Z28 ENTHUSIAST

Has anyone ever done business with camarokingla? Ive seen their ads in different web sites..

Its a Camaro/Trans Am dealer in sylmar....mainly 4th gens but I have seen some 3rd with excellent looking cars. any experiences please let me know.

I am in need a dependable car (mine isnt....atleast not right now) I wish I could offord a 5th gen ... but a 4th gen seems right, I couldnt stand to have a dd other than a camaro/trans am so i wont be buying anything else. and sometimes I think of buying a V6 4th gen..cheaper and will save me a bit on gas... but then i would feel like am missing out on something. I dont want to pay a substantial amount of money and then end up driving around in something I am not happy with. so, what I really want is a SS or z28 convertible or a T-top.

what do you think?

please help...

Also, ive seen some cheaper 4th gens at generic dealers and private sellers around LA and Orange county but would you recomend picking one up from placed like that rather than a strictly 4th gen dealer? idk just a bit confused but I need a car so please give me some advice...

Thank you and sorry for the drag....

I know this is a 3rd gen board so Mod's if this is out of line...please delete..

BlackMamba

iTrader: (6)

I would say to buy a V6 Camaro. I know that it wont be the same as a v8 but some things have to be done to save some money. For myself, I am driving around in 71 VW Bug. I know it is not perfect it is a wreck for right now. But it does save me some money at the pump and in my pocket. Everytime i drive my bug around i know it is not the same against my camaro but some things have to be done

bungo78

iTrader: (1)

If your interested in the 4th gen models. Then don't fool yourself with the savings in gas. The V6 is slightly better in gas. It's not a noticeable difference since I have also had a V8 model, and driven the V6's... The V8 gets around 28 on the freeway, and around 20-22 in the city. Obviously depends on your driving habits, yet thats the case with any car...

If your choosing between the 2 my man, then it's the V8 and then no need to miss that feelin' (power baby!)...

I am aware of the kat's from Sylmar... I have heard decent things about them... They are definitely out my price range, lol! There vehicles look good.. You can always head out there and test drive them to know first hand opinion wise..

Good Luck!

Adrian

z28gsxr

iTrader: (5)

There's nothing but horror stories about that guy on www.ls1tech.com But from what i understand is what he does a lot is makes them clones and passes tehm off as the real deal.

captain_camaro

mom n pop dealers in my opinion are people who bought a gang of repo cars, 300 dollar paint job, rented a parking space n lets sell...
my co-worker bought a 92 camaro for 5k at a 'GONZALES AUTO'...lets just say they put tranny fluid on the motor to stop the smoke...it had cracked piston rings...he had to rebuild the motor..came out more expensive in the long run...he said he went to complain n all they said was car is SOLD AS IS!

I suggest you go to that 4th gen place..IF its legit(GM INVOLVED) or im pretty sure you can fing one at a chevy dealer...they sometimes have some abandoned ones waaaay in back of the lot..Thats what happened to that 90 camaro(Rs?)..idk if any of you guys read on that..4 miles on it and it sold for 30k at barret jackson's

Z28 ENTHUSIAST

Thanks for the fast replies guys...Am pretty sure ima go V8 vert. ill do a lil more shopping and searching around. if anyone sees a deal let me know.. thanks...

I plan on starting out the new year in a 4th gen.... then I can start taking my third gen apart and start my rebuild on the car... gonna start practicing everything ive been learning at UTI...

JulieGTA

I bought my GTA from him almost 10 years ago. I guess he must be OK if he is still in buisness.

roc-e

My .02:
Do you plan on buying a manual-transmission car? If so, the 6-speed/V8 combo can be pretty fuel efficient because of the tall gearing. This is particularly true if you do a lot of freeway driving.

If you discipline yourself on the throttle pedal, use the tranny's 1st gear to 4th gear "skip-shift" feature, and let the rpms loaf down low by using high gear, I'd advise to go with a V8/6sp combo. You can still romp on it every now and again, enjoy the V8-sound, and the car will have better resale value to boot.

As far as finding a clean car, I've had good luck through private sellers. Get a carfax on the car. You can also bring it to a mechanic to get it checked out.

Good luck with the purchase...

Z28 ENTHUSIAST

I will very much love to get a manual trans V8. please dont knock me for this "I do not know how to drive manual" lol I know its horrible.... would it be a bad Idea to pick one up and learn to drive it....? I mean I understand the concept of driving manual and know exactly how it works but Ive never tried it...lol

Still shopping... it would be nice to pick one up this weekend... but none the less still shopping..

BlackMamba

iTrader: (6)

Don't worry we all went though something like that in our life. I didn't know how to drive stick until I started using my vw bug. At first it was kinda hard, but after you start getting some practice you will get the hand of it.
What I did to help me out alittle more I practice shifting with the car off. That way I didn't mess it up that bad.
You can always learn something new, you just got try

captain_camaro

same here i converted my camaro to stick n i didnt even know how to drive manual..
so i purchased a little honda bucket..learned FAST..i thought it was gon b horrible..but its not...i prefer stick than auto..traffic or no traffic...

TA

iTrader: (1)

Nobody was born knowing how to drive a manual, and a v8 manual is easier to learn in, they're much harder to stall :-) . Also, almost all of the negative stuff on LS1tech was a site sponsor who was trying to keep CamaroKing from becoming a site sponsor and competing with them, the claims of trying to pass clones off as legit are false. If he clones a car, he tells you right up front.

I also totally agree that the difference in gas mileage between the 6 and especially the 6speed v8 are about 2 mpg. The difference in performance levels of stock LT1 (93-97) vs LS1 (98-02) are not big, but the the LS1s respond much better when hot-rodded, and they have better resale. A later LT1 Vert would be a fine daily driver, the opti-sparks were iffy on the pre-95 cars.

TA

Russ-So Cal

The hardest part of learning to drive a stick shift is starting from a stop on hills. My first car was an MGA. I got my license on my dad's Pontiac automatic, and then took the MGA from our house on the San Francisco Peninsula back to the Coast Guard lifeboat station at Bodega Bay. I learned to start from a stop on hills by driving through San Francisco! Believe me, torque is your friend! I think the only car that might be easier to learn to drive a stick on than an F-body or Vette would be the old air cooled VW bug. They had such a low first gear that they redlined at @10mph and would start off in second as easily as in first.

The best way to learn to drive a stick is to go to a large shopping mall after closing and just practice starting and stopping in the empty parking lot. I taught both of my daughters how to drive a stick shift in the Cerritos Mall parking lot. Security stopped us to ask what we were doing. When I told them that I was just teaching my kids how to drive a stick shift, they were cool with it.