jg95z28

When I took my 95 Z28 in for its first service the technicians discovered a leaking rear main seal, and some of the front suspension parts were missing fasteners. They fixed it under warranty.

Over the life of the car, I've replaced three window motors, had the leaking rear diff serviced three times, but other than that only regular service like brakes, tires and a battery. Now my stock Delco/Bose stereo deck has died.

Considering I've owned the car for almost thirteen years, should I count myself as lucky? The only vehicle I've owned that has been more dependable is my '02 Tahoe. But then if had modified them, I guess I wouldn't have had such good luck with my Chevies.

95firehawk

This statement worries me. What kind of "shoulda's" might there be for the next generation? With CAFE becoming more and more strict GM is likely in the same boat now as it was back when the decision was made to install the 10 bolt. Also in regards to drag racing, what do you expect customer's to do with these cars?



I don't think those an unreasonable questions. You may have been one of the lucky ones just as he may have been one of the unlucky. I think the bigger point is that it shouldn't be "reasonable" to spend $22k-$32k in mid 90's dollars and have as many issues as this car did. Now I know that all cars have issues (especially once you get into higher mileage...this is a no-brainer) but it appears that this car is a little above average in those regards. Just a bit too aggressive in my opinion.

DAKMOR

Use it as a replacement for your Honda Civic to get groceries since it is one of only 2 cars out that has t-tops, the panty dropping feature.

BigDarknFast

They will likely drive them hard, like the 4gens were. They will also likely blame their problems on GM, like before as well
Eh - maybe too aggressive. I just reacted when I saw what seems to be an attempt to take one person to task for issues/history that have been way outside his control. I enjoy the insights and inspirations that FBF provides us all... and I'd be mighty sad to see him get exasperated and just walk away, shaking his head....

Incidentally. I also bought a 2002 Trans Am new. While I didn't put a lot of miles on it before trading it in on my 05 GTO, it truly was perfect. The only time the dealer touched it was on the day of delivery, when they rubbed out a fender paint scratch. So that's two 'statistical outlyers' I guess

99SilverSS

I don't really know what you mean by a long time between 1993 and 2010. Yes those are the model years that the 4th and 5th Gen Camaro started, and will start for production. But I don't see how it's a 17 year wait? I just don’t see how you can use the production run of the 4th Gen as part of the wait for the 5th Gen that by 2002 didn’t look very promising. It’s almost like you expected the 5th Gen to return? I think that was far from a certainty from 1997 on.

I would say the wait is only the hiatus time, 7 years from last production year and beginning of 5th gen in 2009.

2KZ28

1) Didnt know that - can't believe I didn't. Very interesting. Thanks.

2) Yes, my drivers' window finally failed after it was SEVEN years old in my 2K. But I dont care. I read up about it on here, and know its a simple parts swap and/or rewiring job to bring it back to life. No biggie. Used cars=small problems. This is as small as they come. No big whoop.

3) Auto or manual? I think the auto in mine shifts as intelligently and predictably as any other I've driven. It still produces 2nd gear barks at-will. You can "throttle-shift" this one very easily, once your in tune to it - and the shifts are always crisp and smooth. NOT garbage. (I actually enjoy the "torque dump" into gear it produces)

4) This one makes me laugh. Alot. My LS1 has over 50K miles on it, and sounds like a diesel when I first start it up. No kidding. The lifter/rocker noise is unbelievable. But once I warm it up, the noise disappears, and the LS1 produces as much power and torque as the day I bought it, and has never had a single hiccup or computer code thrown. Those engines are/were some serious winners! Kudos. I dont bother the dealer with the noise, as it's not been a problem.....YET --- and, YES I do "stretch it's legs" to make sure its still solid, when safe. It IS.

Some guys just don't remember the fact that older cars presented so many "quirks," and that most guys just modded/replaced many parts on them anyway to suit their tastes. I dont have a problem with this.

Im from that old school lineage. I could care less if my sweetheart has a few pimples on her **** --- there's always clearasil.

You guys need to lighten up.

detltu

Back to the original post. You can count me in as one of the dissapointed ones that it's taking so long for this car to hit the streets. Before everyone jumps on me I will be getting a new Camaro when they come out and I am very excited about the car coming out. I woudn't have been able to get one if they came out any earlier. That doesn't mean I'm not a little dissapointed with the gestation time of this car. Thats also not to say that I don't understand why its taking so long. I think everyone would agree that they would have preferred this car come out in 2003. That would have been amazing. It is also not realistic. That being said I think it is a bit misleading to say that there were no plans to produce the 5th gen when the concept was shown in 2006. There was no plan in place to produce the 5th gen but the concept was definately built with production in mind so there had to be some initial planning if the reaction was good. If thats not the case then GM really does have some problems and maybe this is indicative of what some people are complaining about.

I think GM is heading in the right direction and I am excited about many of the products that are coming out right now and particularly with the direction GM is heading in terms of style and quality. I am however part of the group that is a little dissapointed that the 5th gen Camaro wasn't more like a 2007 MY as opposed to a 2010

BigDarknFast

Count me out of that group. Several features would not have been available in a 2003 5gen. Examples include stability control, XM, AFM, A6 tranny, and so on. GM is using time to their advantage to make the new Camaro an even better value for the money, than it would have originally been. GM's quality has also been on a continuing upward trend this decade. That also bodes well for the new Camaro

detltu

A lot of the technology wouldn't have been available in 2003 which is what would have been amazing about it and also what would be unrealistic about it.

BigDarknFast

I agree about the unrealistic part. But there would have been nothing 'amazing' about missing out on all that cool new stuff. I'm fine with waiting for it. Every passing month allows me to save up for more options. By the time I can afford one, I hope to be able to get it pretty much fully loaded.

Wild Willy

While it DOES seem like a long time to get the F-body back, at least GM is doing it. They have 'dumped' me and my market demographic twice- I had the LT1 powered Caprice, in '95, which was a wonderful passenger car that was deceptively fast. Killed off the V-8 powered RWD sedans in '96, and gave up a big chunk of the Municipal/Police market by doing so- so they could use that plant to build higher-profit SUVs, some of which they tried to sell as "pursuit" Z56 Tahoes- a capable truck, but a stretch-

Now forced into a 2 door couple, to still drive RWD V-8 power, outside of a truck, and then GM leaves me hanging in 2002 when they kill off the F-body. I will not ever choose to drive FWD, unless we are talking 80 HP economy cars- and I like the effortless torque of the V-8, as opposed to the high-strung nature of buzzy DOHC, turbo-charged 4's and 6's- not to mention the longevity and reliability-

So, I am happy that GM 'has seen the light' and is coming back into the mass enthusiast's market, instead of still insisting that I drive a FWD Monte or some such abberation- I am waiting to see the price point and engine selection of the new Camaro, with bated breath. Poor timing with fuel price spikes, and the tightening CAFE numbers- Ford never left the faithful, and Dodge beat GM back to the party, but we shall see if the wait is worth it- I hope so-

Z28Wilson

I'm sorry, but this is flat-out silly.

If this is the case, then why not have a 7 year "hiatus" between every generation? I mean seriously, let's not build the Camaro until it has Mr. Fusion and can make 500 horsepower on garbage. That's a feature we'd all like. I'm willing to wait for that new 2030 Camaro, how 'bout you?

I can quite imagine Mustang guys wishing the SN95 cars did not exist, because XM radio was not available yet in 1994.

christianjax

Well I thought I knew everything about Fbodies and I learned something. About 2 years ago I was looking to trade my 99 Trans Am in for a 2000 WS6 Convertible. I cranked it up and that engine was knocking badly. It went away after it warmed up. It ran great and was really strong. I took it to a dealer to check it out and as the engine was warm it wouldn't knock for them. But he told me the LS1 was notoriously a noisy engine. As my 99 is very quite and doesn't make any odd sounds I wasn't aware. I didn't buy the convertible as I was affraid the knock might be something serious. But after reading the other accounts and what FBF said about running some wide open for 24 hours with no problems, I wish I had bought it after all. Oh well, I'll have my 2010 Camaro convertible and be VERY happy.
Lesson learned.

detltu

Thats actually a really good point.

99SilverSS

I have just a little story about my "diesel LS1" in the 2002 Z28. I worked at Borg-Warner (yes that one) at the time. There are lots of car loving engineers and designers there. So getting a new Z28 caused several people to come out and look at it. I told one of them I had a piston slap and him being a long time Buick racer and engine builder in his 442 club came out to look and listen to my engine. I started the LS1 up in a cold December MI day and he listened for a few minutes at each front wheel well and then from the engine bay as the car idled up to temp. His words were that baby is loose run her hard! He stated that for a race engine that’s the kind of loose engine he always built. I said it’s a street engine and only used in anger in certain times and places and he said not to worry about reliability but be glad the engine is loose as it will make more power than a tight engine.

Well lets just say that in great conditions with only a lid, CAI, K&N and cutout the car ran 12.8’s at 109 on street tires. So give me the ‘diesel LS1” any day because they run hard and for me that was the whole point of having a V8 Camaro.