Opinions on modded Camaros for sale

[Glassman66]

I've been looking at Camaros for 10 months. My finances are getting close to where I can pull the trigger.

It seems like you can get a nicely modded camaro for great prices. Having cam, long tubes, heads and a tune pretty reasonably.

My question is how do you know the precious owner did it right? You'd hate to have a cluster f##k on your hands.

What your opinion.

I'm looking at 2013-15 1le's.

[Talladega]

There's no real way to know. All you can do is ask the right questions. Did they do the work or have a professional speed shop do it? How long ago did they have it done? Do they have receipts? But even if they answer everything right the car could still be nothing but problems and just the opposite, someone could have done it in their garage with their drunk neighbor and it could be perfect. When I bought mine I preferred one will no mods just so I knew what I was starting with.

BTW welcome, we need more representation from the Denver area.

[TXSheepdog261]

If buying from an individual, they should have paperwork of what and where they had the mods done. I bought a '14 1le and it had a few mods done and I love it. I bought it from a dealer so no paperwork on who did what but from what I could tell it was all bolt on stuff. I didn't want a car that had the engine opened open, I want to do that myself. Good luck and when you find one and you have worries, take it to a mechanic that you trust to check it out and if the seller won't allow it, I say walk away.

[jrhagen]

What was done, how it was done and by whom are just the start. I would say how it was used is equally important. I have had a few mods done, all professionally by highly respected shops and I have all the receipts. But the car hasn't been pampered. I beat the crap out of it. I know it can take but if something does break, I get it fixed.

You can have all the documentation in the world but you will never know how it was driven.

[Glassman66]

Good point on how hard it was driven. Your not gonna put all that into to it and let it sit in the garage.

[Glassman66]

BTW welcome, we need more representation from the Denver area.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the welcome!

[jrhagen]

Is it 4:20 yet?

[rontammy0]

Originally Posted by Glassman66

I've been looking at Camaros for 10 months. My finances are getting close to where I can pull the trigger.

It seems like you can get a nicely modded camaro for great prices. Having cam, long tubes, heads and a tune pretty reasonably.

My question is how do you know the precious owner did it right? You'd hate to have a cluster f##k on your hands.

What your opinion.

I'm looking at 2013-15 1le's.

Once you get into the motor you wont know anything until you contact the shop that did the work. If the owner did a cam himself I would think twice. At least a shop can tell you exactly what they did. Boltons shouldnt bother you to much.

[OHIOSS]

Get it up on a lift & have someone check it out thoroughly.

An example why:. I was hot to buy a 67 Camaro RS from an old man down the street. The exterior looked almost perfect with just some Rust showing below the top. The interior looked excellent I would have rated it an 8 out of 10. I was ready to hand over the money but I decided to have my cousin put it up on his lift and check it out from the underside. My cousin kept shaking his head but I wasn't sure if he was liking the car or hating it. Well he hated it, the body parts were all aftermarket except for the driver's side front fender.

The sheet metal fit was awful, huge weld seams & then 200LBS of roof sealer/tar. It was slathered between the body panels. Instead of trying to fit the body parts he got them close enough & then smeared the roof sealer to try to cover all of it up.

Hear is an 80+ year old guy that I have been his neighbor for over 30 years and he was ready to rip me off telling me that 90% of the car was original. I was so pissed off at the guy that I never spoke to him again. I think he is in a assisted living facility now & the Camera is still sitting in his garage covered with a sheet & nobody lives there now.

[SlingShot]

IMO never buy a modded car, there are many lower mile used to get. Modded you never know what your getting or what can of worms you'll be opening.

[lbls1]

I would not buy a modded car, simply because I do not have an assurance that the mods were done right. There are exceptions, however.

I would buy a dealer modded car, such as a SLP or Nickey Camaro, because I would have a warranty to back me up. When I spend a certain amount of money, I expect the car to operate flawlessly. Its hard to guarantee this with a modded car.

[Smokin19]

The saying "buyer beware" should be reworded to "buyer be cognizant". If you do your home work by researching and asking the right questions you could end up with the car of your dreams.

I have only done bolt on mods to my car and no engine mods. I take extremely good care of my car and don't abuse it. My car would be an excellent buy for someone, if I was selling it. They are out there.

[acammer]

I bought my car last summer with 16k miles on it and tasteful mods. It really does depend on the mods - in my case the car had quality parts, and they appeared to be well installed. For me, that's a win, the first things I would have done with this car were already handled - I netted a few thousand dollars worth of mods at no cost.

I do agree that modifications do usually equal someone that may run their car a little harder at times. I'm also a firm believer that there is a dramatic difference between running the car hard, the way it was designed, and all-out abusing a car. I run my car hard at times, but I certainly don't abuse it.

I also think that, for the most part, the guys that mod their cars are also the guys that tend to use good fluids, and keep them fresh. These guys tend to be more "aware" of what's going on with their cars, and less likely to tolerate issues.

Ultimately, there is no way to 100% know with a used car, modded or stock, what you're getting into. Make good observations, about both the car, and the seller, and see what you can learn. If you're not 100% comfortable, look for a different one. For me, I was comfortable with my seller, and the modifications on the car, and came out way ahead.

[Coleroad]

How do I feel about mods? I'm fine with it. I will not buy a car though that isn't stock. To me mods are something you do for yourself. You aren't going to recoup that money in a future transaction. Just my opinion