Good Deal?

[x8xViperx6x]

Price - $2,500
Body Style - Coupe
Mileage - 60,000
Exterior - Color Blue
Engine - 8 Cylinder
Transmission - Automatic
Fuel Type - Gasoline
Doors - Two Door


1989 CHEVROLET CAMARO, 60K mi, tilt, pdl, pw, ps, tint, strong V8 5.0 motor, lots of new parts, new cooling sys, alt, plugs, wires, cap, consoles, Indiglos, replaced trans, too much to name, put lots of money into it, still needs some work, $2500

I e-mailed the guy and asked what still need to be done he said: "I still have the camaro. it needs body and paint work. also the ac does not work. i replaced the entire cooling system but the thermostat is not opening right. also the passenger window needs a new motor." Should I ask him any thing else? What do you guys think, good deal or no?
Thanks for the help!

[89IROC&RS]

go look the car over, sounds decent depending on the overal condition. the problems he listed are pretty minor so long as the major components of the car are in good working order. Take the car to a mechanic (preferably a chevy one, not jiffy lube) and have it checked over. test drive it on both side streets and the highway with the windows up and radio off to listen for any abnormal sounds that might indicate problems. then use good judgment and common sense to decide if its worth the money or not

[x8xViperx6x]

Ok, Will do, Thanks for the help.

[Xenostalgia]

Also do carfax.com to see if salvage title.

Check for the car drifting one way or another if you let go of the wheel and same with when you brake. That will let you know if its seen any front end damage or at least bad alignment problems.

Ask if he/she is the first owner or not

Also ask why they are selling it. It could be they put in too much money and tired of a money-pit. (Being honest and straight forward. Some cars are just that way. )
-Good reasons for selling: Got a new car, Divorce, stuff like that
Bad reason: Dont like it, its a hassle, not a good daily driver etc. Whatever sounds fishy.
These are general btw. as 89Iroc said, USE COMMON SENSE. If it doesnt look and sound right it probably isn't. There are alot of ones out there.

I'm NOT trying to make you scared I'm just showing you different ideas and options. Also, if you can, test drive several 3rd gens if that is what you really want. Also www.thirdgen.com (I believe) is an excellent source of information.

[x8xViperx6x]

Im going to be going to look/test drive at the camaro, tomorrow, and I am going to have one of the local dealers check the car. I belive they do a full bumper to bumper check (20 point check or something like that) thanks for the info.

[tardster]

Just so you know. The car dealers in my area do a 130 point check on the cars and they only do that on trade-ins that they are willing to keep and resell on the lot, other than that they dont do nothing but make sure it starts and off it goes to the auction house (so dont expect them to check the car over real good unless its a freind of yours doing it as a favor). Go test drive the car do like iroc said and listen for funny noises and make sure to watch the gauges etc. etc. Then just use your best judgment on buying it. You might get lucky and end up with a car that lasts you several years or you could end up with a money pit that you cant get rid of.

[tardster]

BTW, nice to see you back Iroc................... :-)

[Dober89]

If when they do the check tommorow, they have the car up on a hoist, check under neath it for rust. Theres a couple spots that tend to go underneath.

[x8xViperx6x]

Ok, I didnt get around checking out the car, things came up, but i talked to the guy and he told me the only thing that is wrong is the thermostat isnt popping, he says it probally needs a hose that has a spring in it. I am not too sure what he is talking about, could someone explain? thanks.

[ViperJ]

Here is a website with good info on buying a muscle car, its worth checking out.
http://www.musclecarclub.com/library/buy/buy.shtml

[x8xViperx6x]

Read over the site, really good advice. thanks.

[89IROC&RS]

the hose hes talking about is the radiator hose that is on the intake side of the water pump, it has a spring inside it to keep it from collapsing under high engine speeds which creates suction in the hose. So if the hose closes no water gets circulated through the engine, this is a bad thing, but easily fixed just keep and eye on your temp guage till you replace the hoses.

[x8xViperx6x]

The owner said that it gets 6miles then over heats.... i live about 40-50 miles away, I looked over the car and it had rust in the wheel wells, and on the roof of the car, he didnt tell me the steering column was cracked and that i has rust all in the doors. All in all I didnt buy it.. Thanks for all the help anyways.