Commander909

Ive been talking to a Dealer and they have a nice 2002 Camaro Z28 T-tops black on black with 124k miles on it for 7.5k(sticker price was that. the guy told me he would drop it) and my credit wont allow me to really have two cars so I was wondering if its worth trading my newer Malibu for the Camaro Ive always wanted a Camaro with an Ls1 and its one of my dream cars to own and would be my first Camaro and I am conflicted cause my current car is newer. Its a 2010 Malibu LS with 120k miles(I commute for work a lot) but the gas mileage doesn't bother me if I were to get the Camaro. I still owe 8k on the Malibu.

Here a pics of the Camaro.

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

Well two things right from the get go...i'm not liking the ground effects at all, and it looks pretty slammed to me for a daily driver. Will you be driving it in the snow?

Commander909

No I live in So Cal so the lowered part isn't a problem. Most I get is rain. Snow in mountains but I don't plan on taking the car up there lol.

jaxcam02

iTrader: (1)

I mean the value is about 8K and if you pick it up for cheaper it would be worth it. Your pretty much gonna be on your own on this. Two higher mileage cars, we don't know the exact conditions of either. My suggestion is that you wait and find something better unless you can't fork up much more money after trade in. Tough choice here because of how much you owe on the Malibu. If money is tight I think you might be stuck in that Malibu for quite a while longer. Owing 8K on that and trading it in will probably get you like 4K for trade in value so in reality your going to be paying 7000+4000= 11k for the z28. For that price you can get a much nicer f-body with lower mileage. If you don't mind taking the hit I would go for it, depending on its mechanical condition.

Commander909

Well KBB and autotrader both average my car trade value around 6k and yeah Im not the original owner of the car but since I have taken possession of the Malibu I have treated it very well always on time for oil and car runs very smooth. Premium wheels and sound system too.(aftermarket). and everything about the Camaro seems good and clean I mean of course like you said I don't know exactly if its had a lot of past abuse from other owners but I mean those LS1 engines are bullet proof =D and other than that the body and interior are clean. so say they offer the car for 7k plus 2k on trade negative equity looks more around 9k for the car?

jaxcam02

iTrader: (1)

Ill let you know my situation when I was looking to upgrade to the LS1 from the v6. I was looking at a really nice low mileage z28 but the dealer wanted 15K. I was trying to manuever money around to afford it and get them to drop it down. The day I had the funds I was looking on autotrader and found my SS, had more miles but it was a way better deal and I have always wanted an SS so I drove out there with a buddy to look at it. They were asking 10.5K and offered me 4K for the trade in so I forgot about the z28 and took the SS home that day. Moral here is that there are usually pretty good deals on these cars and sometimes waiting turns out to be the better decision. Noone here knows your situation better than yourself, just keep within your budget and keep looking through the process. You never know when a better deal is going to pop up but sometimes you gotta have the ***** to pull the trigger before someone else does. Just sleep on it a day and try to get the best deal possible. Good Luck bro with whatever you decide to do.

M4N14C

iTrader: (3)

All the cars I've seen with body kits installed have been beaten on. Make sure you pay special attention to it's mechanical condition.

NC01TA

I highlighted the most important part of your statement. You have a decent car now and you would have a real gamble on your hands with the F-body. Piling up lots of miles on an already higher mileage F-body is not worth the risk and could become a 'money pit'. It wouldn't be easy to sell either for anything close to what you are about to pay for it. Save up your $$ and get an unmolested F-body down the road with much lower mileage. It will probably be a much better ownership experience. I know you want the Camaro now but think economically at this point since you have a good running car that you are familiar with.

NnOoSsSs

iTrader: (1)

I agree with this. Also i woudnt consider ls1's bulletproof. From the pics the car doesnt look bad, looks like youre typical modded fbody, i just woudnt buy one done up like that already. There are plenty of them around i think you should keep looking a little bit

Commander909

Well thank you everyone. I take every ones advice into consideration I am still searching and looking at other 4th gen ads for now till I make a final decision when I have the full amount saved up and I do understand the miles are kind of high on this car. But I spoke with the dealer and he said that they could possibly get me the car without me trading in my car if I come up with a high enough down. So if that happened it would be my semi daily driver with a side project cause I do have an air force mechanic buddy of mine that will help me in rebuilding the engine if needed and another guy that's currently working on his own clone SRT-4. Is there a test I can pay the dealer or ask them to do to see how "healthy" the engine still is? Like should I ask for a compression test?

NC01TA

Commander909, it isn't just the engine. The entire car has the same mileage. Every component comes into play and each one is closer than not to failing, and costing money, compared to an F-body with lower, non-abused miles. Just trying to keep you from making a mistake. While I love these F-bodies, I also know that they can fail and have problems just like any other car.

zrultima

Well just for reference back in 08 I picked up an 01 camaro for 5,500 bucks Clean as hell no issues AC FL car bone stock Clean title never wrecked with 116,000 miles

spordee1

iTrader: (22)

My 2 cents. Find someone to take over payments on the Malibu. Look for a Transam first and then a Camaro. Also try to find something with 50k miles. All F-bodies are not created equal. Unless you find a stock F-body, it probably has $10k in tires, rims, and after-market parts.

JDEP162

il add that last year i bought my 98z, 100k on the dot, 1 owner, great condition bone stock for 5500

Commander909

Thanks guys and well the couple of you posting prices i appreciate the tip but remember the prices you paid are for cash paid private party sales which are always the best price no doubt but i currently dont have that much cash and the way the guy guy was talking to me im sure if i did i probably could grab this for 5k cash price. But the 7k sticker is a dealer finacing price. But i understand what your trying to show with your info thanks

JDEP162

yeah thats true, and its always more at a dealer, thats where they make their money.

zrultima

I bought mine from a wholesale dealer