Killjoy32

When it comes to finding and buying a car I know I would generally want low miles, but trying to find a car in this state (compared to NY where I used to live) with low miles is very, very, very hard to do and if they are low, they have a high price tag. To me anything over 60K is alot but here I find cars with over 100K or 150K. The driving here is so much different... in a good way. No wear-and-tear on the body, less stop and go.

Most people replace engines before anything else. Ive been looking into a few camaros that are around the 95-97 range in year and they all have ALOT of miles, like 100-150K PLUS. My plans really are to completely rebuild if not REPLACE the entire engine and drivetrain, so to me high miles arent a big deal but would any of you recommend it? The bodies are always in good condition and usually any bushings arent really worn (or anything along that matter like control arms, etc..)

Cliff notes: Would you buy a high mileage car with plans to rebuild it almost completely? I want the opinion from someone who actually worked on the cars and knows from experience and knows whats good or bad. Anything would help, thanks!

Brangeta

As much as my sister's 86,000 mile '95 Z28 rattles and looks somewhat beat up after being garaged in my family for all but 1 year... you're not going to get much of a show car out of a high mileage one, but if that's not your goal, then I don't know of anything majorly wrong with getting one with that many miles.

Killjoy32

Alright, thank you. I didnt know if over time they become... well face it, unreliabe and almost pointless to build or work on. Im more about the "go" then the "show" anyway.

eX-DZ28

I bought my 94 for $2000 with the intention of rebuilding or replaceing most everything on it. It runs like a high mileage car but id say if your going to replace the driveline eventually reliablity wouldnt really matter just run it till it dies then put what you really want in it.

As i just started recently I dont really know from experience but I would wager anyone who would go through all the work of rebuilding a car will always say it was worth it. More about the journey than the destination kind of thing. If you just want it fast out of the box youd probably be better off just buying a nice one.

13lu91rS

iTrader: (1)

its gonna be harding finding a low mileage lt1 anyways... but bought my car with 120k on it, blew the motor at 140k.

learn'd my lessons with the lt1 and wont go back lol

Killjoy32

Alright ill keep that in mind.

95maroz28

iTrader: (21)

i bought my ragged out 95 a little over a year ago with 152k for pretty cheap. ive replaced all the bushings, balljoints, suspension, rear end, interior and other misc **** . The only thing really left to do is the shortblock but its been running fine and i use my car for work so thatll wait a bit. If you have the money for something with lower miles it might be better to go for that. On the other hand i dont mine rebuilding cars and wasnt out too much cash for mine

Brangeta

I agree with what the guys above have been saying. What it really comes down to is your interests, what you want to do with the car, and how much your time is worth.

For me, it's worth finding a really nice car that doesn't need much if any work whatsoever because I like to go to car shows and that's about all I'd do with my future Camaro. My time is valuable because I'm self employed, and can't deal with messing with a high mileage car that doesn't have perfect weather stripping, an incomplete interior, or other minor problems that add up to a lot of hours of work and researching parts, because then I can't make money. I don't mind replacing a few parts, but the engine stuff is stuff I'd never want to mess with, so for me, high mileage isn't an option I'd be prepared to deal with.

So just decide how involved you want to get with the car, and you'll be able to decide whether you want a $5,000 car or a $15,000 car.

Johnny-LT1-runner

iTrader: (15)

I bought my 94 with over 200K on it for $3500. Best deal I've ever got. haha
The only problems were some minor exterior flaws.
The engine has run perfect for me ever since i bought it.