Just bought a 1996 z28 ss last Thursday for what I thought was a good price ($2760) figured too good to be true, guess I was right because the car doesn't hold oil pressure after its warmed up. To make matters worse it died on me on Wednesday, turned it on and drove home and let it sit until today. I turned it on and notice a light knock. It also squeals when I'm rolling or when I hit the gas. Checked the oil and noticed it was halfway I'm so upset because I've been wanting a camaro for 2 years and finally bought one but it turns out I chose the wrong car. So now that I've got some background out of the way, I'm looking for suggestions on what I should do next. I'm pretty tight on cash so I'm not sure if I should sell and cut my loses or try and rebuild / drop a rebuilt motor in. Any suggestions ? I'm more then willing to listen

 

Mine has 102K miles on it,has had a valve job because we had a head gasket water leak at about 60K miles.New radiator,water pump,clutch,brakes,struts and tires over the 5 years we have had it.Great car BUT they ar almost 20 years old now.Even if lower miles they are still old and need TLC.Good luck with it.Tom

 

Not trying to make you feel worse, but checking the oil level, and all other fluids, looking for leaks, listening for squeaks, creaks and knocks, as well as looking at the oil pressure when hot (shows integrity of the engine) are all things you should have done before buying the car. Sounds like a neglected car to me, and likely to become a money pit real soon.

 

My first time buying a car and it was a terrible choice. Definitely rushed like an idiot. Looks like I'm gonna dump the car and buy new. Learned my lesson

 

I think everybody has done that at least once in their life. As hard as it can be, you need to leave your emotions at home when you go looking at a car. Have someone go with you, preferably one who knows a good car from a bad one, and listen to their unbiased opinion. When you start saying to yourself "oh boy I just gotta have it", go home and come back tomorrow for another look. You'd be amazed at the things you might find that are wrong that you overlooked the first time.

 

Thanks for the advice

 

Many auto repair shops will do an estimate/initial analysis at no cost -- at the minimum, it would be worth getting it inspected/evaluated. Who knows, it may not be as bad as you think, or it could be worse -- an unknown at this point.

 

I'm planning on taking it tomorrow so i will follow up with an update

 

if oil was low and it got air in it you would lose oil pressure. is it ticking or knocking. ticking could be because of loss of oil pressure. front and rear intake seal is common oil leak on lt1. car dyeing could be opti goin, i would not be so fast to condemn this one. how about some pictures

 

was changing my oil just now and something doesnt look right lol. thoughts?