Some UK Camaro Questions - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Arizada · 03-13-2013, 05:53 AM

Hello all,

I am hoping to get a 2013 Camaro SS soon, it's been my dream car for years now! I am financially stable and from the looks of things, I will get one in about 2 years, maybe less WOOO!

I am just curious about a few things though:

1. How is this huge beast of a car on English roads? It will be a daily driver also, the only car I will own. I live in Devon, so ALOT of B-roads. But the A-roads are easily reached, so I could just stick to them I guess.

2. Can it fit into UK garages? When I own my Camaro, I will then begin renting a house with a garage to keep my baby safe. But do Camaros fit alright in them?

3. Left Hand Drive. I have read through a thread about that on here already. You guys have made me feel pretty confident about it, but shouldn't I have a few LHD lessons? Or do you not need them at all? Do I just go out there in my new Camaro and feel things for myself?

4. In 2 years, when I get my Camaro, I will be 26. I will have had my lisense for just 5 years, and owned just one car. My record is perfect, no accidents ect.
Will being so young and inexperienced matter?

5. Which then brings me onto my final question. Insurance? It's going to kill me isn't it? Eek. I have the Pass Plus under my belt, but that probably won't be enough to help me. INSURANCE COST is the only thing I am REALLY worried about.

stray bullitt · 03-13-2013, 10:20 AM

Hi there Arizada, If you're dreaming of driving something more exclusive on the road, than the usual Beemer, Audi, Merc, fayre, then I can tell you you won't be disappointed. The interiors and switchgear probably don't have the most exquisite finish, but are by no means horrible. Stuff llike the Head Up Display, I have found to be more useful than I would have imagined, and everything else has performed perfectly for the last 2 years since I bought mine.
With regard to driving on English roads, I have found no problem with the size of the car at all. (it has about the same footprint as a BMW 5 series). You do however need to get used to thinking that the huge bonnet is not actually on the opposite verge. In towns, I skim by parked cars closer than right hand drive cars do, knowing that if, for example a Ford Transit can make the gap, then so can I. With the high hedged, narrow lanes in Devon, again, just skim as close as possible to the left hand side of the road, and you'll be fine. I don't think you really need lessons in driving a left hooker. Take things slowly, and usually within a week or so it becomes second nature. Although there are times when I still hit the drivers door, trying to change gear quickly with the wrong hand.

UK garages are a pain to get a Camaro into, if at all. We used to have a garage with a standard 7' wide door, but with the Camaro being 6'8" at it's widest, I had 2" each side to play with. And guess what? I couldn't open the door, when I needed to get out of the car!!! My cure for this problem was to build a 33' x 22' garage, with two 9' wide doors. Problem solved, and room for three more cars and two motorbikes.

I have the V6 version of this car (personal import), and the running costs are reasonable, with an average fuel consumption of around 22 UK mpg, running on 95ron petrol. However I know a chap round here that ran a V8, and his average mpg was 10-12, and had to run on super unleaded.

It's why I specifically ordered a V6, plus the fact that an import is only £220 a year to tax, whereas, the Euro SS is well over £400! I am twice your age, and my insurance last June was nearly £500/year, living in rural Lincolnshire.

If you know you can easily afford the running costs, I would recommend this car wholeheartedly. You only live once, and I think that it's better to look back and say, "that was wild, but it was fun" than to think, "I wonder if that would have been fun".
All the best. Tim

RickGM · 03-13-2013, 04:17 PM

Hi, here's my take on your questions;

1 I'm in a rural part of Leicestershire with narrow lanes all around me. The car is wide and it is difficult to judge where the bonnet ends and how close cars coming the other way are on the narrow lanes. Having said that you quickly get used to knowing where your driver's side is and I guess subconsciously judge where the offside is and drive accordingly. I'm sure on occasions I have been overcautious but that's better than losing your offside wing mirror! I do find that when I now drive a RH drive, my passenger side is in the gutter!

2 No problem if you've got a big garage.

or if like me you leave your car on the drive (you can admire it better that way)

3 Just do it. It's totally natural after a couple of weeks. I found using nearside rumble strips & road gullies helped in the early days together with setting the offside wing mirror down a bit to pick up the centre white line

4 How old was Lewis Hamilton when he became world champion

5 Doubt it's gonna be cheap for you. Get an online quote using info relative to when you're aiming to get the car.

In conclusion if you can afford it go for it. If I could have had a car like that at 26 I'd have been on cloud nine. A house and baby on the way were my priorities in those days and that new invention - electricity

RickGM · 03-13-2013, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stray bullitt

My cure for this problem was to build a 33' x 22' garage, with two 9' wide doors. Problem solved, and room for three more cars and two motorbikes.

Does that mean you HAVE two bikes Tim or just the space? Bikes are my first love !

Arizada · 03-14-2013, 06:27 AM

Thanks so much!

You guys have definately made me feel MUCH more comfortable about the LHD and little English roads.
A driveway would be nice to admire it on, but I think I will try and get a place with a double garage. I just want to do all I can to make the insurance lower, my age doesn't help at all.
Also the weather, I couldn't sit inside watching rain and hail attack my Camaro

Fuel efficiency is something I never think about. If it eats up fuel, then so be it. Hungry baby needs to eat

Tax also is what it is. Nothing can be done about that.

It's just insurance. That is the only thing that worries me. But again, I guess it just is what it is at the time I am ready for a Camaro.

stray bullitt · 03-14-2013, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickGM

Does that mean you HAVE two bikes Tim or just the space? Bikes are my first love !

My wife and I have a bike each. I have an old school style Triumph Thruxton 900, which like the Camaro is retro styled and takes me back to my childhood, and my wife, being an American, lugs around on her Harley Davidson 883 Iron. I'd rather ride mine, but hers sounds way better, with her full Vance and Hines stage one kit and straight thru exhausts.

redleader · 03-15-2013, 02:47 AM

TBH I'd not want to DD my Camaro around country B roads in Devon.
Sorry to be brutally honest.

I too wish I had a garage, but weekly waxing and cleaning and a top-class Camaro GM car cover just about keeps it Dry and Safe (locked on).

A lot can change in two years.
Keep the Dream, it's the Best! :-)

RickGM · 03-15-2013, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stray bullitt

My wife and I have a bike each. I have an old school style Triumph Thruxton 900, which like the Camaro is retro styled and takes me back to my childhood, and my wife, being an American, lugs around on her Harley Davidson 883 Iron. I'd rather ride mine, but hers sounds way better, with her full Vance and Hines stage one kit and straight thru exhausts.

Triumph looks nice, as you say retro. Wouldn't want to be your neighbour when the Harley fires up at 6:00 am !!

stray bullitt · 03-15-2013, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickGM

Triumph looks nice, as you say retro. Wouldn't want to be your neighbour when the Harley fires up at 6:00 am !!

I imagine, with the cars you go for, you're probably more of a Yamaha R1, or Suzuki Hyabusa kind of guy.

RickGM · 03-15-2013, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redleader

TBH I'd not want to DD my Camaro around country B roads in Devon.
Sorry to be brutally honest.

I too wish I had a garage, but weekly waxing and cleaning and a top-class Camaro GM car cover just about keeps it Dry and Safe (locked on).

A lot can change in two years.
Keep the Dream, it's the Best! :-)

Had my Porsche for 8 years and it never once got put away ! Fortnightly wash, polish every 2 years, looked mint when I sold it ! Hopefully the Camaro is going to be the same. It's so much easier just jumping in and driving away - or am I just being a lazy sod ?

Not sure about your concerns of Devon country roads. It's much the same for all cars on the narrow lanes. I'd rather be on an empty road across the desert in California but ....

RickGM · 03-15-2013, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stray bullitt

I imagine, with the cars you go for, you're probably more of a Yamaha R1, or Suzuki Hyabusa kind of guy.

Well spotted, although it's neither (and haven't owned either). Current stable includes an MV Agusta F4s750 ('04) which is about to go, CBR 600RR race rep ('53), Aprilia RS250 (X), Buell Lightning 1200Scg ('09) and my latest toy of about a month ago Yamaha DT175MX (1980). The last one takes me back to one I had 30 years ago. The sound is identical to my memory of it (65 mph flat out !!)

stray bullitt · 03-15-2013, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickGM

Well spotted, although it's neither (and haven't owned either). Current stable includes an MV Agusta F4s750 ('04) which is about to go, CBR 600RR race rep ('53), Aprilia RS250 (X), Buell Lightning 1200Scg ('09) and my latest toy of about a month ago Yamaha DT175MX (1980). The last one takes me back to one I had 30 years ago. The sound is identical to my memory of it (65 mph flat out !!)

Nice varied collection. It's nice how you can be transported back, and enjoy the experience by riding, or driving something from ones youth. It's the reason, despite their leisurely speed, I love, and own (no piss taking please

) two Citroen 2CVs.

T.

redleader · 03-15-2013, 03:08 PM

2CVs !! Penicillin time :-O

DNAudus · 03-15-2013, 04:01 PM

Hi Arizada, I agree totally with what everyone else is saying. When I first got the car I had a long motorway journey to do and tested where the offside was on the fast lane of the motorway. I still clenched my buttcheeks everytime I passed a van or truck on a B-road for a couple of weeks but now I'm used to it.

Regarding insurance, I'm 32 and the SS costs me £862 per year. I believe it would be lower if I hadn't been driving on other peoples insurance for so long. Effectively I only have 3 years no claims, even though I've been driving without incident for 14 years. I had a BMW 645ci before the SS and that cost £740 per year so there's not a massive difference.

I also use my car as a daily driver - I do over 20,000 miles per year in it... :-O. My biggest gripe is toll roads and multistory carparks. I've got a litter picker which I use to reach buttons, cards and drop money into toll booths; it works quite well :-)

Even if you bankrupt yourself after a few months, at least you can always say you owned a Camaro. If you dont do it, you'll regret it!

Cheers,
Damian.

03-13-2013, 05:53 AM	#1
Arizada Drives: A car Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: UK Posts: 2	Some UK Camaro Questions Hello all, I am hoping to get a 2013 Camaro SS soon, it's been my dream car for years now! I am financially stable and from the looks of things, I will get one in about 2 years, maybe less WOOO! I am just curious about a few things though: 1. How is this huge beast of a car on English roads? It will be a daily driver also, the only car I will own. I live in Devon, so ALOT of B-roads. But the A-roads are easily reached, so I could just stick to them I guess. 2. Can it fit into UK garages? When I own my Camaro, I will then begin renting a house with a garage to keep my baby safe. But do Camaros fit alright in them? 3. Left Hand Drive. I have read through a thread about that on here already. You guys have made me feel pretty confident about it, but shouldn't I have a few LHD lessons? Or do you not need them at all? Do I just go out there in my new Camaro and feel things for myself? 4. In 2 years, when I get my Camaro, I will be 26. I will have had my lisense for just 5 years, and owned just one car. My record is perfect, no accidents ect. Will being so young and inexperienced matter? 5. Which then brings me onto my final question. Insurance? It's going to kill me isn't it? Eek. I have the Pass Plus under my belt, but that probably won't be enough to help me. INSURANCE COST is the only thing I am REALLY worried about.

03-13-2013, 10:20 AM	#2
stray bullitt Drives: Bentley Continental GT. Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Boston, Lincolnshire, England Posts: 1,022	Hi there Arizada, If you're dreaming of driving something more exclusive on the road, than the usual Beemer, Audi, Merc, fayre, then I can tell you you won't be disappointed. The interiors and switchgear probably don't have the most exquisite finish, but are by no means horrible. Stuff llike the Head Up Display, I have found to be more useful than I would have imagined, and everything else has performed perfectly for the last 2 years since I bought mine. With regard to driving on English roads, I have found no problem with the size of the car at all. (it has about the same footprint as a BMW 5 series). You do however need to get used to thinking that the huge bonnet is not actually on the opposite verge. In towns, I skim by parked cars closer than right hand drive cars do, knowing that if, for example a Ford Transit can make the gap, then so can I. With the high hedged, narrow lanes in Devon, again, just skim as close as possible to the left hand side of the road, and you'll be fine. I don't think you really need lessons in driving a left hooker. Take things slowly, and usually within a week or so it becomes second nature. Although there are times when I still hit the drivers door, trying to change gear quickly with the wrong hand. UK garages are a pain to get a Camaro into, if at all. We used to have a garage with a standard 7' wide door, but with the Camaro being 6'8" at it's widest, I had 2" each side to play with. And guess what? I couldn't open the door, when I needed to get out of the car!!! My cure for this problem was to build a 33' x 22' garage, with two 9' wide doors. Problem solved, and room for three more cars and two motorbikes. I have the V6 version of this car (personal import), and the running costs are reasonable, with an average fuel consumption of around 22 UK mpg, running on 95ron petrol. However I know a chap round here that ran a V8, and his average mpg was 10-12, and had to run on super unleaded.It's why I specifically ordered a V6, plus the fact that an import is only £220 a year to tax, whereas, the Euro SS is well over £400! I am twice your age, and my insurance last June was nearly £500/year, living in rural Lincolnshire. If you know you can easily afford the running costs, I would recommend this car wholeheartedly. You only live once, and I think that it's better to look back and say, "that was wild, but it was fun" than to think, "I wonder if that would have been fun". All the best. Tim

03-13-2013, 04:17 PM	#3
RickGM Drives: 2013 SS V8 L99 Magnusson Heartbeat Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: South Leicestershire, United Kingdom Posts: 888 View My Garage	Hi, here's my take on your questions; 1 I'm in a rural part of Leicestershire with narrow lanes all around me. The car is wide and it is difficult to judge where the bonnet ends and how close cars coming the other way are on the narrow lanes. Having said that you quickly get used to knowing where your driver's side is and I guess subconsciously judge where the offside is and drive accordingly. I'm sure on occasions I have been overcautious but that's better than losing your offside wing mirror! I do find that when I now drive a RH drive, my passenger side is in the gutter! 2 No problem if you've got a big garage. or if like me you leave your car on the drive (you can admire it better that way) 3 Just do it. It's totally natural after a couple of weeks. I found using nearside rumble strips & road gullies helped in the early days together with setting the offside wing mirror down a bit to pick up the centre white line 4 How old was Lewis Hamilton when he became world champion 5 Doubt it's gonna be cheap for you. Get an online quote using info relative to when you're aiming to get the car. In conclusion if you can afford it go for it. If I could have had a car like that at 26 I'd have been on cloud nine. A house and baby on the way were my priorities in those days and that new invention - electricity __________________ UK Camaro Owner. One of a few.

03-14-2013, 06:27 AM	#5
Arizada Drives: A car Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: UK Posts: 2	Thanks so much! You guys have definately made me feel MUCH more comfortable about the LHD and little English roads. A driveway would be nice to admire it on, but I think I will try and get a place with a double garage. I just want to do all I can to make the insurance lower, my age doesn't help at all. Also the weather, I couldn't sit inside watching rain and hail attack my Camaro Fuel efficiency is something I never think about. If it eats up fuel, then so be it. Hungry baby needs to eat Tax also is what it is. Nothing can be done about that. It's just insurance. That is the only thing that worries me. But again, I guess it just is what it is at the time I am ready for a Camaro.

03-15-2013, 02:47 AM	#7
redleader redleader Drives: 2010 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: UK Posts: 2,201 View My Garage	TBH I'd not want to DD my Camaro around country B roads in Devon. Sorry to be brutally honest. I too wish I had a garage, but weekly waxing and cleaning and a top-class Camaro GM car cover just about keeps it Dry and Safe (locked on). A lot can change in two years. Keep the Dream, it's the Best! :-)

03-15-2013, 03:08 PM	#13
redleader redleader Drives: 2010 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: UK Posts: 2,201 View My Garage	2CVs !! Penicillin time :-O

03-15-2013, 04:01 PM	#14
DNAudus Drives: Bumblebee Camaro SS Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Cambridge Posts: 105 View My Garage	Hi Arizada, I agree totally with what everyone else is saying. When I first got the car I had a long motorway journey to do and tested where the offside was on the fast lane of the motorway. I still clenched my buttcheeks everytime I passed a van or truck on a B-road for a couple of weeks but now I'm used to it. Regarding insurance, I'm 32 and the SS costs me £862 per year. I believe it would be lower if I hadn't been driving on other peoples insurance for so long. Effectively I only have 3 years no claims, even though I've been driving without incident for 14 years. I had a BMW 645ci before the SS and that cost £740 per year so there's not a massive difference. I also use my car as a daily driver - I do over 20,000 miles per year in it... :-O. My biggest gripe is toll roads and multistory carparks. I've got a litter picker which I use to reach buttons, cards and drop money into toll booths; it works quite well :-) Even if you bankrupt yourself after a few months, at least you can always say you owned a Camaro. If you dont do it, you'll regret it! Cheers, Damian.