I have a 55 mile commute to work every 3 days to the office. Then another 55 miles back. I wonder if a basic V8 model would be a reliable commuter car? This would be my first camaro, and as much as I would LOVE to have it, It needs to not be a car that can only handle weekend drives, but foot to the floor commuting for years. ASSUMING I take care of it, is this a good choice or would I be better to stay with a honda or something like that?

 

I personally think a good V8 will stand up to the beating of daily driving, I've had some high-mileage Camaros and they've ran just fine for me when I had them. Worst thing you'll wear down is the tires driving those miles, though. Be prepared to spend $1000+ every 35,000 miles, maybe less depending how you drive. Take a look at most of the older cars (20+ years old) you see on the road today still being daily driven, I see mostly older Camaro's, Firebird's and Chumpstang's.. maybe a few smelly Honda's or Nissan's but the age seems to get to those. So, if you don't mind the gas and the tires you'll be fine.

I've had an '88 IROC-Z with 80000 miles, before I had a blowout last year and lost it. A '94 Z28 with 275k, and a '89 Crown Vic 5.0 with 250k.. most of your maintenance is on other things but the body and the engine will far outlast most other things. But who knows, the newer cars these days may be far better built than their older cousins.

 

I've drive all my Camaro's as daily drivers for most of the time I've had them, even in snow on bald tires.. not smart.
That being said I don't want to drive the next Camaro as a daily driver. The abuse and wear and tear the car takes while not detramental just gets on my nerves afer a while. Rock chips, dents or scuffs on paint and interior wear just makes me rather not drive it everyday but on nice days only.

Can it handle daily driver duty certainly but I would choose not to as that's what the Exploder is for!

 

I actually very rarely see Camaro's, Firebirds and Mustangs from the early 90's or older. A few, but not very many. Actually, I don't see that many cars from ANY manufacturer that old. Maybe 15% of the cars I see at most.

Even the illegals in my area mostly have vehicles from the mid-90's and newer...

That said, my past 3 Camaro's were daily drivers. As will be my 5th Gen. But, admittedly, nowhere near the amount of driving you're going to do.

 

I guess it depends where you live, I hear there's a lot more third gens in Texas as well. Looks like the warmer climates have a lot more older vehicles.

I'm glad they're paving the main road where I live though, will be nice for my new Camaro but my bright red Chumpstang is probably going to get dings in the paint lol.

 

I'll be using mine as daily driver. It'll be my first own car and I'll enjoy it to the fullest. Thankfully the roads around here at pretty good, only concern is that I have to remember to take extra care of it in winter.

 

I'd use it as a daily driver.

 

Are you serious?

If you want awesome fuel mileage, buy the honda.

If you want a sweet *** car that gets decent fuel mileage, buy the Camaro.

Reliability? I mean come on, what is this, the 70's? Why would GM build a Camaro you can't drive on a daily basis?

Mine will be a daily driver, but probably only on nice days. I'll still have my Silverado and C-10 to roll around in too.

 

With proper care any Chevy will go 200,000 miles or more. The problem lies in the fact few people maintain cars as they should.

The only thing that may hurt a V8 is milage and cost of driving daily to work. That is why they will make a V6.

I am think of buying a V6 if it is near or over 300 HP as a daily driver. It would get better mileage while being fun to drive. I just have to enjoy my trip to work not win it everyday. 250-320 HP is more than enough to enjoy a daily drive. Heck half the time most will be in traffic and not moving more than 30 MPH anyway.

Now if it was a weekend play car it would be a V8 all the way.

By the way the truth is most American cars last just as long and well as Hondas and other imports. They are no longer poorly constructed as they once were and the imports are no longer as good as they once were. Just check Toyotas record of the last 2 years for recalls.

In fact many Chevys are still on the road with 300,000 plus miles. Just look at all the high milage Monte's Berreta's and Old Caprice's still on the road. Many may not be pretty but they are still running strong.

Time to put down the Consumer Reports.

 

Yes I'm serious, I started the frigin thread didn't I? Whats with all the PMS replies guys. I THOUGHT this was a forum to discuss camaros not get ragged on by some guys with an attitude problem. I'm new to the forum and this was an attempt at a legitimate question. Excuse the hell out of me.

I have an older Honda that gets 30 MPG. There are some posts on here as well as other camaro sites that said with the AFM the new camaro COULD be at 30 MPG. SO, I could have a new MUCH faster, nicer car and not have to take a huge hit at the pump. Does that spell it out for you?

No not the 70, it's the 20's (hardy har) and thats why I'm on this website looking at a new chevy product. Because for the last 2 decades american cars SUCKED as far as reliability and longevity compared to the imports, you cannot argue this. Why did they not build a better can in the past, ask them. But, I want to buy american now so here I am looking at buying one.

 

I agree with you 100% about people not caring for their cars as they should. I really beleive thats why my cars have a ton of miles on them, I do what is needed, and sometimes a little more. Regardless of what you drive, if you don't care for it it won't last. I am kind of amazed at how so many people don't even change their oil at even acceptable intervals. What do they expect?

Yes toyota has taken some hits and thats why I got rid of mine. lol Piece of crap 4 runner. I am glad that the big 3 are making longer lasting cars now and that along with the cosmetics of the new camaro are what really brought me here.

I agree with you on the V6 IF it has a good amount of power. 300 horses would be more than enough and I'll start doing some reading up on the V6. The V8 would be nice, but I'm not sure if the cost difference (including insurance) would be worth it.

Good reply, thanks.

 

Yeah I am lucky in that the roads for m commute and mostly all where I drive are either freeway or well taken care of. Lots of them are newly paved too so that would be nice.

 

lol @ chumpstang. I gotta remember that.

 

I have a 35 mile commute each direction every day. I been doing this commute in a V8 Camaro of some sort for a decade. I don't know what kind of milage the 5th gen will get, but my 20 some odd MPG I get out of my V8s is good enough for me. If mileage is a primary concern, this probably won't be your car. If you have questions on reliability, you shouldn't have a problem.

As far as your assertion that the superior longevity of a 20 year old import cannot be argued, I disagree. I see far more domestic cars from the mid 80s still on the road than I do imports from the same era here in Miami. I also see many domestic cars from the 70s still driving around. I haven't seen a 70s Corolla or Accord in about 15 years. I am not an import basher by any stretch of the imagination (I have owned 3 Toyotas and 4 Nissans over the years), but unfounded assertions like the one you made only serve to perpetuate the reliability myth. Truth be told, after 200,000 miles, all cars begin to have problems of one sort or another. People just seem to be willing to forgive reliability issues with import cars more readily than they do with domestic cars.

 

Well, I just traded my daily driver in a few weeks ago. It was a '99 TA WS6 after 8 years and 168k miles and now it is a Pontiac G5. I live in Michigan and I had a 51 mile commute (one way) for the first two years I had my Trans Am - and I lived in the snowbelt near Lake Michigan.

How's the car as a daily driver? More fun than you can imagine! I've gone through BLIZZARDS with my TA on stock tires and it was actually more predictable than my previous '94 Grand Am GT. I actually gave a coworker a ride through a blizzard once and when the CEO of our company (a fellow TA owner) saw my car in the parking lot he asked about my commute. When he found out the details he made repeated comments about my impressive manhood for driving that far, that long, in those conditions, in that car. And I drove that car all the time (through a lot more blizzards - including one 4 days after I bought it). If you learn how to drive the car, it will take care of you.

That being said, I would prefer to not use my forthcoming 5th gen as a daily driver. Why? Mileage. It's hard to tell people you have a one year old car that has 27k miles on it. The CEO I mentioned earlier had a '97 with 11k miles when my '99 had 28k on it......you get lots of scorn for that. Maintenance wasn't so much of an issue until my car got to 168k - but there's nothing to say that's because it was a daily driver. The paint chips and overall wear and tear make it hard to drive a car with that much mileage on it - you start to see every flaw and you want the car to stay new, and that means more cash (new paint job for example). You also start to baby the car and then you have less fun driving it.

I went with a G5 because the Camaro's not here yet and I didn't want to spend more than the bare necessary to get to and from work without hating my car. Will I care if the paint fades? Nope. Will wear and tear bother me? Nope. Will it be better in snow? It'll probably be a trade off for me because I thought RWD was more predictable and controllable, even if it's more unstable. I only ever got my TA stuck twice in 8 years and that was only because I was thoughtless with where I parked. The G5 is a nice car - but I miss my TA every single day. No improvement in mileage or maintenance or cost can compensate for that.

Good luck with your decision!