Today I bought a 2002 SS "35th Anniversary" car with just under 35,000 original miles! It is still at the dealer getting its final inspections and detail as they only took it in a few days ago and had not even finished prepping it for sale. I was the first person to see it and drive it before they had full info even on their site.



I must confess that I don't know enough about 4th Gens and I'm doing things backwards, as usual, by learning more AFTER making the purchase decision. For example, I didn't know that all of the true 35th Anniversary Edition cars were RED. This car (MY car, I should say) has 35th badging all over it and seems to have the special features of the 35th, including the exhaust and intake. And "345 HP" stickers on the hood (this is key, I think).

With my post-purchase research, I THINK what I'm finding is that it was possible to order a car in 2002 that was not one of THE A.E. cars and have the enhancements installed. Does that sound right and look like what I have here? I'll post more of my quick pics from the dealer, but more will have to wait until I bring it home (hopefully tomorrow Sat 10/15).






What more info do I need to provide to help ID this car? It is an automatic (bummer) and non-T-Top (mixed feelings on that). It is very clean and from what I could see it is drip free and rust free. Several previous owners, staring in TN, then AL and then WA where I am. It is wearing a matched set of Nitto NT555 tires with good tread life.

So...what have I got here, and how do I go about learning more about it?

About me and what I was looking for: In August last year, I bought a brand-new '21 Camaro LT1 and only put 2,200 miles on it in 11 months. I was driving it so little that it didn't make sense to me to have it just sitting, costing a bunch of money and depreciating. I sold it to a dealer for almost exactly what I paid for it in August of '22. But I missed it and wanted another less expensive V8 car. So I had been looking at Mustangs, Challengers, Corvettes and Camaros when this came up last night. I have previously owned a 1982 Camaro Berlinetta V6 (high school through college), a 1996 Corvette CE LT4, a 2010 Camaro 2LT V6 and the previously mentioned 2021 LT1. But never a 4th Gen Camaro. My current "stable" holds a 2002 Ford F150 4x4, a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and a 2022 MINI Cooper SE (full electric).

Thanks.

Rob

 

Welcome to the club. Congrats on the buy.
Look on passenger door for an SLP sticker. You can search for GM RPO codes and translate those options, aka, LS1 = 5.7L V8, G80 = posi rear axle, etc.

 

You can also put your vin # in here and find your car.
Model : Camaro SS : The Official SLP Registry

 

Thanks, but I don't see where. The "find your registry" link takes you to Firehawk, which links to a site that isn't up.

And now for the bad news...

I picked up the car last night and I have to say I am disappointed. Not sure if it is just normal buyer's remorse, or worse. I had built up a high expectation of the car and was let down when I saw it again.

There is no SLP sticker on the passenger door. Which is odd because it is mentioned in one of the ads the dealer had for the car. I'll try to post that when I find it again (I think I have it open on another computer). The sales guy was clueless.

I also got a good look at the roof, which I now know must have been painted. It was and it is, frankly, crap. The lower edges of each sail panel and the outside edges of the roof are "goopy". And there is evidence of the bubbling these panels are known for. It isn't horrible, yet. When I looked at the car on Friday, it hadn't been washed yet and it was bright early afternoon sunshine and I didn't notice these things. But going in looking for it in the indirect evening light, it was like the first thing I noticed. I will never NOT see it.

Driving home, the driving position was pretty uncomfortable. The seat back was reclined pretty far and I didn't see a way to change that except by moving the seat UP in the back, This is fairly minor I think, but worth mentioning.

The car really doesn't feel all that fast. Maybe I'm spoiled by the 455 hp Camaro I had most recently. Driving it actually feels a lot like I remember from my 1996 Corvette with the 350 hp LT4. But the automatic trans doesn't feel like it is putting out power in the same way as my manual Camaros and Corvette.

Overall, I've feeling down about this car. Part of it is that I paid a big price for a clean, low mile car. It was $22k (they were asking $26k!!). Maybe I'd feel better about it if I'd paid $16k or even $18k, I'm thinking hard about seeing if I can get out of this, or if I can live with and love this car. The dealer has a 48 hour "exchange" policy. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the salesman and I get the feeling they might be willing to cancel the sale, but I won't know unless I push for it.

I'll get some pics when the sun comes up in a little while.

Rob

 

You can call SLP to find out if its real by giving them the VIN, That would be the only real reason you may be able force are cancelation. I know here in PA its buyer beware on anything like comedic or comfort. If they lie to you about a spec like it being a SS then it can become a fight. If the dealer thought the car was real a court may find they sold the car in good faith. Cars of course need to be fully functional unless other wise noted in the sales agreement. In fact I bet if you read your sales agreement I will be it says something to the effect of "this document defines the sales agreement no other information expressed or implied by the salesman or advertising is binding" Its a short statement but boy it means allot.

Manual transmission robs less power then an automatic does. As much as 10%. The LT4 was a motor design for a vet I doubt they over rated it much is at all. So an Automatic LS1 could Dyno al low as 280 hp with the Stick LT4 would be more like 315 hp. As a general rule the LS1s do not dyno that low but even if the two engines where equal the Vet would feel more powerful. New cars with 6-8 speed automatics do not loose as much power or I should say they make up for it by keep the motor in the power band. Also most mods that SPL would do will effect your dyno numbers at or above 6000 RPMs but may have little effect on below 5000 RPMs.

 

I don't think they are misrepresenting anything they know about. I'm not saying that at all. The condition of the roof is totally on me for not seeing it and I'm certain this is a real SS and SLP car. Just not sure how much of the SLP content was original and how much was fired from the "parts canon" over the years.

I know there is no reason they would have to cancel the sale. But they are a big local dealer with a very long time presence and they MIGHT do it for customer good will. They DO have a 48 hour "risk free exchange" program (48 hours from delivery per the contract terms), where I would need to trade it for something else priced the same or higher from inventory.

What do you think of this car at $22k?

EDIT: something else I didn't mention yet: I only drove the car about 20 miles last night and my lower back is sore. I mentioned above that I found the driving position uncomfortable, but if this car is why my back hurts today... that would be very hard to live with!

Rob

Rob

 

This link is for CVE website where you can verify the car as an SS and I believe it will also show any of the other SLP options the car came equipped with above a base model SS.

 

Try this: http://173.167.92.163/

 

Yes it will.

 

I would have sold you mine for that and I have a bit more into it.
Mine is a 6 speed manual with too many mods to list,it's at 96K miles now on the original motor but has LS6 heads a serious cam etc. and makes about 400 hp at the wheels so it's pretty quick.
If your car is indeed a true SS with that low of a mileage the price is about par for the course,these cars are going up in value lately.
I paid $8K for mine 6 years ago in clean mostly stock condition with 86K miles on the clock,you couldn't touch one like it now for that at least in my area.
Prices vary quite a bit geography,what a car like this goes for here in WA might not be the same as one in AZ or FL.