WdnUlik2no

I'm thinking of trading my 05 TL in for a 2011 Camaro SS 6 speed. I test drove it yesterday and loved it. Reminded me of my Mustang GT I had 10 years ago, only much more powerful. I love the exterior look as well, very mean and aggressive looking.

I know i would be sacrificing some luxury, but the ride wasn't like anything else. I also looked a 6MT G37 which I liked as well, but for some reason I'm drawn to the raw power of the Camaro.

Just wondering if there are any 2011 Camaro owners on here that can share some insight on how they are liking (or disliking) the car.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I test drove one. I thought the stick felt rubbery. Other then that the car was nice. I don't like the flat pancake look though & the styling is bit overdone.
Also drove the 6mt G37. Far better & nicer car. More pleasant to drive. I'd opt for that. Better on gas too.
The power of a good American V8 is nice until you realize you get 13mpg.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

when did you start to realize this?

pttl

How did you find the outward visibility? Is it claustrophobic? Have you driven the Mustang?

cmschmie

My Dad said the same thing when he test drove one. Said it was hard to get it into gear.

WdnUlik2no

@fuzzy yep I agree with the gas mileage thing. In fact I was thinking about that on my way to work this morning when I passed by another Camaro in the opposite lane. MPG on the Camaro is listed at 17/24, which may be a bit overstated, my Mustang was also listed at 17/24, but don't think I ever saw 17 mpg in the city. I'm currently getting 20/30 in my TL. I would also agree that the G37 is definitely more refined and probably a better choice long term. I leased an 06 g35 back in 06, and there is a reason I'm considering purchasing one now.

@pttl I did notice everything seemed high while inside the car. Hard to even see over the hood unless my seat bottom was way up. I didn't even think to check rear visibility during the test drive. I wouldn't say the inside was claustrophobic, but definitely different. I haven't driven the new mustang yet, but will do so later this week.

My main concern with the Camaro is that I'm worried I may get tired of it quickly once the excitement wears off. I got tired of my mustang after about 2 years, but a big reason may be because it was an automatic. I had my TL for 7 years, and still Im not really tired of it, but just sick of everything breaking, and thinking I'm on borrowed time before something major goes wrong; I'm also looking for something more fun to drive, but also reliable.

Sarlacc

coughChallengercough

biased

West6MT

I've driven the SS, and my thoughts are the same as others have mentioned. I didn't like the shifter or the outward visibility (just my thoughts, not saying you should/shouldn't get one).

Costco

Bolt in an MGW shifter and it will be probably one of the nicest shifters you'll ever feel.

Still rather get a Mustang or Challenger though

WdnUlik2no

Finally got to test drive the Mustang yesterday. The local Ford dealer acted like they didn't want me to test drive unless I was going to buy it "today". BS, so I went to carmax and drove one. Overall I like the interior much better than the Camaro, I see what you guys mean about feeling claustrophobic in the Camaro. The Mustang interior leaves me feeling a lot less boxed in than the Camaro does. I did feel the Mustang had a lot less power, but more comfortable to drive overall in terms of visibility and comfort. The Camaro exterior looks better than the mustang imo though, but interior and ride, I find the mustang to be better. The g37 beats both in the interior.

I'm probably going to eliminate the Camaro at this point, and the g37 is back on top overall. I do like the mustang too though, but not sure about long term.

Another interesting note is carmax offered me $13,000 for my TL, whereas Infiniti only offered $10K, Chevy only offered $11K. Very surprising as usually its carmax that gives the lowest offers.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Carmax likely deemed your car sellable on their lot. They will give you more if that's the case.

SpiderX1016

Really? Every Ford dealer I went to was like, hold on let me get the keys as soon as I walked in and told them I what I wanted.

The only thing I liked in the Camaro was the shifter actually. Unlike the crap MT82 in the Mustang.

WdnUlik2no

@spider yep I don't know what this dealer's problem is, its not like they are selling Ferraris or Lambos. I ran into this a few years ago as well. They make you fill out some sheet and the last question is "if everything goes right today, will you buy today?" If you say no, then they usually won't let you test drive. I would think being that how people aren't really buying these days, they would ease up a little, but no. Sunday, I didn't even get that far, the guy acted like he was trying to get me off the lot when I said I wasn't buying "today". Instead of even listening to what I was looking for (i.e. manual tranny), he would just try to sell me every car on the lot even if it was automatic. Not once did he offer a test drive on any the cars that did have manual transmissions. They weren't even new cars I was looking at. I had a much better experience at the Chevy dealer, Infinti, and Carmax.

@fuzzy yep The carmax associate asked me to guess how much they would offer and I told him 10,000, he guessed around the same. When it came back at 13, I was very surprised. I just wish carmax prices weren't so high and non negotiable. 13 seems like a very generous offer though, and the overall experience there seems good. I would definitely consider buying from them if their prices weren't so high. Worse case I guess could sell my tl to them and just take the cash to another dealer and use that towards a car where I can negotiate the price down.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

Every dealership has dumbass salesmen. It doesn't really matter what brand dealership it is. Good thing you crossed out the Camaro!

Hapa DC5

They may only offer you the 13k if you trade it towards another car. The price may change if you just want to sell it to them.

SpiderX1016

Try another dealer. Here in Socal there are tons of Ford dealers out here.
Then there are some Ford dealers I hated. Some wouldn't budge on sticker price and some always wanted to crunch numbers even when I never got to see the car. So I would just move on to the next one.

Talk with the internet sales managers. From my experience, they're the most helpful.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Carmax doesn't work that way. The price they give you is on contract & the same whether you buy a car there or not.

Type34

I noticed you said "2011", have you driven a 2012 Camaro?

You mentioned performance and fuel economy - the 2012 V6 gets 323hp and 18/29mpg. The 2012 interior has improved materials and new gauges (big improvement). IMO the interior of the Mustang is ho-hum and the G37 is (very dated).

My uncle recently bought a 2012 V6 and loves it. Yes there are the small windows, but you get used to it.

As far as looks, here in SoCal you see all sorts of cars and a ton of Stangs, Camaros, and G37s. But my uncle always gets thumbs up from drivers. He has the Imperial blue with silver stripes and it's quite the head-turner.

WdnUlik2no

Nope haven't driven the 2012. I was mainly looking for pre owned, so any current year models may be out; although I did see some pre owned 2012 models of other makes on other car lots. I also drove a 2010 genesis track coupe 6 speed. Great ride, but not so impressed with the interior; seemed to be a little on the cheap side. Yesterday I drove about 20 miles out the way to another Ford dealer to look at an 08 g37 coupe, but it was already sold. The guy did let me drive an 08 Shelby convertible, manual tranny: Loved it, even had Navi. But then I looked it up online and saw the 15/23 fuel economy. I would get that car as a weekend driver, but as a daily, probably not.

Not sure what I'm going to do now. Haven't quite found exactly what I'm looking for yet, and the preowned g37 with navi and 6 speed seems impossible to find. The 2012 g37 I drove was nice, but I'm not paying 45 grand. Carmax said they could transfer a preowned 08 with everything I wanted to their lot with no obligation to buy. But they charge 3 to 4 thousand more then comparable cars on other lots and their prices are firm. It wouldn't be right for me to ask them to do the transfer if I already know I'm probably not going to buy it from them.

At this point I'm considering keeping my TL and crossing my fingers hoping nothing else major breaks on it.

Thanks guys for all of your insight. It has been very helpful so far!

Hopefully I'll find the perfect car sooner than later

phee

iTrader: (5)

please for the love of God try the mustang

pttl

He did:

I'm surprised that the Mustang felt like it had a lot less power than the Camaro. The performance numbers are always in favor of the Stang.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I was looking at a Camaro (as a 2nd car). Until my new wife got in it and said it feels claustrophobic too....

I myself, wasn't impressed with the interior....or the lack thereof.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

I've driven both cars with V8... the Mustang felt much faster to me.

SpiderX1016

With the incentives these days and X-Plan pricing, you can get a Base 2012 GT for $25k before taxes/fees.

Too bad I couldn't find one with the Brembo Package or it'd be sitting in my driveway.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

That is pretty damn cheap for the car... wow

WdnUlik2no

Forgot to mention that the gt I drove at carmax was an 09 listed at 300 hp. Not sure what the newer ones have. I know the Camaro I drove had over 400. The Shelby I drove earlier this week seemed a little more powerful than the gt at carmax.

I just discovered Carmax, and this other dealer (atlantaluxurymotors.com) now have some 08 g37 manual coupes with navi, so at lunch today I'm hoping to check them out. The dealer appears to be just a side of the road dealer but they got pretty good reviews and it shouldn't hurt to just test drive the car.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^that wasnt the 5.0

WdnUlik2no

No the one at carmax wasn't a 5.0 but it was listed as a gt with 4.6L V8. I haven't driven a 5.0 yet.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

5.0 has like more than +100 hp than 4.6.

The pricing remained the same too.

pttl

Oh... that explains the difference between the Camaro and the Gt that you drove.

Yeah...the 5.0, (2011+ GT) has 412 HP. I'm sure if you drove one you'd feel the difference.

SpiderX1016

The 4.6 GTs are garbage (performance wise) compared to the 5.0. They're barely faster than the current V6s.

You'll know when you drive one.

WdnUlik2no

Looks like I'll be trying out the 5.0 this weekend then.

Did get a chance to drive the 08 g37 from that ALM dealer yesterday. The cars they had were seriously messed up physically and/or mechanically, grinding feeling when backing up and turning sharply, some squeaking sound when driving, and excessive vibrating when braking. What a waste.

I am quickly discovering that it's so much harder and frustrating looking for a preowned as opposed to new.

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

"a women" lol

Sarlacc

pttl

I'm going to drive a '13 5.0 tonight. All they have is an automatic right now. I'm deciding between an auto with the "select shift" and sport mode, and the dreaded MT82.

I hope by this, the third model year of that power train, Ford has it figured out enough as to minimize the issues.

WdnUlik2no

I didn't get a chance to to drive the 5.0 Mustang, but I just got back from Carmax to check out the 2008 g37 coupe they just got in. Love the exterior color (silver), black interior, Navi, 6 speed, and only 29700 miles. I am almost sold on it, and it drove so much better than the two g37's I tried at the Atlanta Luxury Motors dealer. The only thing that held me back was the price $29,998, and also the carfax reported an accident. Visually the car looks good, some curb rash on the rims, but nothing too major, and there are some minor scratches on the front bumper. The only thing I don't like is that Carmax is firm on the price, so the $29,998 is $29,998 (+6% sales tax).

The have an almost identical one in Charlotte, with 33K miles, and a gray interior, no accidents reported, but still 6 speed, navi and the price on that one is $28,149.

Here are the cars

http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/...6-20361ad19fca (the one I drove today, no pic yet) $29,998

http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/...6-20361ad19fca (The one in NC) $28,147


http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/...6-20361ad19fca (another one I see at another carmax in my area) $28,998

I dunno, do these prices seem kind of high to you guys or is that what I should expect. Other dealers have similar prices and they allow haggling, too bad none of those are manual trannys though.

dallison

I didn't like the interior or exterior of the camaro.

UNCTYPE-S

First off, the Camaro/Mustang and G37 are apples and oranges. Do you want American muscle or a sport luxury coupe with some nice pick up?

Secondly, I am completely against buying a first year model of a new generation. 2008 is when they redesigned the G coupe. If you were looking into a G37, I'd look into at least the 09 or even 2010 when they upgraded the Nav and Tech package. Do some research on a few Infiniti forums before you go spending 30k on it.

Lastly, you can get a brand new Camaro/Mustang for almost the price of a used G37. If I was in your shoes, and looking around the 30k mark, it's almost a no brainer to go new.

Good luck and if you have any questions regarding the G, let me know.

Shoofin

Holy Ripoff, Batman! Those prices are at least $3k-$4k overpriced!