First off I'd like to say hello to everyone here....Long time lurker, first time poster...Anyway, I'm finally lookin' into getting a Firebird or Camaro and at the moment I've looked into a couple cars. The first of these was a '94 firebird formula m6, 67k on it, pretty decent shape overall, they want $6,300 for it. Now for the issues: the headliner is starting to sag, the passenger side seat is broken, (the base moves around), one of the door lock buttons is broken on the passenger side, there is a squeal from the belt...Overall nothing to major, and alot of it will probably be fixed by the dealer. I'm just wondering if this is a good deal on the car, should i be worried about these problems with it, or not. The other thing is that the formula definetly doesn't look as good as the TA. And does the formula have a limited slip in it? I did get a carfax report on it that came up clean. The second car that i have looked at was one I found on the drive home. It's a '99 Z/28 m6, seems to have been very well taken care of, test drove it and it seemed to be very good. They said they'd be willing to let it go for aobut $8,900. The only turn off is that it has it has 96k miles on it. To me that seems a bit high...should this concern me, or is that something I shouldn't worry about. The deal is, i'm tryin' to find a car for about $8,000 or less, I'd really like a '98 and up TA but I don't think I'm going to find one in my price range. So, in the face of that, I'd take a Camaro and I'd go for a nice LT1. Ok, if you've made it to this point I'd like to thank you for reading this and really if you have any direction or advice to offer it would be greatly appreciated...Also, if any of you have a car or know of a car that is for sale in the New Jersey area, I'd like to know about it...Thanks alot everyone, Chris.

 

If I were you, rather than buying a low-end LS1 for $8,000 I would get a high-end LT-1 for the same price. Find a *really* low mile LT1 Trans Am that you really like and jump on it. Look nationally and make sure it is perfect with all the options you want then ship it home. The LS1 is a great motor that pulls like a bull, but the LT1 is a great motor also. It has great power stock and responds well to mods. I like power, but overall condition of the car is more important to me.

 

i agree with what was said above.

i would discuss with the dealer what would be fixed on that 94 prior to purchase. that will give you an idea of small problems you'll have to contend with.
most of those can be fixed in a weekend and a little bit of searching/buying on ebay or on this board's forsale section.

a good upholstery shop can probably take care of the headliner for you at a fair price.

and yes the formula has a posi

 

i would go for the formula

 

There are plenty of 4th Gen Camaros for sale in South Jersey. What part of Jersey are you in?

Most of the issues you mentioned are fairly minor but I agree get it in writing what the dealer will fix. As far as the LT/LS issue I drive an LG4 powered third gen so they are both faster than me. I prefer the look of the LS1 over the Geo-inspired styling of the LT Camaros but that is just my preference. Many people love the LT-1 cars.

I wouldn't worry about mileage as these are ten year old cars. I would instead focus on the overall condition of the car and motor.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm in Jackson, NJ....It's right by Freehold, Lakewood, Brick, Howell...Do you guys think that paying $6300 for the Formula sounds right? I've actually been considering a like 5.0 'Stang, just because it would be cheaper to buy and insure and stuff...But I've always been a GM guy, I'd feel like a traitor, lol What problems could i expect to run into with something like the Formula? The total amount I have in my savings is like 9k, so if I were to spend most of that on a car, I really won't be able to afford something that's always breaking down. So, what do you guys think, should I just look for a 'Stang orshould I continue to pursue a Z or TA?

 

If you are anything like me, you will not be happy with a Mustang. After owning 5 Camaros I purchased a 1994 Mustang GT convertible A4. I was not happy with it. The seat position felt wrong, the shifter location sucked, it was slow and it didnt handle very well. The only thing I liked about it was the fact it was a convertible. I longed for a Camaro.

so.... I sold it and bought another Camaro. I've driven all kinds of Mustangs including a 2005 Roush and I can honestly say I like my Camaro better.

 

Yeah, that's what i was thinking. I've been in my uncle's '96 gt a4 and while it was cool, I wasn't completely amazed by it. My friend just got a '96 gt a4, almost exactly the same as my uncle's just not a vert and with ugly rims and cheap tires, the thing doesn't seem to launch very well and breaks traction super easily, (could be the tires, but i hear Stangs don't really handle to well or launch too well)...Plus I have loved Camaros since I was 6, (17 now), and have always wanted one. I just found one, a '94 that's a ways away from me but managable. It's got 99k on it, but it's in like perfect shape, he's got the '96 ss rims on it w/ BFG tires, (not sure which model), hurst shifter, the 1LE, (I think, unless he hadit custom made), alumn driveshaft on it, callaway cai, he says a dynamax exhaust, (I've never heard of dynamax, so I'm assuming he meant Dynomax), he said it's just been fully tuned up and has new front and rear brakes as well as a new water pump...It looks really nice, it's teal, but I can live with the color...his bottom line, so he says, is 7k...what do you guys think of that? I would have really liked to spend 6k, but the car is very nice...The miles are sorta' high, but he says it runs awesome and I shouldn't have any problems with it...

By the way, i'm sorry I'm bein' such a P.I.T.A. w/ all these questions , it's just that this is a big decision for financially

 

I test drove the '94 Z today...Car drove very nice, looked to be in pretty good shape...I really liked the car alot. I ran into a couple things that were sort of unsettling to me. For one the guy had the car listed as having 99k on it, when we got there it had almost 112k on it...His excuse: "It was nice these last two weeks so I drove it." And when my mom pressed him on this he got sort of annoyed and said he didn't think it would be that big of a deal. That seemed sort of shady to me. I also asked the guy how many miles were on the car when he bought it and he said he didn't know, mileage didn't matter to him. Just overall I got the feeling that maybe he had bought the car at a wholesaler a few weeks ago and is now trying to make a profit off of it. Honestly the car was nice, but how do you get 12k miles on a car in two weeks? The weather has not been too great in Jersey. He said the car was well documented so how could you not know how many miles were on it when you bought it? Just these things raised some flags to me, my mom and my dad. Are these things I should be concerned about or am I just blowing things out of proportion? He said he would maybe go lower on the price, seeing as I'm not loaded and how it will probably need new tires soon and so on. How far below $7,000 I'm not sure. He said if I realy wanted to go for it that he would maybe work something out...Anyone got any opinions on this? Basically what I want to know is, for the money I have to spend do I really stand any chance of finding something better than this? Should I just bite the bullet and go for it or should I wait it out?.. There is a '94 or '95 Z in my town with 114k on the body and 19k on a new motor ad tranny for $5200 but it's an auto. Anyone know how much $$$ it would be to convert to a 6 speed?

 

If I were you I would wait and find a different one.