[Jaxcam02]

Don't buy a car from one of the online retailers that don't let you test drive or inspect the car before you take ownership.

Just like any other used car, you need to do your due diligence and full inspection.

[rcoe]

It purchased a fully built 2016 2SS this fall, something I would typically avoid like the plague. I went to look/drive it just because it was right between 2 others I was looking at that day. Car was a beast and much cleaner than I expected but still all the alleged mods, the ones I could not see pushed me away. When I expessed my concerns to the seller and told him I was going to pass he gave me the name of the shop on my side of the state that did the full build on the car before he bought it and also dropped the price by a good bit.

I got in touch with the shop that did the work and got all the details of the cars past before the seller owned it. They showed my invoices of what was done and when, the owner before spend over 30k on the motor/converter/install as the car already had the blower and fueling system and this was done just over 4k miles ago.

So I bought a fully built 2016 with 10k miles and brought it back to the shop that built it for a checkup and everything checked out perfect even put down 760whp which was 30 more than it did when they built it.

Good used deals can be found if you have the cash to jump on them and get a little lucky.

[serper3]

I have never bought a brand new car. I enjoy getting good deals and have close to broke even or made money on a lot of cars I have had, having some of them for 3-5+ years.

I spent about 9 mo looking for my zle. I ended up buying in April this year, but it would have been 3-5k cheaper if I bought when i first started looking before prices got crazy with covid. I still got a good price, on a 6k mile, very clean, never tracked car. I would never buy a car without looking at it. I flew out, and drove it back 1600 miles. this car was over an hour from an airport and it was in a smaller town, so i think less interest. At the time i would see a zle for sale that i would be interested in buying, would call that day, and often they would already have someone with a deposit on it.

[Sorange]

I did my research on ZLE's for about 18 months before purchasing. I searched AutoTrader and facebook marketplace and on the cars for sale section here. I ended up purchasing my car from a Forum member here 1500 miles away. I flew out and drove it home. It was the smoothest car purchase i've ever done. I still talk to him now and then for advice and just general track day conversation.

[The Maverick]

I had a great certified pre-owned (CPO) experience. When my last car went belly-up in late 2017, I shopped around online listings for used Camaros within a couple hours radius. I have always bought used, prior to my '21 3LT, to let someone else eat that depreciation for driving off the lot.

I ended up finding a CPO '16 1LT V6 with under 6K miles on it. With the additional warranty that the CPO provided, it was a great deal for me at the time. I put another 40K+ miles on the car before regretfully selling it in August after upgrading to a 3LT for the extra tech and A10 transmission. Would have kept both if the logistics would have worked out!

I didn't experience any issues that appeared related to prior ownership, just a few minor warranty things that I think our knowledgeable forum members would have described as first-year speed bumps. So a low-mileage CPO might be worth looking into.

[sandm]

bought used 2020 in may of this year. contacted a couple of private sellers but was hit or miss with people that really wanted to sell the car. ended up in orange county at HB Mazda.
we had no trade and were cash buyers so pretty easy transaction. bought it all before showing up and no regrets. dealers will usually send the crap to the auction and keep the good stuff. this car was owned since new by one of the salesmen there so feel good about the history without inspections.

cpo is a good deal IF you can find one. warranty is better than a new car- or at least it was on my '16 silverado I bought in '17 as a cpo.

[xmattyx]

I bought my 17 SS used from Carvana in June, only 9k miles on the odometer, excellent condition. I have bought other cars from them and if I ever had a problem, they were quick to respond. Quick note: They DO NOT negotiate the price. No complaints!

[custommx3]

On my birthday I decided to browse the local dealership's inventory of Camaros. I had a '14 RS at the time and had the itch to upgrade. It was a '17 2SS w/o any photos and only had 13K miles. On my lunch break I decided to check it out. It was sitting on the back of the used car lot, had a flat tire, a cracked windshield with a TON of rock chips, and covered in dust. I asked the sales guy to fill up the tire and lets take it for a spin. I drove it a few miles and was in love. I was told that a guy bought it for his son at that dealership and in a year traded in on a truck instead. I looked at the service history and saw it had its brakes replaced once due to a shimmy and had the transmission flushed once. I wasnt aware of the shutter issue at that time and GM hadn't even come up with an official fix yet. After about a year I started to feel the shudder. Gm did the flush already according to the service history, so they went ahead and replaced the TQ converter. About 15K miles later I felt it again. Brought it back to the dealer, they redid the flush and put the official fix (the new fluid) and havent had an issue since. I could have bought brand new one with a discount I get through my job, but I picked up 2SS for 34K. Its a CPO car so it has a 100K warranty on the drivetrain, which was better than you get on a new one. I believe the previous owner had it ceramic coated. No regrets here.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by custommx3

On my birthday I decided to browse the local dealership's inventory of Camaros. I had a '14 RS at the time and had the itch to upgrade. It was a '17 2SS w/o any photos and only had 13K miles. On my lunch break I decided to check it out. It was sitting on the back of the used car lot, had a flat tire, a cracked windshield with a TON of rock chips, and covered in dust. I asked the sales guy to fill up the tire and lets take it for a spin. I drove it a few miles and was in love. I was told that a guy bought it for his son at that dealership and in a year traded in on a truck instead. I looked at the service history and saw it had its brakes replaced once due to a shimmy and had the transmission flushed once. I wasnt aware of the shutter issue at that time and GM hadn't even come up with an official fix yet. After about a year I started to feel the shudder. Gm did the flush already according to the service history, so they went ahead and replaced the TQ converter. About 15K miles later I felt it again. Brought it back to the dealer, they redid the flush and put the official fix (the new fluid) and havent had an issue since. I could have bought brand new one with a discount I get through my job, but I picked up 2SS for 34K. Its a CPO car so it has a 100K warranty on the drivetrain, which was better than you get on a new one. I believe the previous owner had it ceramic coated. No regrets here.

HBM is an amazing color, and you got valuable extras with the warranty and the ceramic coat. Out of curiosity, did you get a new windshield in the end?

[LT4Greg]

I bought my used low mileage 2017 ZL1 from a Chevy dealership in South Carolina back in 2019 and have no issues with it so far. The salesman I dealt with was very honest about the car which was listed on Cars.com with pics and a full description. It took me about 2 weeks to make the decision to buy it and it was a pleasant experience when I went up there and definitely a good experience on the drive back to Georgia where I live.

[SSJ455]

I used CarGurus.com. I was kinda looking and found my '17 in 17 on a VW lot near me.
The price was right, the mileage was low and they gave me what I wanted for my 11 2LT/RS.

[JSH]

Two weeks before the pandemic hit, I searched and found a local dealer had been allotted a 1LE. No sooner did I buy it, the two weeks to flatten the curve hit, which delayed delivery by almost 3 months. Everything else with the dealer went fine.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by classicrockr

If you have purchased a used Camaro, what methods did you research & what turned out to be the one that worked for you?
- Dealership lot
- Online (Carvana, carmax, etc)

I'm asking because if I need to purchase another car, I'd like it to be a used 2ss Convertible and would like lower payments thatn what I would have with a brand new car.

1. Researched multiple sites, autotrader, carfax, carguru, etc.
2. Found the color/car I wanted with the model I was looking for in my case a 2SS
3. Price
4. Distance within 200miles in my case
5. Milage
6. Was the car privately owned or Rental?
7. How many owners?
8. Checked carfax

This is what I do religiously before I buy.

My current car I bought from a Nissan Dealership, car was a rental/fleet car and 1 owner. $34,000 +Taxes/fees etc ~$37600 out the door with 31k miles on it. I have a full 3 or 4 year warranty as well through Nissan, *cough* granted my car is modded, so most of that is out the window, but ya.

Got mine before the shortage hit of course.

[classicrockr]

I've been searching Carmax & Carvana. On Carmax, nearly all the cars say "Manual 6", but the interior picture shows the automatic shift column. Should I expect the picture or the written description to be the accurate thing?

I'm hoping that they just put "Manual 6" as a standard thing in all their sales statements.