How to bring up my Camaro's value?

Now before you go saying this is another of my impossible to answer threads, it isn't, just a bit harder to answer, that's all

Here's the specs
1987 Iroc-Z28 Auto 305 FI, (edited: It's blue, does that count?) it was in an accident, not really repaired and I rescued it from the junkyard for $1650

My goal is to sell it for 4 grand, this isn't a sure thing but I need some motivation to work on the car, so here it is, otherwise it rots anyway, and I won't let it.

towards the goal of 4 grand, I noticed someone who puts 26k into a car can only get 14k back. Do I need all of the receipts from my purchases to modify the car? The price of fixing the car DROPS a lot if you never pay for labor right? so by buying the parts myself, doing the work myself I don't have to put 10k into a camaro to sell it for 4k, Do I?

The fixins- the batter tray rotted out, I bought all new battery, spark plugs, distributor etc to get the engine going, I'm grinding the old rotted tray out and installing a new one. Then I'm taking the fender that got hit off(it's almost off, my current project) buying a new fender and painting it to match the car, not repainting the whole car. Possibly replacing one ground effect because it's chipped, I might bondo it but I could get one for cheap. The car has Eibach springs and brand new suspension(not sport suspension) I replaced a lot of stuff, air, oil, thermostat, new stuff, no mods
--
So the car will look new from the outside, together it should all amount to 1 grand

Keeping the 16" IROCS wheels, investing $13-1,500 in all around disc brakes, and maybe 500 on a very nice exhaust setup from dr.gas that I repeat DOES NOT bottom out, or it shouldn't, looks stock, but has a high perf cat and Spintech muffler.

So for buying the car, all the new(or good used) parts, and doing the work myself or with friends, no garage, the cost comes to just about what I want to sell it for. Will I get away with $4,000? or Do I need to do a lot more work? If so what kind of mods or fixes will bring up the value? I'm restoring the interior a bit, won't look new bit I'm replacing the carpet and roof insulation.

There's a lot to think about so take your time, who knows how to correctly sell a chevy?

FYI you can now pick up LT1 4th gens for 4k... just something to dwell on as to what the maximum value for a 305 is...

Doing your own labor will be cheaper BUT may lower the value, whereas having a shop do it and having a reciept would raise the value compared to if you did it yourself. Have to think whether or not what you pay in labor will come back to you sellign the car... cahnces are it won't. Thinks liek that you gotta think about. Mismatching paint will lower the value. Clean up the interior real well as well as cleaning the outside real well and engine bay too.


Other peopel can post more on this.

The exhaust wont change the value much and sadly to most people the brakes wont either and it'll be liek doing any work yourself... they will say to themselves "well how can I know that these brakes wont fall off in a week, hes not a certified mechanic" blah blah blah

FYI you can now pick up LT1 4th gens for 4k... just something to dwell on as to what the maximum value for a 305 is...

Doing your own labor will be cheaper BUT may lower the value, whereas having a shop do it and having a reciept would raise the value compared to if you did it yourself. Have to think whether or not what you pay in labor will come back to you sellign the car... cahnces are it won't. Thinks liek that you gotta think about. Mismatching paint will lower the value. Clean up the interior real well as well as cleaning the outside real well and engine bay too.


Other peopel can post more on this.

See? This is the stuff I gotta learn. And just because i do the work myself doesn't mean I'm cheaping it. I'm not, i'm working my ass off, why do I need a reciept to show it :banghead:

Please, more info is appreciated.

The exhaust wont change the value much and sadly to most people the brakes wont either and it'll be liek doing any work yourself... they will say to themselves "well how can I know that these brakes wont fall off in a week, hes not a certified mechanic" blah blah blah

How do I know they won't fall off in a week *covers mouth* :sly:

I did a similar project to this back in 87 and i turned a $3000 profit after all was said and done. (of course that was when third gens were still in production and the car was only a year old)

You say you rescued it from a salvage yard - Does it have a salvage title also?? That will be a major strike against what price you can ultimately sell it for and also if it does have a salvage title you WILL have to show your receipts when it goes thru inspection to prove the parts were not stolen.

As for myself buying a camaro - I look for what has ever been done to it , what modifications have been made that deviate from original factory design and consider what it will cost me to put it back to factory Specs. Especially emissions tampering - and aftermarket cat. convertor & ect. (that is an automatic -$500 deduction in my mind for the cat alone.)
Im not saying you cant do the repairs yourself - just dont shortcut the steps and have parts left over - Quality Workmanship goes a long way.
As for the brakes - i would stay with what ever came on it originally. and put that extra $$ you would spend in your pocket. If they need fixing - fix what needs fixing but stay with the original design.

well, first of all, you overpaid. if it was wrecked with a 305, i wouldnt have paid more than $1000. right now, a 87 iroc in excellent condition with about 100k, is worth $2000.

the easiest way to raise the value of your car is to go around distroying all the "1987 Iroc-Z28 Auto 305 FI" except for yours.

its worth a shot right?

I did a similar project to this back in 87 and i turned a $3000 profit after all was said and done. (of course that was when third gens were still in production and the car was only a year old)

You say you rescued it from a salvage yard - Does it have a salvage title also?? That will be a major strike against what price you can ultimately sell it for and also if it does have a salvage title you WILL have to show your receipts when it goes thru inspection to prove the parts were not stolen.


ACK i knew this would come up, nah it wasn't junked, almost though if the guy couldn't sell it. He had it on ebay saying all kinds of things were wrong with it. I got a title and bill of sale, it's all good

the easiest way to raise the value of your car is to go around distroying all the "1987 Iroc-Z28 Auto 305 FI" except for yours.

its worth a shot right?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA:evillol:

As for myself buying a camaro - I look for what has ever been done to it , what modifications have been made that deviate from original factory design and consider what it will cost me to put it back to factory Specs. Especially emissions tampering - and aftermarket cat. convertor & ect. (that is an automatic -$500 deduction in my mind for the cat alone.)
Im not saying you cant do the repairs yourself - just dont shortcut the steps and have parts left over - Quality Workmanship goes a long way.
As for the brakes - i would stay with what ever came on it originally. and put that extra $$ you would spend in your pocket. If they need fixing - fix what needs fixing but stay with the original design.

The brakes were done when I got it, I'm planning on installing rebuilt C4 calipers and new rotors, front and rear, but not immediately, though I have the money just in case. I'm sandblasting the rear end, i'm not cheaping it, just doing it for cheap :naughty:

Camaromaniac, the engine runs and there's not much rust in the body, which I plan on removing, I'd say it was a good deal. Would that be a ripoff whether or not it was junked, or just if it was salvaged?

well, first of all, you overpaid. if it was wrecked with a 305, i wouldnt have paid more than $1000. right now, a 87 iroc in excellent condition with about 100k, is worth $2000.

2thou? excellent? where do you shop?

2thou? excellent? where do you shop?

Maybe it's just NJ but 305s aint worth much at ALL.

I'm confused. You said youwanted to sell for 4K, but then you said you almost have 4K in it. Did I mis-read something???

And by the way, I honestly think the selling price has alot to do on logistics and who you''re trying to sell to. If you're in an area where that model of camaro isn't too popular and you get a high school kid, who's parents are helping him out, and really likes the car....

I'm confused. You said youwanted to sell for 4K, but then you said you almost have 4K in it. Did I mis-read something???

And by the way, I honestly think the selling price has alot to do on logistics and who you''re trying to sell to. If you're in an area where that model of camaro isn't too popular and you get a high school kid, who's parents are helping him out, and really likes the car....

I'm trying to sell it for how much I've spent total on it, an equal trade, plus i'm doing all the labor.

They're telling me I shouldn't give it nice brakes(c4 conversion) or a nice exhaust because the price of them won't factor in. I'm more confused then you Jim :icon16:

Well, they're right on that one. If the person was paying you to upgrade the brakes you 'd be okay. BUT, they're buying a car, as long as it has brakes taht work, they aren't gonna care (or probably know what it means) if it has wilwood brakes, slotted rotors, or gold plated calipers. I would just take the ones that are on there, clean them up, maybe paint them if you want them to look fancy, and let it go the way it is.

Think of it this way. You're gonna buy ketchup. You could buy generic ketchup for like $1.50 a bottle, Heinz for like $1.75 a bottle, or Gourmet ketchup for $7.50 a bottle. They all taste pretty much the same, the gourmet does taste a little better, but no-one's gonna know it (including you) because you're gonna use it on frozen hamburger patties and cheap rolls, not the friggin-A delicious homemade burgers on homemade rolls like I make. Now. Why would you bother spending the extra money??? Looks like ketchup, tastes like ketchup, your friends think it's ketchup, you mouth dosen't know the difference...

Same thing with the brakes... unless the guy buying your project is going to be using the higher end barkes, and knows what your giving him, he could care less as long as it stops. AND if they guy DOES know the difference, he probably would pretend he doesn't care just to beat you down on price.

Lose - Lose situation brother.

Well, they're right on that one. If the person was paying you to upgrade the brakes you 'd be okay. BUT, they're buying a car, as long as it has brakes taht work, they aren't gonna care (or probably know what it means) if it has wilwood brakes, slotted rotors, or gold plated calipers. I would just take the ones that are on there, clean them up, maybe paint them if you want them to look fancy, and let it go the way it is.

Think of it this way. You're gonna buy ketchup. You could buy generic ketchup for like $1.50 a bottle, Heinz for like $1.75 a bottle, or Gourmet ketchup for $7.50 a bottle. They all taste pretty much the same, the gourmet does taste a little better, but no-one's gonna know it (including you) because you're gonna use it on frozen hamburger patties and cheap rolls, not the friggin-A delicious homemade burgers on homemade rolls like I make. Now. Why would you bother spending the extra money??? Looks like ketchup, tastes like ketchup, your friends think it's ketchup, you mouth dosen't know the difference...

Same thing with the brakes... unless the guy buying your project is going to be using the higher end barkes, and knows what your giving him, he could care less as long as it stops. AND if they guy DOES know the difference, he probably would pretend he doesn't care just to beat you down on price.

Lose - Lose situation brother.

I finally understand... but either way I have to buy new brakes for it, so if I did decide to sell it then I should just buy stock calipers and drums again?

Now I understand the brakes because who's gonna know whether or not the braking is better, plus i understand the lose-lose situation because of the expenses. But what about the exhaust? A performance setup sounds so much better, they can't really act like that's not there can they?

All that you are wanting to do to it would be ok if you are wanting to keep the car for yourself.

If you are trying to sell the car you wan't to put into it as little of your $$ as possible. Chances are, that the person that does buy the car won't give a rat's butt about what you have done to it "to make it better". It is going to be looked at as normal maintainence expense to keep the car running, and it just doesn't (and won't) count toward the final value.
I've never seen an entry in a blue book that increases the value because it has been modified, has a certain type of brakes, or a certain type of exhaust.
The value is based on the age, mileage, and the options it had from the factory. It also considers if it is in good or rough condition.
Most of that is not something you can change.
You can repair the collision damage, buff the car out to make it shine and shampoo the interior. a good tune up if its running poorly & fixing something if it's broken. Those are the things that will build the most value in the car
otherwise the old addage applies..............If it aint broken - don't fix it.

178,639 miles ..... will I even be able to sell this car?
As it goes for 'selling' I'll see how cheap I can spend on new brakes, i really think it needs the exhaust from spintech but that's just me. When I have that I'll drive it for a while to college and see If I want to keep it.

As for value, it has high mileage, unless it had 117 and we did something to the car that gave it 60 more...anyone? worth a shot, but It is an iroc and it came with every option, power windows, the power ..seat, map light, trip meter, power locks--do these kinda things help? they all work

ack one more question...ebay? they sell based on modifications on ebay

It will go much firther on ebay if it looks really good inside and out. Think about it, when you see a car to buy, half the fun is doing the work yourself.:)
If someone is going to buy it with high mileage, they are going to be more concerned with "how long before I need to rebuild the engine and tranny" than "what kind of exhaust is on this car".
They are also going to be thinking about weather all the paint matches and looks good because otherwise, they are going to want to have the car painted and are going to unconsciously deduct the cost of paint from what they think the car could be worth. You wouldnt unconsciously deduct the cost of a performance exhaust from the value of a car that doesnt have one, would you?

You said it yourself, you wanted an even trade, you said you would spend $4000, and you want to get $4000 in return, plus you are going to do all the work yourself. The bottom line is that you want this car to be all it can be. Sounds to me like a labor of love. :smooch:
If you want to do the exhaust, then do it. But you should expect to get that money back. You could just get it a lower-end free-flow exhaust and that would probably sound better than whats on it. It seems like you really like this car and if that is the case, then mabe you should plan on keeping it so you can do what you obviously want to do, help this ROC reach its potential.:grinyes:

Why not just fix up the car and keep it for yourself?

:iagree: COMPLETELY! :grinyes:

178,639 miles ..... will I even be able to sell this car?
As it goes for 'selling' I'll see how cheap I can spend on new brakes, i really think it needs the exhaust from spintech but that's just me. When I have that I'll drive it for a while to college and see If I want to keep it.

As for value, it has high mileage, unless it had 117 and we did something to the car that gave it 60 more...anyone? worth a shot, but It is an iroc and it came with every option, power windows, the power ..seat, map light, trip meter, power locks--do these kinda things help? they all work

ack one more question...ebay? they sell based on modifications on ebay

yeah you will still be able to sell it. The milage is going to hurt how much you can get for it, but you can always sell a camaro if it runs 'ok.'

As for value, it has high mileage, unless it had 117 and we did something to the car that gave it 60 more...anyone?

I dont get this.



Jim was right though you just have to find the right person to sell the car too. One of my friends bought a third gen firebird for 3,000 and it had a 2.8l. :rofl:

I dont get this.

yeah that was an inside joke that I forgot to cut out, my dad said it had 117k and I went outside and it said 178k, I freaked, so I was wondering in my head if during all of the work we did to it, we added 60k to it :dunno:

Why not just fix up the car and keep it for yourself?
OFFTOPIC but since you asked
I haven't even had a chance to drive it yet :banghead: how do I know I'll like it when I can't drive it? Since the only road worthy IROC-Z I found locally was a grand more, 2750, I figured this would be a really good deal. I never got to test drive any of them though. Then again, when I bought this car half a year ago, I knew next to nothing about muscle cars.

I had decided I needed a new car, I thought back and forth about building a race-only WRC car, but as you guessed, unrealistic. The main reason I bought the camaro was because I wanted to support my country for once, infact I even thought of the third gen as a rally car other than the ford focus :cwm27:. But in all seriousness, I viewed the IROC as a car full of potential. I then saw a 25th anniversary RS TBI 305 at a car show, and then I HEARD the chevy small block rev for the first time, upclose, modified. It sealed the deal.

Oh yeah, then one of YOU GUYS said a vette's LT1 had much better gas mileage, I found the cheapest camaro around me and swiped it, thinking an engine swap would be a cinch(who doesn't). Until I can drive it, I don't want it. I've thought about thousands of cars since then, thinking I could get something else and actually know what I'm doing this time. I don't want that feeling that I'm 'stuck' with a car ever again, If I'm going to invest 10g in something, I've gotta be sure.

Back on topic...my car needs to be fixed but only so it's driveable, great. I can't wait for my lowering springs, that won't bring down the price will it?????

No, but it will lower your car :icon16: Honestly I dont know how you guys can lower your third gens...my front ground effect scrapes the ground around here sometimes if the tires are a tad low....oh, its because of the 16 inch rims isnt it?

Dan,

Look. Someone said somethind that I was thinking but didn't bother to mention. The upgrades you're talking about are for a vehicle YOU own. It sounds to me (too) that you're really thinking about keeping it for yourself, but are unsure if it's the right thing to do.

All I can say is, I like cheesesteak, beer, vanilla ice cream, spaghetti and bracciola, coke (coca-cola to clarify), brunettes, dogs, (I LOVE smoking but quit... again), and I love my maro. It's me. I wouldn't drive a road runner, mustang, civic, wrx, charger, f150,etc ... a camaro is me. (I also LOVE the 4th gen firebirds - T/A's). My maro is not mechanically perfect, it not even close, but it's what I like. It costs a lot to have it (parts wise, and gas wise) but it's funner (I think that's a word... right? :grinno: ) than hell to drive, and EVERYBODY stops and looks when I go past.

I guess what I'm trying to say is nothing in life is perfect. Yeah it's gonna break your heart from time to time, but if it's what you like, don't be afraid to do it. The ABSOLUTELY WORST thing you will ever experience is regret for not doing something... especially if its something you really wanted. If it's not something you really want... then walk away.

Funner isnt a word.. so you'd have to word it like this. "Its fun as hell to drive"

Funner isnt a word.. so you'd have to word it like this. "Its fun as hell to drive"

Ohhhh... shut up and give me a cheesesteak. And some wrenches... my wife bought me an 850 double pumper for my birthday!! WOOOHOOOO!

Kinda funny... I originally wrote "double puper". Hah... I'd like to see Holley make one of those.

Funner isnt a word.. so you'd have to word it like this. "Its fun as hell to drive"
It would be "more gooder to drive" :grinyes:

Gooder isnt a word either.. it would be "better"

I may have poured out my heart and soul once again in a random AF thread(i really gotta stop doing that), most of it was to give AF members a laugh, but I really DO put thought in everything I do. And I have a lot of doubt too. I'm what you'd call "someone who thinks too much". I like Firebirds a lot also. But I want to try out some more muscle cars before I choose f-body all the way.

It lowers my car, that's funny. Malletslinger, which camaro do you drive again, it does or doesn't have the 16" wheels? I'm using Eibach pro kit, it drops the Z 1.5inches. The clearance looks fine and the stock 16s really fill in the wheel well. When I get my springs and install them(should be this week), I'll make a thread and post pics of the new stance. not the passenger side though, it's missing a fender XD

Gooder isnt a word either.. it would be "better"
Killjoy, ever listen to Opie and Anthony on XMradio?

You can't say more better, you can say much better

Not really anything better than an Fbody.. aside from the Vette, but thats a performance car, not a muscle car..

The vette is a more expensive Camaro that can turn better. 'nuff said.

The vette is a more expensive Camaro that can turn better. 'nuff said.

Sorry. Disagree. Totally. Not even the same platform, let alone price range.

im too damn lazy to read all the between posts so heres my 2 cents... if u want something that the value will raise as the years go by, get a house...cars drop like birdshit from a birds ass in mid flight as soon as u drive it around the damn block...meaning bringing the value of your car up isnt easy to do, and to be real, without making it "different" from any other of its kind its damn near unheard of. u can dump tons of new things in your car and it wont raise the value a single cent, and if it does make its never nowhere near the money u put in it

I couldn't see doing the kind of work that you are talking about on a car and then putting it up for sale... If I invested that much time and effort into something I wouldn't want to give it up when I was done. That's just me though, I suppose if you want to do the work on the car for the sake of the enjoyment you get from doing the work it makes sense.


im too damn lazy to read all the between posts so heres my 2 cents... if u want something that the value will raise as the years go by, get a house...cars drop like birdshit from a birds ass in mid flight as soon as u drive it around the damn block...meaning bringing the value of your car up isnt easy to do, and to be real, without making it "different" from any other of its kind its damn near unheard of. u can dump tons of new things in your car and it wont raise the value a single cent, and if it does make its never nowhere near the money u put in it
philly rs couldn't have hit the mark any gooder :lol:. I've lost track of how much money I've pumped into new parts for my car, and most of the work actually lowered the value of the car... not in my eyes though!

im too damn lazy to read all the between posts so heres my 2 cents... if u want something that the value will raise as the years go by, get a house...cars drop like birdshit from a birds ass in mid flight as soon as u drive it around the damn block...meaning bringing the value of your car up isnt easy to do, and to be real, without making it "different" from any other of its kind its damn near unheard of. u can dump tons of new things in your car and it wont raise the value a single cent, and if it does make its never nowhere near the money u put in it

A little hard to follow you at the end, but... right on brother.:thumbsup:

A friend of a friend (no bullshit, I actually met this guy once or twice) goes around buying cars that need minor work, gets them detailed (or does it himself) gives them a tune up and sells them for $500 more than his costs. He said he actually bought a fox-body stang, brought it home, put the for sale sign leaning up against a tree, and had just finished waxing it, and sold it for $700 more than he bought it for. Car wash = $700. :banghead:

go to auctions and buy cars cheep and clean them up and sell for more!! that is the way to do it.

go to auctions and buy cars cheep and clean them up and sell for more!! that is the way to do it.

You know... now that I think of it... I have 2 clients that do just that. And make damned good money at it. Used car sales.... I just couldn't sleep knowing that I just totally screwed someone on a pile of crap that cleaned up well.

4 words...
Gone In 60 Seconds(1974)

well you don't have to sell them crap, i know guys that buy shit cars, clean them up AND fix them... then sell them. granted it takes more work and time, but at least you're doing the world a service, and you're not a jackass

well you don't have to sell them crap, i know guys that buy shit cars, clean them up AND fix them... then sell them. granted it takes more work and time, but at least you're doing the world a service, and you're not a jackass

With you on that... I just couldn't sleep well doing what THEY do. And considering I suck at fixing new cars, let alone old ones, that is exactly what I would be doing.


4 words...
Gone In 60 Seconds(1974)

WTF??? You lost me with that one. What in the hell does that movie have to do with this thread. 1974???? The recent movie was a remake???

dude, without you investing $4k you'll never get 4k reselling it, sorry unless you sell it to a blind person with deep pockets my bet is get a geta list:

New paint atleast 1000.00
rebuild motor, 500.00
rebuilt trans and rear 500.00
new tires 400.00
redo interior if bad can range from 0-2000.00 depends on how bad.
is glass okay?
radio?
noisies?, squeeks?
shocks?
and good proformance parts will costt $$

Atleast for me to buy a 3rd gen f-body it has to have a Sharp paint job NO RUST, Absolutly mint or near mint shape interiro, new tires, and has to have fairly fresh rebiult motor.

Look at it this way not many people have 4k just laying around. Banks will NOT Loan 4k for a POS 3gen car. Has to be nice, with low miles. either way you will send 4k to get 4k better off not to waste your time.

With you on that... I just couldn't sleep well doing what THEY do. And considering I suck at fixing new cars, let alone old ones, that is exactly what I would be doing.




WTF??? You lost me with that one. What in the hell does that movie have to do with this thread. 1974???? The recent movie was a remake???

That's what they did in the original Gone, they bought cars at police auctions, took the heap, cut it up, stole the numbers, stole a twin of the car and swapped the numbers, then it's off for sale in a used car lot. It's a great movie in my opinion.

But buying cars cheap at auction, fixing them up and selling them, that sounds like a rewarding side job to me. If you have the time :banghead: