6 Camaros to buy, sell, or hold

The fifth-generation Camaro is a recent addition to our data set. After disappearing for eight years, the Camaro came back in 2010 riding the retro-styled wake of the Mustang.

Prices for fifth-gen Camaros bottomed out a while ago. A standard Camaro SS in good condition will run you less than $20,000 and the higher-performance ZL1 can be had for under $40,000 if you don’t mind some moderate miles.

Insurance quote and insurance activity (how often these cars are added to policies) are strong for these cars, which is a data point that confirms a strong interest in this generation of Camaro. It is hard to imagine these cars getting any less expensive. If you’ve been waiting for these cars to get any cheaper before pulling the trigger, that time is now.

Third-generation Camaros are automotive icons of the 1980s, an era really coming into vogue at the moment. Third-gens to be shedding their image of being fit for mullet-wearers and Whitesnake slash Motley Crue superfans. Or maybe, that stuff is just old enough to be cool again? These cars are great looking, decent performers and are gaining the attention they always deserved. There, I said it.

Values for third-gen Z/28 and IROC-Z’s have been moving upwards at a slow and steady pace. And future prospects look solid. Digging into the demographics, these cars are equally popular amongst Boomers, Gen-X and Millennials. What this means going forward is that these cars are very likely to remain popular for the foreseeable future.

Third-gen Camaros are still very affordable, but the early indications are that these cars could be poised for growth—soon. Now might be a good time to scoop up a good example while they remain a good buy.

Born to homologate the Camaro for Trans Am series racing, the Z/28 option got you all the go-fast goodies for the track in a street car. Chevrolet’s 302-cubic-inch V-8 (stuffed only in the Z/28) was a high-revving beast and likely very much underrated at 290 horsepower.

Values of first-gen Z/28s have been slipping downward for a while, especially the more numerous 1969 models. As far as what we project for the future, the Z/28’s future collectibility compared to now is among the lowest of Camaros we track, and pacing behind the market average. Insurance Quote and insurance activity remains steady as ever, but sliding values are not a great sign.

By all means, if you’re an owner, enjoy the hell out of this absolute classic pony car for as long as you can. But if you have been kicking around the idea of selling, now may be a better time than later. We say that because values have been on a downward trend despite steady demand. There still appears to be plenty of buyers, but they seem to be less willing to pay the higher prices they were just a year ago.

Halfway through the 1970 model year, GM released its new F-Body platform. The new Z/28 would start out sporting a 360-hp LT1 350, raising the bar for power form the previous year. Eleven years later, the power would be gone and replaced with eye-catching graphics and spoilers.

Prospects are steady, but the fact is that the very beginning of the generation appears to be weakening values, while the end of the generation is slowing down from a growth spurt.

With the late ‘70s and early ‘80s Z/28s appearing to be topped out in value and early ‘70s cars showing signs of weakness, now may be a good time to cash in if you’ve been considering it for a while.

While we called out firs-gen Z/28’s as a “sell,” if you have a base first-gen Camaro or an SS, the story is different. These cars are still popular, even amidst weakness in the top-tier cars such as COPOs, L89 equipped Super Sports and Yenkos. The message here:, is if you don’t have a top-tier early Camaro, there is no reason to jump ship. Hold on and enjoy it.

IROC-Zs and Z/28s get all the attention in the third-gen Camaro world. This is for good reason—they look the best and have the best engine options. Standard model and Camaro Berlinettas have been sitting around completely unloved and those paying attention would have noticed a few primo examples coming to market lately and bringing respectable money.

Our data shows that these cars could be on a gentle upswing. If you have a third-gen Camaro RS or Berlinetta, you may want to hang on; it appears that higher IROC and Z/28 prices could be pulling those up as well.