Looking at buying a used Camaro SS

[Camaronewbie20]

I am looking at buying a Camaro SS but mileage is above 80K. Since I am new to the Camaro scene do these engines hold up once they hit 100k or am I looking at dumping a bunch of money into it.

Thanks

[Moto-Mojo]

You could be asking about ANY car with the same scenario. Carfax and maintenance records will help but impossible to know just how it was driven and really maintained. Bottom line is, it’s a performance car and was likely treated like one. Conversely, there are 100’s of people on here not unlike myself who treat these things better than family.

It’s a solid motor and car if taken care of. Shop around, pay a little more for one you can verify was given some love. I wouldn’t let 80K miles scare me on a good one.

[MarkNJ]

All depends on the car. Some are cared for and some are beat up. Do your research. Take your time. Some real gems out there if you can find them. Good luck.

[Vegas Bound]

Some cars with 100K miles have less wear and tear than other cars with 10K miles.

[pyroguy]

First off, welcome to the forums! Thanks for posting and we're glad you're looking at Camaros.

To answer your question, I'll do it in 2 parts. First with regards to the engines, I'll say there's a reason why so many people make so many kits for so many cars to "LS swap" the engines. The LS3 and even L99 are strong engines that have an overall very good track record for reliability. Secondly, the 5th gen Camaro is one of the more reliable vehicles GM/Chevy has put together for a while. As long as someone wasn't overwhelmingly abusive to the car, which more often than not you can see if someone drove it like they stole it or not, the cars will hold up well. Yes there have been some issues with the LS3 oil pump and L99 lifters, but neither one of them was bad enough to warrant a recall and often times. More often than not either of those problems are a scarce problem, but you'll see posts from time to time about them on here. There are also many members here who have hit 200k+ miles on their SS Camaros and have had little to no repairs other than general maintenance on them. Good luck and if you can, try to find the guy who is trying to get rid of the car cheap and quick before the soon to be ex-wife gets it. Those are typically the most prized cars that have the best price.

[Camaronewbie20]

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate all the advise coming from an ex mustang owner.

[Gahunter48]

I shoped around for ever and looked at 15 diffrent cars before i found one i could tell was tak juen care of. Crazy thi g was it was the highest millage out of all of them. It was almost all highway miles but was garage kept. You will know whe you find the one.

[Bigdumogre]

I bought mine with 75k miles on it that was maintained extensively since the guy bought it. He kept every recipient and flushed every liquid in the car every 15k miles and did Mobil one changes every 3k miles.

[racesloth]

Look up Bo White. He freshened his at 135K (spent 60k miles supercharged with 12lbs of boost - but prob didn't have to) - He did this because he was adding a max effort NA top end for racing.... Look up sloppy mechanics on YT - they routinely turbo LS family engines with over 200K....

We gave my wife's 01 Tahoe (5.3 LS) to my mom with 170K on it my Mom drove it around town for years then gave it to my Niece and it is still running today with 370K on it. Rear main leaks and it burns a bit of oil - but she married Joe Dirt so it is ready for a new Long block - but he spends money on light bars, chrome exhaust tip, and mudder tires instead... go figure.

[rickyrocket]

There's several on members classifieds,with lower mileage

[MrChrisLS3]

Bought mine with 60K miles, and traded it with 113K miles. Daily driver for four years. Needed nothing the entire time, just changed the oil every 4K miles.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

I have a good friend of mine here in Fl who is selling his pristine garage kept 2013 SS-M6 Camaro, Summit White with electric blue accents inside and outside and with a custom hood with airbrushed underside. It has only 10k miles on it, very nice car!! I'll post some pics a little later

[CamaroBarb]

Any car new or used could be a gamble. I've bought new cars that were nothing but trouble and used cars that were great. This Camaro v6 I bought last year has been a little trouble but nothing major. The biggest thing I found after buying it was the oil was changed according to the oil life monitor. Unfortunately this caused alot of sludge build up even though it only had 50k on it. I've been changing it every 4k so it has cleaned up and the engine sounds good but still draining the oil every 4k and having it come out nasty brown wasn't cool. It looks good now @ 82k. Ya just never know why someone trades a car. I found a 01 Pontiac Formula 68k 2 owners that is very tempting. Although it looks perfect ANYTHING could be going on with it. I hate car buying time. I try to get the dealer to let me have the car overnight, most will do it if you have good credit and are sure you are not jerking them around.

Most cars you can get a dealer look up any service work that was done at any dealers. This may give you a heads up if there is a chronic problem with the car. I try to buy cars in the 20k-30k mileage range but made a exception with this Camaro with 50k because it had everything, right colors, etc and ran very well. I also got a fantastic deal on it. But like stated above I found the oil wasn't changed regularly and it was driven through winters. Its buyer beware for sure.

[sscamaro]

My son has a 2010 SS/RS for sale for $25K with 13K miles on it. It is a 6 speed manual and has never been raced.





If interested, send me a Private message. This car is in Houston, TX now and has always been there.