Saareon

Well, I don't know how to keep this all that concise given the title. I'm unsure where to start with this so here it goes.

My wife and I have saved up a good chunk of money, have two vehicles paid off, and she wants to welcome me back home with a car. She knows I've wanted a 98-02 z28/ss since I was 16. (My 1st car I bought was a 95 Camaro 3.8L A4)

Really long story short is what are your opinions of getting a 15+ year old car. I'm not a mechanic. I can do basic work oil, changing plugs and wires, brakes, real simple stuff. Not to say I can't learn but it's not a skill set I posses. Her entire family are mechanics but they live in MN and I'm stationed in Kansas.

I'm not looking to make a race car. It would be a daily driver. I'm not looking to run spray, forced induction, or a giant cam. Bolt-ons with a mildish cam (tsp 228 at the most) would be long term goals.

Would I be better off looking for a low mileage car, or getting one and having the engine rebuilt? Just looking for opinions even if its telling me to take a long walk off a short pier.

S2KIWI

Was in a slightly similar position to a point a few years back with my partner. Except I had a long background of road and track racing sportsbikes, working on them and also aviation tech as part of flying. So cars were same same but different really.

Bought a car and ended up with a few problems, discovered some crappy work along the way, been a long road of learning to get it back up and running.

Best course of action is to have people who know more than you inspect, or even potentially might be able to find a car via contacts. Her family sounds like they may be able to help you and save you a lot of hassle.
I'd presume they'll check anything interesting on a hoist. If you want to be sure and see what the engine/trans/etc is like, then spend few bucks and some time to properly test + look and ultimately prevent heartache later..
I didn't check the motor of the car we bought, blindly trusting a very recent rebuild from a reputable company, which went **** up not long after.

Or just buy a shell or car, sell motor/trans and put a new/built powertrain in there for piece of mind.

Sometimes if you want it done properly, you have to do it yourself.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

id look for a clean stockish car and mod it yourself so you know what you have.


now there is fbodies out there that are modded how you like im sure but you have to know what youre looking at to avoid costly repairs.


whatever you decide have fun.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Personally, I would always rather go for the low mileage car with the fewest owners possible. This usually results in the least amount of headaches and surprises, allowing you to minimize the amount of time spent chasing problems and doing general repairs. If you aren't familiar with these cars, then it's probably best to buy one as stock as possible - though I guess that's a bit of a paradox since recognizing certain modifications might be difficult if you don't know the platform in the first place.

These cars are quite reliable when left [mostly] stock and especially with low-ish mileage.

Saareon

I appreciate the input guys. I like the idea of putting the time and effort into finding a low mileage, few owner, mostly stock vehicle. I know it will be more difficult to find but like what was said I'll spend less time chasing small problems and more time enjoying the car.

I'm glad to hear they are reliable. I'm always worried about electrical issues in vehicles. I can thumb my way through manuals, read, and fix minor mechanical issues but I'm completely lost in the sauce when electronics get involved.

Does anyone have ideas for finding vehicles. I know there is auto trader, craigslist, and such. Just looking for more ideas.

Once again, thank you all for the thoughts so far.

98CayenneT/A

Ls1Tech classifieds
https://ls1tech.com/forums/marketplace/cars/search/

That_One_Person

iTrader: (4)

My "first" car was a 94 with 100k+ on it and several owners. That thing was a nightmare that I ended up spending more money fixing it than modding it. It almost made me buy a Mustang. My current car was a one-owner and only had 269XX when I bought it. Now it's at 383XX and no problems whatsoever. Do what these guys say and find a clean one, especially if it is your dream car.

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

Don't go into something too fast, Springs coming up and they'll be cars out there.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

did you see the red z28 in the eastern classifieds with 48k for $8000 ? looks like decent mods including mild cam and the pics look super clean , forget the members name but he is a knowledgeable regular and has gotten the car into the 11.40's , if your budgets 8k I would take a peek at that....

edit heres the link:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/eastern-c...amaro-z28.html