I have come across what seems to me a good deal on a LT1. I would love to buy it and have the best of both worlds. The car is a 1995 Z28, 75,000 miles, auto, pw, pl, cc, and no mods. The car has been sitting in a garage undriven for a year now. It belongs to a 55 yr. old man, said he bought it because of a mid-life crisis and no longer drives it and has no use for it. He said he would be willing to let me buy it for 4,500. Sounds good to me, I need to know if this year has any major problems, defects or recalls. The car is spotless as far as exterior, dash has been neglected after sitting for so long. Your help is needed LT1 guys. Thanks. Also, is that a good price?

 

The biggest thing you have to worry about with on Lt1 cars is signs of a bad opti and the common intake leak. Have you driven the car?

 

95 is considered by some the best year LT1's...still has the single cat setup....other then lookin over the cra...id say check the breaks and see if theres any sign of a bad opti

 

You just need to be very careful inspecting the car. There are many things that can be wrong that can be fixed easily but here are common problems:

1. leaking oil: front seal, rear seal, intake
2. leaking tranny fluid
3. leaking diff fluid...pinion seal, cover gasket
4. stumbling, stuttering, hesitating: usually an ignition problem
5. check fluids especially coolant to see if it has been maintained

I would be concerned just b/c it hasnt been driven in a year. Letting a car sit for a long time w/o being driven can be bad.

 

That price is too good to pass up. Even if you do find some problems with it and have to pay to have something fixed, you still got a hell of a deal. Buy it just as you would any other car, making sure there is nothing major wrong with it. All these things people mentioned are things that happen to every car. JUST BUY IT, YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPPOINTED!

 

That is an EXCELLENT price...my 95TA had 67k on it when I bought it. It booked at 10,900 NADA I got it for 8800 and to be honest if I had shopped around I could have probably found one for 8000ish but maybe not in the shape mine is in...4500 for a car with 75k is a great buy. The car in excellent condition without T tops without leather but pwr options has a private party retail of about 6800 bucks. Dealer retail on the same car is 8300 bucks. Assuming its got leather, t tops etc it has a dealer retail of 9300 bucks. Those are KBB prices which my experience points to them being about 10-12 percent lower than NADA book...so I'd say no matter what you're getting a good deal...check for symptons of a bad opti...when you drive it go ahead and romp on it and listen for a high rpm miss in first and second gear. The oil leaks are fairly common and don't really cause problems so long as you dont let it run critically low on oil...I have a very very minor leak...like I put cardboard under it one night to see how bad it was and had one drop on it literally...then the same for the next couple nights...they're pretty stout cars...check the tranny fluid make sure it doesn't smell burnt and appears to be at least somewhat clean. Good luck...and it sounds like a great deal...let us know if you buy it.

 

Don't let the intake leak mentioned scare you off. You may check it and make sure it's not leaking some insane amount, but the majority of LT1 cars have an intake leak. Don't hesitate to take it out and beat on it. If it were me, I'd pay pretty close attention to the tranny and make sure it's holding and shifting well. Sounds like a pretty good deal as long as it's mechanically sound. Good luck with it.

 

We took the cover off the car and it cranked right up, he said he put a fuel stabilizer in it cause he does not drive it. Did not smoke, and no fluid was present on the garage floor. As far as an intake leak, are you guys talking about the intake elbow? That will get replaced by a aftermarket part when and if I buy it. It was a little to rainy to take it for a GOOD test drive. He said it must have some good gearing cause it will go almost 90 mph in 2nd gear!! What gears would that be? He said he did not beat the car, only did that a few times to impress passengers. I do beleive him, he also has all records for the car, oil change every 3000 miles. As far as a bad optispark, what signs woud tell the tale of a bad opti? I am really thinking about giving up the green for it this weekend.

 

Signs of a bad opti are missing in the engine as I said I'd take it for a drive and give it the *** whipping in 1st and 2nd gears and make sure there's no miss at least not an audible one...as for the intake leak we're not talking about the intake elbow its gasket leaks/seals that allow oil to drip out for example my rear main seal has a minor leak that dripps a drop of oil about once a day very very very minor but there nonetheless and those on some cars can be quite bad.

 

For 4500 bucks, and running in any halfway decent condition, at 75k miles, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.

 

thanks for all the input. Even if some minor things are wrong I will still purchase the car. It looks bad azz and seems to be running well. I will have it checked out by a mechanic and I have always heard that a new opti aint to much of a dent in the wallet.

 

Opti isn't so much a dent in the wallet as it is a pain in the ***.