Alright, found a car I really like, I already own a 1996 Z28 and now Ive found a 1999 B4C Z28, the car looks great in the pics, owner has described just about everything he could on the car, I want the car and Im going to get the car when I get a good look at it and everything. Just wanted to post and get some opinions on it and what I should be looking for when buying this LS1 car and some of the things that are normal for these year models.

Owner Description:

I'm getting ready to put my newly-acquired 1999 B4C (police package) Camaro up for sale. The only other owner than me was the Ft. Worth Police Department. When purchased, it came without a passenger front seat, as it was removed for room for radio/computer equipment. I have purchased a used one and am putting it in today. Overall, the car is a little rough around the edges. It has 131k miles on it. They used a razor blade to scrape off the decals, and left a few rough spots. It looks fine from 10 ft., but is noticeable up close. There is one plugged hole in the roof. The tilt steering mechanism has some play in it. Currently, the service engine light is on, with a P0332 code for a bank 2 knock sensor. Because of this, I haven't gotten it inspected yet. Both windows work, but they're slow. Now for some good: The car seems to run fine, shift fine (automatic), and has cold A/C. It has just about new Goodyear RS-As on it. It drives straight with no pulling. I've been driving it to work the past several days (20 miles each way), and have no issues. There were only 196 B4Cs made in 1999, with only 50 being white automatics. Plus it has a roll bar.








So what do you guys think?

 

It better be cheap.

 

Yeah, the police owned cars are usually pretty rough....holes drilled in places for equipment, heavy 'service' miles, etc. I wouldn't pay more than 6K for that car.

 

yea hows $4,600 sound?

 

Honestly, it looks like hell.

You can find a much better car (and without police service... i.e., abuse) for $6000-6500. You'll spend more than that making that car right.

Personally, I'd never trust a 4L60E over 130,000 miles behind a 300+ horsepower motor without a rebuild, especially one that was beat-on daily.

 

yea my 4L60E went at 93,000 miles with the only mod being a lid...

 

well he says the tranny shifts firm and easy and he says that since the 4L60e's do go around the 100k mark, he says the police probably had it rebuilt, says the tranny runs great, but ill see when I take a look at it.

 

would a carfax show the service history?

 

I'd be willing to bet that the trans has been rebuilt at least once. Crawl under and look at the bellhousing bolts to see if they have socket marks on them...

 

yea ill take a look when I can, he is the only other owner besides the PD, and he hasnt done nothing to it he says, hes about to clean it up real nice and he's put 700 miles on it and hasnt had any problems, but you cant always go by word, you have to see for yourself. The main reason for this thread is to gain information, like from experiences with buying an LS1 camaro and what I should look for etc, or anyone who owns a B4C.

 

134,xxx here and it still shifts firm and has never missed yet.

 

Thanks for that info, good to see a good car still running great at that mileage.

 

Haha. I guess I'm doing even better, then: I just bought a 98 Z28 w/167xxx miles on it and I think it also has the original tranny in it. The car also has LT's and TD's and is loud as hell.

The shift points and firmness have also been altered and driven quite hard and the tranny still holds up pretty well.

Paid less than 4K for it but is also a bit rough around the edges, and then some, but runs and drives well.

Anyway... As long as you are ready to live with the possible quirks it has, it should be pretty good deal at 4-4.5K, so you are almost there, I think. Just drive it and inspect it the best you can. Just like you'd do when buying any other vehicle.

Good luck!

 

yea thats what I plan on doing, the 2 cars with high mileage still running great makes me more secure that the car could still be driving and running great like he is saying, I mean, i expect the engine to give eventually,which is why I have the 6.0L block on standby, will be building it slowly while I am driving the car. Yea you got a great deal for 4k! Thanks for the information!