I bought a pony car missing half the bangers
 

On Saturday, I bought a new 2017 Camaro Coupe 2.0L turbo with a six speed manual transmission. Exterior paint is Nightfall Gray Metallic and interior is Jet “Focking” Black. The only option is the Technology Package which replaces the 7” center stack screen with an 8” screen and upgrades the base stereo from awful suck to merely not good.

The main reason this post took so long is that I kept making attempts at writing up my buying experience. It was…involved. I’ll leave details for another time, but at the end, I bought the car with the best deal I could work. It was about $2,500 better than anywhere else, but I think I may have left up to $1,000 on the table…even if there was no way anyone would have given it to me. Whatever, I bought a new car exactly how I wanted it (well, if Krypton Green didn’t exist) for about $19k.

The big catch was that I had to drive from DC to Elyria, OH, about 375 miles one way with the possibility that the deal might not work out. But it did. And 300 of the miles back in the Camaro were in light snow.

There are a couple things about the deal that aren’t completely sitting well with me:

• The finance rate is slightly higher than what I agreed to on the phone Friday. They credited me back the difference in payments, but still.
• I’m nervous about how the titling and registration is being handled (they contract out to a third party for non-bordering states), but the process sounded convoluted. Not sure I have a choice other than riding it out and trusting that if it goes wrong, it will get worked out without too much hassle. Hopefully, I won’t have to expand on this in the next couple weeks.
• After getting home and setting up on Chevy’s my.cherolet.com website, I saw all the warranties were keyed to an in-service date of 9/13/16, which is the invoice date. I called the 1-800 number on the website and it didn’t go well, but they opened a case. An hour later, I got an email from the F&I guy saying it would be updated to reflect an in-service date of 2/19 (but I bought on 2/17?). Again, hopefully this will be fine.
• A couple other minor things not worth detailing here.

Despite the weather, the drive home went fine. Traffic wasn’t too bad.

• It’s a nice car to sit in, but it’s tight.
• There’s not much room for storage.
• The stereo isn’t good.
• CarPlay leaves something to be desired.
• When driving, you can’t see shit over your left shoulder. The mirror seems to have fantastic coverage, but changing lanes to the left is scary. Backing out of parking spaces in a crowded lot is also nerve wracking. There’s a camera, and that helps, but it’s my first back up camera and I don’t trust it at all.
• The ride is comfy, but tight. Not crashy, even on the PA Turnpike and all it’s ridiculous potholes.
• The exhaust makes some noise. Not sure how much of what I’m hearing is electronic enhancement and how much is real, but I can hear it. It’s not V8 noises, so, meh.
• The view out over the hood is very anti-FoST.
• I miss HIDs, but the regular lights it has don’t seem bad
• The windows fogged up a lot on the drive home. Not sure how much is because of design and how much is because it’s a car that’s been sitting for 17 months. There is a known issue with the windshield fogging in humid environments that I expect to suffer from in summer, but this was with the side windows. We’ll see.
• I think I need to detail it/have it detailed. After sitting for over a year, water doesn’t exactly bead.
• It has a 19.0 gallon tank. It gets 30+MPG freeway. I have 409 miles on it as of this evening and the computer says I can go another 100 or so.
• Interesting note

But how does it really drive? Despite putting 400 miles on it, I’m not really sure. I didn’t really get on it, but it seems like the turbo is quite laggy compared to the FoST. When it comes on, it comes on a lot harder. But I still haven’t gone WOT. The shifter feels a little on the rubber side. At moderate speeds, body motions feel well controlled and everything is balanced, but no enough experience to really draw conclusions. The steering wheel is leather wrapped and the leather is very, very smooth. I’d prefer some texture. We’ll see how it gets with use. The steering is a lot slower than the FoST’s and that takes some getting used to. It’s electronic power and feedback doesn’t seem great, but it’s not nearly as dead and unfeeling as the FoST. It’s mind blowing to drive something again where steering and throttle feel so independent of each other.

Overall, I’m not sure how easy it will be to live with this car. It feels good to drive it. It seems really eager to play. I’m looking forward to that.

I am happy I bought it and am excited to see what happens next.

And odd thing, the mental picture I have of the car looks like a Challenger, not a Camaro. Not sure what that means.

Get those round mirror thingies for the exterior mirrors ... sounds cheesy but I had them on the Vette with its big blind spots and it made life so much better.

A lot of what you described is really just getting used to a new and totally different car.

Please post some pics when you get some time ... Chevy did a great job on the design ... every time I see one I just think what a beautiful and bad ass looking car.

Congratulations !!

Means you are really a Mopar guy, not a bow-tie guy at heart. LOL

Good luck that everything will work out - sounds like it should. Just may need some babysitting and massaging.

Good luck with the car itself as well. :)

Cool.

Also cool: Listening to people who have never been to Elyria trying to pronounce Elyria.

Congrats!

Does it have performance tires? How fun was that driving in snow?

EDIT: Just saw it has all-seasons. Phew.

Thanks, all!

It doesn't need the little mirror things. The FoST had similar auxiliary mirrors built in and they were great. In the Camaro, both side mirrors are convex enough to offer fantastic coverage as they sit. When the mirrors are set properly, there's no blind spot. It's learning to trust them without being able to directly confirm with a glance over the shoulder.

The Mopar thing, when we were 14 or 15, my best friend that lived a couple blocks up the street bought a 1951 DeSoto Coupe. I learned how to appreciate them then. He wouldn't let me touch it to work on it at all, but he let me ride in it after we had licenses.

Comes stock with GY Eagle Sport M+S rated all seasons. To listen to people on the Camaro forum, they do reasonably well.

Not sure I heard anyone at the dealer pronounce it. "El-EE-ri-ah" or "EL-I-rah" are the two I can think of. I'd probably use the latter.

Ok cool ... how about some pics :D

Mazel tov!

Yeah, it's el--EER--i-yah.

I thought you had your sights on a ZL-1 ??

What'd I miss ??

:thumbup: I really like the current Camaros, and even in half-banger form, I think they're great cars. The rearward visibility thing was absolutely terrifying for the day that I had one, though. Have fun with it!

So if you were going to Florida this weekend would you rent a Camargo or mustang 'vert... Price the same, pertinent question.

And congrats Clyde. Hope you enjoy it especially when auto season comes around

Both convertibles? If one is a V8 and the other isn't, the V8. Otherwise, probably the Mustang and aim for a Camaro next time.

Thanks. I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

Get some good tires and I'll see you at the first event!

I hope that you enjoy it for at least a couple years. Is there a "break-in" period for it?

It's more like "uh-LEE-ree-yah"

I have no clue how long I'll use this car. Just going to see where it goes for now.

Break in is supposed to be 1400 miles. The normal, vary speeds, vary revs, don't floor it kind of stuff.

Then there are the "break it in the way you're going to drive it" theories. I don't know.

Fun side story:

When I left the house to go buy it, I posted a meme on Facebook about buying a car.

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/pictur...&pictureid=313

A friend in Detroit I've been competing with in the Focus posted something like "Way ahead of you." Wasn't entirely sure what he meant, but figured he was moving on from his FoST. Okay.



Later in the day, I posted a pic from inside the Camaro on the way home.

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/pictur...&pictureid=314

A little bit later, the same guy texted me a pic of a white 2.0Lt Camaro and asked, "So uh.... Did you buy a Camaro today too?"

He traveled from Detroit to Florida to buy a 2017 Camaro configured the same way (but in white) the same day. His was used and CPO with 250 miles.

Wow. Doppleganger.

I really want to drive this. When are you coming up for a tire change? :D

Yeah, that's closer. Have never been good with writing out phonetics.

I just remember an OSU game where the announcers had clearly never encountered the word before...

Why didn't the guy in Detroit buy the car in Elyria? That's like a 2 hour drive.

I really want to "drive" it, too. :lol:

Figuring out wheels and tires. Got a lot of good info from Scroggs last night.

I don't know, but if I had to guess, he wanted a white car. His Focus was white. I'm just glad he didn't buy the one I bought before I could buy it.

Surprised that he didn't look in Arizona. :)

congrats and impressive price:cool:

want to read more!

This

and this. Less bangers means more mash, right? (sorry, went to an Irish restaurant last night)

Warranty info was updated to what I would have expected as correct shortly after posting last night. Forgot to mention it. But it's left me thinking a couple things that are easy fixes by some combination of dealer/GM/OnStar

1) Dealers should tell customers during closing that the info may not update right away and to give it at least X days before inquiring.

2) Include that same notice on the OnStar login sheet they give you at closing.

3) Include that same info on the webpage where it shows that info.

Based on how long I was on the phone with them and the amount of time GM employees spent in what appears to be a needless fire drill, I'd estimate my call cost GM $50 or more. I can't be the only one, can I?

Oh, and Clyde, as temping as the Jag is, thanks for the offer but . . .

I've owned 2 English cars, I won't own a third.

and even though we have never met, I feel like I have known you for a very long time. Knowing the story about how you got this car, being your dad's vehicle, road trip with your daughter, I wouldn't feel comfortable about becoming its new owner.

Don't sell it to anyone you know (JMHO)

So, after a week and 60ish miles after getting it home...

I'm getting used to being blind.

I'm not sure if the comparatively big doors are as much of a nuisance or I'm just thinking about them too much.

There really isn't space inside to put anything.

Chevrolet MyLink is worlds better than Ford's second gen MyFord Touch with Microsoft Sync. CarPlay integration is nice to have, but it's not quite there. Siri understood me better in the Focus. I don't know if it's a CarPlay issue or a mic issue. Probably mic.

The stereo is really not good.

I shy away from telling non-car people I bought a Camaro. Kind of like I did when I bought a BMW.

Not sure why I thought the shifter felt rubbery. It's not. It's not snick-snick-superfantasitc like an S2000, RX8 or something like that, but it's not bad. It's direct and positive.

I'm really getting antsy to be able to drive it to the point I can learn something about it.

Aside from not being able to see out of, it's a pleasant car to be in. It's not as nice as any of the cars some of the rest of you have been buying lately, but none of those cars were under $20k new. It's seriously nice for the money and thinking about what I paid makes me smile.

That stereo, though, ugh. (Yes, second mention in this post.)

It’s a Camaro so I feel like you have to have one of these.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206DCW...44DCWC122.html

If we're going that way

Speaking of Geldings, my FL rental car

$19k new is next to unbelievable. What a deal and trip. Enjoy.

I think that's the best part. Even though the full-banger Camaro has a pretty darn reasonable price, you got into the chassis for less than half of what you'd need for a V8. And, for your future plans, this may actually be a better competitive strategy anyway.

Still. I don't think I'd play any Warrant or Night Ranger while driving around in your version. :D

Is it blind just side to side? Or is the forward visibility bad too?

What was msrp? $26k?

Forward visibility is fine as long as you don't have to look way up. Like stopped at a light and you can't see the light because they put it too close/high.

Forward to the sides is worse than most cars, but not meaningfully worse than other newish cars with massive airbagged A pillars.

Rear is basically fine.

Rear to passenger side is not great, but it's not terrible.

Rear to driver's side is non-existent. The driver's side mirror is curved and has great coverage, especially when adjusted properly, but not being able to see over the shoulder is not an enjoyable adjustment.

MSRP on my car was $27,700. $26,900 for base car and $800 for Technology package. MSRP is same for 2018, but Technology is $900. The blue color most of them are, yellow, and dark red are $295 options.

For some reason my dealer kept insisting the MSRP on my car as $28,100 despite the sticker saying $27,700 and couldn't explain why it was $400 higher than it was supposed to be. It's one of the things that gave me a not good feeling, but I'm pretty sure the final pricing would have been the same, so, meh.

I thought that price included the focus as a trade in. Clyde got $7-8k off the msrp ... Wow :eek:

Lots of trunk money and sitting for a year. :p

"...for a year and a half."

They gave me decent money for the Focus, too. Beat Carmax by a few hundred when including sales tax benefit from trading to selling dealer.