Hi all, just curious about what to look for when buying a 4th gen. I am basically an automotive noob and not sure what else to look for besides making sure it runs and all the accessories work. I'm sure I'm missing something, any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
-Matt

 

You really need to be carful as the Camaro is a favorite of young guys. I have been in and out of the used car bizz for 20 years. I started looking for a 4th gen about 4 years ago. Man there is a lot of junk out there. Cars that have not been maintained that in my opinion need a restoration. I was even looking at cars that where advertize as cherry only to see something that was going to need a ton of work. I did find a few well maintain units but the price was out of my budget.

I see new members here all the time that just have a nighmare of a time with their "new" Camaros.

You really need to find a mechainc hopfully through a family member or a good friend that can look the car over. Even a decent mechanic will pick up on stuff and they will not be effected by rose colored glasses. Thats when you see this really great looking red 97 RS with black racing strips and you want it so bad you miss the puddle of tranny fluid under it and the lack of coolant in the radiator.

 

Ya, that is probably going to be my best bet. I do have a friend who has worked on Jags for 20 years, problem is he works all the time and has two kids, but maybe I can catch him on a free day ha.

 

Yes first off check the usual, (runs good no odd clicks or knocks, ect..) Check for fluid leaks and burning oil. If you have the ability to get under the car check for rust and see if there is an abnormal amount of fluid on the bottom of the motor.the window motors, if they are slow they will soon need be replaced and thats a pain in the ***. You should also (if its a t-top car) check the weather stripping and ask if they have had leaking problems t-tops tend to be very leaky. Hope you learned something.

 

check fender wells, door jams, hatch jams, these are the main rust spots.
window motors will need to be replaced at some point the later the better.
ttop leaks are pretty common, and with the window down the window weather seals tend to have crappy clips and pop up on 4ths too
front struts seem to be a problem alot of the time

 

I can add to what everyone else said, I bought my car and it was in excellent condition very well taken care of and still yet the passenger window motor is pretty much shot and the t-tops sometimes leak (not always) so both are very common things to watch. I also have a friend that bought a 97 not to long after me and has the same problem with a window motor.

 

On later 4th-gens, look for blistering of the paint around the halo (b-pillar). GM switched adhesives when bonding the halo panel during the 4th-gen's run and the gases from the newer adhesive affected the paint as time went by. If you see this, walk away, as the price to repair isn't easy to swallow.

 

you can also see this alot of time on the ss hoods right where it meats the front bumper

 

From my experience cars that are clean (no stains, few paint chips, no tears) are likely good cars. It shows the owner cared.

I concur with the window motors but you'll never really be rid of that problem.

The clips/spacers that hold the windows in line, tend to break relatively easily so if you hear the a big clunk/bang everytime you close the door, you're missing two, maybe three. Mind you it's more of an annoyance but still a pain.

Make sure you look under the front end. These cars are notorious for scraping the nose. Check for cracks on the front bumper cover, signals and the front air dam. Bumper covers can get expensive. They are easy enough to install, but still a pain.

 

Be cautious of used cars for sale with new tires as well. Could indicate front end issues that was "fixed" by replacing the tires so the new owner can repair them later.