Hello all!

I am going to be looking at a 1996 Camaro RS this evening. My friend told me it's a seller a few doors down from him that has it out in his driveway with a for sale sign. I have been in contact with the owner. The car has around 200,000 miles on it (yeah I know that's kind of high). 3.8L V6 with an automatic transmission, T-Tops, etc. It's supposed to be in overall good shape but has some hail dents here and there and miscellaneous scratches.

He said the only issue is that in order to get into the car, you have to open the passenger side door, start the car, and then unlock the driver's door. If you try to enter through the driver's door first, it will set the alarm off (OEM alarm). What might that be?


The price is $1,200 OBO and I have negotiated down a little more.

I'm not looking to make it fast or anything, I just need a car to get me by for a few months. Would this be a car to avoid or something decent to drive for a few months until I can get my truck back on the road? I'm handy with cars and can fix most things, but I've never owned a Camaro and would like to seek advice from those who know more about them than I do.

Thanks for any insight and help!

 

For the alarm.... The factory VATS system is just that way when you lock the doors with the electric door lock switch, then unlock with the key... off goes the alarm.

Try locking the doors by using the manual lock slider or the key. That'll let you unlock with the key without waking up the neighbors.

There are 3 settings for that portion of the alarm... zero delay, 7 second delay & off. You need a functioning key fob (properly coded to your car) to do it tho...

 

I'm assuming it probably is a malfunctioning remote.

Is there a way to disable the alarm completely? I live in an extremely remote area in a small town, and park in my garage. For the time being, I don't need a remote on the car.

Anything else as far as reliability?

We're talking about a $700 price range.

 

vats does not have an alarm, in some the stereo does though. click number 3 here https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...62/#post557634

 

Respectfully offer a differing view...

From the factory shop manual for the '96 F-body;

UNIVERSAL THEFT DETERRENT SYSTEM

The universal theft deterrent system (UTD) option (UA6), combined with the remote control door lock option (AUO), is available on this vehicle.

Features of the UTD can be set to your preference like;
exit lighting & delayed illumination
last door closed & lock-out prevention
remote lock control verification (horn chirp & parking lights flash)
theft deterrent arming method
theft deterrent operation (driver's door delay & shock sensor enable)


Even the speed & number of flashes of the dash-mounted LED has meaning...

 

vats simply will not let you start the car. different system VATS/PassKey

 

Yep. What you said exactly. (as I trip over the nomenclature...)

The the parts of these two systems are interwoven, but not interdependent.

 

I personally wouldn't buy a car with that many miles on it. You're better off spending a little more on a car with less miles because you'll probably be putting big bucks into repairs for as long as you own the car. Good luck....