OSU Football Fan

iTrader: (23)

X2 The first car I financed was 14 years old!
Check around. If you don't have bad credit you should be
able to find someone willing to finance a car over 7 years old.

69camaross

iTrader: (4)

Look it up, the GTO is not that far removed from the same Aussie FWD platform also used for the Cadillac Catera.

Wolfsblut

The Caddy Catera, which is an derivat from the Opel Omega B, sits on a conventional RWD platform.

69camaross

iTrader: (4)

Serious look it up, don't take my word for it. GMHTP even mentioned in an article a couple years ago.

boostcreep

Really didn't have to but I did anyway. Maybe you should as well.
Here

69camaross

iTrader: (4)

I have the article some where in print form but I'll paraphrase here. It stated that the platform for the GTO was a stretched/widened version of the Catera's platform which originally started out as a FWD chassis that was converted to RWD for projects such as the Opel.

Regardless to get back to the topic of the thread, I wouldn't buy a GTO over a 2002 WS6.

01formula6

iTrader: (7)

I have an Fbody and am wanting a GTO as my DD. After DD'ing Fbodys for 10 years I've had enough. It's great on warm summer days, but beyond that it wears on you and many times I'm wishing for something different.

No one can answer this question for you, two different cars. Unless you are 16-21 then my guess is you would like the GTO better as a DD.

DukesOfHazard

Pics of the GTO's damage. I really like the 02 WS6, but there's no chance of ever getting it due to the title crap that they keep telling me about. But, they're going to repair all of the damage to the car before I buy it, and if I'm not satisfied after a week then I can return the car and get my money back. It looks good to me and I'll have a mechanic inspect it before I buy it and I'll let you guys know how it goes from there.

69camaross

iTrader: (4)

Not to be a dick man, but where in the hell are you looking that you only find wrecked or cars with title issues? Are you only looking at insurance auctions? If so, yeah you're not going to find a nice car there.

If you have $10,000 to spend a 00-02 nice low mile f-body is easy as hell to find AND FINANCE. Especially if you are putting money down. You just gotta go outside your box and make it happen.

You're young, so I'll offer you some advice from someone not far removed from your age group but has "been around the block already." If you want to make it in this world you gotta be smart with financial decisions. Investing that amount of money in a currently wrecked, previously wrecked, or car with a branded title is not a smart move.

BadWhiteZ28

I've owned multiple f-bodies and currently have an 04 GTO. The GTO is a much, much better built car than the f-body. I've had almost no issues with mine in the year and a half I've owned it and the ride quality is a million times better. With that being said, I'm trying to sell the GTO to get back into a WS6....but my reason is mainly financial rather than based on quality of the car. That, and I like the looks of the WS6 better.

slammin86

iTrader: (4)

If you want to go fast in a straight line get the F body hands down. GTO is a ****** nightmare to hook.

67-95Pilot

I own a 04 Goat auto. car AND a 95 convertible Z/28. Talk about pros and cons.... The vert is so much fun man but harder to maintain and gets very costly when the top needs work and like myself i can do anything to an engine but lack the interior skills. The goat is great all aorund...good power, VERY good potential, and handles like a dream. Con of a vert is the damn thing flexes like crazy even with stock power. The goat can be bad *** when built but damn she's heavy...all up to you man.

DukesOfHazard

Alright... finally something that 69CamaroSS won't kill me for. Haha I found this Camaro, it's a little ways out of the way for me (6 hrs) but, I've already gotten approved on a loan for it, it's within my price range, asking $7,690 with 69k miles. Not a bad deal. Attached are pics, looks like the exhaust is aftermarket and I asked him for a engine pic. Clean car fax, no title issues and the car is friggin clean. Lemme know what you guys think.

DukesOfHazard

Pics of the engine bay of the 00 camaro. Basically I'm worried about rust since it's from Milwaukee. What do you guys think?

rjt2291

iTrader: (4)

Get the 02 Trans Am.

Would only say get the GTO if it was an 06 and had the 6.0.

boostcreep

There seems to be a lot of rust/corrosion under the hood. Step back for a second and look at it this way. You are buying a ten+ year old car with 70k miles that obviously was not cared for as well as it could have been. As a non DD you might be able to work with it but I can see you having issues to work through. A well cared for 4th gen can be a solid car but when they are not taken care that's when you get all the typical problems you hear about. I would try to knock the price down some. It's easy to see things as a "good deal" when we really want them.
I personally do not think a bare bones Z28 is worth 8K.
Also, (and don't take this the wrong way I was in the same situation before as well) maybe you shouldn't be trying to finance a 10 year old car for that amount of money. What happens if the car gets totaled? I don't care what we all here think it's worth, insurance isn't giving you 8k for a 00 Z28. If everything goes fine, when the loan is all said and done you own a 13 year old car with 110k+ miles that will probably start to require a good bit of $$ to maintain.
I know you prob really want a (F-Body, GTO, *other fast sports car*) but maybe you can't afford one right now. I couldn't a few years ago either, now I can and I got what I wanted without having to compromise(well I did a little, still can't afford a Z06 )

Just my .02, whatever you do hope your happy and it works out well.
and damn, sorry for writing so much.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The engine bay condition is exactly what it should be for a daily driven northern car at 70k miles, even a well cared for one. Looks just like my '02 Z did when it had 70k miles. You just can't avoid some level of rust in the engine bay and undercarrige when you DD a car in the salt.

The price is fair for the age/miles, especially when you consider this is a dealer. I'd ask for $7500 OTD on that one.

At this point in my life I'd never consider finanacing a car like that either, but younger people need to start somewhere with building credit. This car isn't a bad deal by any means (assuming there's no major mechanical issues or non-pictured significant body damage), so it's not like he's getting screwed on price.

To the OP, I wouldn't worry too much about rust on a WI or IL car. It'll certainly have some, but it's not like the '80s and earlier cars where rust was a cancer that would destroy the entire car. For the most part, the 4th gens don't rust out to the point of being a problem at that age/mileage. Most of the exterior is plastic, and water/salt doesn't collect enough in the metal areas to cause rust-thru issues at this age.

My '02 Z has been daily driven in Chicago weather (same as Milwaukee) for most of the last 95k miles. It's got a bit of rust and corrosion in the engine bay, and on the undercarrige, and that's it. The car is otherwise solid, and none of the rust is serious.

And I'm hear to tell you that a 4th gen V8 F-body makes a fine DD, even in the snow. My winter configuration has been Blizzaks (WS-60 I think?) in a 225/55/16 size on a skinny 7.5" wheel, and 100lbs of graval in the trunk. With that setup, I haven't been stuck in any sort of urban driving situation you could imagine. Traction control sometimes hurts more than helps, just depends on the conditions. 2.73 gears help to control things though.