Cascade Crew

DBL_TKE

OK, I've been trying to sell my car so I can get a different Camaro. The Camaro that I've been looking at is owned by my friends dad and it's been in storage for several months now. It is a black '91 Camaro Z28 with 305/T5. He is asking $2500. However it has been sideswiped and there's no saving the drivers side door. It does not shut right and they tried sanding it down and pulling out the dents but it's just all wavy. It also has some rear quarter panel damage right behind the driver door. It's a fairly large dent, more like a crease. starts where the door meets and extends back to the wheel well. The hood is also warped and does not sit right with some paint cracking. The front GFX has been crack in the passenger corner and the paint has mostly peeled off of the front GFX. Finally the alternator has gone out and needs replacing.

Besides the aforementioned problems the car is in great shape. Only driven in nice weather. Stored during winter. The paint is very good, engine seems clean and suposedly runs strong. Has about 12x,xxx miles on it. Clutch recently replaced. Red interior is top notch, no rust plus it's a hardtop. It also has a fairly nice stereo system with a 300 watt amp and 2 10" subs in a nice sub box that fits in the storage well.

Now I'm not sure what I should really be paying for this car which obviously needs cosmetic work. my only main concern is the quarter panel damage. I don't think I would be capable of fixing that. I can work on engines but not with the body. He is also now saying that he wants to keep the stereo but asking the same price. I know it's hard to tell without any pictures, I'll try and get some whenever I can but that probably won't be too soon. I just want to know if it's a fair deal or not.

Sellmanb · Member Joined: 30 Nov 2004 Posts: 727 Location: Tigard, OR

w/ big body damage like that, and at 12x,xxx miles I couldnt imagine it being worth more than 1750, even in good running order and interior in good shape. It does have a T5 and 305 to help it retain value to the enthusiasts though... I'd ask if he'd go 2k for it, the 500 you'll spend replacing the door and maybe a little towards the 1/4 panel... paint will be on your own though Wink

but good luck finding a perfect bodied 3rd gen around... espescially under 4k

aaron_sK · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:50 am Post subject:

Take a pass on that one dude. I've seen clean 305's go for around 2-3K. They are going up in price noticably from last year. Used to be able to get TPI 305's for under 2K. No no no...

BTW, if you want the fiver so bad, have you thought about just swapping a T-5 into your '85?

Dewey316 · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:03 am Post subject:

I would vote to pass on it also, there are enough of these cars with straight body's that aren't worth anything, no use paying $2500, for one that needs work.

Xophertony · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:33 am Post subject:

+1 to others. if nothing else for that money if you can't find a decent v8 car you could swap a 350 into a nice body six car. with your ability i would look for a car with a busted up engine that is awesome otherwise. you are a mechanic, you can fix an engine, no body shoppe though.

rjmcgee · The Hammer Joined: 08 Jan 2004 Posts: 2328

Wow, if it really only has 12,000 miles I would be all about buying it. 90% of these things need new paint anyway. If it were me I would offer $2000 first and see where that gets you. That is of course if it is reparable damage with a new door and some body work on the quarter panel.

Of course that's just me, and I seem to enjoy buying these cars. Laughing

Quasi-Traction · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:25 pm Post subject:

I'd also go along with passing that one up.

There's still a ton of these cars out there, if that same car was offered up for less than $1000, I'd consider it, but 2K is too much for something that needs body work.

aaron_sK

rjmcgee · The Hammer Joined: 08 Jan 2004 Posts: 2328

aaron_sK · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:24 pm Post subject:

Yeah, a wrecked 12K would have been sweet. Oh well.

QwkTrip · Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 11:18 am Post subject:

Definetely do NOT buy it. There are a ton of cars on the road and you don't have to settle for something that has been trashed like that. Just keep looking and you'll find something in better condition for nearly the same price. Even if it did have low miles it is meaningless since the car needs a ton of body work. Low miles only helps if the car is all original.

aaron_sK · Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 3:09 pm Post subject:

The killer is honestly the rear panel damage. If it was just a fender and door that's an afternoon of work and some paint matching and you're good. However the rear panel damage would probably mean some cutting and welding, which is to much trouble after already paying that much.

DBL_TKE · Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:00 pm Post subject:

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I'm fine with everything except the quarter panel. I'm going to have to replace the quarter panel on my 280ZX due to rust and I don't exactly feel like doing that twice. I don't really care whether my car has MAP or MAF. Only 91-92 camaro's came with it (for third gen's at least) and that was an easier way of saying that I want a 91-92 camaro. I just like the body styling, T-5, and the fact that everything else on it is in much better condition than my current camaro. One of my huge motivating factors in selling my car is that I can almost recoup the whole cost of buying it. I bought the car for $1850 but I have an offer for $3000 right now.

aaron_sK · Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:28 pm Post subject:

I can understand the sale if your car is junked up. I've never seen it, or even seen pics, except a couple of the exterior.

Personally though, I hate the graphics, the spoilers, the hoods, and the interiors on the later-model Camaros. To each their own buddy. Cool

DBL_TKE · Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:05 am Post subject:

OK. A bit of an update now. I just spoke with his son and kindly gave him the news that I'm not all that interested in the car anymore. He said that his dad will be pretty lenient on the price as he's been wanting to sell it for some time now. I began to mention how it needs some body work and it really isn't worth paying over $2000 for. He then told me that his dad would pay off the costs for the necessary repairs for the car as well. I am, of course, going to give his father a buzz and see what kind of things we may be able to work out.

To top it off when I was helping out my buddy with his jeep's engine swap today we ended up talking about this very topic. He said that his neighbor would most likely fix the damaged quarter panel for me as he often helps them out with their Jeeps and rock crawling buggy. He apparently works or used to work with accident/body repairs as he has access to the kind of machines that shops uses to do all sorts of body/frame work. I'm not expecting him to help me out for free but My friend said he could get me a pretty good deal.

Just when I was starting to lose interest for fear that I would be getting a poor deal, all this comes up. It may not be so bad now, perhaps?

Xophertony · Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:07 am Post subject:

if you can get a good deal on body work that is awesome.

Quasi-Traction · Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:21 pm Post subject:

I'm not trying to say these people that you know would screw you or that they aren't trustworthy, but..... I'm a wholehearted believer in the montra "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

its your money, but someone who'd do the repairs for free, Plus then sell the car below what they were asking..... I dunno. If they know this neighbor who has access to a body shop, or equipment... it seems to me your buddy and his dad would have talked to this fella already and they would have had the body work done for next to nothing already and then put the car up for sale. If the condition is as you say, they could have marked the price up a bit and they could have at least recouped some of the money spent on body work, plus be rid of the car.

just my .02.