Car sittin' at the shop..

[stunnajosh369]

Well I got my car down at the local camaro experts shop, it's been there for two days, getting ready to sell my crappy old Ford.. well the Ford is actually a year newer than my IROC. The more reading I do the more worried I get and I keep asking myself the same questions:

- Is this a good daily driver, or is it going to cost me thousands per year to upkeep it.

- Should the Insurance I get be full coverage or liability only, is it worth getting full when my car is only valued at 2,500 in the blue book?

- How often am I going to be calling a taxi in the morning?


Alot of people with cars like mine seem to use 'em as project cars, or otherwise they are the 305's or V6's. I better memorize the Haynes manual and actually learn how to work on the car, it's a shame I live in a deed restricted neighborhood and I don't have the garage space to work on my car.

[97cavalier]

with that low miles it shold be good. But after is has been sitting that long you want to flush all your fluids like, trans fluid, radiator fluid, oil, ect.. And do a basic tune up because it has 90 something thousand it probly never had a tune up. So get new plugs, wires, distributor cap, fuel filter, air filter, and clean it all up. With the tpi i would clean the throttle body out also. After all of that is should be reliable besides the fact it is a 350 and is not the best on gas. but if taken care of it will last forever. The was a guy on here with a 94 lt1 350 with like 198,000 on it and ran good still. but after you get it all serviced i would use it as a daily driver.

[stunnajosh369]

I was kind of hesitant to ask for a tune up right away, kind of out of money and whatever is crucial that needs to be fixed is going to have to go on my credit card. I asked for all the fluids to be flushed of course, the seats need to be fixed because if pushed fowards they just move.. they don't lock into position for some reason, safety hazard. I also said that I didin't think the seatbelts worked either and I need those looked at. Then I mentioned an AC Check because when I turned the AC on it blew a bunch of black styrofoam crap at me so I mentioned getting all that taken out and seeing if it worked. Then I mentioned a loud ping noise that comes from the rear of the car everytime i hit even a small bump, I don't think the previous owner got the new tailpipes tightened down enough. Then to top it all off I asked for a complete vehicle inspection and a list of everything that's wrong with it so I can do it all one by one. If I can get a decent price for my beat up crown vic (haha yeah right) I can probably get it all paid for.

The whole engine compartment is a little musty looking, I need to clean it all off but I reckon water isn't too good for an engine. What products do you use to clean your engine off with? I want to shine it up real nice and possibly use it for show. Also maybe get me those fancy colorful wires and stuff =P

[malletslinger]

Well she's gettin old, but that doesnt mean she cant be a daily driver...
Will it cost to upkeep??? Ofcourse, all cars do, but with a 3rd gen camaro, the parts are readily available, and you can learn to do everything yourself.
I would recommend keeping a spare car around for atleast a while...and make use of the forum until you get your car reliable...and you may want to tackle a few projects on it this summer so I would make shure you have a second car to drive while you take care of the little things...
In reguards to insurence...full coverage is not worth it...
On my 89, I have liability plus vandilism.
Body work at insurance approved body shops can get high, infact a small "fender bender" that only involves the front bumper and ground affect can total your camaro!!!
So if you have full coverage and you want to keep it after an accident, then you end up with a salvage title!
Our cars are undervalued...

[97cavalier]

to clean the motor take it to a car wash and leave the car running. and mist the motor with water, don't drench it down and don't get next to the distributor. this will get all the dust and dirt off. then spend a evning with a copple of rags and armorall and just wipe every thing down.

[malletslinger]

Originally Posted by stunnajosh369

the seats need to be fixed because if pushed fowards they just move.. they don't lock into position for some reason, safety hazard. I also said that I didin't think the seatbelts worked either and I need those looked at.

The seats going foreward is common(mine do it too) you can go get replacement mechanisms at a pick ur part and put them on yourself, but it isnt necessary...it isnt dangerous(ive been driving mine for like five years and my seat never tilted foreward while driving)
I would bet your seatbelt buckels havent been replaced as per the recal (GM never realy tried to get the word out on that) GM should replace them for free...they WILL put up a fuss, Il send you the recall paperwork in a couple days couse I dont have time right now, the paper work also explains how to determin if your belts have been replaced already...
I would recommend parking it at your house for now and waiting till summer starts, then do all the work your self...then sell the other car

[stunnajosh369]

Already switched the tags from my Crown Vic, I have two 30 day temp. tags in which I have to sell it. I doubt the work is that expensive anyways. I have an estimate from three years ago when the previous owner took it down and it was about $400 in repairs. I wish some of you guys lived near me so you could help me out on the weekends or something with learning about my car, plus living in a deed restricted community makes it hard to even lift the hood because you always get questioned if you're doing little more than pouring a quart of oil in your car. I got a bunch of crap for cutting off my alternator belt on my crown and changing it.

[ZL1power69]

looks like u found a nice iroc. be carefull in the rain. they like to hydroplane and not having abs makes it that much worse. i know grundy or hagerty will insure 3rd gens and i've herd people getting good deals from them. if u wait 2more years u can get it titled as historic and get discounts and emission exempt.

[97cavalier]

hey josh where do you live?

[stunnajosh369]

I live in melbourne florida... anyone around wanna help me out with some car repairs? heh.. I got the official estimate in. I do kinda need to get it fixed soon so I'm able to actually drive to work so I'll probably end up paying out my ass for this stuff. screw the air conditioning though i'll just sweat my ass off in the hot sun.

for the a/c
---------------
new ac delco compressor $310
new ac delco condenser $180
new ac delco evaporator core $215
accumulator and tube $40
orifice tube $8
belt $60
retro fit system $80
repair a/c, evacuate, charge and check $270

the rest..
------------
2 air filters $17.20
front sway bar links $15
rear sway bar links $15
labor = $96

front center link $130
idler arm $89
replace center link and idler arm, set toe in $108

clean and pack front wheel bearings $108

rear loaded brake calipers $264
fluid and cleaner $10
labor = $120



damn the labor is the most expensive crap.. if i knew where to get the parts id get them and try to do it and end up paying my ass off. my oil temp gauge still sits at its maximum for some reason, maybe the sensor or something is screwed up. and all they said was my -slight- rearend noise was from ring and pinion whatever the hell that is.. people look at me like wtf when my car comes up the road going ting ting ting ting really loudly from the rear.

[stunnajosh369]

jesus christ, the mechanics got oil all over the seat and theres a big long scratch in the passenger side of the door that wasn't there before. plus i've been taking a closer look underneath the car and i noticed some overspray in the front and i never noticed before but the front of the car does look brighter than the rest of the car, my girlfriends dad thinks it was in a wreck or something and says I should just detail it and sell it because it's not worth the price of the repairs.

[Genopsyde]

looks like most, if not all of those aren't even necessary. if the "ting" noise is all the concerns you, get under there and move some stuff around and see what exactly it is.

[stunnajosh369]

Yeah I asked the mechanic in order of importance what I should do first and he said any which I want.. so I was like "Hrm.. okay." Then my girlfriends dad has to go give me a bunch of crap saying I bought a piece of crap for $3000, i was taken, blah blah blah. Is he just jealous I have a Camaro and he has a Ford Ranger? I was literally about to go put a for sale sign on my IROC because he was pissing me off so much. The car drives perfect... The ting noise is 'from ring and pinion' but they didin't fix it. I'm worried about the brakes and all because my rotors might wear out. You serious about none of that stuff being nescessary? Takes a whole load off my chest. I feel like I'm putting my hypocondriac stuff too much on the board, I'm just stressed out and all.

[AFI 05]

very very reliable... I use it to commute to school and for pleasure.. and decent on gas on the highway..