1998 Chevrolet Camaro from North America - Comments

I had new brakes and rotors installed around 6,500 miles. This was covered by the warranty. I always drive carefully in a all break in periods. The next set of brakes lasted around 24,000 miles and the rotors lasted around 74,000 miles.

Oil pan seal went bad around 10,000 miles. Dealer replaced it.

Starter went bad around 57,000 miles without warning. Out of pocket expense (Plus towing).

58,000 miles: Driver's side electric window switch stopped working. Out of pocket expense.

Alternator went bad around 59,000 miles. Died without notice on highway. Out of pocket expense (plus towing).

60,000 miles: Drivers side rubber window trim pulled off. Out of pocket expense.

Battery stopped holding a good charge around 62,000 miles. Out of pocket expense.

63,000 Main belt had to be replaced. Out of pocket expense.

81,000 miles: Engine starting problem - some type of rubber diaphragm that regulates fuel intake had to replaced. Out of pocket expense.

Main belt gears/assembly replaced at 82,000 miles. Out of pocket expense. Expensive!

86,000 miles: 1 Rear shock went bad. Out of pocket expense.

89,900: Car is inoperable due to some sort of mechanical failure under the hood. My serpentine belt got chewed up and two sensors have been yanked off (from the shredding belt) due to a belt path device that is stuck (Have not towed it in for service yet)

I have always taken good care of this vehicle; ALL (and I mean all) fluids changed before GM's recommendations and an oil change was never missed. I drive gently, and primarily on the highway. Car also has been garaged it's entire life.

It has been my favorite car that I have owned, however I believe that it falls into the GM standard 'replace everything by 80,000 miles' category. I have nothing against GM, but all my GM cars have had numerous problems before 80,000 miles. Does not matter if you take care of the car or not, whether you buy it new or used, or if you think that luck is on your side.

I love the car as it is comfortable, stylish, and easy to drive. The trade-off of expensive repairs outside the warranty period has prompted me to think about buying something foreign next time.

Things to note for future 98 Camaro buyers: Seats, cosmetic parts, body, and interior have held up well. Engine purrs like a cat (I had a full tuneup and fuel-injection cleanup done at 55,000 miles) Transmission shifts very smooth, electric windows and mirrors work great.

I too am having difficulty with electronic items on my 88 iroc and have always been a fan of chevy. The pre computer models are chevys leg in history, as they always ran and parts were common between models. Now the quality and affordiblity has unfortunately slipped due to requiring a 10,000 dollar computer to fix any thing. Still will be a chevy fan and if the new vehicles continue to be troublesome than its time for a pre 70's car. Mike G.

First off I'd like to say "Kudos to you!" for not writing a biased review. This review is helpful, but I'm not understanding how you can have that many problems before 80k miles on all the GM vehicles that you've ever owned. My Dodge Dakota works great at 110,000 miles, as well as my friend's mother's camaro (same model as you) at over 225,000 miles. I'm not saying that you're lying, because it is more than possible for that to happen, I'm just comparing your experience with mine. And once again, thank you for not writing a biased review, I would love it if more people on this site would follow in your footsteps!

One thing I'd like to point out is if you really think your better bet will be to go with a foreign car, I hope you understand that with foreign cars means IMPORTED parts! Maintenance and repair is even more expensive on those cars. My 94 camaro has 70k on it, and I've had my share of repairs, but nothing major. Compared with how hard I drive it, it keeps up well. :-)