chadaclysm

I've had multiple people comment on how comfortable the Trans Am seats, one of which was an SL500 driver... so they can't be that bad? lol.

As for the spark plugs, I had more trouble getting the new rear passenger in than I did getting the old one out. I had scabs on my hands for a couple weeks

hardon85

the 97 camaro I had did this also and I just adjusted the latch if I remember right there was 2 bolts that held it on, just loosen those bolts and slide the latch down a little bit. That worked for me and I had the car for 4 years and the hatch never rattled again.

sorry if somebody has already addressed this but I didn't read the whole post

Juicy J

iTrader: (5)

If you take the coil pack brackets off its alot easier, and less painful. Those spikes can really cut your hands/arms up.

caseypryan

iTrader: (10)

*What the hell do you expect, eh?

Striker

iTrader: (1)

The latch? I just know that there are these lil bomp stop looking things that look like they could be unscrewed to stop the bumps.

bluebird71

iTrader: (54)

Just look at them as kind of a "poor man's Vette". I love the styling of the 4 gens though, even more so than the C5 really. It's a great way for someone to get Corvette performance for about half the price. Whenever someone asks me for advice and getting a fast sports car on a tight budget, I always have to steer them into an f-body. Even with all the little issues that drive us all crazy, you really can't get much better than this for the price.

Najania

As a new owner of a 93 camaro I can tell you these cars are easy and fun to work on compared to what you call imports..

My former dd was a volvo and this is a list of what broke or malfunctioned on it during the 1 1/2 year i owned it:

rear window wiper stopped functioning
door stop failed in both sides due to rust.
elec. mirrors
elec window passenger side
fog light front and back missing grounds
pop up headlight stopped working.
passenger side seat belt
the heated seats heat stopped working.
The heater started leaking.. twice! although the second time it was because the compression went into the heating lines due to a blown head gasket..
that reminds me.. the head gasket blew!
the instrumentation stopped working.. everything from the fuel gauges to tachometer stopped working due to bad grounds behind the dash!(not an easy fix)
Shock absorbers in the rear.
Central locking system
glovebox and consolebox came apart
A panel above the right rear side window fell of in a car washing machine.. thought to myself that would be a one timer untill recently when i started washing it by hand. the second panel on the opposite side fell of as i was hosing it down with a regular waterhose!
the wiper robot failed on my as well
the push button for the front driver seat to fold, fell of as the buyer came to look at the car and wanted to see how much room there was in the backseats.. not exactly dreamcase scenario when trying to sell him a car!
The fuel filler cover was remote controlled! Now it's "pry open with a screwdriver"
Bushings for the rear trailing arms
Emissions are not near legal limits
Alternator
battery

Probably a couple of things i cant remember at the moment

oh yeah, the entire ign. system

pardon me if some of the things dont make sense but not sure what they're called in english

i bought the car with 95k miles.. drove it 30k miles.
Also, i had to do alot of bodywork due to rust.

What i am trying to say is everytime is get in my camaro it puts a smile upon my face.. just the feel of it.. and thats eventhough it's only a v6.
When i bought it i had to replace the k member, rear springs, a little rust, brakes.. and what a thrill to work on compared to that volvo piece of ....

twelver12

iTrader: (3)

I think the problem here is that the younger crowd likes a lot of new bells and whistles, and generally doesn't want to see old stuff or old technology even if it works well. I don't feel this way. I like my cars to be as basic as possibile while still offering some level of comfort and conveniance. I'm not interested in Navi, DVD players, integrated I-pods, bluetooth, On-star, heated seats, electronic climate control, 57 different on-board computers to wipe my *** and blow my nose, etc.

totally agree i cant stand newer cars i love driving the car myself idont want any part of the car driving me around

and mine has been a trooper ive driven it daily for two years in summer through winter and have yet to break one thing (not mod related) best car i have owned

NC01TA

...and I bet Consumer Reports gave that Volvo a 'best buy' along with the Camrys and other Japanese cars they love so much. They probably still think a Camry is a 'best buy' while our F-bodies received nothing but black marks in most categories. I've owned F-bodies for 14 years now and I have never seen why they were blasted regularly by that Un-American rag. The quality is decent in F-bodies, not horrible, not even close. You are living proof of the F-body ownership experience as well. Good post!

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

you get what you pay for. there is a reason these cars were only ~28k brand new. and there is a reason higher end "more refined" cars are 35k+ brand new.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Apparently what makes a car "high quality" is nothing more than the grade of leather and plastic used for the interior. Forget about silly things like accelerator control, working brakes, or steering control. Those don't matter so long as the leather feels really nice while you're accelerating out of control.

My '98 Z28 had over $4k worth of options and it was still only $25k. The car could have been had for $20,470 brand new in stripper trim.

Either way, people need to stop comparing the materials quality to brand new cars. These things are a decade old. Compare them to other cars in their MSRP range that are of the same era to determine how "good" they are.

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

enter the 1999-2004 mustang...IMO, the F-body is a Cadillac compared to thoes cars. i dont think you can get much cheaper build quality than that.

the mustang of thoes years was a honda civic with a decent engine.

Latch

iTrader: (8)

Wow, you guys must be driving a different car than I am. Maybe it's the low mileage, but my Camaro feels totally solid. No squeaks or rattles to speak of. The massive doors close nice and quiet. Handling and ride quality are great. The only thing I can tell that GM dropped the ball on was the window motors, but hey, what car doesn't have at least one quirk?

Build quality on my Camaro is better than either of my previous cars, one being a 2001 Cadillac Seville, and the other a 2006 Monte Carlo. The Cadillac was nice but the center console was crap, and the memory seats had a mind of their own, which was highly annoying. The Monte Carlo's interior was pretty bad... lots of rattles, huge gaps in the dashboard, again the center console was crap, and closing the doors made you think of a car from the 80's.

Bottom line... F-bodies are the best bang for your buck if you're looking for a car that's fast, fun, and looks great while also being affordable, reliable, and (somewhat) practical.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I had a very different experiance with my '02 MC SS. It was a great car, no rattles, great fit & finish, doors were fine, very comfortable ride. I never would have sold that car, except for two issues..... 1) Previous owner smoked in it....A LOT, and after 1+ years of trying to get rid of the smell with no luck I just couldn't stand it any more. 2) It was the NA L36 motor which, though decent at low speeds, was just too weak for me on the expressway. Those cars are great with the L67 supercharged motor though.

I ended up replacing that car with my '02 Z28.

Mr.Slow

My car is 10 years old now. It has been a California/hawaiin car from the carfax. Underbody and engine is in SUPREME condition. The paint has spots on top by the t tops where it is chipping. Looks to be sun related. I'm coming from owning Honda, so of course some pars of this cars assembly don't seem to make much sense and some of the build quality is so-so. But it has given me no problems and survived a year sitting with same fluids and started over with just a battery first crank. Every part of the car is a hobby to me, so I enjoy everything to putting in a new turn signal flasher. If I had the money, I'd buy another(6 speed) or a c5...

Edit: my goal is probabaly an ls2 goat one day, but who knows. I have twins lol

Najania

be glad you are able to buy these machines.. and yes, they are truly machines.. not refined boring silent vessels to take you from A to B the most effecient way.
best bang for the buck anywhere available.

These god-awesome ls1 equipped machines were equipped with something FAR superior than the vast majority of other cars in the market.. a super smallblock that will tear up almost anything in its way given the chance. It responds to mods the same way paris hilton responds to media..

Want dull and "refined" ? buy a 4banger toyota or civic

346ci

I love these cars to death, despite the so so interior I could not ask for more. It has an awesome poewrtrain and just the right amount of accesories, not too much and not too little. The car fits me perfectly

Latch

iTrader: (8)

The Monte Carlo was changed for 2006-2007. I think GM neglected the Monte for its last two years because they knew it would be going out in favor of the new Camaro.

Darksol

My first car was a 86 CRX Si. lol. I also owned two del sols one Si (SOHC) and a VTEC (DOHC) 1.6's and they were rattle traps. They both left me stranded at one point or another too. My WS6 hasn't. And it has 140,000 miles now. I traded my 94 VTEC sol with 54,000 miles in 02 for my 99 WS6 with 57,000 on it. I LOVE MY CAR. She needs some attention but I wouldn't hesitate to drive anywhere in it. From St. Louis to Pittsburgh to Atlantic City...with a wife and two children (under 4yrs) in back. My car is family. When my wife got pregnant I asked if I should trade it in...she said no...she almost bought a sliver WS6 before she meet me so I think she likes them.

And gas mileage is not that different since I had to wring the ever living life out of those torque-less Honda's to do anything...I do miss the 8200 rpm redline and shifting my own gears as this is the first auto I ever owned.

sxracerb25

iTrader: (6)

I'm on my 2nd F-Body and I must say, I love these cars. I hated my first one after 5 years, but that was just because I was tired of it and it was a V6. I got a '00 WS6 now and I love it. It feels so much sturdier than my 95 Firebird. It feels like it is put together a lot better and the seats feel a lot more comfortable. There are some things that are a pain to do on these cars for maintenance, but you should get a 300zx TT. Those engine bays are so full of stuff and to change out the turbos (which go out after about 80-120k) you have to pull the motor. When this happens, they recommend changing out the entire motor wiring harness which is about 400 dollars. I had my V6 for 5 years and the only major thing I had to change was the clutch. Now, it's burning coolant which I think is from the intake manifold, but for 4000 dollars and 160k miles I'd say it had a good stretch. Some of the locations they chose for parts could have been better (had to pull the exhaust to change the starter on my firebird), but overall I'd say they're great cars for the price.