First car search

[cowboy casey]

I have told my son's they can have whatever car they want, they have to pay have the car payment and insurance.. With that said, I have steered them to get a great running "new" 4 cylinder car... Why you ask... You can drive the wheels off them, they are safe, and they get great gas mileage..

Would you rather drive your car 5 days a month because it costs you 60 dollars just to fill the gas tank...

OR

Drive 25 days a month and cost the same in gas

With that said, the choice is yours, we can only give you advise

here is a pretty nice gen 4 Z28 right down the street from you for 5500.. it is going to cost you in repairs, gas, and insurance. But it looks "cool"
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/spt_che...ting=127996270

for the same price you can get a nice safe car that is going to get great gas mileage and with a little work can look "cool".. it will last another 100,000 miles with little to no work on it..

my first car was a F100 ford truck and my second car was a Camaro

[Joseph1LE]

I'd rather have an LS1 powered 4th gen than a V6 5th gen any day. Lol at the guy who said 4th gens are ugly. And for 7-8k you can get yourself a very nice one with decent mileage and still have some money left over. I still miss my 4th gen.

[pyroguy]

Originally Posted by 91Zman

btw the 2nd one is an SS/RS not an LT RS.

Check the speedometer, and brakes. The 2nd one is a V6 with a SS front end.

OP, I understand that a first car is a special car. However, it is not important that your first car be your dream car. When I was your age I thought it needed to be, but I had a weather beaten '84 Chevy Caprice Classic that was uglier than sin, but got me from point A to point B. When I replaced it I posted something about my new ride on Facebook and all of my friends from high school freaked on me, they loved my old Caprice. It's not about the car, it's about the person.

Good luck in your search. The V6 is a heck of a car with GREAT gas mileage for the power. If you can save your money and find it, there's no replacement for displacement! Get a SS if you can handle the responsibility of driving like a sane person. If I'd had a car like that at 16 I'd be dead right now. As others have said, you might be able to get a '04-06 GTO for closer to your price range. They're a lot of fun, just don't get an automatic.

[paul84043]

I drove nothing but $500 pieces of crap until I was almost 40.

Edit.

Had a 77 T/A when I enlisted in the army and it ended up like you would expect a nice car owned by a young person.
Wife wrapped it around a tree because she couldn't handle it.

[YoungCamaroHopeful]

My uncle has a dealer license and he says that he can get car for wholesale prices. I don't know much about this and it almost sound to good to be true. Does anyone know anything about dealer licenses and getting cars at wholesale prices.

[rebelyell22]

Originally Posted by 91Zman

1st one would be the only choice with a 10k budget,as said you still need an additional 3k down payment on top of the asking price..btw the 2nd one is an SS/RS not an LT RS.

It's a 2LT. I'd bet anything it was wrecked and they put a SS bumper on it.

[MikosV6]

I much rather have a V6 5th gen than a huge minivan inspired front windshield-can barely see the friggen hood when driving it 4th gen. Forget the 4th gen and perhaps think about getting a nice clean 3rd gen. You can still find them for rock bottom prices and they're a lot easier to work on compared to the half way hidden under the cowl engine in the 4th gen.

However, if you somehow find more cash to step into a 5th gen, the V6 model is a terrific buy and offers a lot of value for the money. 300+hp with 30+mpg is pretty tough to beat.

[GMTool]

Buy a one owner used car with low miles that is not expensive. Take pride in taking care of it, maintaining it, keeping it reliable and learning how cars tick. Later in life when you are older and wiser and ready to buy a (cool) car, you won't have to ask an internet forum for advice. You will already know what to do.

[Joseph1LE]

Originally Posted by MikosV6

I much rather have a V6 5th gen than a huge minivan inspired front windshield-can barely see the friggen hood when driving it 4th gen. Forget the 4th gen and perhaps think about getting a nice clean 3rd gen. You can still find them for rock bottom prices and they're a lot easier to work on compared to the half way hidden under the cowl engine in the 4th gen.

However, if you somehow find more cash to step into a 5th gen, the V6 model is a terrific buy and offers a lot of value for the money. 300+hp with 30+mpg is pretty tough to beat.

Your V6 must have had bus lengths put on it by some 4th gens for you to have so much hate towards them I was able to see out of my 4th gens fine. The 5th gen has a much worse reputation for visibility. I'd rather an LS powered car with a "minivan inspired windshield" as you say it (because that really matters a whole lot huh), than a generic 3.6 that's shared with almost every other GM vehicle except the trucks that they dropped into a Camaro and called it a "muscle car".

[MikosV6]

Originally Posted by Joseph1LE

Your V6 must have had bus lengths put on it by some 4th gens for you to have so much hate towards them I was able to see out of my 4th gens fine. The 5th gen has a much worse reputation for visibility. I'd rather an LS powered car with a "minivan inspired windshield" as you say it (because that really matters a whole lot huh), than a generic 3.6 that's shared with almost every other GM vehicle except the trucks that they dropped into a Camaro and called it a "muscle car".

Come on, just admit it. The 4th gen is unfortunately the ugliest Camaro ever made. The only ones that look somewhat decent are the '98+ SS models. Still, they are an ugly wart in the lineage of what is known as the F-body compared to the beautiful designs that came before and what came after.

When I drive a pony car or sports car GT, I want to be able to see the hood and not feel like I'm driving a soccer mom minivan with a huge dead praying mantis at the base of the windshield. It's not that I don't like the 4th gen because they are so fast. Heck, my little 'ole V6 has more factory rated HP than they do. It's because they don't seem to be aging that well as the generations that came before or the smashing success that came after.

Anyway, why would you flare the rear side mirrors into the fenders like that? Talk about a major styling FUBAR especially when viewed at a 3/4 angle from the front. That's the ugliest styling feature I have ever seen on a car and they did it to one of my most favorite cars back in '93 when the 4th gen rolled out.

Why couldn't they just have released a production version of the GTZ Camaro concept they had back in the mid 80's? That car looked amazing and even today, still looks great.

As for the generic 3.6L comment. Well, with the new 335hp LSX 3.6L coming out in the new lighter 6th gen, that poor old Gen III LS engine in your 4th gen is simply outclassed and out muscled by a generic rental car engine that gets 30+ mpg. Yeah it sucks, but technology always marches on.

[Joseph1LE]

Originally Posted by MikosV6

Come on, just admit it. The 4th gen is unfortunately the ugliest Camaro ever made. The only ones that look somewhat decent are the '98+ SS models. Still, they are an ugly wart in the lineage of what is known as the F-body compared to the beautiful designs that came before and what came after.

When I drive a pony car or sports car GT, I want to be able to see the hood and not feel like I'm driving a soccer mom minivan with a huge dead praying mantis at the base of the windshield. It's not that I don't like the 4th gen because they are so fast. Heck, my little 'ole V6 has more factory rated HP than they do. It's because they don't seem to be aging that well as the generations that came before or the smashing success that came after.

Anyway, why would you flare the rear side mirrors into the fenders like that? Talk about a major styling FUBAR especially when viewed at a 3/4 angle from the front. That's the ugliest styling feature I have ever seen on a car and they did it to one of my most favorite cars back in '93 when the 4th gen rolled out.

Why couldn't they just have released a production version of the GTZ Camaro concept they had back in the mid 80's? That car looked amazing and even today, still looks great.

As for the generic 3.6L comment. Well, with the new 335hp LSX 3.6L coming out in the new lighter 6th gen, that poor old Gen III LS engine in your 4th gen is simply outclassed and out muscled by a generic rental car engine that gets 30+ mpg. Yeah it sucks, but technology always marches on.

Damn someone is salty haha. 335hp, so still less HP and heavier than a gen 4 f-body. Your V6 has more factory rated hp and still runs 14s and can't trap 100mph meanwhile 15 year old LS1s are trapping 107-108mph with the best examples touching high 12s at 109-110mph. That is a HUGE difference. It is still one of the best bang for your buck performance cars on a budget. V6 car suspension and cornering ability is nothing even remotely special either. The gen 6 V6 Camaro still can't outrun an LS1 car either. All these false performance claims and personal opinions about the looks of the car because you're butt hurt that a 4th gen will drag your ass. 18 years after the initial release of the LS1 in the Camaro/Firebird the 4th gen f-body still has an INSANELY huge following, but I guess it's just for no reason huh. Thousands upon thousands of happy owners and thousands of great looking well built, very fast cars that your V6 will never even get even a little bit close to being able to run with at any point ever. No need to even discuss how much of a beast the 4th gen was back in it's day. So all you can bring up are weak arguments about styling that are based solely on personal opinion even though you are the first person I've ever seen despite being in the f-body seen for years complain about something as silly as the side mirrors... That's laughable. The praying mantis on the hood was not a new thing with the 4th gen either. I could see out of mine just fine, you must be 4ft tall to have had issues seeing out of it and over the hood. I really don't get why there has to be so much hate between 4th gen and 5th gen owners from both sides. Seems whenever both are brought up in conversation someone always has some silly unfounded BS to say about one car or the other.

[chuckstacamaro]

I'd be careful about a Craigslist Great Deal from the Miami Area.. There are a lot of scammers especially in Miami and Craigslist. And 10K is too good of a deal to be Real. Save your money for the car of your Dreams. or if you can afford a Certified used Camaro from a reputable Dealer use the 10k as a down payment and finance the rest to build your credit rating. Good Luck.

[YoungCamaroHopeful]

Does anyone know much about dealer license bought cars at wholesale prices. They seem almost to good to be true has anyone bought their car this way or does anyone know about this method of buying?
Thanks so much for all the input

[ZED SLED]

If you go 4th gen get a Firebird.