hey guys, im looking at a 98 ss camaro, was wanting your guys expert opinions on it. im been emailing the guy have gon to see it yet. but heres the info ive gathered on it so far.

this is the link; 1998 CHEVROLET CAMARO SS/LS1 Engine

198,000 km new engine with 89,000 kms on it
new engine is out of a 99 vette, (b/c of the oil pump issue)
"upgraded" z06 oil pump when he did swap
the new clutch was put in last year, same time as engine
all the work done by himself( headers, flow-master cat-back y pipe)
power steering pump just went out

this part of his email worries me; "it was cheaper to buy an engine out of a 99 vette and put in an upgraded zo6 oil pump than to rebuild the old engine properly"

Is it worth it to get into this potential mess, or would it be better to just wait for a better deal for an actual camaro with camaro guts. only reason im considering this is because all the other ss/z28 in my area are out of my price range. please dont repsond saying " its your money your call, u have to make the decision". i already know that lol. oh and hes asking 9500 for it

thanks in advance for the advice guys

 

it usually is cheaper to get a replacement engine than rebuild machine work can run 400-600 easy than parts you could run that up to 1500 total easy... or pick up a used motor for 700-1000

 

9500? no way in hell. i'll give him 3500 for that mess. dont pick that car up, wait for a better deal. the engine might be "new" but everything else sure isn't, and i wonder why it needed a new engine in the first place...

 

thanks for the advice buddy, i was thinking ide buy this kind of car for like 5 grand. n this is what he said about why he had to change the engine; "i had to change the engine because 1998 camaros had a oil pump issue that i didnt learn about till after the pump failed and it was cheaper to buy an engine out of a 99 vette"

 

I gave 11250 for my 2001 SS over 2 years ago with 78k in great shape and I feel like I over paid a little. That thing is way over priced.

 

it is, he emialed me back saying if i wanted to come see it and that he would take my offer, even tho i didnt offer him anything yet

 

Offer him $1, it's an agreement, you've got the email.



JK.

 

That a big sign that there's something wrong with it and he's trying to hide it.

Threes lots out there just need to keep looking. Or even bring one up from the states.

 

Some people think when they do a major repair it ups the value of the car. Well it does compaired to the value of a not running car but if you can get the car back to value of a car that did not break your doing good. Having a GM installed motor with a warranty can help the value but no where near as much as it would cost to get work done at a dealership.

Most used car places go out of their way to hide major repairs. They want to present a car that has never given anyone a problem. The only exception I know of is cars that have common issue like a trans in newer Dodge product or something like that. I have heard the LS1 oil pump is a issue but not a chronic one. At absolute best the car could be worth + 10% over what a car with the orginal motor would have based on the cars miles (not the motors) but that is after you had a mechanic check it out to make sure the work was done right. A hack job would haunt you for as long as you own the car or until you redo it.

I love it on craigs list when you see a guy post a car he bought for 5K (the real value) 2 years ago then put $2500 so now he wants $6500 and he list most of the parts he put into it are maintenance items that the car needs and all of us do to our cars.

Reality check the car has higher miles and it older, its worth less then when you bought it. If the last owner did not maintain it and you had to fix all that stuff you should have offered less money for it. Most values you find when researching Make\model\year assumes a well running maintained car, how much it cost you to keep it that way does not add to the value or at least it adds very little. The second a buyer finds something that is not in good working order the price drops fast from the "estimated value".

 

for a 98 SS that price is outrageous. Maybe for a clean 01 or 02 would be a little closer to that price, but I would honestly keep your money and buy one that someone hasnt hacked up with alleged "vette" parts. The oil pump failure is probably due to him beating the snot out of the car, and with this new "vette" engine I'm sure it was more of the same.