 Z28 with 60,000 miles on it worth? Thats almost 30 years old and still not worth what it would have cost to buy in 1988. Dont compare the value of a muscle car era to anything else. Muscle cars (1963-71) are flukes. There has not been a time line like that before or since.

 

I agree with Gorn and 2Z'S, that you shouldn't get the LS1 for the investment. But i'd definitely grab the Z28, you'll never want to go back to the v6.

 

I'm with Massey on this one. First....who cares how many they made? They made fewer 4th gens than any other generation camaro. If you look at the numbers, some years were as low as 40k units even less v8s. Thats the entire reason for the demise of the 4th gen. in the first place. 2nd, the LS1s are where the real $$$ will be. LT1s were an inferior design compared to the LS1.. Hence, the reason for the LS1 in the first place. And the reason why the 3rd gens aren't pulling big dollars is because any real camaro enthusiast, knows that those cars were not high performance hp cars. They had low hp and the block and head design weren't anything special. And considering you can buy the 4th Gen which handles better, has much more power with a much improved engine design(even in the LT1 over that tpi), its easy to see why 3rd gens are not pulling more money. They are also well known rattle boxes (this problem was cured on the 4th gen. Camaro) so really, the only thing the third gen did was handle good and look decent.

 

I really don't get where your going with this reply cause no one is talking about 3rd gen camaros

 

Anyway cars are just bad investments if you want to invest in something buy gold if you want a sweet a$$ car buy the Z

 

Think about what your saying. "3rd gens are not worth much because 4th gens are better cars." Guess what, 5th gens totaly out class the 4th gens in looks and preformance. There are and always will be collectors for rare low miles cars. But like anything else it will be suppy and demand. The reason muscle cars are worth what they are worth is because those where the fastest factory cars you could own for almost 20 years. That is 2 generaltion worth of highschool kids wanted a 69 Camaro or Chevelle or Mustang. When these guys started hitting 40-50 years old they started buying them but once the second geration of buyers hit 40-50 there simpley was not enough cars. Supply and demand.

I remember these exact same argument about the 3rd gen value in 94-95. L98 was the best post muscle engine to date untill the LT1. It will always be worth a lot. Are they? As long as the auto industry is not stopped by something and they make a better car each year then no one year is going to stand out.

Only a small percentage of people who own a car are going to seek that car out in the future. Less original owners means less demand. I do not see a lot of people who really wanted one of these but could not find one.

 

every car is an investment. i have owned a couple 64 impala ss's, a 63 impala ss convert, 69 chevelle ss, 59 1/2 impala ss, 66 mustang, 57 belair all of which i paid less than a k for most were in the 500 buck range, all were in good shape when i got em. thing is when the value gets so low people treat them as such and the cars get sent to the wrecking yard in mass. once the car is not so easy to fix, or find the value will rise. heck even the 4 door 60s impala is worth money now and it used to be you couldnt give em away. traditionally its been the first and last year of a model that has the value rise first. lol mine will be 20 this year and im still waitin. but then in the 70s a 50s car was cheap.