Hi all, new here, looking for advice.

As the title says, I'm moving from Southern California to Northern Michigan with the next 2 or 3 months. I have a 2017 Camaro 2SS which runs year-round on Michelin PS4Ss, and I'm wondering if it's doable or completely stupid to take this car with me. I should say that I love this car and don't want to sell it. It has about 25k miles on it and I have less than a year of payments remaining. Numerous factors come into my decision; firstly, this is my only vehicle and is a RWD car, even on snow tires, a nightmare in snow? Due to moving logistics, I'd have to ship the car up there, covered, at a cost of about $2k. I've heard rumors that cars registered down here don't get the necessary undercoat for snow conditions, but have no idea if there's any truth to that. If I get there and find it impractical as a daily driver, am I going to take a hit when I trade it in because it doesn't have that coating? Also, new cars are now in short supply, so getting what I want to replace it with (new Tahoe would be nice) is going to be difficult, whether I sell it here before the move or once I'm there if it turns out to be impractical. Also, If I get there and have to sell it, I'll have wasted the (substantial) costs of shipping it up there. Any suggestions?

 

Man I'd keep in and buy an old 4X4 pickup for the winters if you can swing it,Camaros are not good snow and ice cars.
Rust and wrecks are a problem in snow country,I keep mine in the garage for the winter months on a battery tender and with Stabil in the fuel.

 

Ugh. That's not what I wanted to hear! Haha. Hey, thanks for the suggestion. That's not really going to work for me though. I really don't want to be driving some old piece of crap for what could be almost half a year. I want the ventilated seats (ok, maybe they're not so necessary in Michigan), the HUD, the remote start so I can heat up my car in winter while it's still in my garage. Now that I've had them, I don't want to do without them. I love my Camaro, but two cars just doesn't make any sense for me, so I'm going to have to be practical and trade it in if it's not going to work up there. So I could trade it in for a $75k Tahoe... which I really can't afford. I had a 2012 WRX for 5 years and it was basically a tin can with a turbo. So, not that keen on another Subaru, but, I suppose an Ascent would be cheaper than a Tahoe. Maybe an Sti is a good compromise. AWD, but low. Is ground clearance important for driving in the snow, or just that it's AWD/4WD?

 

You could make it work with studded snow tires, I did it in my younger days. It also depends on the area and how well they deal with the snow. Areas with a lot of industry tend to be much better then country settings. They just have more resources. The big fear would be getting stuck somewhere during a storm.

Double check, your California Camaro may be worth more up north then where you are now. Of course if you are thinking of a 10 year old Tahoe getting one before you get up north would be better. I drive a 2006 V8 trailblazer with most the bells and whistles. Its higher miles but I only drive when I can not safely drive my daily which ends up being less then 5% of the time.

 

Thank you. You think my Camaro might be worth more up there than down here, where it can be used year-round? Why might that be? Although, the $2k cost of shipping it up there would probably offset any gains.

The area is Traverse City. So, enough of a population for good snow clearance, but obviously not so good if I have to venture outside the town, which is inevitable. I'm originally from England, where nobody switches out their tires for the winter months, so I have no knowledge of snow tires, and especially studded ones. That sounds like something you'd want to get off the car as soon as the snow started to leave.

 

There are dates that allow studded snow tires to be installed and when they need to be off. They are very small studs but do nicely in the ice. Don't worry to much about the black top some years you will go months without seeing it. and the cops in the their SUVs and chains are doing way more damage, now add in the school busses and ambulances with chains and the road repairs need to start as soon as the snow melts

As a general rule guys up north are looking for cars that have never been in the salt/snow, You may be right about the shipping. Owning 2 cars is just a fact of life for car guys in the snow belt. Even 4wd truck guys tend to own a winter unit to avoid the damage cause by the salt. I think I was 19 when I bought my first winter better. A VW rabbit, put some decent tires on it and drove it until the frame rotted so bad it would not pass safety inspection anymore. I think that one lasted me 3 winters. Yes that was a long time ago.

 

Yup more than one for most car guys in the north,they don't use much salt here in SW Washington but when it snows or gets black ice they use sand and gravel which are also hard on cars.
I live up in the hills on a steep winding dead end road so 4X4 is a must in the snow,I don't think my Camaro would make it up here with chains on especially since it can be days before the county plows our road . lol
My wife has a trailblazer with studs for winter and an'05 Mustang vert for summer. I have a couple 4X4 pickups,my daily driver is a '99 Silverado 1500,high miles but a great runner with a 5.3.
I gave $5K for it and fixed a few little things that needed attention,been a reliable daily and gets around in the snow pretty good.
When we get a really heavy snow (we've had as much as 3 ft up here) I break out the old square body with 36" Super Swampers and a winch.

 

This is not what I wanted to hear! Haha.


Oh, great. At this rate I'm going to be looking at a new Ram Power Wagon. I started getting excited by that prospect a year ago and then decided against it. Maybe it makes more sense than I realized.



So I called the service department at the Chevy dealer in TC to ask if, shod in snow tires, would the Camaro be useable year round. The guy flat out laughed at me. As I'd much rather own one car that I enjoyed getting into year-round, rather than having the Camaro in the garage while I drive an old SUV/truck without all the creature comforts for half the year (because I can't afford a second newish car), I spec'd a new Tahoe online. Loaded with all the options: 80 grand. So, that's out even if I trade the Camaro in. Not being able to use the Camaro year round, having to spend $2k+ to ship it up there, and *then* having to purchase a second vehicle means that I think I'm going to have to let the Camaro go. I'm not happy about it. It's the first car I've owned that I could see owning for years to come (I previously had a 2012 WRX for 5 years and was ready to get rid of it after the first year). When I walk away from it I still, after over 4 years, look back to admire it. It has flaws, but that V8 noise means I can forgive them. Mostly.

We currently have a '93 Sierra full bed that we're selling before we move. The Tahoe seemed like a good solution to our imminent lack of cargo capacity. Maybe a new Blazer is the compromise. I know people have recommended not using a nice car in winter because of corrosion, but can that not be averted by just pressure washing the underside each night? Or is it not that simple?