Longtime Mustang fan now thrilled to own a Camaro...

[Trailnut]

Good choice and welcome!

[LilTart]

GREAT CHOICE AND PERFECT COLOR!! I love mine!

[Trailnut]

Me three

[BigBoyBlue]

Originally Posted by Stormwalker

A few months ago, if you'd asked me, I'd have sworn I would never buy a Camaro. And I'd have sworn I'd never buy a white car. Funny how things change...

I grew up with Mustangs. My dad had a '65 when I was a kid, and I adored that car. I was brokenhearted when he had to sell it (it had electrical issues, it was his daily driver, and he needed something reliable). He promised me he'd buy me one when I was old enough.

He kept that promise... when I turned 15, we went looking for Mustangs. He didn't have a lot of money then, but he found me a project I could work on - a '65 coupe with a 289 that he got an incredible deal on. I drove that car for a lot of years, and put a lot of love into it. Eventually I realized it just wasn't practical enough for me to drive every day, and I've been through a few cars since then - a '93 Dodge Shadow ES I got secondhand, a Kia Rio that was all I could afford at the time (and got totaled less than a year later when I got rear-ended by a guy with no insurance), and finally a 2007 Chevy Cobalt.

I could have had the SS, should have bought the SS. Have regretted not buying the SS since. Especially since the non-SS Cobalts have possibly the worst clutch ever created by mankind.

I'd made a lot of financial mistakes over the years, and it's taken me a long time to climb out of the holes I dug myself during those times. Now, finally, I have, and armed with good credit and a well-paying job, I had laid plans to buy one of the new 2015 Mustangs when they come out.

Then my Cobalt started showing signs of the air conditioner going out. And the clutch acting up (again). I started thinking that I don't want to end up replacing a compressor or a clutch and dropping $1500 on a car I plan to get rid of in a few months.

But, I knew, the 2014 Mustangs just didn't have what I wanted. Like, you know, independent rear-suspension and a decent interior. By contrast... I'd read enough reviews to know the Camaro did offer what I was looking for.

I'd always looked at Camaros through Mustang-fanboy eyes. Which is to say I'd never really taken them seriously. I'd seen the Gen 5 Camaro when it came out, and my thought on it at the time was that it had really nice lines but I hated the front and back.

The front and back have changed a lot since 2010, though, and I like them a lot better now. So, I told myself, maybe it was time to give the Camaro a fair shake. And while I had my Cobalt in for the recall service, I decided to look at them.

I looked at red ones, and black ones, and they were much prettier than I remembered them being from photos and the ones I'd seen on the streets. The changes for 2014 really improved the appearance of the car in my eyes (yes, I do like the 2014 taillights, but that's far from the only difference that jumps out at me)

And then I saw a white one. And, oh my goodness if this car isn't gorgeous in Summit White .

So... I had the dealer rustle me up an SS with a manual in white. It had to be a manual... performance of modern automatics be damned, I like shifting gears. They actually had one on the lot, a 2014 2SS/RS.

I fell in love on the test drive. It was the car I'd always wanted and never realized it.

Truthfully, I probably paid a little more than I should have. I'm not the greatest negotiator, though I do know enough to argue the sale price before the financing and such, and I almost certainly could have gotten a better deal if I'd shopped around more. But I didn't pay MSRP, either, so I didn't get completely ripped off. If I paid too much, so be it. This car puts a huge grin on my face every time I drive her... and I plan to be driving her for a good long time.

I've only got one good picture right now, one I took at work when I was showing her off to my boss. There'll be more after I give her a good, careful wash (always a challenge when you live in an apartment, but I've seen some great suggestions on these forums about how to do it right even under those circumstances. That's one of the reasons I signed up).

I also did the fuse pull last night after running her second tank of 93 octane (I'm 99.9% sure the dealer was running 87 in her), and maybe it's my imagination, but it does seem to have made a difference. Idles smoother, I'm definitely getting better mileage (small sample size, though), and seems to pull a bit harder.

So... here she is, my pride and joy. Any other advice to a new Camaro SS owner I should keep in mind? Thanks to all of y'all who have contributed to these great forums, reading through the threads here has been very educational thus far.

Welcome. Looks sexy as all hell. I love white.

I too was more of a Mustang fan than Camaro, although I was not a fan boy either way. I would've taken a stock C6 over a Shelby. I love all American Muscle, although I wouldn't buy MOPAR.

I actually liked the interior better on my 2012 Mustang GT Premium with premium interior ($39k car) over my ZL1's interior ($59k car) by a large margin. To each their own.

[Philar299]

Welcome!!

A family friend had a mustang, which led me to get my 2008 mustang, but then it was killing me on gas everyday so i got a Ford focus. Now i'm getting a Summit White camaro.

Congrats!

[DroptopZ]

Welcome to the Summit White club! Our membership is exclusive and our perma-grins are just ever so slightly bigger than the rest. Heh! J/K.... but seriously, excellent choice on the Camaro.

I love the 5.0's, too... they have tempted me from time to time, but I haven't been able to bring myself to trade in my baby and after 4 years next month, driving the Camaro STILL plasters a grin on my face from ear to ear.

[Libertypilot]

Congrats man and awesome story! I think white on any car is naturally classy but when you put in on a Camaro you get it's lines natural badassery combined with the elegant white and it's combination is super eye-catching! I'm trying to get my silver ice one to do kinda the same thing: badass elegance - but the white just nails it! Congrats again and welcome.

[wakespeak]

Originally Posted by Stormwalker

A few months ago, if you'd asked me, I'd have sworn I would never buy a Camaro. And I'd have sworn I'd never buy a white car. Funny how things change...

I grew up with Mustangs. My dad had a '65 when I was a kid, and I adored that car. I was brokenhearted when he had to sell it (it had electrical issues, it was his daily driver, and he needed something reliable). He promised me he'd buy me one when I was old enough.

He kept that promise... when I turned 15, we went looking for Mustangs. He didn't have a lot of money then, but he found me a project I could work on - a '65 coupe with a 289 that he got an incredible deal on. I drove that car for a lot of years, and put a lot of love into it. Eventually I realized it just wasn't practical enough for me to drive every day, and I've been through a few cars since then - a '93 Dodge Shadow ES I got secondhand, a Kia Rio that was all I could afford at the time (and got totaled less than a year later when I got rear-ended by a guy with no insurance), and finally a 2007 Chevy Cobalt.

I could have had the SS, should have bought the SS. Have regretted not buying the SS since. Especially since the non-SS Cobalts have possibly the worst clutch ever created by mankind.

I'd made a lot of financial mistakes over the years, and it's taken me a long time to climb out of the holes I dug myself during those times. Now, finally, I have, and armed with good credit and a well-paying job, I had laid plans to buy one of the new 2015 Mustangs when they come out.

Then my Cobalt started showing signs of the air conditioner going out. And the clutch acting up (again). I started thinking that I don't want to end up replacing a compressor or a clutch and dropping $1500 on a car I plan to get rid of in a few months.

But, I knew, the 2014 Mustangs just didn't have what I wanted. Like, you know, independent rear-suspension and a decent interior. By contrast... I'd read enough reviews to know the Camaro did offer what I was looking for.

I'd always looked at Camaros through Mustang-fanboy eyes. Which is to say I'd never really taken them seriously. I'd seen the Gen 5 Camaro when it came out, and my thought on it at the time was that it had really nice lines but I hated the front and back.

The front and back have changed a lot since 2010, though, and I like them a lot better now. So, I told myself, maybe it was time to give the Camaro a fair shake. And while I had my Cobalt in for the recall service, I decided to look at them.

I looked at red ones, and black ones, and they were much prettier than I remembered them being from photos and the ones I'd seen on the streets. The changes for 2014 really improved the appearance of the car in my eyes (yes, I do like the 2014 taillights, but that's far from the only difference that jumps out at me)

And then I saw a white one. And, oh my goodness if this car isn't gorgeous in Summit White .

So... I had the dealer rustle me up an SS with a manual in white. It had to be a manual... performance of modern automatics be damned, I like shifting gears. They actually had one on the lot, a 2014 2SS/RS.

I fell in love on the test drive. It was the car I'd always wanted and never realized it.

Truthfully, I probably paid a little more than I should have. I'm not the greatest negotiator, though I do know enough to argue the sale price before the financing and such, and I almost certainly could have gotten a better deal if I'd shopped around more. But I didn't pay MSRP, either, so I didn't get completely ripped off. If I paid too much, so be it. This car puts a huge grin on my face every time I drive her... and I plan to be driving her for a good long time.

I've only got one good picture right now, one I took at work when I was showing her off to my boss. There'll be more after I give her a good, careful wash (always a challenge when you live in an apartment, but I've seen some great suggestions on these forums about how to do it right even under those circumstances. That's one of the reasons I signed up).

I also did the fuse pull last night after running her second tank of 93 octane (I'm 99.9% sure the dealer was running 87 in her), and maybe it's my imagination, but it does seem to have made a difference. Idles smoother, I'm definitely getting better mileage (small sample size, though), and seems to pull a bit harder.

So... here she is, my pride and joy. Any other advice to a new Camaro SS owner I should keep in mind? Thanks to all of y'all who have contributed to these great forums, reading through the threads here has been very educational thus far.

Congrats - I also have white and think it looks great. Be careful parking that close to a curb! Usually there isn't enough clearance.

[SabotAndHeat]

Welcome.

[87GNX]

In reality the mustang and camaro as of today, are both equally nice. Nice ride op.

[PalmerGA]

That is one beautiful car, my friend. No Mustang could ever match the sex-appeal these cars have. Congrats and welcome to C5!

[Q'smuscle]

Originally Posted by PalmerGA

That is one beautiful car, my friend. No Mustang could ever match the sex-appeal these cars have. Congrats and welcome to C5!

[JDP Sales]

Congrats and welcome to the dark side! Love the color too!

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007

[CamaroTom]

Nice Machine! Congrats

Did you look at getting a 1LE? I see you got the manual that's why I ask.