Update on insurance costs.

2002 Camaro Z28- $201 per month

2006 Monte Carlo SS- $227 per month.

So they are cheaper than I first imagined!

I am very certain I can talk both buyers down on the price of the cars by at least 10%, so the Camaro will be no more than $11,000 and the Monte Carlo would be $15,000 or less. The Camaro is cheaper, has fewer miles, and is still a very dependable very drivable car. I think it will be my first choice, I will test drive it, do a carfax report, and if I like it buy it. The Monte Carlo will be my 2nd choice if anything goes wrong, it will be a few weeks before I know anything though. Insurance has to come through with the money.

As for what I will do with either of these cars, if I do get them, the answer is not much. I realized at the moment my Monte Carlo was totaled that in a way I was fortunate. If I had put hundreds or thousands of dollars of uprades into the car, none of that would matter or measure up in cost after the car is destroyed. I could drop $10,000 into it and make it one of the flashiest and fastest Monte Carlos around, but that doesn't mean anything if it gets wrecked, to me it's not worth modding these cars, you put too much time, effort, and money at risk. The most I will do to these cars is buy performance tires, window tint, decals, etc, nothing major though.

I should be getting a little over $10,000 back for my 2003 Monte, then pay off my $6,500 loan, I'll have $3,500 or more to throw for a down payment on either car. I'll keep everyone updated, thank you very much for your advice on this matter. Keep the replies coming if you may.

 

hey man whatever you decide it will be great for you! goodluck...

 

wow those quotes are pretty suprising huh?? i didnt see that one coming.

 

I think the camaro would be a good decision...just my input

 

i thought the same thing after my accident, wont mod and stuff, but look at me now =p

its a phase, i know everything seems like its flying at you at a million miles an hour and your in a neverending hole, mine was my fault so maybe it was a little more difficult than yours, but youll be back on top again and everything will be fine, best of luck

 

honestly when i bought my 06 i was looking for an 02 ta but then i really thought about it and for the price difference i think i made the right choice. i got a practically new car with a warranty over buying a car that at the time was 7 years old. the price on that camaro is good but i personally hate the color the auto trans and the cloth interior hopefully it doesnt have 2.73s in the rear, the only things it has going for it are the price and the motor. the ls4 monte i feel is the best way to go if it has a warranty. youll have the lsx engine platform a newer vehicle and a warranty hopefully. even the 05 i think might be a better choice then the camaro it doesnt take alot for them to beat ls1 cars and you know the 3.8 is unstoppable. either way good luck. oh and what do the car facts look like on these cars?

 

Kind of hard to compare prices across the country. What may be a good deal in Wisconsin may be a bad deal here in South Carolina. Look at what like cars are going for in your area. The Impala SS my mom bought back in December had 32k miles on it and she paid $15.5k. Got lucky and found a deal. Don't think that you have to buy now. It took a month and half of looking to get that deal. Look around don't jump at the first car, unless you NEED it. End of the month you may be able to get better pricing from car dealers as well, they wanna make some sales to boost numbers for the month.

BTW $227 a month ? Wow I just swallowed my gum! I'll never complain about my insurance rates again. I guess getting old does have it's upsides!

**EDIT**

OK I just looked at both Montes.

The 06, Carfax said it was in an accident, minor to moderate rearend damage. My experience with Carfax.. Have the car looked at, you know the rear end has been repaired, how bad was the damage actually? It was sold at auction on 3/1. So it appears they've had it for about 6 weeks.
The 05, Carfax looks clean but once again with my experience that means nothing. It appears to have been in their possesion since 2/10. About 2 months. And as a side note... a lease on a 4 year old car??? Really they do that?

I'd be sure to let them know that you know how long they've had these cars when and if you go to talk with them. Can't hurt to point out that you want it and they want to be out from under it.

 

you say dont jump on the first car you come across. and i agree. but heres a reall short story. (sorry to go off topic for a sec.) but me and my wife bought the first car from the first dealership we went to. didnt even look at another car, well we did look at another monte after we bought this one, it was an 06 ss. but i got this one cause it was the 6th gen and i have never ever seen this shade of white on a monte.(if you look at all the colors of white on the montes, the GM name for them are "pure white" and something else. my car is just plain "white"). has anyone ever seen a "white" monte?? ive only seen them on grand prix's??

 

My opinion, the Z28 is nice, but I am not to fond of the color, and it looks like a base model Z28 (so basically you have a big engine, but not much more than that).

I LOVE Camaro's, and have always wanted one. However, if I was in your shoes right now, i'd be looking into the 7th gen Monte SS. Its not that much more cost wise, and I think you get more car for your money. For one its 4 year newer, it still has really low mileage, and its WAY more refined of a car, and of course the color is better.

My insurance must be a good deal, I have AAA insurance, and BEFORE my accident in July, I was paying $1,150 a YEAR, so less than $100 a month, and that is for full coverage, 100,000, 300,000, 100,000, with $500 deductables. Now with an at fault "injury" accident on my record (which counts as double points because its an injury accident) my insurance will be $2450 a year, yes more than double, but still I have an at fault injury accident on my record, with really good coverage, and my insurance is still less than what you are being quoted. Also, I should mention that when I first bought my car, I asked how much it would have cost on an SS version with the V8, my insurance would have been the SAME on the V8 as it is on my V6. So I guess what i'm saying is, check into AAA car insurance.

 

I've been thinking about the two cars a lot today. And the more you guys mention it may be a base Z28, it's not the prettiest color, cloth interior, private seller, the more I come to realize its shortcomings.

As for specs, I know the 2006 Monte Carlo SS comes with the 5.3 liter V8, 0-60 time is recorded as 5.7 seconds. The 2002 Camaro Z28 comes with the 5.7 liter V8, 0-60 time (with the automatic) is recorded as 5.7 seconds. So the cars are basically identical in speed. The Monte is a bigger car, I always liked the spacious interior of the Monte, it has a big trunk, it has comfortable leather seats, a very refined cluster display, onstar, a sunroof, heated seats, all that. So I feel like I will probably try to buy the Monte Carlo, I found another black 2006 SS, 37,000 miles for $16,000. I hope I can talk down the price, hopefully get it for $14,000, that would be doable.

As for the insurance, I've become used to higher insurance costs, I have two speeding tickets on my record, and I'm still under 25. Now I have an accident on my record, but it's a "not at fault" accident, so it shouldn't raise my rates.