okay my friend wants to buy this camaro, we offered the guy 800, its a 95 z28 91k miles, he said it has a blown head gasket, as well as the vats is on, so the car doesnt turn on. the guy took out the dash and cant put it back in, he never tried a different key since he doesnt have any others, body is straight, paint is great, tops dont leak, he also said it was bored over to a 383 and was running before the vats came on. i know we`re going into the woods with this one, but i`d like you alls insight?

 

I paid $600 for a 94 with blown head gaskets, missing dash pad and the clear coat is flaking in a couple places. Also needed the T top headliner recovered.

Depends on if he is going to be doing the wrenching or paying to have it done. If he can do the work, yes, if he is paying, no.

The engine may be repairable and last a week or a year after the repairs or may need a new one. VATS can be bypassed. The dash shouldn't be that big of a deal if he has all the parts and didn't cut the wiring harness.

Oh and after replacing the head gaskets, recovering the T top headliner, the window motor went out. Radio did not work and I take it out only to find out the PO had cut the wiring harness off instead of unplugging it and removed all the speakers. So, look it over REALLY good.

 

The price sounds pretty good if everything the seller says is true. Just keep in mind that whatever you think it will cost to fix it, it'll really cost 3X that. Guaranteed.

 

From a business point of view you need to assume anything you can not test is broken. I see it all the time. Guys buy cars with a “Blown head gasket” they get it all fixed up just to find out there is a Main bearing knock at 3500+ RPMs and the tranny slips in 3rd gear. You really want to focus on how the car was maintained right up to the head gasket blew. If there are a bunch of things wrong with the car besides the headgasket that you can see chances are good there are more you can not see.

On the plus side the guys is asking a fair price. If you get it just fix the two issues that you need to get it running. Drive it for 2 hour. If everything seems fine then fix up all the other stuff.

When I was looking for a project V6 I looked at a lot of junk before I found a dealer serviced, garage kept 96 with a damaged motor that I could start and run enough to test everything. I paid a $1000 for it. Most of the junk I was looking at was $800. Best $200 I ever spent. I have put 24K on the car since I installed a motor and the only issue has been to fuel pump. Just make sure you look around. If you can find Great car with a blown headgasket for $1000 that you can hear run and take for a short test drive it will be a well spent $400

 

$800 for a roller in good shape? A few questions. is the paint really in good shape along with the body? What about the interior? Is it a Bose sound sytem? What rims are on it? If aftermarket vs salad shooters then even better. If the frame/body/interior are in good to very good shape then $800 is a steal. Heck, you'll pay that just for sanding and a cheap paint job. if the tires are decent then you save $600 on tires and if the wheels are aftermarket or vette, then that's $400 on the used market right there so parting out the vehicle would yield more than the $800 purchase price.

Now, your friend needs to understand his expectations and make sure they are in alignment with reality. Gorn is correct in stating that if it can't be tested then it's broken. That's how I view a vehicle when looking for projects and I make no bones about it to the seller. If they can't prove functionality then it must be broken. So, with an $800 purchase the next question is if your friend is capable of doing any wrenching or just a little. If your friend wants a vehicle that he can be sure will start when he turns the key and then runs then he should assume at least $3,000 additional expense. If he doesn't have the funds, patience, know-how or time for a project vehicle then he needs to move on to the next vehicle.

There is nothing worse than hearing your buddies or parents tell you that you bought a POS because your expectations weren't set properly. If the vehicle really was that strong, and simply needed a head gasket then the seller would buy, beg, borrow or steal the funds to fix the head gasket and sell the car for at least $4,000 or more if it's in a sgood of shape as you say. Heck, I'd replace the head gasket for him in exchange for $1,000 within 45 days or take the title. That would give the seller 45 days to sell the car. Something smells fishy here. My daddy always told me that if it sounds too good to be true..................

 

hmm good ideas, i was thinking the same as well, if its just the head gasket and vats why didnt the guy fix it? he admitted he doesnt know much about holding a wrench, but he took out the complete dash and couldnt put it back in.
the car has salad shooters, didnt look at the radio, had leather interior though i think i`ll tell my friend to keep looking, cuz its too much of a chance the way i see it even though he has the know how n tools, we dont have the time+money in case there is something more to it.

 

okay guys the owner got back to me, and said hes willing to go low with 800, so now we are at a stand still on the decision.... low ball him a little more and tell em 600 cash? its tough because by next month the weather will be getting more bitter, and harder to work on, but again to get a lt1 with straight and clean body/interior... how often does it come around? comments..