Help me decide on a Camaro
 

Hey Folks,

Happy to be here.

I'm 37 years old and it has been 20 years (depressing) since my last "muscle" car. I had a nice, rebuilt Mustang in high school and loved it. After highschool I did the family thing and essentially drove beaters ever since. I was happy driving beaters, too, but now we are financially comfortable and I'm going to get my dream muscle car again. Originally it was going to Mustang but I'm not crazy about the look of the newer Mustangs and I'm too impatient to wait and see what the 50th anniversary one looks like. Regardless, I love the look of the new Camaros.

I've been approved for up to 42k through my credit union and could put some cash down too. I stopped by the dealer today and told them this is what I'm looking for:

Convertible 1SS (8 cyl)
Black exterior - no stripes
Manual transmission
Dual perf exhaust
RS package (do not 100% need)

On their site it puts it at just under $40k with cloth seats. I'm not big on leather so could care less.

What I'm looking for opinions on, guys, is if I can convince myself to go to a 6 cylinder. Initially I say hell no. This is my dream car / muscle car and I want what I want. I'm keeping a little tin can Aveo to commute in and as a spare, so gas mileage isn't a huge issue. However, I'm not going to speed in the thing. I know you are all laughing but believe me, I train truck drivers for a living and cannot afford to have a ticket, so I won't be speeding. With that being said, do I really need the 8 cylinder? I know I'll get more power and start off quicker, but what else is the 8 cylinder good for?

Anyway, I stopped by the dealership today and told them what I was looking for. They had one close to what I wanted but it was $43k. Leather seats, heated seats, and a few other things. No interest. They are doing a locate to see if they can find me a match. The guy said most of the 1SS cars are leather because if someone is paying upwards of $40k they want leather. I told him I don't. I'm pretty particular about features.

What do you guys think I have for wiggle room in negotiation on price? I've done pretty good my last few cars. And this time around I have financing so I can walk out the door pretty easily.

Thanks.

Dave

Hey Dave! Open up to the idea of traveling for the right car. You may need to go on a 8 hour drive to find the perfect car. I paid 39K for SS2/RS convertible LS3. It had been sitting on the lot for almost a year and I drove from Mississippi to Georgia to get it.

Even if you don't want to travel, my advice is - don't compromise. Get exactly what you want. This is something you go all in on. You won't regret it later!

The other option, is to buy something "base" and customize to be exactly what you want. That's good too! Just don't compromise!

I would look for a used 2SS that is gently used , It's fully loaded and has everything you want plus more . And Can find one for about 30K , I dont know if you would be interested in that , But just a suggestion .

1SS is always cloth BTW. I've found that the dealer sometimes can't even get the packages and options figured out. Get the V8 if you want it to be the car you keep for a long time. You won't be disappointed.

I refuse to go used. Again, I drove beaters for 20 years. I had good luck with them and know some local guys that do work out of their garages, so I have always had small repair bills.

I drive my cars into the ground. I have no bug to upgrade. Depreciation doesn't matter. I know saving money is good but this is my dream car and it's going to be new.

Thanks for the suggestion on travel I may do that. I did feel a little brushed off when the guy realized he was going to have to do a locate for me. He said they could build one exactly as I wanted but it would take 8 weeks. That's not really a problem. I would love to be driving it when I go on vacation in a week, but I'm a patient person and could wait if I had to. I'm going to expand my search, though.

Order a new one just like you want it then. Read up on the vert's Ive heard they have issues. My opinion is get it loaded. 2SS/RS. RS for sure. If you want manual then get it. My car is loaded, but the one thing I could do without is the sunroof. I would rather have a little more headroom. If you want a vert then that is N/A.
Also 66 in a 65 is speeding. Are you sure about a car that moves down the road like these Camaro's do?

If this is your dream car then absolutely don't compromise. I was brushed off too. I've never seen a salesman less interested in selling a $40k car. He just messed around for a week saying that he would call me back when he found one with a manual shift. So in the mean time, I found one, drove to Georgia and bought it.

Maybe make it part of your vacation!

A guy on C5 told me about my ABM 1SS beauty. I called the dealership, and bought her sight unseen. She was exactly what I had wanted. Went to uShip and got her shipped to me for a good price. Get what you want! That's what it's all about. And if you want to be her one and only, then BE her one and only! ;-)

And get the SS....when you say "I know I'll get more power and start off quicker, but what else is the 8 cylinder good for?"...well HEY...that's WHAT it's good for! And it's really, really, REALLY good for that! EVERYTIME I put my foot to the floor, my permagrin comes back. It's just FUN!

Order that new car and get exactly what you want. It is a big investment you are about to make and I would hate to settle for less than I wanted. I ordered my 1LE and got it exactly the way I wanted it.

Test drive a 6 and an 8 to see which engine is "right" for you. It can help you to narrow down your choices.

Used 2SS

Do it right the first time and buy a V8. If you can afford it definitely buy new over used, new makes ownership that much more fun. I'd buy new, just they don't make any colors I really like on the new ones.

I bought a 1LS and slapped a supercharger on it. I'm in for under 30K and can still run with the pack and get 30 mpg on the hwy.

John B.

...I get 27 mpg at a steady 65 in my LS3. Did that on my trip down to and back from NJ. 500 miles all together. Not saying the 1LS is a bad car but the SS models can get some miles per gallon if you don;t treat the gas pedal like an on/off switch.

Personally I wouldn't get a 4,000 lb Camaro that has a naturally aspirated V6. 300 bhp is nothing to sneeze at, it's what many V8 muscle cars were really doing back in the day-when they rated hp it was usually gross, not net or brake, and the V6 manages it, which is pretty damn impressive.

Dave, today is not forever. Get the car your heart says you want, the V8. We'll all be worm food too soon so live a little

OH, PS, hi from an ex-Boston resident and Boston native, I moved down rte. 138 to Canton a few years back