well i struck out the first two times my father and i traveled long distances to look at what the sellers said were "CHERRY" cars. Our first trip was to west virginia, that was just a complete waste of time and money. we drove 10 hours to and 10 hours back to nj with no car and very high tempers. the guy was a real Jerk-o**. then last weekend we flew out to minnesota to look at one (you may have seen my posts) that was ok, it's just that the ac was bad and it leaked oil, which the guy never told us about. we didnt know how much or how little the defects were as neither of us are mechanics. so we contacted a friend of ours and he said that the problems could be minimal or major depending on how much we looked into it. so we let that one go, and called the seller back and offeredhim 5700 instead of the 6200 he was looking for, and he wouldnt budge. so i am looking again. i came across this one on auto trader. it looks like it has a moon-roof not t-tops. did this person just paint the weather stripping between the door and top or is that something different. i can't contact the guy yet as it is 10:15 and a little late plus he didnt answer when i called a few days ago, so i didnt ask him. how does that car look to you guys? also the one in minnesota what do you think of that. there was an oil leak on the bottom end in the front of the motor (guessing oil pan). like i said we arent mechanics, so we weren't sure. then the air-conditioning wasnt cold and made a loud fan noise in the dash. my father said it could be in need of free-on, but we really dont know, and when you turn the heat and air on it smell like cat ****. i dont think it had animals in it but it was sitting the guy said. would this be something we should look out for or just minimal things we should not make a big deal as it is 15 yrs. old. the vehicle has 46,000 miles on it and the origional paint, motor, interior, trans and rear, thats why my father and i keep thinking about the one in minnesota......... if you got this far thanks for reading my story lol. hopefully you could give me some insight on the one in minnesota and the one on auto trader. minnesota iroc-z

 

That car in the auto trader just looks like the plastic strip has been painted red to match the car. Its hard to tell from that picture but thats my guess.

As far as the car in minnesota goes, I dont think it sounds too bad. You cant really expect a car of that age to have working a/c, especially if its got low miles and hasnt been used much. The smell from the fan could just be from it sitting for long periods of time.

The oil leak could be something as simple as a drain plug gasket, to something like a rear main oil leak. My camaro has a leak in the rear main seal, its got over 280k kms on it, and has never been opened up. I just put something under it when I park so I dont make a mess of the garage, and I always make sure to top up the oil.

If at all possible, get the guy to let you take it to a local shop to have a little inspection done on it. I used to just get people to take their car to the local auto parts chain store and have a basic inspection done on it for like 26 bucks.

I looked at camaros for almost 4 years before I actually bought one so just be patient.

 

the red one is way over priced. But it looks to me like the edge of the tops are painted red. The blue is alright, but still overpriced. I would not expect the a/c in any 3rd gen to work because its so old and systems have leaks. Was air blowing out all the vents or just the defrost? that could be the noise you head with the fan on.

 

A car in Minnesota will have dry rot issues if it wasn't stored correctly. The temp swings are extreme even in a garage. My 6300 mile IROC-Z (when I bought it in MN) needed 4 new tires, a rear main seal, yoke, EGR valve, EGR thermal sensor and AC recharge. I also had to replace the hood struts and the trunk struts, and the window edge plastics on the top of the door panel. The car was mint, but because it sat in this extreme environment, I had dry rot and cracked plastics.

Did you tell me where the car in MN is located? I have mechanic friends in the Minneapolis area that are in the local Camaro Club that might be able to check the car out for you. I'm sure there are others on this board that live in MN that could take a look at the mechanicals for you also.

Good luck in your search. Utilize the members of these boards as much as possible to save $$. I'm sure most of them would be willing to scope something out for you. This one in FL, if interested, let me know. It has a 407 area code and may be close to me. I can check it out for you.

 

hey guys thanks for the quick replys. scott, i would love to have someone look at the car, but i just signed up for the board a few days before i won the car on eBay. I would have liked to get some people to look at the car, it's just that i didnt realize how many members were on this board. It is hard for me to get the car to a member because i live in NJ and the guy lives in Minn. I would really have to leave it up to the member and the owner in order to get the car looked at. The camaro is located in South Haven. If you could give me a referance to someone you know near that area it would be great. Thanks again for your time albert III

 

the red iroc on auto trader does look waaayyy overpriced...

also the bad smell when you turned on the air is prolly a bad heater core from what i was reading in the cooling board..

anyway good luck hope u find the right car!

 

Why not spend more time looking in the classified section here, Seem's to me to alway's be pretty good selection and you could most likely feel more comfortable buying a car from a member here??????????

 

I have not been able to look at the auction to see where it was located because my office blocks ebay. I finally saw that it was located near St. Cloud. Unfortunately, I don't know anybody that close to st cloud.

When I was referring to having someone look at the car, I mean have a member from here go look at it for you. I have driven up to an hour away to help someone with buying a car. They were in another state, like you, and they asked if I could be their eyes and determine if the car was worth the asking price. I feel a small inconvenience on my part is worth saving someone thousands of dollars and hours of aggrevation. Plus, the new owner feels more confident in their purchase knowing that they aren't getting screwed by the "perfect condition" claim.

Good luck. The car in FL is about 45 minutes from my home. Let me know if that has interest to you also.