Later VIN Number=Better Camaro? Just wondering.

[rray200]

Having read all of these numerous problems with this car (Paint problems, rattling in the dash, tranny issues, etc.), I'm wondering, is GM addressing the TSBs while building these cars? If they do, then I'm thinking the newer vin number cars will have fewer issues than the ones built earlier. I'm planning on maybe getting an SS in the summer. So I'm wondering about this. Lately, I have mostly been reading only the problems/issues part of the newsgroup to get an idea of the reliability of this car. Seems like some folks have zero issues, while others have had a real rough time with this car. Still love the Camaro. But I want to be sure I get the best possible one if I make the jump. So will a later VIN number car make a big difference in terms of build quality and TSBs addressed?

[The_Blur]

There are always going to be small problems. Think about it this way. The guys that build these cars are as good as you are at your job. If you make mistakes at work, you can bet that there will be the occasional problem. That's what warranties cover. Getting a car later won't necessarily mean that your car is built with superior engineering. It has just as much a likelihood of problems as any car in that model year.

I will point out that first year cars tend to have more problems than any other car in a generation.

[camaro5]

Later VIN Number=Better Camaro?

Absolutely.

[MikeZ28]

I hope GM improves the new Camaro, 'cause in general I'm hearing of too many little problems on the 5th gen on this and other boards. When I buy a new car, I really expect it to be defect-free, or I'm going to be disappointed. My '95 Z28 and '00 Z28 were both defect-free at delivery, as far as I could tell, and didn't have any reliability problems early in life. The electric air pump on the '95 was a little loud so I had it replaced.

The whole point of having a new car is that it should look great (paint) and everything works like it's supposed to. I think cars are getting too complex in both design and features, so much so that basic reliability is suffering.

[rray200]

Originally Posted by MikeZ28

I hope GM improves the new Camaro, 'cause in general I'm hearing of too many little problems on the 5th gen on this and other boards. When I buy a new car, I really expect it to be defect-free, or I'm going to be disappointed. My '95 Z28 and '00 Z28 were both defect-free at delivery, as far as I could tell, and didn't have any reliability problems early in life. The electric air pump on the '95 was a little loud so I had it replaced.

The whole point of having a new car is that it should look great (paint) and everything works like it's supposed to. I think cars are getting too complex in both design and features, so much so that basic reliability is suffering.

I totally agree with you there. Nothing is worse than dropping thousands of dollars on a car that you have to constantly get warranty work done on. That really takes away from the ownership experience.

However, I think GM is addressing some problems along the way in manufacturing. The one thing I noticed on all of the early vin number Camaro's was the excessive orange peel in the paint. Over the weekend, I went over to a local Chev dealer to look at some just arrived Camaro's on the lot and they didn't have as much orange peel as before. One was Imperial Blue Metallic and the other one was black, and both had far better looking paint than the earlier Camaro's I saw. And it was typically the darker colour cars that had the worst orange peel.

[Indpowr]

Vin 3419 here and 11k miles 0 issues!

[HeavyD]

Sometimes the later VINs will get problems too as they start to find ways to cut more corners and skimp out on stuff, like thinner materials, or less casting, whatever.

[Angrybird 12]

Generally speaking yes, but sometimes GM has to change suppliers of parts and until that supplier works out the bugs there could be problems in that area..

I got one of the first Saturn Skys built, Vin 253, it had many small problems and one large one (rear end leaking) A year and a half later I bought a 2008 Sky new and had only one of the issues the first one had (trunk leak), but I did have a couple new ones the first one never had... bad cup holder, misalligned trunk.

[PAUL SS]

Theoretically, the more you do something the better you should be able to do it. There a lot of variables in a mass produced automobile. You can only use so many robots to build a car, so the human factor will always be there. Then there design changes and possibly changes in the supply chain. I really don't think that Camaro's built today are measurably any better than when mine was built in late July.

[RedJewelrsss32]

VIN 39542 Have no issues. The longer this car is produced the more refined it will become.

[multiSS]

97XX. SS LS3 M6 no issues.

[Edrock]

20,8XX and has only been in the shop for an oil change and application of the TSB dealing with HVAC recalibration, loose spoiler, rice crispy sound in heater core. This update was pretty common to all Camaros under 25,000 VIN# I believe. All very minor issues though and only taken care of because they had the car during the oil change. No effort on my part. Very pleased so far!

[HeavyD]

I would think too that some of the molds and dies would start to wear out and maybe get sloppy. Some of the robots pivots joints might have some wear and so they aren't as precise over the course of time? Workers get complacent in their jobs, who knows?

[2010 SSRS]

No problems at all with mine