I'm about to go offer a guy I know some money for his Camaro and I'm not totally sure what to offer.

I know it runs, has a really bad/rusty body, may need replaced tires and is around 90 to 92.

I'm not sure if its a V6 or V8. It's been sitting for a good amount of time lately but it was moved recently around his property. I was thinking of offering $800-$1k, as I'm just randomly going to ask if he'll sell it, he doesn't have it out "For Sale" or anything. I know I'll need to put some money in the car anyway. What do you guys think?

 

Sounds like way too much, way way too much. Let him know you are interested. Then gauge his interest.

If you have that kinda $, you can pick one up off ebay or the want ads with minmal rust.

I know I got a nearly mint one down in NJ for much more than you are going to spend, but still I know that they are out there.

 

I was thinking of getting one off ebay, but it seems to chancey and the deposit thing worries me. I don't like the word "non-refundable" if its over 200 bucks. That and out of state tax would burn my pocket if it was a dealership.

What would you say the car sounds like its worth?

 

rust and these cars is a bad mix. Generally if there is visible rust, there is much more hidden rust, behind the ground fx, in the wheel wells, under the car and in the floor. It gets to the point where the car just useless and unrepairable. If you want a 3rd gen. let this one go. You can still find these things cheap, and is good shape. heck there are 3 or 4 that i know of, all firebirds, within 5 miles of my house with no rust, in varying overall conditions.

 

agreed rust on these babies aint good i live in jersey i got an almost mint one here for 2000 but there are sooo many beat up ones prolly in better shape than the one u lookin at you can get cheaper or equal i know a kid that has another camaro like every month.

use ebay even if u dnt buy from there look for guys near u and go knock on their door another good site is craigslist.com thats where I found mine..

 

i used ebay but not in the normal sense. I just e-mailed the guy and bade a bid. I also called him saying that I will drive down to see it if i win but I will not buy if I don't like it. He said fine. I went down and paid 4300 for a VERY very nice 91 Z28. Just screw all the ebay rules and do it through e-mail. I use ebay as more of a want ad for expansive stuff. No way am I going to wire someone a crap load of $.

 

My 84 T/A is for sale $3000, not sure how much you want to spend.

 

I'm willing to pay up to $2,000 but I'm only wanting something local in the St. Mary's/Southern Maryland Region.

That's a really good idea, I might need to try that.

Thanks for all the advice guys, but I'm going Sunday to inspect it *as you all say, rust mostly* and make the offer.

 

Go low, rust is Very expensive to fix. If you do it yourself like i did, it is very time consuming. More than you could ever imagine if you have never done it.

 

Is is possible all I saw was surface rust?

And if so, could you guys give me a number to run by him? I don't wanna go too low, because I'm not sure what the magic number to get it away from him is.

From what i remember, the area BEHIND the T-Tops is slightly rusty and the hood is rusty.

 

You have to understand one thing. And one thing only...

Rust cost a LOT to fix. Rusty hood=you need a new hood
A car with a rusty hood has rusty quarters, roof fenders and hatch. Not to mention floors.

You are about to offer a guy some $ for a big rust ball. Why? Keep looking. I am telling you this for your own benefit. You will not fix all that rust. Pro-body shops sometimes don't. And they have all the time and $ they want with practically free labor. (when building a shop car). Just do the smart thing and save more $ and keep looking for a cheap less-rust car.

PS- there is no such thing as a car with a rusty hood only, or rusty roof only, and so on. If there is rust on places that are that easy to keep clean and rust free, the hard spots but just be holes by now.

 

I LIVE IN ST. MARYS ALSO AND THERE ARE A FEW ON RT 5 IN CHARLOTTE HALL. I JUST BOUGHT A 88 GTA FROM A GUY IN CHARLOTTE HALL AREA, FOR 9000.00. IT LOOKS LIKE IT JUST CAME OUT OF FACTORY, 47,OOO MILES. THE INTERIOR IS PERFICT, AND IT RUNS LOW 13'S ON STREET SLICKS. I HAVE HAD LOTS OF CAMAROS AND TRANS AMS, THERA ARE ALOT IN RUFF SHAPE, BUT IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH YOU WILL FIND A GOOD DEAL. RUST IS EXPENSIVE

 

I would only offer money on a rusty car if it was a 8-cylinder. I would offer like $100 and if they sold it, just epoxy primer the whole thing and do a glasspack exhaust. When the rust shows through, just primer the car again!