Need Help Deciding!!!
 

Hi, new member here. Long time mustang owner and admirer, but recently started noticing the awesomeness of the 6.2L camaro ss. I have a 2016 2SS lined up to buy. I have two issues I need your feedback on. The first, it's automatic. I dont have anything against auto's but I was really looking for manual. With that being said, I was also thinking I might get tired of rowing gears after a while, and not want to take the car out if I'm feeling lazy. Anyone with auto wish they went manual or vice versa? Second, the carfax has a theft report on it. Basically, a previous owner had the car repo'd. Someone stole the tags off of the car and started blasting through a thoursand dollars of tolls. The owner didnt want to get anymore bills so he reported the whole damn car stolen. Obvious it wasnt stolen, it was repo'd, but its still on the carfax. This is not a daily driver for me, it is a weekend fun toy around car. Here's the kicker, I can have this car for 20k, clear title (34k miles). I think that the price is great and will still have a great time with it, even though its not manual. But, down the line if I decide I want the manual, I might have an issue selling because of the theft reported on carfax. Input?????

You may have a very hard time selling it, yes. Is it a salvage title too bc of theft? Assume it is. I wouldn’t go near an A8 bc of the shudder issue anyway. I’d go manual and skip this one.

I have the A8 and haven't experienced the "shudder" yet. I got the A8 so my wife can drive it if need be, although that is unlikely. No regrets getting the automatic over the stick.

Could be a great deal
 

But could be a nightmare. So,...If you buy it buy it for you to enjoy, not resell. I would inspect carefully and if it seems ok price an extended warranty. If you can get an extended GM warranty then you have some protection. Add the 20,000$ cost of car to cost of warranty= total expense. Remember that extended warranties start date is IN SERVICE DATE OF CAR not the day you buy the car but the day and mileage it was first sold. So if you like the car drive it to a GM dealer tomorrow. Learn if you can get an extended warranty. Get a contract for the best warranty offered. Check your math for a good deal. If yes buy car, then the warranty. If not then I would say don't buy it.
So if you can get 7 year 70,,0000 Mile bumper to bumper and 10 year 100,000 Mile engine/ power train for $3,000 you will have an awesome car with 3 years of full and 7 years of power train warranty for a total of $23,000. If you enjoy it for 7 years you are at $3,300 per year or less than $300 a month plus expenses.
For the record I love my 2017 2SS automatic. Good luck to you. Jeff

Thanks for all the feedback so far. It has a clear title (NOT salvage or Rebuilt). Its a private seller, so I would have to pony up the cash to buy the extended warrant, so most likely wont have the expendable cash after paying tax and tags.

I see a bunch of red flags here with the 'stolen tags' story. Who's telling you this, the seller? How does one report a car stolen in NJ that's in their possession? How exactly would the recovery work? That sound fishy to me and a red flag. If someone reported a car stolen to insurance but had it in their possession, would this be considered fraud? There's a likelier possibility that the car was stolen and recovered, the owner took a payout from insurance and is now selling it. The low price likely reflects this. As they say, buyer beware. Beyond this, if you want a manual, don't buy the auto. Wait and get the manual.

Absolutely NOT. Don't do it. You want a manual and you'll regret getting the automatic.
Second, the story sounds super sketch to me. If that story was true, the owner should've just contacted the licensing department, they could have sorted out the situation easily. But instead it was repossessed? Something isn't adding up there. It could have actually been stolen and if it was, you know it was abused. You know nothing about the maintenance history---34k miles. Maybe the guy didn't make his payments. Do you think people who don't make their payments are responsible car owners who make sure everything is done right? Not likely. There could be a significant mechanical issue that he isn't telling you about and just wants to get rid of the car. I wouldn't even consider buying that car. Do NOT buy it. Save your money and look for a certified pre-owned manual 1SS from a reputable dealer.

I was always told, "If you think you'll ever want to drive a manual, then get a manual. You'll wish you got one more than you'll be disappointed you did." and I think that holds true. There have been a few times in traffic that I wished I had an Auto, but way more times that I was glad I got one.

Mine is a DD, and I've never regretted it, so as a weekend car I can't see why you wouldn't get one if you ever even had a thought that you might want it.

Good luck finding one!

Stay away from the A8.

People hardly regret getting a manual because they know what they're getting into. It's a big change knowing you're gonna row your own gears every single time you drive your car so usually a lot of thought is put into it ahead of time.

Only you know your own local conditions (traffic, roads, other drivers, commute etc) so if you're willing to deal with that, and driving a stick, then go for it.

So I went a test drove it. Has some minor dings and scratches that I can fix no problem. Runs great and I actually really like the auto. I’ve had my share of manuals and felt very satisfied driving this auto in sport mode. As far as the theft situation I have a local police report number from the seller. I also know a cop so He checked the VIN NCIC and it’s not stolen. Really the only thing that sucks is the blemish on the carfax. I will work on getting that removed because the car wasn’t actually stolen. I think I’m gonna go for it.

To clarify the guy I’m buying from is not the one who reported stolen. The original owner got the car repo’d. When the car was impounded in repo yard someone stole the license plates and used them to run up and down the highway and racked up tolls. The original owner was getting bills for the tolls so he reported the car stolen so he could get out of paying the toles. The new owner had to prove that he was in possession of the car at the time the tolls were getting racked up. That’s the way the car is no longer on the books as stolen. I will obviously confirm this with police before final sale.