Gen 5 Newb: Researching purchase

[JCunningham]

in your price range you can easily find a 2LT RS get one with a back up camera.

[Soybeanrice]

Alright I'll elaborate. The 6th gen has a much better user interface with the mylink system. It is much more polished than the version we have in the fifth gen. The 6th gen also comes with different selectable driving modes based on the weather.. Being a daily and it snows in PA, I'm sure you'll appreciate the snow driving mode.

The 6th gen camaros are also more modular. You can upgrade components later from the dealership. There is a huge selection of accessories in comparison to what was offered on the fifth.

The interior is also more modern. There is a ton of hard plastic in the fifth gen. It is essentially an LS, a 21 thousand dollar car with the option of leather seats and a hud. In the 6th gen, much of the hard plastics are changed to a composite material that feels so much better.

The 6th gens smoothed body lines also means that dents will not be as severe and much easier to fix via PDR. There's just so many positives... The fifth gen is nice, yes. But it's certainly dated. Youre buying a car for your wife and it's a present. Give her something modern.

Save for half a year and save yourself the what if. Don't leave room for regret. You don't buy a car with the intent of trading it in later do you? And if you did, what model would hold up value better?

[Flotek]

I just bought a new 2015 black v6 rally sport 1lt last month with zero miles for 21,900$
It's possible and the dealers are making great deals on left over 2015 models to clear the lot for the 2016s coming in. I bought it with no trade and got 9 grand in rebates and incentives . I put ten grand down on it and financed the rest at 2.9 % . My payment is 179$ s month and I have the car I always wanted. I live in nw Pa and always go over to Ohio to buy my vehicles . I use only large gm dealerships ..They are always way cheaper and willing to bargain . I have found the bigger the dealer the better deal you will get when it comes to buying new cars. Get a 2012-up model so you have the improved lfx engine instead of the llt one and don't buy an ls version they have different gearing smaller wheels and missing all the good beneficial stuff you'll really want .

[JimMC]

Thanks for taking the time to type all of that out! It's definitely something to consider. I don't think it will see snow unless a surprise storm shows up. We plan on putting it away over winter as I do with my Challenger. That is, as long as her Grand Cherokee stays running.

I was thinking about that but have not run it by her yet. I don't know about saving but I get a yearly bonus in March/April that usually amounts to a few grand. Throw that in on top of our tax refund and it would make a nice down payment. If somehow I can save a little more over the course of a year, all the better. Should definitely allow us to get something newer assuming she doesn't mind waiting until then. Maybe even get a better deal on a leftover 2016 then, too

Originally Posted by Flotek

I just bought a new 2015 black v6 rally sport 1lt last month with zero miles for 21,900$
It's possible and the dealers are making great deals on left over 2015 models to clear the lot for the 2016s coming in....I use only large gm dealerships ..They are always way cheaper and willing to bargain . I have found the bigger the dealer the better deal you will get when it comes to buying new cars.

Looks nice (how'd ya get it to park like that? secret option? )

Any tips on determining which dealers move the most cars. I know some of the bigger dealerships around Philly but don't really know Central PA dealerships that well.

[jcampos]

Originally Posted by flyer08

2010 synergy is out since they were manual only. Finding a 2011 may be hard but not impossible. I see at least four here in San Antonio including my wife's.

For $25k you may be able o find a left over '15 but will take lots of searching.

Not trying to high jack your thread OP.

flyer08, I think I may have seen your car around, do you live in the North East area of SA? Jw... just thought I'd say howdy.

[gpskinzhut]

Originally Posted by JimMC

[LIST=1][*]Spending $25K at most. No more. Pricing on the 2016s seems to be ridiculous, so a new one is out. Maybe that's a regional thing but I'm not paying $30 grand for a friggin LT with a 6 cylinder. Local dealer is asking $28K for his cheapest 1LT all the way up to another 1LT for $30K. Crazy.[*]Has to have an auto trans and a 6 cylinder. She doesn't need the power of the V8 or reduced MPGs, since it will be a DD while the weather is good. Car will be garaged during winter. The only way the AT/6cyl combo won't happen is if there's a ridiculous deal out there and the car has the 8 cyl and/or manual trans.

They're new, kinda going to be like that when you load em up. You can get '16 1LT's for well under 25k. Not sure how well they're equipped. Quick Cars.com search returned a ton of em.

If you're going to go 5th gen, I'd do 2012+, end up with the LFX, MyLink, etc.

[arkentect]

You can buy my 2010 Synergy Green 1LT. She's a manual though, 1 of 406 made

[JimMC]

Originally Posted by gpskinzhut

They're new, kinda going to be like that when you load em up. You can get '16 1LT's for well under 25k. Not sure how well they're equipped. Quick Cars.com search returned a ton of em.

If you're going to go 5th gen, I'd do 2012+, end up with the LFX, MyLink, etc.

Pretty sure we're going to hold off buying until tax time next year. Will have more money available for a down payment then and it should allow me to buy either a low mileage 2015 or leftover 2016 depending on whether we decide on a Gen 5 or Gen 6.

Originally Posted by arkentect

You can buy my 2010 Synergy Green 1LT. She's a manual though, 1 of 406 made

Yeah, manual trans is a killer. Wife knows how to drive a stick, in fact her first car was a manual trans, but I don't need to deal with the clutch issues that will no doubt come with buying her a manual trans car now.

[JimMC]

Hehe...just came across this old thread. The time has come. We're going to start looking and I imagine it will be a new 2017. Things happened since I last posted that has left me with little to no down payment $$$, so I guess we'll be looking at a LT1.

[redcoats1976]

if you can hold out till august there will be deals to be had.probably a few 2016s left if you want a more highly optioned car.let us know how you do...

[uvraise]

Originally Posted by JimMC

All...could use the collective wisdom of the forum to help me choose a car for my wife. She's been patient and as we just had our 24th anniversary, I told her we could afford to get her a Camaro, her dream car.

Since I've not kept an eye on Camaros since the reintroduction in 2010, I could use all the help I can get and have some questions. But first, here's what I'm looking for and am willing to spend.

1. Spending $25K at most. No more. Pricing on the 2016s seems to be ridiculous, so a new one is out. Maybe that's a regional thing but I'm not paying $30 grand for a friggin LT with a 6 cylinder. Local dealer is asking $28K for his cheapest 1LT all the way up to another 1LT for $30K. Crazy.
2. Has to have an auto trans and a 6 cylinder. She doesn't need the power of the V8 or reduced MPGs, since it will be a DD while the weather is good. Car will be garaged during winter. The only way the AT/6cyl combo won't happen is if there's a ridiculous deal out there and the car has the 8 cyl and/or manual trans.
3. She loves Synergy Green (2010/2011) but I'm sure she'd look at other colors if it meant getting something newer than a 2011.

So my questions...

• Are there any years between 2011-2015 that should be avoided straight out because there were major problems that aren't worth screwing around with?
• Are there any issues that seem to keep cropping up each model year that I should know about. Not major things necessarily, but stuff that I should be aware of.
• Any years, models, features to avoid? For instance, WJ Grand Cherokees had known issues with auto blend doors breaking and it costing major $ to have a dealer fix, or lots of busted knuckles and 4 letter words if you tried to DIY it. Buy one w/o auto climate control and you didn't have to worry about it.

Using cars.com and looking at local car dealers, I've come across a couple possibles...

First is a 2013 LT2 that has about 30K miles on it and a price tag of $21K. Pretty nice looking, has some extra options like the backup cam and NAV.

Second one is a 2014 LT1 that has only 2K miles and goes for $25K, right at my limit. Not as nicely equipped as the 2013, but is newer and has far less miles. It has the MyLink radio but no mention of backup cam or NAV, which I guess is to be expected since it has the LT1 package. Is it possible to add the CAM & NAV? If so, how tough of a job is it?

Any info or opinions would be appreciated. Thinking I have the usual dilemma or a newer car, less equipped vs an older model with more features/gadgets. Thanks!

My two cents. Join as many websites as you can, some even notify you when a match for your search is found. Don't limit your self to PA. I live in Philly and bought mine from Houston Texas, had it shipped for $600. It's a little uneasy buying "sight unseen", but the negotiating process is the same as if you went to a dealership. If you get a good salesperson, they'll give you all the info and pictures you'll need to make a sound decision. After all the back and forth, I ended up with a price about $8K lower than they were asking on the local lots for the same car same mileage.

[Spec]

Driving a V8 takes a bit more self control for sure... but it should not be a deal breaker. These cars are very forgiving and although you can tear tires to shreds, you can drive it like a four banger if you want all day long... especially since literally, the L99 (Automatic Version of the V8) turns off 4 cylinders in every day traffic. This is something you can turn off with 3rd party added options, or a tune (which you will not want to do if you're under warranty - read up on that some more).

Its nice knowing the power is there when you need it even though you never have to use it.

Good luck with your purchase... I own a 10... still, and couldn't be happier. Its been very reliable although at around 83k I busted a valve spring and rocker. No warranty, but it only cost me 500 to repair... that's another plus, how relatively easy and cheap it is to work on these cars.

[uvraise]

Originally Posted by Spec

Driving a V8 takes a bit more self control for sure... but it should not be a deal breaker. These cars are very forgiving and although you can tear tires to shreds, you can drive it like a four banger if you want all day long... especially since literally, the L99 (Automatic Version of the V8) turns off 4 cylinders in every day traffic. This is something you can turn off with 3rd party added options, or a tune (which you will not want to do if you're under warranty - read up on that some more).

Its nice knowing the power is there when you need it even though you never have to use it.

Good luck with your purchase... I own a 10... still, and couldn't be happier. Its been very reliable although at around 83k I busted a valve spring and rocker. No warranty, but it only cost me 500 to repair... that's another plus, how relatively easy and cheap it is to work on these cars.

And a sharp looking 10!

[Spec]

Originally Posted by uvraise

And a sharp looking 10!

Thank you sir... for sure, you take care of these rides they will take care of you... a little love is all it takes...