Hi,

I'm in the market for a camaro and I've been looking at this one at a dealer in Vancouver. Its a 96 Camaro Z28, 129,000 Kms, Ttops, leather, auto, power everything, keyless entry, alarm, and the interior is very nice. The exterior is pretty good, front bumper has a few scratchs but that could probably be fixed easy. Other than that the exterior is great. Starts up nice, engine looks pretty clean. 3 month power train warranty. The original sticker price they had was 17900, in the car it says on sale for 15,900. Now I went in and the best they would offer me was 14,810. I think it should be about a grand less or maybe more. Or is that a good price. One other big thing is it has 7 ICBC claims however 4 of them had to do with theft and vandalism. One 4400 Claim and another at 600 + one that didnt have an ammount. What do you think is a fair offer?

Thanks

 

offer them 13 grand and leave them your name and number and walk away. they will call you back in about a week. we did this a few times with a few of my friends when they were buying cars. the dealer dropped his price from 14 grand to 9 grand after tax! just because it was sitting there for too long and no one wanted it. they dont want cars sitting in there lots for too long. and i highly doubt there are too many buyers for a car with that many claims. worse case scenerio: you find a nicer car for fewer dollars.

 

To me, any excepted offer is paying them too much. Give them a low ball offer and when they say no way, walk away. Like Roy said, leave them your number. They will call you back. If you show too much interest in the car you'll pay more. Next to buying a house, your car purchase is usually the next biggest thing so take your time and bargain hard. I walked away twice before I bought my new firehawk.

 

13 cash....dealer should go for that.....if you know how to play your cards right

 

thats way too much

autos are worth less than M6 cars just remember that
it'll be that much harder to sell an auto .. ask anyone

13k sounds abuot right

 

yeah man 13 grand and walk away, that 3 month powertrain warranty is garbage anyway, just try and make them fix anything. did you take it on a test drive? you dont even know if it drives straight and there trying to make you sign papers.

 

I did take it on a test drive. Everything seemed fined to me. I am gonna see if I can take it out again later tonight for about 30 mins or more if they let me. So 13,000 + tax seems right? Should I just tell the sales guy to let the manager know 13,000 + tax is my best offer and tell them to phone me when they want to give it to me at that price?

Is there anything I should be looking for as in common problems for a 96 Camaro? Thanks for all of the replies so far. Will let you know how it goes.

 

no try 13gs under the table....depends what dealership is.....or you can always write to cheques......so you don't get taxed as much...if they will go for that

 

i would check the electrical stuff.....such as the opti and stuff...aslo if its an auto.....i wouldcheck if the trannys be rebuilt...because they go around that km range

 

You guys are all on crack...$13K for a car that has 7 ICBC declarations???

129,000kms and 7 claims...that's approximately one claim every 2000 kms. And that's assuming there wasn't any damage "hidden" by the previous owner.

If it were me, I would offer $12K plus tax and stipulate into the contract that the sale hinges on a FULL bumper to bumper inspection.

What is the name/address of this dealership? I've been to dozens of used car lots in the last few months and may know about the dealer's reputation.

A.

 

The Dealer is Dueck Marine. The big dealer on Marine Drive.

 

They told me that it has been put through a 180 Point Inspection. I am going to take it for a longer test drive tonight to see what I think. They told me I could take it out for 30 - 45 mins tonight so I will see how it feels. Also not all 7 ICBC claims were collission's. 1 was a collission at 4600.00 and another at 500.00 and the other was not shown. There were 4 other claims. 2 were theft and 2 were vandalism. I was thinking in the range of 13,000. The lowest they would go last night was 14,810 which I know is way to much for that car. They also have a 97 Z28 with a price of 18,000 however they said it had an 11,000 claim so I dont think I would even look at it.

 

7 Claims?! I would personally keep looking. There are lots of Camaro's out there on the market right now. You can definetly find something better. But if you really really like this one...then we can't really stop ya. Good Luck

 

If the car was stolen..... well, how would you drive it if ya stole it !? I'd also get an independent inspection against " their " 180 point inspection. If you are still serious after all that wait until month-end, sometimes a certified cheque as part of your low ball , take it or leave it offer works. Who ever traded it in with that damage was really hit with the value, dealers love to use that approach.

 

Think the dealer would give me the phone number of the previous owner so that I could find out where the damage was done in the collission? They are faxing me over a copy of their inspection now so I will have that in a bit. They also said that when they got the car they replaced the transmission so it has a brand new transmission in it. How much would a new transmission cost?

I was planning on having BCAA give it an inspection as well just to make sure there are no problems that they arent telling me about.

I am also going to look at a few other cars soon to compare.

Thanks for all of the advice so far.