looking at buying a 97 z28 (help)
 

hey everyone, im a new member and am looking to get into the camaro scene, im currently looking at buying a 1997 z28 its got an auto tranny and has 115000 miles, dealer says it runs amazing and ac works and looks great, is there anyproblems with this year i should look for, any info would be much appreciated, he says to bring 3000 and i can drive it off the lot, does that seem like a decent price, am i getting the lt1 or the ls1, are manuals better than autos, i dont want to buy one thats gionna have alot of problems down the line, thanks in advance

seems like an okay deal and You are getting the lt1 but with the newer interior I believe. Common problems are the window motors, opti and check over all other things very carefully, being a high mileage car.

yea not looking to do burnouts everyday just install a nice sounding exhaust and stereo and just cruise it daily

'97 is a good year imo if you like the front end better than the 98+ (i do..). Like draggins10 said you get the updated interior and the lt1. if $3k is your budget then a clean '97 sounds like the way to go...115k miles is not bad. I sold my '96 with 138k miles for $4k last october. it was fairly clean, but i think i made out pretty well on that deal. obviously play his game and offer less to start though. auto vs. manual is just preference for a daily driver or cruiser so whatever you are happy with. for me that would be a manual. at this point most of these cars will give you at least some problems, but how well it was taken care of will go a long way.

thanks for the info, was kinda looking for what problems i can expect after the 100k mark, like is auto tranny more durable, the dealer asked 3900 for it ad ended up with 3000 out the door, i havent seen it in person yet its about an hour and a half away, seen pics though

This is my favorite year camaro. When I picked mine up the body was in perfect shape but the interior was pretty beat up. If you get yours I would suggest you go to some of the car shows your local car clubs put on to meet local camaro guys. You can find guys who know guys with parts that will fit your car for replacing or upgrading. I found a guy who pulled the entire interior out of his 00 SS because he had a custom interior done. He said come and get it out of my house and sold me the interior (matching my original) for $400. My interior now looks brand new. Not a mark on it because he never used it and it sat in a closet for years at his house. Craigslist is also a good place to look for people parting out their cars. Good luck with yours.

The auto trans at around the 100000mile mark should still be fine. The first things I would check are, Look at the car overall and down the sides to see if it looks original (not wrecked), check the oil ( the level and make sure that the oil on the dipstick doesn't look like a chocolate milkshake), leaks under the car, and drives and idles well. 3000 is a great price, but why?

Make sure that the check engine light is not on, could be big $$$$$ LT1 genuine parts are not cheap.

well i hope its a good find, i just got one from a guy at work for 1250. 96 6sp with 72k leather convertible

What a steal! Was he hurting for money that bad?

I have 2 '97 Z28s. One is an A4 and the other is a M6. They are great cars, and so many people total and/or part them out that you can get used pieces and parts at a reasonable price most of the time. Very fun cars.