79k miles, overall very clean
I have never owned a Firebird or Camaro. How do they drive/ride? Neighbor has this one for sale, and I am looking for a weekend cruiser for short trips.
Thoughts? Thanks for your input.
One of my sons has a 1996 Camaro, or 4th generation as it’s called, and they’re twins of the Firebird for the most part.
As to reliability, his has been rock solid. His has about 225,000 miles on it and the engine/transmission are still untouched.
The only major repair, if you want to call it that, is the rear shocks and front struts were upgraded. His originals were not bad; he just preferred the upgrade.
I’ve driven the car a number of times and it drives out very well. Gets about 25 or more MPG on the road.
The only issues I have with the car are the long swoopy nose and the seat position and door height. The nose is impossible to see from the drivers seat so care must be used when pulling up to curbs.
The door height placed the top of the interior door panel at about shoulder height and makes one feel that they’re riding around even lower than they are, and it’s low enough anyway.
The phrase I use is “riding around in a hole”.
My son does not have an issue with it though so my opinion on this is pretty subjective.
A 2000 model with only 79k miles is well worth looking at.
Hope that helps in your decision.
One of my sons has a 1996 Camaro, or 4th generation as it’s called, and they’re twins of the Firebird for the most part.
As to reliability, his has been rock solid. His has about 225,000 miles on it and the engine/transmission are still untouched.
The only major repair, if you want to call it that, is the rear shocks and front struts were upgraded. His originals were not bad; he just preferred the upgrade.
I’ve driven the car a number of times and it drives out very well. Gets about 25 or more MPG on the road.
The only issues I have with the car are the long swoopy nose and the seat position and door height. The nose is impossible to see from the drivers seat so care must be used when pulling up to curbs.
The door height placed the top of the interior door panel at about shoulder height and makes one feel that they’re riding around even lower than they are, and it’s low enough anyway.
The phrase I use is “riding around in a hole”.
My son does not have an issue with it though so my opinion on this is pretty subjective.
A 2000 model with only 79k miles is well worth looking at.
Hope that helps in your decision.
Dropping the tank to put in a fuel pump was much worse than average,they all seem to need one sooner or later.Window regulators (the whole regulator) was difficult,you could cheat if it just needed a motor. Passlock concerns. Working on a engine so low and stuffed back so far hurt my back.Engine removal is drop the sub-frame.Some door body rubber concerns.This model could have had the Passkey security system (the system before Passlock)the system in this generation had a problem with some very thin wires at the ignition switch breaking.
I’ve owned a Firebird and a Camaro. Both were very reliable and fun to drive cars. Both were sold for high retail after about 160,000 miles and both were in excellent condition. The only complaints: (1) Firebird disappearing headlights stopped working and eventually stayed in the up position. By the time that happened, I didn’t care and (2) on the Camaro, V6, there was a period of slight intermittant backfiring that was eventually traced to a bad coil.
Go for it and have fun.
Your main complaints might be how hard it is to get in and out of, and opening and closing that 300# door.
the biggest problem would be how the previous owner(s) took care of it. If the car lived most of those 79k miles a quarter mile at a time, then I wouldn’t touch it to drive to the nearest car dealership to buy another vehicle
It could be fine, as long as it was well maintained. Take it for a test drive to see if it is comfortable. Care and feeding is the most important thing for an 8-year old car. What is the engine?
(Bentley…Bentley…Bentley…)
I’m going to throw it out there: A 1988 Maserati Biturbo Spider!
Ok so not the cheapest car to maintain…but who cares!