[Big Lebowski]

Originally Posted by partylyk1999

Realist, thank you so much for the photos!! That dent doesn't look too bad, I think a PDR can straighten that out. I really appreciate all that insight, this is incredibly helpful. all in all, it sounds like the car is in good shape. Did you notice any other scratches otherwise?

Big Lebowski, if you're able (or have time), and again no pressure at all, if you're able to get video and maybe a test drive if they let you? I don't know much about snow as a Texan, so only do it if it's safe. I'll DM you now to get a line of communication going!

Next step - I'm going to call them tomorrow to get a PPI arranged.

Snow should be gone in the next day or so... I'll be able to pop over on Friday afternoon and I'll see if they will let me take it out, but I'll get a video either way. I'm curious how it rides, but suspect the 4 cyl will be fun with the manual.

[ember1205]

I suspect that their price takes into consideration the damage to the areas mentioned. These damaged areas may very well be repairable with Paintless Dent Repair - the big thing is to ensure that the paint/clear coat itself isn't compromised. If the clear has been damaged, it's only a matter of time before it will start to rust unless you get the paint removed, the metal treated, and have the panels re-painted (much more costly than just having the damage removed with a Paintless process).

[partylyk1999]

So little update, I got the build sheet back. Ya'll can view it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A_M...ew?usp=sharing

Turns out this VIN did indeed have the pearl white stripe, but the pics don't. I called them today, and since it's carlotz, it was some phone center lady who verified that it's just black, no stripe. She wouldn't let me talk to the salespeople at the actual lot because they're "busy" and she'll have them follow up with me. I asked her if I could put a down payment to hold the car, contingent upon a clean PPI; she said they don't do that but she'll try to ask the sales people. She also said to just schedule a PPI ASAP, and that if I end up flying there, then they'll hold the car for me. She said I can use Lemon Squad or any mechanic within 10 mile radius of them.

Also, the pics indicate that there are no ambient door lights or the LED camaro logo on the foot sill, which I thought all 2LT's came with. While not a HUGE dealbreaker, it's a bummer. Would it be worth it to just install these myself if everything else checks out?

[partylyk1999]

Ambient lighting and LED door sill logo that I thought came stock with all 2LT's:

[wilbur_xmas]

It sounds like you are looking for a 2LT with the "Convenience and Lighting" package which it appears this car does not have. That means it likely also does not have: Auto-dimming mirrors, HUD, rear park assist, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot alert, interior spectrum lighting, illuminated door sills, and wireless charge pad. Here is a snip of the options breakdown in 2017 or just google "2017 camaro catalog" and if you want the whole .pdf.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by partylyk1999

So little update, I got the build sheet back. Ya'll can view it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A_M...ew?usp=sharing

Turns out this VIN did indeed have the pearl white stripe, but the pics don't. I called them today, and since it's carlotz, it was some phone center lady who verified that it's just black, no stripe. She wouldn't let me talk to the salespeople at the actual lot because they're "busy" and she'll have them follow up with me. I asked her if I could put a down payment to hold the car, contingent upon a clean PPI; she said they don't do that but she'll try to ask the sales people. She also said to just schedule a PPI ASAP, and that if I end up flying there, then they'll hold the car for me. She said I can use Lemon Squad or any mechanic within 10 mile radius of them.

Also, the pics indicate that there are no ambient door lights or the LED camaro logo on the foot sill, which I thought all 2LT's came with. While not a HUGE dealbreaker, it's a bummer. Would it be worth it to just install these myself if everything else checks out?

Unfortunately, the used market is tough like that. Not only are you limited to only "what's out there", you often have no way of knowing what's actually in the car for equipment because the window stickers and such simply aren't available. And then, on top of everything else, you're limited by what previous owners may have changed. The actual odds of you finding the a car built exactly like you want, in acceptable condition, at a price that you're good with are very poor.

Here are a couple of thoughts that come to mind on how to proceed:

- Increase your budget to open up the market more for you. This could mean waiting while you save more money towards a downpayment but could also mean that you "luck out" to get the exact car you want at a later date.

- Be very specific about what your minimum requirements actually are, set your price for that, and then understand what items would be "nice to have" and how much more you're willing to pay for them.

When I bought my car, which was new, I was looking for a specific combination of options (white, adrenaline red, manual, 2SS, convertible, mag ride, NPP). The car simply didn't exist anywhere in the country. I could find ones that were very close but ended up having things that I didn't want like the Recaro seats and the wrapped wheel and shifter. I stumbled across a car that was -very- close as it had everything I wanted except NPP and the only feature I didn't care for (but wasn't a deal-breaker) was the Premium infotainment (with navigation). I bought it. And was very happy until I ultimately decided that I wanted the factory-installed quad-tip exhaust (I have ZERO interest in aftermarket options). So, I'm in the boat now of taking a big loss to get the exact car that I wanted a year ago.

[Realist]

Sorry I couldn’t check it out longer. The car is priced at the very bottom for price on cars.com. Honestly, I wouldn’t put any money down till they get the passenger side quarter panel dent out and you can confirm it’s been PDRed properly. Glad to see BigLebo can get a 2nd set of eyes on it.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Realist

Sorry I couldn’t check it out longer. The car is priced at the very bottom for price on cars.com. Honestly, I wouldn’t put any money down till they get the passenger side quarter panel dent out and you can confirm it’s been PDRed properly. Glad to see BigLebo can get a 2nd set of eyes on it.

The one downside of getting the repairs done by the dealer is that they're going to go the route of standard body shop work as opposed to exploring paintless...

[Big Lebowski]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Unfortunately, the used market is tough like that. Not only are you limited to only "what's out there", you often have no way of knowing what's actually in the car for equipment because the window stickers and such simply aren't available. And then, on top of everything else, you're limited by what previous owners may have changed. The actual odds of you finding the a car built exactly like you want, in acceptable condition, at a price that you're good with are very poor.

I agree, and went through something similar when purchasing my ZL1 used. Party, if your goal was a 2LT M6 Black Camaro under $25k, this fits the bill. Like Ember said, there are somethings you will certainly discover after you've bought it.

I bought a used ZL1 this winter and bought it without test driving it (it was 15F with 18" of snow on the ground). All in all, it worked out great BUT once I got it home and got her up on my lift, I found a little more front splitter damage than I expected. But on the upside, I also discovered it had a 7 year extended paint and interior protection warranty plus rust inhibitor "module" so, lucky me.

Originally Posted by ember1205

I suspect that their price takes into consideration the damage to the areas mentioned. These damaged areas may very well be repairable with Paintless Dent Repair - the big thing is to ensure that the paint/clear coat itself isn't compromised. If the clear has been damaged, it's only a matter of time before it will start to rust unless you get the paint removed, the metal treated, and have the panels re-painted (much more costly than just having the damage removed with a Paintless process).

I'll take a closer look at the dented areas and see if the clear coat is damaged. I agree with ember, this damage is baked into the price. If it were me I'd handle the repair at home, with a local vendor of your choosing.

This one reminds me of one of my first Camaros. My first manual trans car ever was a Black '95 Camaro Coupe Z28, and it was bare bones. I don't even think it had power windows, lol. But it was a lot of fun to drive.

[gtfoxy]

Originally Posted by ember1205

The one downside of getting the repairs done by the dealer is that they're going to go the route of standard body shop work as opposed to exploring paintless...

Black is, in my experience, not the easiest to blend.

If they’re not going to at least explore PDR I would get a PDR place to look at the pics & get their input. Not sure if this “dealer” would move on the price, or may charge more for the repairs over asking price.

[zaimer]

Originally Posted by gtfoxy

Black is, in my experience, not the easiest to blend.

If they’re not going to at least explore PDR I would get a PDR place to look at the pics & get their input. Not sure if this “dealer” would move on the price, or may charge more for the repairs over asking price.

Interesting, was it a standard color of black that was being dealt with? Black is typically one of the easiest colors for body work.

[gtfoxy]

Originally Posted by zaimer

Interesting, was it a standard color of black that was being dealt with? Black is typically one of the easiest colors for body work.

Not really, it shows every imperfection under the paint, including primer itself.

I’ve painted a few black cars & the hood of a 650. On a rear quarter panel on our cars the dividing lines are at the trunk, window, rear facia, door jam & the channeling lip at the roof. That roof channel doesn’t have a stopping point moving forward so it would more than likely be blended at the top of the quarter.

I’ve seen a lot of area repairs like that over the years & by far the easiest to see it is on black paint. Add some metallic or pearl to it & it gets even more complicated.

I used to walk the aisles at auctions & look for old or fresh repairs. It’s a paramount skill in that line of work.

[zaimer]

Originally Posted by gtfoxy

Not really, it shows every imperfection under the paint, including primer itself.

I’ve painted a few black cars & the hood of a 650. On a rear quarter panel on our cars the dividing lines are at the trunk, window, rear facia, door jam & the channeling lip at the roof. That roof channel doesn’t have a stopping point moving forward so it would more than likely be blended at the top of the quarter.

I’ve seen a lot of area repairs like that over the years & by far the easiest to see it is on black paint. Add some metallic or pearl to it & it gets even more complicated.

I used to walk the aisles at auctions & look for old or fresh repairs. It’s a paramount skill in that line of work.

True. I guess I was thinking of it in terms of the colors matching/blending. Regarding that, I would still argue that a standard black is one of the easier colors to deal with. You are able to take a panel, respray it, and the chance of it matching is much higher than others (sans blend work, of course). The quality of the body and prep work is another story.

Pearls, metallic, tri coats - yep, you might as well forget it! I've owned at least one of each, with only a couple of body shop incidents, thankfully. They can produce some gorgeous colors, but the car is totaled for me.

[Realist]

I didn’t see a paint issue. It almost appears as if someone fell hard enough into the upper rear quarter panel to cause the damage. You can push on it and see and hear it buckle. So it’s just needs the proper spot released to remove the pressure holding in place. Dealers work with PDR folks all the time and think it can be PDRed cheap. This dealer is similar to a CarMax.