An European wants a modern American Muscle Car - Which one to buy ?

SuperStalin

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My friend can't decide what to buy - he loves the new mustang, but when I presented him with the new Camaro, he just can't decide anymore :) He wants a car that looks nice, drives nice, but he said power is not important. He's probably going to try and find a second-hand car and import it from Germany.

Could you please throw in some suggestions? What are potential pros and cons of owning a modern american muscle car in a relatively narrow street city in the Balkans?
 
My friend can't decide what to buy - he loves the new mustang, but when I presented him with the new Camaro, he just can't decide anymore :) He wants a car that looks nice, drives nice, but he said power is not important. He's probably going to try and find a second-hand car and import it from Germany.

Could you please throw in some suggestions? What are potential pros and cons of owning a modern american muscle car in a relatively narrow street city in the Balkans?

It will get nicked :p
 
What are potential pros and cons of owning a modern american muscle car in a relatively narrow street city in the Balkans?

Be more specific please :)

Also, how old is he? Can he afford the fuel costs? What do you mean "second hand" - are you still talking about the latest generation Camaro/Mustang?

If it's the latest one, then Cowboy is right - there is a pretty good chance it will be stolen. He will also have trouble insuring it.
 
Are we talking the current generation Mustang and Camaro here or a couple of years old or...?
If we're talking current gen, I have to say Camaro, the outside is way nicer than the Mustang and while the interior plastics look cheaper than my Logitech keyboard, the Mustangs interior is worse.

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2010/04/30/gm_10camaro_interior1.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2010/04/30/2005-Ford-Mustang-interior-dash-1280x960.jpg

Weird that the Camaro has the handbrake on the passenger side.
 
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Are we talking the current generation Mustang and Camaro here or a couple of years old or...?
If we're talking current gen, I have to say Camaro, the outside is way nicer than the Mustang and while the interior plastics look cheaper than my Logitech keyboard, the Mustangs interior is worse.

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2010/04/30/2005-Ford-Mustang-interior-dash-1280x960.jpg

Weird that the Camaro has the handbrake on the passenger side.

Here is the current Mustang interior. All the reviews I have read mentioned it is far better than the Camaro's.
112_0902_01z+2010_ford_mustang_GT+interior.jpg


If he is looking for an older car, avoid F-Body Camaros like the plague. They fall apart and weren't well thought out (takes two hours to change the spark plugs).
 
My friend is 36, he has the money, knows the expenses and everything, he just wants a modern retro-looking muscle car. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything specific, just nice enough to own. I doubt anyone would dare to nick it, besides, it's not that common an occurence for cars to get nicked in this area.

He can't go to a car salon here, because there just aren't any... so he'd like to get first-hand information from people who own such cars.

If there are any other cars which fall into the category of a retro-look muscle car, I could suggest he looks for, please don't hesitate to mention. Perhaps he'd like some British muscle car, but they're usually expensive and unreliable IIRC ?
I showed the Vauxhall Monaro to him, but he thought the exterior design wasn't quite what he's looking for, so I guess anything which comes close to current Camaros or Mustangs would do.

How reliable are those cars in real life? What common European cars have similar handling to a Mustang, or Camaro ( for example - does a mustang behave similarly to some BMW or Mercedes or what ) etc.
 
I don't think there are any Terminators in Europe, and even a Cobra would be extremely hard to find.

Again - where on the Balkans are we talking about?

If he wants to look completely out of place, then he should get a Challenger:
2009_dodge_challenger_srt8_med.jpg


I want to see it parked next to a VW Lupo. The Challenger would probably be worse maintenance-wise than the Camaro and the Mustang. Especially in Eastern Europe, where the dealer network is atrocious.
 
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My friend is 36, he has the money, knows the expenses and everything, he just wants a modern retro-looking muscle car. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything specific, just nice enough to own. I doubt anyone would dare to nick it, besides, it's not that common an occurence for cars to get nicked in this area.

He can't go to a car salon here, because there just aren't any... so he'd like to get first-hand information from people who own such cars.

If there are any other cars which fall into the category of a retro-look muscle car, I could suggest he looks for, please don't hesitate to mention. Perhaps he'd like some British muscle car, but they're usually expensive and unreliable IIRC ?
I showed the Vauxhall Monaro to him, but he thought the exterior design wasn't quite what he's looking for, so I guess anything which comes close to current Camaros or Mustangs would do.

How reliable are those cars in real life? What common European cars have similar handling to a Mustang, or Camaro ( for example - does a mustang behave similarly to some BMW or Mercedes or what ) etc.

Ok, both you and your friend seem to have no clue about cars......at all.

looks like we have another dreaming teenager guys........
 
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My friend is 36, he has the money, knows the expenses and everything, he just wants a modern retro-looking muscle car. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything specific, just nice enough to own. I doubt anyone would dare to nick it, besides, it's not that common an occurence for cars to get nicked in this area.

He can't go to a car salon here, because there just aren't any... so he'd like to get first-hand information from people who own such cars.

If there are any other cars which fall into the category of a retro-look muscle car, I could suggest he looks for, please don't hesitate to mention. Perhaps he'd like some British muscle car, but they're usually expensive and unreliable IIRC ?
I showed the Vauxhall Monaro to him, but he thought the exterior design wasn't quite what he's looking for, so I guess anything which comes close to current Camaros or Mustangs would do.

How reliable are those cars in real life? What common European cars have similar handling to a Mustang, or Camaro ( for example - does a mustang behave similarly to some BMW or Mercedes or what ) etc.

As Cowboy said, neither a stock Mustang or a Camaro will handle as well as a BMW or Mercedes. Roush and SMS do provide kits/turn key cars which will bring them up to that level, but it isn't cheap.
 
What about an early C6 Corvette from lets say 2005?

Corvette-C6-Z06-028.jpg
 
Ok, both you and your friend seem to have no clue about cars......at all.

looks like we have another dreaming teenager guys........

Dude, I'm 31, and I have absolutely NO CLUE about cars...at all... if I had a clue, I wouldn't have asked about it here...
I don't even own a car, the only reason I'm on this forum is because I love Top Gear, and I work as a photographer/illustrator who occasionally works with cars.

I'm just asking around FOR A FRIEND, if you want to help, fine, if not, then proceed feeling like a big internet testicle, I honestly don't care.



_HighVoltage_ said:
I don't think there are any Terminators in Europe, and even a Cobra would be extremely hard to find.
Again - where on the Balkans are we talking about?
If he wants to look completely out of place, then he should get a Challenger:

Wow! Thanks... I had no clue about the Challenger... it looks great!
We're in Serbia, about an hours drive from Bulgaria bro.

I honestly doubt he cares much about some very tight sporty handling, he's mostly into the look of the car,
he just mentioned he hates wobbly cars... power and performance are absolutely not important.
 
I think he should visit a BMW or Audi-dealer instead. When it comes to muscle cars, power is sort of everything.
 
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I think he should visit a BMW or Audi-dealer instead. When it comes to muscle cars, power is sort of everything.

Which kinda defeats the purpose of this thread. He wants a car that's relatively exotic for this area. He always liked the old mustangs and chargers etc.
so he wants to buy one. BMW's and Audis would be my first choice too, but he's not asking for those, is he.
 
I honestly doubt he cares much about some very tight sporty handling, he's mostly into the look of the car,
he just mentioned he hates wobbly cars... power and performance are absolutely not important.

As long as he doesn't go for the convertible the current Mustang will do then.
 
Repair costs might be an issue. Though theses cars are pretty well built as far as reliability is concerned. The only cars I know of in Europe which used the Ford 4.6 ('95-09 Mustangs) are the MG ZT260+, MG SV, and the Koenigsegg CCR. Though the parts are pretty cheap to order and international shipping isn't that expensive.
 
This article on Wikipedia about the Challenger mentions it's 'related to' the Mercedes E and S klasse and Chrysler 300c... there are lots of Mercedes and Chrysler dealers and repair shops over here...
is it possible they'd be up to the task of fixing a Dodge Challenger ??
 
This article on Wikipedia about the Challenger mentions it's 'related to' the Mercedes E and S klasse and Chrysler 300c... there are lots of Mercedes and Chrysler dealers and repair shops over here...
is it possible they'd be up to the task of fixing a Dodge Challenger ??

No. There is little if any parts compatibility.

Maybe with the Chrysler 300c, though that would be more drive train related.
 
The chassis is based on an old Mercedes design but good luck getting a Merc dealer to service it :lol:

If he wants good handling and doesn't care about power, an American muscle car doesn't seem to be a good fit.

The candidates have been mentioned - Challenger, Camaro, Mustang, mostly.
 
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