I finnally found what looks like a good deal on a 4th gen (my first 4th gen). Found one on CL for around $1600, more specifically '93 Z28. Owner says it has around 95K on it and that 3rd and 4th gear slip completely but 1st, 2nd, and reverse work well. He claims he lost his job and needs to dump the car. I asked for the VIN and Car fax comes up with almost twice the miles, but no incidents other than that.

I think if after looking at it, seeing it run and driving it in 1/2 gear, I should go ahead. But then again, this is my first 4th gen.

So i ask of you what should i look for, other than the obvious, ie. oil pressure, brakes, body work, paint, leaks, so on and so forth.

Any comments would be greatly appriciated. As i am sure many of you have encountered i am foaming at the mouth for this thing and dont want to make a bad decision based on infatuation.

 

Red flag right there concerning the sellers integrity.

 

Take it to a shop and get a full inspection from somebody ASE certified. you might have to spend a few bucks for them to get it the full workover, but they'll look for everything and be able to give you a very good idea of the condition of the car and if its a good buy or not.

And like Camaro69 said, he already lied about the miles, who knows what else he's lying about.

 

for 1500 bucks u cant expect to much. if the body and interior are good its probly worth it. all depends on what u want though. if your not planning on putting any money into it u should keep looking and plan on spending a couple grand more.

 

RUN if he wants to send you a check to deposit and then you send him half of it back!

 

My intentions were to spend a little more money for less up front work to be done originally. This is one of those situations where while i was looking for something like that and this just happened to turn up.

I first of all am not looking to turn the car, it would only be for my enjoyment, and I figured i could make it a work in progress once the tranny is fixed. That is if everything else is not wrecked. I will say that while i am no professional mechanic, i know my way around a garage, and more specifically an engine compartment. Maybe this is an instance of getting a good deal that needs some wrenching, but i feel that it might not be.

With that in mind i decided to go look it over without cash in hand. Mostly so i don't get all starry eyed and do something stupid. This way i can show the carfax report and get a better idea of what condition the car is in.

Ill let you know how it goes..

Thanks
Ken


Expect the worst, you wont be disappointed!

 

Be sure to focus on his eyes and ask him why there is a discrepancy in the miles. I've heard some b.s. stories before to where I've thought...does this guy really think I'm that dumb? You can usually tell when someone is fibbing.

 

yeah,he could have changed out the guage cluster or something with a different intent but then saw $$$$$ signs

 

So, this evening afterwork i drove the 60mi down to see the car. I met him in a gas station parking lot, i got there first. The guy seemed nice, but not very knowledgable. His story about the car lined up with texas on the carfax, and the OD looked broke. So i chalked it up to his ignorance, he argued that the car had stock 375 hp too, i tried to correct him, but he was insistant that he read that somewhere.

It was definately a Z28 black on black emblems(?), had the LT1. Motor looked OK, but looks like someone had be screwing around with some wiring in the engine compartment, he mentioned that the fan was hard wired ON, and had a push button to start the car. It started right up no problems.

The interior was OK, not trashed, but not new. All the body panels looked great, paint however was flaking and bubbled in spots. Tried to get under the car, realized that my size did not help that at all (6'4 270lbs).

The cat(s) straight piped and welded. no leaks under the engine that i could see, I took a flash light to it and everything (of what i could see) was there. exhast manifold had a bolt broken off on the driver side near fire wall. exhaust seemed loud

I drove it, steering seemed stiff but responsive, no body roll or diving to speak of. Only had 1st and 2nd gear, so i took it a mile or two down the road and kinda feathered the gas, everytime i let off the gas it backfired. I figured because it was locked up in gear. Got it turned around and got into it pretty good, the rear end came around on me and then it grabbed before i knew it i was topped out for 2nd. Motor didnt seem to have any issues that i could tell. Oil looked ok, tranny fluid was non-existant from what i could tell. (not sure if that was possible reason for tranny prob)

told the guy i would give him $1200, but could not pick it up until saturday morning. He said he would take it but someone else might be looking at it tonight. He didnt look to confident in that, so i am looking forward to him possibly contacting me.

What do you guys think??? Of course i think its a good deal, but i am also all starry eyed about it.

I welcome and comments/concerns/watchouts you might have about it.

Thanks

Ken

 

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig. Sounds like that car has its fair share of issues.

Since you say that you know how to wrench on a car, you need to ask yourself if you can take care of the stuff you are going to want to fix.

The tranny needs to be addressed immediately just to ensure the car is fully driveable. If you are able to do the work, great. If not, you may be looking at a HUGE BILL!

Someone has been hacking at the wiring under the hood and that can indicate about a billion potential problems just waiting to rear up and cost you more $$$$.

The exhaust has been chopped up a bit and someone broke the bolt on the manifold. Someone who probably doesn't know what they were doing and just left it. You need to ask yourself what else did they chop or try to work on only to break and try to cover-up / hide / just forget about.

If you are set on getting it, take it to an ASE certified mechanic for a complete inspection before closing the deal. It will cost you a little cash, but will help you fully open your eyes to what you are about to get into.

My personal thought is to walk away from it, unless I could get it for about $800-1000. At that price, if all goes south, you can part it out and at least come out even.