DonHood

I recently found a 98 Z on AutoTrader with a 6 speed with 82,000 miles on it, for $8,990 obo.

Now, what sort of problems have you guys run in to at around those miles, (i.e. t-tops leaking, tranny synchronizers, etc...) Also, what other things should I look for/ask the guy about, and how much do you think I could dicker with him pricewise?

SFB767

It's all depends, the guy might have had problems with it and had them fixed, or not.

My car has 56K and here's what's happened to it so far:

- Seal in trans. broke, had to have entire trans. taken out of car and disassembled to fix.

- Catalytic converters went bad about 1,000 miles ago causing my SES light to come on and my exhust to smell like sulfur, it was repaired for free under warranty.

- T-tops leak

- The Monsoon speakers in the doors are garbage. The driver's one was replaced at like 42K, and about 2 weeks after I installed it, the passenger door one went out, and I'm trying to find a cheap, used one.

- I think I have warped rotors. If you test drive this car, hit the brakes hard, if the steering wheel vibrates, the car's rotors are warped.

- I also have DexCool (coolant) seeping from my engine.


Just give the car a thorough check and bring it to a mechanic for an inspection if you're serious about buying one. It's better that you know about possible problems the car might have NOW instead of getting surprises later.

hotrodgirl

I have 60,200 on mine. I'm bringing it to a mechanic for the first time for a small leak in the differential. Try Kelley blue book for pricing.

ShayTal

the emonsoon problems is very individual, depends how loud you listen to your music.

Warped rotors, happens in any car at around 20-25K american and japanesse, so don't worry about it.

SFB767

I don't listen to my music loud at all, that's why I think the speakers are junk and overrated.

I understand that warped rotors occurs on most cars, I just wanted to let him know to expect it on an F-car.

TXZ28LS1

i definitely agree with sfb. my monsoon went out on the passenger and driver side doors. im gonna replace all those. but with 80,000 miles for a 98 i wouldnt get it. thats just too many miles. but if i did i would definitely ask the owner what problems hes had and see if he has any paper work on the car for getting it serviced. but just take it in to a mechanic and see if theres anything jacked up.

DonHood

I know the miles are kinda high, that's why I almost didn't even look at it, (been looking for a Z28 for quite a while now) but when I saw the price, I thought it was a helluva deal to just pass up without a second thought. It also has everything that I've been looking for in a Camaro; LS1, leather seats, dark blue, M6, and CD changer.

The car's too far away to just go down there and kick the tires on it, that's why I need get as much info from him over the phone before I even think about going and looking at it.
So, that being said, any other specific questions I should ask him before going to look at it?

Also, how far do you think I could talk him down with that many miles on it?

SFB767

Ok, you obviously have enough money to buy that car right now. If I were you, I'd wait for a few more months and save some more money in the process and buy a better car with less mileage. Buying a "cherry" car is worth the money, trust me.

That guy is going to say the car is flawless regardless of what's wrong with it, because he wants to sell it. Do yourself a big favor and buy locally, so if anything goes wrong with the car you can always go back to the dealer or individual you bought it from as soon as possible.

Buying from a dealer is good because they have a reputation to keep. Pretty much every car they sell is in top condition because if they sell someone a piece of junk and things go wrong with it, they're going to tell EVERYONE where they got the car and this will give them bad publicity. Also, don't buy the warranty. Dealers pressure you to buy one because they know the car they're selling you is fine and they're trying to recoup the money they put into it to make it fine. Everything that went wrong on my car (except for my trans. problem) would NOT have been covered on the $1,500 warranty I was pressured to buy when I bought my car. My trans. problem cost me $723, so I am still better off by not buying that warranty. Keep this in mind ONLY if you buy from a reputable dealer.