Considering a 4th gen Camaro / Firebird

[spreadsheet monkey]

Am looking to buy a cheapish four seater convertible and am considering a 4th gen F-body as a left-field alternative to the usual Audi/BMW/Saab suspects, as I like the idea of having something a bit different and have always liked the looks of the 4th gen cars (although I know they are not everybody's favourite).

Not fixated on getting a V8 - quite happy to settle for the 3.8 V6.

Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of? I've never owned an American car or anything LHD before. Classic insurance seems cheap enough, and from what I've read, these seem to be relatively simple and well-proven cars.

Any recommendations for parts/servicing in the Surrey or South London area?

Have mainly been searching for cars on eBay and Carandclassic.co.uk - are there any Yank-specific websites I should look at?

[spreadsheet monkey]

Thanks for all responses. Glad to hear they are mostly positive.

Just a few more questions:

Where is the best place to find 4th gen Camaros? Are there any specialist websites or magazines I should looking at, besides the usual suspects of eBay and CarAndClassic? There's a UK Camaro forum, but it seems pretty quiet.

Are there any mechanical weak points I should look out for? I know about the intake manifold issue on the 3.8 engine. Anything else?

Anything that these cars commonly fail the MOT for? I see some Japanese-market cars out there - are these OK? Are there rustproofing issues or anything like that?

[spreadsheet monkey]

HairbearTE said:

last year decided to relive my youth and bought a very nice 2002 SS 35LE, also a 6sp car

Very nice. I remember seeing a couple of 35LE cars floating around in the classified ads a few months ago. Great looking car.

[spreadsheet monkey]

I'm not sure about the giant nostrils on the front end of the 4th gen T/A, but thanks for the advice. Will keep an eye out. Ideally I want a convertible but there aren't many on the market at the moment!