Hello, I am in negotiations right now to buy a very good condition Z28 from a dealer. The car can be viewed here. I am going to pay $6800 for this car, orignally marked as $12k, then down from $9500. I think that is a fair price since the TMV is $8600, I have already test drove the car and it runs great, there are no dings or marks on it at all. It is loaded with every option except leather. I have a carfax on the car and it is clean.

I am querying the wisdom on the Z28 Florida community out there just to make sure I am not getting ripped off or making a mistake. All comments would be very appreciated. And are there any specific things to look at on this car to make sure it is in good condition?

I can't wait to join the awesome Florida Z28 community.

 

6800 is a little high for a 95 LT1, the market for those is not in demand right now, but it all depends on the condition. I noticed in the picture the drivers side seat bolster was ripped, is the interior good otherwise?

I love how these car dealers start by asking 10K for a 6K car, then make you feel like you got a good deal by dropping 3K from the price.

Either way, if you like the car, and it's worth it to you, buy it and enjoy it!!

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Chris
67 Camaro 357 CI SpeedPro EFI single T70BB turbo Tremec TKO
99 Z28 M6 Targa Roof
House of Kolor "Hot Pink Pearl".. bolt-ons,Comp XE-R dual pattern, Macs, duals,NOS...20" Intense' w/BFG g-Force KDW

 

i got my 95 z28 over the summer for about 7,500 (8,400 out the door) from a local dealer... the exterior isn't in the best shape (its black, nuff said) and it still has a wierd start problem which i've worked out to be (hopefully) bad plugs/wires or a bad coil... basically it needs a tune-up. the interior is in great shape after being cleaned up real good.

i thought at the time i got an awesome deal, but after living with it for the past 3 months or so its costed me a bit of cash (stupid fuel system) but overall i'm super happy i have it and i'd probably buy it again, maybe not for the same price though.

if i had to do it again, i'd definantly knock money off for every little tiny detail, something we didn't do last time but should have.

here's a few tips i've learned and you should check out before you buy:
reach your hand around the back of the top of the engine, as far down the back as you possibly can get... feel for oil. if there is oil you have the intake oil leak and it'll need to be fixed. you can do it with a friend for 20 bucks in about a day. do the same for the front, under the throttle body.

look / feel under the waterpump for any wetness at all, if there is then its going to need a new waterpump and possibly optispark soon. parts = ~400 - 500 bucks

drive it slow around the parking lot a few times after its warmed up, slow accelerations till about 1.5k then stop then do it again, then drive around just on the virge of the tranny shifting into 2ed (keep the rpm's around ~1.2 - 1.4K rpm) and feel for surging, noises, etc anything out of the ordinary. i've got a surging problem that i think might be related to my o2 sensors... ~ $45 x 2

take it to a nice long area and just floor it a few times, make sure it gets up to redline... if it hesitates under 2000rpm's or mis-fires in the upper RPM's then it could be optispark. ~$220 shipped overnight

make sharp turns or turn going backwards and listen for noises from the rear end. most camaro's have this noise i *think*, but its good to point out to the dealer guy and drop the price some more. claim the rear end is about to explode or something. also point out that the rear end is leaking on the housing.

if they let you, ask to use their hose and spray down the window areas with someone inside the car and look for leaks. leaking t-tops is something that eventually happens to every camaro... and depending on what the problem is, it could be just that the window needs to be adjusted to go up higher or the weather stripping needs to be replaced, which is not cheap (~$200 iirc)

check the rear wheel wells for rubber. if there is a whole bunch of rubber layered onto the back of the wheel wells, its been abused. also check the MAF sensor if they let you take it off, if its got no screen on it or dirty its probably been modified in its past. also check the coolant lines going into the throttle body. if they just stick into open air then its probably been modified in the past.

btw, the MAF sensor is the metal part with an electrical connector going into a black box sort of sandwiched between the two metal parts. its in-line between the air filter and the throttle body just before the plastic elbow that turns into the throttle body. be carefull with it if you take it out, those 3 wires with resistors are very weak.

also check that elbow going to the throttle body for rips. the rips will be on the bottom and will cause very interesting problem with air getting into the engine without being metered by the MAF, such as surging RPM's under slow acceleration.

check the window motors if equipped. GM put some weak-*** motors on these cars. they're about 60 bucks for a rebuilt one with aftermarket lifetime warrentee and they are a pain in the *** to replace.

check the oil... sometimes people change the oil but don't wipe off the dipstick real good so it might still be dirty. if its super dirty then that car probably wasn't taken care of.

after you buy it, the first week i'd replace:
oil
fuel filter
air filter

then in the next month or two:
plugs / wires
rear end lube
tranny fluid
PCV valve
shove a pipe through the cat... don't need no cat in florida hehe personal preference though

i'm probably missing some things, but these are all things i'll be checking next time i go buy another z28. these are things i've learned with my current car.

if there is any hesistation below 2k RPM's i would not buy it... there are a ton of people in the LT1 section of these forums with hesistation below 2k RPM's and very few can figure out wtf is wrong.

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1995 Camaro z28

second time to the track in high humidity / temperatures (stock):
1/4: 13.9 @ 98.82 w/2.092 60'

1LE elbow, K&N FIPK, !TB, 160 t-stat, !wallet, !patience

 

holly **** that turned into a small novel

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1995 Camaro z28

second time to the track in high humidity / temperatures (stock):
1/4: 13.9 @ 98.82 w/2.092 60'

1LE elbow, K&N FIPK, !TB, 160 t-stat, !wallet, !patience

 

Wow, thanks for the long response, I really appreciate it and will check everything I can that you mentioned.

I didn't notice that rip on the seat as in the photo, my guess is they fixed it already. The rest of the interior is ok, about what I would expect for a 95 vehicle.

The exterior is what is great, there were zero defects, I couldn't find a single scratch, ding, or dent in the paint, that's what leads me to believe the car was well taken car of. And carfax reveiled it has had only one owner.

 

i think youll be getting a pretty decent deal on the car, and also i have to disagree with the comment about don't buy it if it has a hesitation. I have a hesistation from 1.5-2k but i have found out it is only my aftermarket convertor on the verge of lockup. I put it in 3rd and lock the convertor and there is no hesitation like there is in d. Personally i think buying from a private owner is cheaper and i think you can get the whole story on the car well most of the time. When i bought my car i bought it from the dealer and i got the previous owners number and called her and got the details on it maybe you should see if you can get ahold of the previous owner it's not thier car anymore so they should tell you everything about it when you ask. good luck...

 

And if there is absolutely no flaws in the paint after 7 years... look for evidence of being repainted. Look for overspray on the weatherstripping. Also inspect the body panel alignment. If you find anything, tell them you think it was wrecked. It may have been minor damage but you're wanting to chew them down as far as you can right?

 

Price isn't too bad, How many miles on car again? I would go nuts with that seat though. Find one in the J yard if you can or search the boards. Also look into a extended warranty