My father is looking into getting an '00 Z28, its a maroonish color with 32k on the clock. The dealer wants 14,900 for it. It looks to be in great shape, although, neither of us have driven yet.

I'm pretty familiar with LT1's and have little to no expereince with LS1's. I was just wondering what are some things to look/listen for when giving the car the once over.

The dealer already told my father it had the "345hp vette motor in it". What are some real numbers that year was putting down? Does their asking price seem like a good place to start? Any input would be helpful.


seth

 

around 300hp at the wheels

 

I bought my 00' Camaro Z28 for 13.5. Asking price was 14.5. Had 27k miles and it was a private owner.

 

I got my 2000 Z with 6700 miles on it for 16300...in May 2003

 

Judging by the age and the mileage, there is a somewhat decent chance the car is a lease return.

As far as things that are significantly different... not much

Brake rotors tend to warp. Pedal pulsing = needs new / turned rotors
Some late 00-01 cars had oil consumption problems. Ask to see the service records to see if an oilconsumption test was ever done and if so, the results and repair outcome.
If its a M6 car, the 4-2 shift seems to be a popular one... bent pushrods will make their presence known with the characteristic knock/rhap.
The Ls1 makes more noise than a LT1 motor, when you are stainding in front of an idling engine. The aluminum transmits more valvetrain noise.
There seems to be a pretty common problem with piston slap upon cold starts. Good luck finding a car without this problem. Mine goes away in 5-10 seconds, and I have been told I am lucky.
T tops... check to ensure sealing at the point the mirror on the door meets the glass, and the leading/trailing edge of the t top itself.
Gear whine... Once again if it is a M6 car, they can do some significant damage to the rear... characteristic howl from the rear axle (at speed) is a good indication.

Things I would personally look at:
Does it have the OEM tires? The Eagle RSA's/GSC's are so expensive and crappy that chances are they would not put the same tires back on the car. Also, if the car came without Z rated tires from the factory it tops out at 120ish... (they were a 200 dollar option) The OEM tires still on it would mean it has been driven less agressively... my RSA's lasted through 1 autocross season... 11k miles.
Check for free mods... pull the air filter... see if the box is cut up, pull the EGR tube... see if its been cut. Look for the Tb bypass hose, etc.
Each plug wire has blue chalk on its base ... if its been rubbed off or moved, you know someone has messed with the plugs. (I replaced my plugs at 25k with Bosch platinum +4's and picked up an easy 10 hp that the stock platinum "100k mile" plugs had pissed away by being so burnt and misgapped.
Any dealer service recods available are always a help. I had to have the tranny in mine partially rebuilt because my car had an incorrect meshing of the teeth in 3rd gear (cut wrong). Tranny shifts better now, than a lot of other LS1 cars I have driven.
Autocrossing my car I burn my PS fluid badly... id check the color/smell.... once you burn it, the fluid you flush it with will still smell.

Thats a start...

EDIT oh yeah... most 00 LS1 cars dyno 285 (A4) - 305 hp(M6) at the rear wheels. That comes back to 345+/-

 

It's an A4 hard top. We are gonna go take it for a drive on monday and really check it out. Are there any stumbling or hesitation problems that the LS1's have that we should look out for?


seth

 

Well if it has the 2.73 gears its a little slow off the line but still pretty quick by most car standards. These gears also give it a crazy top speed and highway crusing.

 

None that I have heard of. No opti, coil on plug ignition, intelligent engine control. The 2000 and earlier cars have a slight lope in the idle and thats normal... they have a more agressive cam than the 01-02 cars, with a more restrictive intake manifold.

I think that because it is a less desireable color, an A4, and a hardtop car, you can do better on the price.

My lease buyout in may, was 13k even, and that allowed for 36k. That isnt a good representation of market value, but it lets you know that if it was off lease, the dealer prob picked it up at the dealer buyout... 10-11k max.

 

Ya the price I was thinking could be better. We were either thinking it was a lease buyout or they got it at an auction. After we check out on monday ill let you guys know what we found. Thanks for your help.


seth

 

I'll start to laugh at salesmen when they say crap like that and then start asking them for torque numbers and other specs. That or tell them the specs, which kind of shuts them up. Its fun to mess with them. The truth is they were undferrated @ IIRC 305 or 310 hp in the Z (which was very close to actual rwhp), but ya they're the same engine. Just different intake and exhaust setups.

 

Before your dad buys the car check the inside of the drivers door for a white sticker with codes on it.

Look for GU2 or GU5. If you see GU5 then it's a 3.23 gear which is real sweet since that's a nice gear to use with many torque converters. If it's GU2 then I would definately try to use the weaker 2.78 gears as a point to reduce the price because you'll need to change them out for a "real set of gears".

Good Luck and tell your dad not to be afraid to walk away. Lots of ls1's out there for a good price.

 

Im sure you meant 2.73.........right

 

newbee's........

 

You should have replied "You mean they don't have the 305 any more??"

 

Gotta love em