Bad News

[yellow91]

Most of you remember my last post (Trade 1991 vette for ???)

a 2000 Camaro Z-28

Well when was looking another car at a different car lot I found a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, when they apraised my car they were only going to give me $3000 for it.

Well its because they found on car fax an odometer fraud, my vette with 142,000 miles has really 190,000 miles on the same engine (I was shocked when he told me this), damn no wonder several things didn't work not to metion the rough idle. Wierd my car doesn't burn a drop of oil and I run 10-30w Mobil 1. The fraud happen with the new owner, he or she changed it from 44,000 to 30 miles then sold the car.

So I have no choice but to trade for the 2000 Z-28, I owe $8,000 on the vette and they want 17,000 for the Z-28, after trade, pay off and taxes the new loan will be $19,000. It's better because I want the LS1 V8 which this car is faster then mine, a six speed manual which mine is a automatic, four seat for friends, the Z-28 is still on warranty for 4,000 miles and 2 month.

I think it would be cool to get a taste of the corvette type LS1 V8, like people say "it's as close as you can get to a corvette with four seats".

The Z-28 is bright red, with every option you could order for the 2000 Z-28, except the SS package.

what does everyone think

 

[Rabbit]

Hate to see you sell your 91, but give the Z-28 a shot. You'll enjoy it.

Tain't the same thing, but it's close....

 

[Robertwav1]

I drove in a Z once. It's fast alright...but I was really disappointed in the interior. Plastic and lots of squeeks. This one was a little beat though. Hey...I like Chevy's...it would probably be the car I would have if it wasn't for the vette! Best of Luck!

 

[WhalePirot]

sell the Vette URself?

You'll come out better, financially, but it is a PITA.
Three grand??? How bad is the car?
mike

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

$3000 crap. The salvage value of your car is more than that. You could part it out on e-bay for more than $5000. Somebody here on the forum was looking for a 90+ L98 to turn into a race car. If memory serves me right he was talking in the 6K range.

You are completing your first year in the University of Life. If you get out for a few thousand $ consider yourself lucky, but learn from it. Putting your self deeper in debt for another used car is not learning!

Borrowing money to buy a Used car with little or no warranty is never advisable but when applied to a performance car it is just down right dumb. If you are already stretched to buy the thing how are you going to keep it running?

Get out of the Vette as clean as possible. Get your finances in order and buy a NEW car from GM with FULL warranty and LOW interest GMAC financing.

When you are in a position to pay CASH for a toy you can have as many Z28´s rustangs, etc., as you want.

My $.02 worth.

 

[bradvette]

IMO buying a new car when you can't put down the cash is tantamount to outright financing of depreciation. Thats a double whammy. Yes, a warranty is good, any dealer worth 2 pennies should give you a 90 day engine & drivetrain coverage, 30 days at bare minimum. If not, then the car isn't worth purchasing. At any rate, you'll pay for this in the price of the car.

Lots of us buy our vettes privately....ain't no such thing as a warranty in these cases.

Best thing to learn is at least run a carfax before you buy the vehicle. Not perfect protection, but the odometer fraud would have been caught.

Good luck! At least its a Chevy.....

 

[oldace84]

Just my thoughts...............
Keep the vette....or buy and have both cars..
tony

 

[Rogue]

The 2000 Z28 is a better car than your 91 if indeed the 'Vette has that many miles on it.

Although I agree with Spanishvette, $3,000 is too little for your 'Vette. And now, the dealer is making you FINANCE the difference between what you owe and what they're willing to give you for your 'Vette. This is never a good thing but often there is no choice. You however, have a choice. Go ahead and get the Z28 but don't give them 17,000 for it. Haggle it down to to as low as possible. Don't trade your 'Vette. Sell it in private for $5,000 or $6,000 and "right" the fraudulent mileage. Then try to raise the money to pay off whatever you owe on the 'Vette. If you do this, you will still have a loan but at least you won't be deep upside down in debt.

If you simply can't raise ANY cash at all and you go ahead and pay the 19k for the Z28 with your 'Vette as trade for 3k, be prepared to keep that Camaro until your loan is completely paid off. Otherwise, the next time you trade you will have to carry the upside down loan once again.

Whatever you do though, haggle down the price of that Z28 to as low as possible. Look up the Blue book value for that car (trade or wholesale value). That's how much the dealer paid for that car. Then add about $800 to it to satisfy the dealer's profit margin, detailing, & other costs of selling the Z on their lot. That should be the fair price for that Z28 which you can then offer to them. I doubt if they'll refuse.

My guess is they paid $10k for that Camaro when it was traded by its former owner.

 

[bbw]

How did the original owner actually get away with it? I mean, when the car was registered with the second owner, wouldn't the mileage fraud be known? Also, if the fraud is known, why isn't the original owner being charged? Or has that happened already?

 

[96Holly]

Watch out....

Make sure that Car fax was correct. Ie... the dealership wants to make a buck off your car. If the car fax was done wrong (or if done at all... did you see the report?) then they will try and buy your car real low then turn it around for themselves. Also, car fax is not always 100% reliable...

Just do your homework before you do anything with a dealership....

 

[Edmond]

Re: Watch out....

Make sure that Car fax was correct. Ie... the dealership wants to make a buck off your car. If the car fax was done wrong (or if done at all... did you see the report?) then they will try and buy your car real low then turn it around for themselves. Also, car fax is not always 100% reliable...

Just do your homework before you do anything with a dealership....

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. They're going to make money off that Vette' and money off the Z28 they sold to you.

Personally, I wouldn't have sold that Vette' if there weren't any major issues with it.

 

[yellow91]

Thanks to all replys, I got $5,500 trade for my vette at a different lot, so i'm going with the Z-28.

Trust me with all that is wrong with vette it's worth it to me having to face possible repairs on the vette (new front brakes and rear pads, possible motor rebuilt, ABS motor system, cruise control, none factory radio, rough idle (which cost me $hundreds to replace things that made no difference), OK interior with normal wear, side windows scratched from bad outter mold, starter solenoid going bad, engine stalls sometimes, and with almost 200,000 real miles????? the list for possible maintanence and repairs goes on. Getting into a new/ used car is worth it, The retail value is $19,600 on the Z-28, and thats what my loan will be, $23,000 with interest. They sold at $28,000 to 30,000 new back in 2000, so if I bought it new I would be paying just this now with most likely higher payments.

I did screw my self buying the corvette (I though it was worth more and I thought parts that were broken could be fix cheaply), but I need another vehicle, and I decided not to down grade to a V6 or 4 banger. Also the upgrade to 6-sp, four seats, and to the LS-1 V8 is a plus to me.

Trust me I did all my homework on this car, I did carfax (clean record), Recall history (no recalls), and Technical Defaults on 2000 Camaro Z-28. Tomorrow I'm going to pick up the car so I am going to be with the mechanic when he inspects all Technical Defaults on the Z-28, i'm not saying there is any but I said I want a complete inspection of the car.

I know i'm getting into dept further but the value of what i'm buying is better, trust me with the vette my trip to Shucks cost $100 a month or so. I was paying $9,000 at start for the my vette which is worth maybe $5 to 6 grand in its condition, Now i'm paying $23,000 for the Z-28 which is worth $19 to 20 grand.

Yeah I saw the carfax for my vette, the original buyer drove the car up to 40,000 miles, then he or she sold it privately to another person which then that person registered 30 miles, then that person put 22,000 miles it at the next registration, then to next owner and so on. Then me, 135,000 to 143,000. So over all the car was a daily driver.

The car came from Florida to Washington St. some where at 100,000 mile and it has about 4-5 owners.

The dealer said they can't charge the original owner with anything. The lot that sold me the car put exempt in the mileage box on the contract which I didn't read, so I can't do anything about it.

After all this, I have learned my lesson (never buy from a crap small time car lot and never buy a high mileage car, oh yeah and check carfax).

Hey after all it was fun driving a corvette (America's Sports car)and chating with you guys, being 20 years old I have lots to learn. I wish to still keep in touch and talk about corvettes, after all I'v worked on mine for a year, so I know average about the C4 vette.

This was my first car after school, the things I'll miss is the best handling a car could have and the looks of a corvette.

Thanks to everyone

 

[yellow91]

The dealer also complained that the car was repainted, so what, sometimes a 13 year old paint job might not look to good.

Even if it was repainted, it looks good and the clear coat is glossy. Its looks like a bright yellow banana driving down the road.

 

[yellow91]

I drove in a Z once. It's fast alright...but I was really disappointed in the interior. Plastic and lots of squeeks. This one was a little beat though. Hey...I like Chevy's...it would probably be the car I would have if it wasn't for the vette! Best of Luck!

The interior of the Z-28 is way better then the 91 vette (everything works). To me it looks good and the steerig wheel controls are cool.

Oh yeah and the dash, I hated the digital dash!!!! My tach was way off.

 

[yellow91]

bbw How did the original owner actually get away with it? I mean, when the car was registered with the second owner, wouldn't the mileage fraud be known? Also, if the fraud is known, why isn't the original owner being charged? Or has that happened already?

I'm not sure what happen to the original owner, but the car fax report did report Odometer fraud or roll back.

 

[vee93]

My God!!! It sounds like you went out and bought a toy without a whole lotta $$$$ or research. Both of which would have put you in better standing. 40+ thousand miles changed to 30!?!!! Honey, if something seems to good to be true..., blah, blah, blah. Now what about the new car-this Camaro?!!! Did you run a check on the VIN # YOURSELF?
Seems to me like you were so excited to get your hands on a Vette (right outta school), you boxed up your common sense and tucked it into the hip pocket of your mind. Handed over the cash, got the keys and what? From what you wrote, seems like the car was in need of repair when you bought it. All of those things you listed didn't start to break down all at once. Maybe you let some things slide, huh? Just kept driving 'til things couldn't be ignored.
I see you're only 20. Ummm....
How could you think repairs on a high performance vehicle would be cheap?
Nevermind. I guess I'm asking what's already been asked and answered.
So. Here's my advice. You're in a red, fast, everything-working-in-it-Camaro, right? Take care of it. It's a Chevy-it'll last you. SAVE YOUR $$$$ In about 15 years, depending on your CREDIT, salary and now-experience, you'll have the bucks and sense to go out and buy either a brand new Vette or a GOOD used one.
In 15 years, Vette's'll run about 60-grand so make that Camaro last.
Good luck to you.

 

[Dave C. '04 Z06]

You'll like the Camaro for a daily driver. It's fast, handles well, and is a more comfortable car for day to day travels than a C4. Heck, my '97 Camaro has a roll bar and it's still easier to get into and out of than my '95 Corvette. If I didn't have that Big Block in it, it would be my daily driver and the Corvette would be the weekend car, but as it is the gas is a killer with it.

But enjoy your Z28, and if you take care of it then it should last you quite a long time.

-Dave C.

 

[Gorgon]

Dave,

I bet that 454 would kick ass in the 'vette.

Leon

 

[Rogue]

Congrats on the Z28. Sounds like a great car. A bit too much $$ for me but then again, it's not as bad considering your situation. At 20 years old, it's sometimes tough to deal on cars and get good financing and so forth. Salespeople see a young guy eager to buy (Chee-ching!) and they jump all over themselves! But it's not so bad. You got the car you want and it's about as close to a Corvette as anything else! Take care of it dude. Maybe someday there's another Corvette in your future. Have fun!

 

[hawaii-5-lo]

im not here to judge cant you get another vette?in a couple years that camero will be worth less than 10,000 bucks.the rust has already begun.my friends 96 LT1 auto collectors edition(thats correct) ran an ss on the freeway the other day the vette stayed ahead to 135 then quit.my other friends L98 with 140,000 slightly modded,had the exact same result.the camero will rattle and squeek like crazy in a couple years if not already,you will notice that as you pay it off over one year,that if you sold it you will probably owe more than trade in value,my friend bought a 99 trans-am 30th brand new.he still owes more than what its worth.and i smoke him at the track.my friends car is white with blue strips and blue five spoke rims,my c5 is black and slammed.at cruises were we stop at beach parks ect....people dont even notice his car next to mine.he gets disappointed sometimes.he wants a vette bad but just bought a big dog motorcycle the other day,that baby is sweet.later.Todd.