[sr71bb]

Let me start off by saying that I post this to try and help guys that perhaps are a little less experienced than myself in trying to get the most for your money should you choose to go the Camaro route. On a personal note I will say I have pretty much always been a Camaro guy. I certainly appreciate the corvette but I never had the passion for the car that I had for the Camaro. All that being said, realize that these cars are certainly not inexpensive so here are some things to consider especially if this will be your daily driver.

COST OF OWNERSHIP (purchase price)

Most recently I had a NEW 2019 Satin Gray ZL1 1LE Camaro. The car listed for right at 76K and it was purchased for 70K so after taxes lets say 75K. Theres something to be said about owning a brand new car but lets look at this particular transaction.

The car had awesome performance and the MAIN reason we purchased it was that it was the FIRST 1LE ZL1 to have the new A10 transmission. The performance of the car was awesome and the A10 had a lot to do with it. As a daily driver though the BIGGEST drawback was it rode like a DUMP TRUCK. The ride was absolutely unforgiving.

The second thing I had not really taken into consideration was the R rated tires lasted about SIX to EIGHT weeks and quite frankly it was dangerous if those tires got anywhere near water. In the real world of course this happens fairly consistently. The tires cost roughly 1600 dollars to replace so this car requires some pretty deep pockets to maintain.

Flash forward about SIX months and we made the decision to trade the car in for a new Chevy truck with the idea we would get another camaro that was much more daily driver friendly. The TRADEIN value we were given for the Zl1 was 63500 as it only had a few thousand miles on it. We felt fairly lucky to get this number as you could could purchase a new one with much less equipment on it for about the same price.

So with all this being said, what would have been a smarter buy??? Well as a daily driver the MRC Zl1s are certainly more street friendly. So if one were not hung up on buying new, I would suggest a 2017 ZL1 NON 1LE with an A10 trans. You can buy those for about 43-46K if you look hard. It wont handle quite like a 1LE but it certainly be that far off.

If you didnt want to spend the 45K but wanted a great daily driver you can buy a low mileage 2019 SS with A10 for 32-35K. In looking at the market I found what appears to me a pricing oddity. You can can buy a 2019SS for close to the same price as what you will pay for a 2016-2018SS.

If you remember GM made a HUGE design blunder with the 2019SS as it relates to the front bumper. The BAR in the middle of the bumper is basically ALWAYS black independent of the color of the rest of the car. The EFFECT is that the bumper looks like there is a piece of it missing. It completely breaks up the body lines (dodge charger look).

At first this was preventing me from even looking at 2019s but I realized that if your body color was either black or dark gray then the black bumper bar would blend it where it was almost unnoticeable.

So basically in THIS round of CAMARO car purchases I got a BLACK 2019 SS Camaro with 16K miles on it for 32500. I plan on buying some APEX 19 x 10.5 wheels for it on all four corners with Michelin Sport 4S 305 30 19 tires on it so that they can be rotated. If I get POWER hungry I will throw an LT4 blower on it.

Anyhow, I realize all these buyers choices are influenced by your own personal preferences but hopefully we can learn form each others experiences and mistakes.

[Therealbigrich]

Just got a new 20 SS for 36 . I would think you could do better than that but I agree . A used 19 likely is best bang for buck Camaro to get

[Fraxum]

OP great post!!

I too am moving from an A10 ZL1 to a LT1 powered Camaro. I did know about the ZL1LE ride and tire difference. So I knew I wanted a base ZL1. It would be a grest daily, I drove mine NJ -> FL and back. It's also a great GT car. $ for $ there is nothing close. But three things made me sell it:

1. The used value was dropping like a stone. I would say it cost me about $13K to own the new ZL1 for 1 year. I was lucky it was not more.

2. As good as it is, I got bored with the A10.

3. Any ZL1 is a waste on the street unless you want to participate in the natural selection process. You can only let it loose somewhat safely on a race track.

To me the LT1 powered Camaro is a sweet spot. A fast enough to be fun, good looking, world class handling car. Sort of a bargain BMW M4 in my view.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Fraxum

OP great post!!

I too am moving from an A10 ZL1 to a LT1 powered Camaro. I did know about the ZL1LE ride and tire difference. So I knew I wanted a base ZL1. It would be a grest daily, I drove mine NJ -> FL and back. It's also a great GT car. $ for $ there is nothing close. But three things made me sell it:

1. The used value was dropping like a stone. I would say it cost me about $13K to own the new ZL1 for 1 year. I was lucky it was not more.

2. As good as it is, I got bored with the A10.

3. Any ZL1 is a waste on the street unless you want to participate in the natural selection process. You can only let it loose somewhat safely on a race track.

To me the LT1 powered Camaro is a sweet spot. A fast enough to be fun, good looking, world class handling car. Sort of a bargain BMW M4 in my view.

Appreciate your points Fraxum, but I respectfully disagree with #3, that much power isn't a complete waste, you can use it occasionally, just not all the way from first to sixth gear with WOT shifts (of course). Still, acceleration is tangibly much more powerful than with a stock SS or presumably LT1.

Now when people talk about 700, 750, 800 and even more rwhp, that is indeed useless on the street (neighbor has a 5th gen like that, I rode shotgun with him and basically there is practically no street situation you can go WOT in those).

In addition, the value of the SS drops like a rock, too, maybe not $13k in the first year, but $9-10k, which is even more painful given the lower initial cost. None of this applies, of course, when one buys used.

[Frisbey]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Appreciate your points Fraxum, but I respectfully disagree with #3, that much power isn't a complete waste, you can use it occasionally, just not all the way from first to sixth gear with WOT shifts (of course). Still, acceleration is tangibly much more powerful than with a stock SS or presumably LT1..

ARPAD_M

To each his own,
But I agree with you,
I sold my 2013 SS for a 2018 ZL1
It’s not that you can use the power thru all the gears on the street,
But just the fact that’s it’s there, is enough to put the fear in most people!
A more enjoyable hot rod I’ve never driven, and I’ve driven a lot!

[cooldawg]

Great thread. Appreciate people taking the time to share their experience. I like the 1LE in black and absolutely love the standard Z in bright yellow. The ride didn’t seem that bad in the ZLE I test drove, but that’s based on a single test drive. I have a one ton RAM that I drive quite a bit without load. We take it on family vacations. The ride very firm but just comes with the territory. Our roads are horrible in rural NE Indiana, however. I loved how the ZLE handled- it was rough but not unexpected. I was planning to go to a different AS type perf tire right away, so if the originals wear that quickly makes sense anyway. Figured that would make it more safe as a weekend show type car and reduce Stone chips as well. I highly doubt I would track the car. I just love the look- and it drives like it looks. It’s a beast!

I plan to keep the car long term and pass down to my son. With all the noise from CEO’s regarding going full electric, these cars just might be last of the line... It would be my black or yellow ‘Red Barchetta’- any Rush fans out there will know what I’m talking about. A black Z1LE would be fun and worthy of being enjoyed occasionally and preserved; much like my black 71Z28 RS was worthy of being preserved. Let her go last winter... Miss having a coupe, but I don’t miss the lumpy cam with noisy solids and the overall lack of reliability.

I don’t care for the direction they took with SS, but I could go in that direction in black with white rally stripes and red calipers. The LT1 would be a great, more practical, option, but I prefer wing spoiler (small or large) to wicker bill type spoiler... I do like the LT1 styling up front. If it came with the same options as SS, I would lean that direction.

I had a Yellow Z- (carbon hood, SR, and A10) bought last year at just under $57k... wife asked me to pump the brakes and check out challenger. She liked the cabin space- and fact all three of us could fit (my son is 11). Car sold by the time I got back to the dealer late the following day... I actually ended up ordering a WBRE dodge, but the car arrived with cosmetic damage and the dealer sold it out from under me when power dollars came out. FCA is a horrible at horrible at customer service. They do not police their dealers, at all. They sold my car and still insisted on keeping my deposit! Had to respite it with my CC company for 90 days to get it back!

Anyway, I’m really hopeful Chevy incentivizes Camaro like they did last spring... especially with C8 coming. I have a very good quote ($61k) on a 19’ shock Z (not 1LE), but again, I’m more in love with bright yellow Z or black 1LE. It’s a luxury, so only way to justify is to buy it right.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by Frisbey

ARPAD_M

To each his own,
But I agree with you,
I sold my 2013 SS for a 2018 ZL1
It’s not that you can use the power thru all the gears on the street,
But just the fact that’s it’s there, is enough to put the fear in most people!
A more enjoyable hot rod I’ve never driven, and I’ve driven a lot!

As for me I loved the ZL1. I am not knocking it, very cool. And maybe the most performance of any car for the $$. But I wanted a cheaper car with less complexity and a blank slate for modding. And I have seen first hand what too much power in the wrong hands can do, watching my 700 RWHP Camaro upside down in the air. It does haunt me. Luckily the old man driving was made of steel. Not me.