Buyers Guide

An overall summary of 1993 to 2002 Camaros

If you're looking to buy a 4th gen Camaro, you may want to know some of the nitty gritty differences between each year before you purchase. If you intend on leaving the car stock/unmodified, read what I wrote below, or you might regret your decision to buy one year over another.

Common problems with most years

• • All 4th gens have window motor issues if they have electric windows. They burn out often, especially if you get water inside the door or roll both windows down at the same time. Solution? Roll each window down one at a time, use them sparingly, or buy a Camaro with manual windows. If, when you remove the door panel, you discover the window motor isn't riveted to the inner door, you'll know it has been replaced before. Most people use screws/bolts and nuts to attach the new motor and not rivets.

  • All '93-'97 LT1 V8 engine Camaros have a distributor called the optispark. If you get this very wet, you'll have to replace it, which takes a long time and is expensive. In 1995, GM switched to a vented optispark which is supposed to vent gasses that build up inside it, NOT water. Getting it wet is still a major issue. It is located just under the throttle body. Do not wash the engine bay of an LT1 Camaro with a water hose unless you have the optispark thoroughly wrapped up and you aren't spraying near it. If you do any work under the hood involving water or coolant, you need to put a rag above the optispark to hopefully catch any fluids. You need to do this if you are refilling coolant and have the bleed valve on the water pump open to let air escape. You should not go through an automatic car wash that sprays the underbody of the car.

  • Concerning only LT1 Camaros, the real main seal, rear of the intake manifold gasket, and oil pan gasket tend to develop leaks as the gasket gets old and brittle. Given that it's 2021 when I am updating this article... if the car you're purchasing hasn't had these gaskets replaced by now, it's surely pouring oil out and needs to be fixed immediately. Check it for oil leaks. If you see oil on the underside of an LT1 in these areas, it's very common, and doesn't particularly cause harm to anything in the early years of the problem. Just watch your oil level every thousand miles. Every 10 to 15 years or so these gaskets SHOULD all be changed. The engine must be dropped out of the car to properly replace these gaskets. (Personal anecdote: our '95 had 96k miles on it and the original gaskets. It leaked slowly from the intake manifold and oil pan gaskets, but not rear main seal. We never had to add oil because the leaks were extremely minor despite the appearance when the car was on a lift. However, what we didn't know, is that one time the thermostat not opening allowed the engine to overheat. This overheating allowed coolant to get into the engine due to thermal expansion and old gaskets, and thus the engine hydrolocked the next time the car was started. The engine had to be rebuilt, as it bent a rod, broke the starter, gunked up the catalytic converter with coolant, etc.).

  • It can be difficult to find places to work on and/or tune LT1 engines. They are so different from the LS1 and newer engines based on the LS platform, that you can struggle to find places to work on them if you need something major done. I recommend contacting places that specialize in working on all years of Corvettes. Many performance shops will only work on LS1 and later GM engines because they are all so plentiful and similar.

  • Concerning only LS1 Camaros, on a cold day with a cold engine, the pistons can make a slapping sound referred to as piston slap. This is normal and because there is a little bit of room in the cylinders for when the heads warm up and expand a minor amount. No cause for alarm.

  • All '98-'02 Camaros have a minor issue with the horn messing up if you spray water under the vehicle. If your car goes from having a normal sounding double horn to a wussy sounding single horn, you've gotten water inside one of them. Washing the engine bay with a hose isn't a big issue though, it's just when you spray underneath the car.

  • The '93 to '97 aero-windshield wipers are difficult to find replacement blades for because they attach differently from most current cars. Either keep the wipers stock and just replace the inserts or buy wipers from NAPA Auto Parts, model number 60-024-9R. Most other brands will not attach to the wiper arms. Just about any windshield wipers fit the '98-'02, but the factory ones are Bosch black painted metal ones and NOT AC Delco plastic ones (at least for 2002...).

  • If you're looking at getting a convertible keep in mind that convertible tops don't last forever and they aren't cheap to replace. Top replacement is $1,000+ usually and you'll want to inspect the top before purchasing the car. Sometimes the rear windows aren't done well.

  • The seats.... You'll find that the '97-'02 seats, particularly leather seats, tend to have an enormous amount of wear on them. The perforated leather seat centers did not wear well, and owners who have not been especially careful with their seats will have large rips and tears from the rivets/buttons on their jeans and/or dogs being in the car. The outer side bolster on all '93-'02 Camaros tends to have wear, but the tougher, more durable materials used from '93-'96 tend to survive better. Replacement OEM cloth fabric does not particularly exist, and aftermarket upholstery stores online do not tend to offer cloth seat upholstery at all. Replacement leather seat upholstery is extremely plentiful on the aftermarket, so you'll have no trouble finding (particularly) '97-'02 replacement seat covers in a pattern similar or identical to OEM. Keep in mind that the leather seats for all leather years ('94-'02) were only leather on the parts that actually touched your body. The sides and backs of the seats and the door panels were all matching vinyl. Entirely-leather upholstery is a bit of a waste of money unless you are looking to massively upgrade your car to a luxury car status. You'll see entirely vinyl seat upholstery on the aftermarket, however... I find (most) vinyl materials to be a pitiful material for coming in contact with skin. It's usually sticky to moist skin, it doesn't breathe at all (which will irritate your skin), and it gets hot in the sun. It's worth spending a little more and getting leather seating surfaces unless you're going to always wear pants, long sleeves, and exclusively take very short drives in your car. Vinyl will wear out slower than leather, but it is basically plastic and cheap. Note: there actually are high quality, expensive vinyl materials available, but you're not going to see those vinyls in use on seat covers that are hundreds of dollars cheaper than leather ones.

  • The taillamps have a small little cover covering the reverse light portion. This isn't very obvious until it pops off, goes missing, and you cannot find a replacement. This has resulted in tail lamps becoming very expensive on the used market. I never had this problem, but I suspect the best idea is to pop the cover off (while you still have it!) and use clear silicone to glue it back on so it lasts another 20 years.

General overview of differences between years

• • Two interior styles. '93-'96 and '97-'02. The seats in '93-'96 have bigger side bolsters and more durable leather. The dashboard design has a jet cockpit feel to it, but the fit and finish of the components is not as good. There is only 1 relatively useless cupholder. The '97-'02 seats have softer more spongy foam and less durable leather. The dashboard design is higher quality, is based on the Firebird/Trans Am dashboard, and has a more generic Chevrolet look to it. There are 4 cupholders, however only 1 is particularly trustworthy.

  • Two tail lamp styles. '93-'96 are red and white, '97-'02 are red, amber, and white. (There are also Japanese export taillamps people call "candycorn". These candy corn tail lamps have been bootlegged and the knock-off version is fairly plentiful currently in 2021, though the materials and fit are not as good as the OEM ones.)

  • Four engines. The weak V6 was '93-'95, the better V6 was '95 (California optional only, everywhere else '96) - '02. The LT1 V8 was '93-'97, the LS1 V8 was '98-'02.

  • Two front bumper styles (with different front fenders and hoods). '93-'97 with headlight buckets inspired by the 3rd gen Camaros. '98-'02 with hood bulges reminiscent of 2nd gen Camaros.

Year specific notes

1993

• • Milestone: All-new, fourth-generation Camaro introduced; new 3.4-litre V6 standard on Camaro, and 5.7- litre LT1 V8 standard on Z28; dual air bags and anti-lock brakes introduced.

  • Only year of yellow lettering on the interior. Some of the switches are gray, which many people don't like. You'll also have a very hard time finding replacements that are also light gray unless they come off another '93.

  • The LT1 engine and automatic transmission (just to keep things simple) are a bit primitive compared to later models and require '93 specific parts sometimes.

  • Manual transmission cars are rare and there were two different manual options/possibilities oddly enough.

  • No leather interior available this year.

  • T-tops have a dot matrix pattern like the hatchback glass instead of headliner material covers. (These are honestly really cool looking.)

  • There was a special edition this year commemorating the '93 Indianapolis 500, and the cars were black and white with special interiors and graphics. All were Z28 coupes with or without t-tops.

1994

• • Milestone: Two new models: Camaro Convertible and Z28 Convertible for mid-year introduction; LT1 V8 engine receives sequential-port fuel injection; ASR traction control becomes available.

  • No more yellow lettering or gray switches. Now white lettering and black switches (which are much more attractive).

  • The LT1 engine is a lot less primitive and the automatic transmission is now electronically controlled. Still has non-vented optispark.

  • Leather is available.

  • First year of convertibles.

  • An Arctic White Camaro, Z28, convertible, or convertible Z28 could be optioned with white painted (instead of silver painted) 'salad shooter' wheels. The RPO code was 40P. These are the same white salad shooters put on the '93 Pace Cars. This was a one-year-only option.

1995

• • Milestone: Available 200-hp, 3.8-litre Series II "3800" V6 in late 1995 (with California emissions only); ASR traction control becomes available.

  • Optional Bose speaker system is now 5 speakers instead of 3 and may go down as the best factory speaker system ever installed in a Camaro.

  • T-tops are now clear with headliner covers. From '93-'94 they were "LOF Gray" tint dot matrix. They were replaced for 1995 to provide "improved visibility from inside the vehicle and standard sunshades for enhanced convenience."

  • First year of a vented optispark on LT1 engines.

  • Last year of the weak V6 (the 3.4L L32 rated at 160hp), and some California cars have the new V6 (the 3.8L L36 rated at 200hp).

  • Last year of OBD I (onboard diagnostic system), and it is noteworthy that the '95s have an OBD II style connector instead of OBD I style. This is sometimes considered OBD 1.5 because of additional functions.

  • The "CAMARO" letters that were on front fenders of the '93-'94 V6 Camaros were no longer used in '95 "to provide a contemporary, uninterrupted, flowing appearance."

1996

• • Milestone: 3.8L Series II 3800 V6 becomes standard base engine, replacing 3.4L DOHC V6 engine; Camaro Z28 SS performance package introduced mid-year (the "SS" designation returns after 24-year absence).

  • Last year of the jet-fighter style dash with more supportive seats and more durable leather.

  • I believe this was the first year a factory alarm was offered, and '96 cars with this can be spotted via the round piece of plastic on the dash with the blinking red light in the center. I'm not sure if '96 was the last year of the old style rectangular key fob, but I assume the '96 models with an alarm came with the '97-'02 rounded key fob. I need to do a bit of research on this.

  • Last year of the 2-color tail lamps.

  • Last year of the Bose 5-speaker optional system, which was certainly the most high-end speaker system in a '93-'02 Camaro.

  • First year of two catalytic converters, boosting horsepower by 10.

  • First year of SS ( upgraded Z28) and RS (slightly upgraded base Camaro).

  • First year of optional Y87 (performance handling) on V6 Camaros, making them practically a new version of Camaro right between base model and Z28.

  • First year where every V6-equipped Camaro has the more powerful L36 engine.

  • First year of OBD II (onboard diagnostic system).

1997

• • Milestone: Special 30th Anniversary Z28 introduced; new instrument panel and floor console with auxiliary power outlet and four cupholders; new 200-watt sound system (coupes only); new uplevel 5-spoke wheels and international-style tri-color tail lamp; automatic transmission now standard with Z28 (the manual was now optional).

  • First year of the new, better fitting, more refined dash and center console.

  • First year of the spongy seats with weak leather.

  • Last year of the early 4th gen front bumper.

  • First year of the new 3-color tail lamps.

  • Last year of the LT1.

  • Last year of RS.

  • Last year of the aero-windshield wipers (which are kind of cool to some people, though difficult to find wipers for unless you go to NAPA). Some late built '97s might have the '98-'02 wiper arms.

  • Early '97s had analog odometers while later ones had digital odometers (like all '98-'02 had).

  • There was a 30th Anniversary special edition Camaro Z28 and SS this year. All were white with orange stripes and could be had in coupe or convertible form. Approximately 100 of the 30th Anniversary edition SS coupes without T-tops were produced with LT4 engines and can be identified by their red intake manifold.

1998

• • Milestone: Front-end modifications, including new hood, fenders and fascia; new 305-hp LS1 Gen III V8 engine; new Camaro SS package; four-wheel disc brakes now standard on all models.

  • First year of the new late 4th gen front bumper.

  • First year of the LS1 engine.

  • Sport Appearance Package (RPO code Y3F) now available on Camaros regardless of engine (sometimes this is inaccurately referred to as the RS package, which, to be fair, this is the replacement for).

1999

• • Milestone: Zexel Torsen differential replaces all limited-slip differential applications; traction control now available with 3800 V6 engine; Monsoon premium sound system available on convertibles; new oil life monitoring telltale in cluster; new electronic throttle control with 3800 V6 engine; increased fuel tank capacity.

  • Other than very interesting '99-only paint colors and the items listed above, not much else has changed since '98.

2000

• • Milestone: Z28 mirrors are body-colored; addition of the leather-wrapped steering wheel with wheel mounted radio controls (the generic Chevy steering wheel that no longer says CAMARO on it) became an option.

  • Other than it being the first year of optional audio control steering wheel, not much else changed for the better this year. There were fewer interesting exterior paint color choices than '99, so I find '00s a little disappointing.

2001

• • Milestone: Base Camaro convertible discontinued in Canada; decontented Z28 model introduced.

  • In 2001 GM did an entire company-wide upgrade on transmissions, so higher quality parts were used in both the automatic and manual transmissions.

  • GM started planning for the death of the 4th gen, and upgraded the cars in a few ways for '01-'02.

  • All LS1 engined cars received the LS6 intake, resulting in a small horsepower increase. The LS1 cars with manual transmissions received the LS6 clutch and slave cylinder.

• • First year of manual transmission cars all having an aluminum driveshaft.

  • Minor issues have all been fixed from previous years.

  • Last year of Mystic Teal Metallic paint color, which kind of represented one of the last unusual paint colors in the Camaro paint lineup. The only unusual color left for '02 was Sunset Orange Metallic.

2002

• • Milestone: Introduced special 35th Anniversary package; reintroduced base convertible model with V6 engine and automatic transmission.

  • The last hurrah for the Camaro. Not much was changed from 2001.

  • There was a 35th Anniversary special edition this year. All were SSes and red with silver stripes and black scoop decal. Could be had in coupe with t-tops and convertible. No hard tops.

So which year do you recommend most?

For my personal taste, I believe the '96 Z28s were the best Camaros. 1996 was a high sales year, the paint colors were all good, flaws from previous years were fixed, it has the front bumper design I prefer, and it was the last/first year of some very desirable (in my opinion) OEM features (like the 5-speaker Bose, dual catalytic converters, 2-color tail lamps, the jet fighter dash, and OBDII). GM hadn't started trying to be more frugal with the Camaro yet, so it wasn't slowly being killed off. It was also the first year of the SS, and '96 to '97 SSes are very rare.

If you're looking for an LT1 Camaro, I'd stick with '95-'97 unless you really want a '93-'94 color. You can convert a '94 to a vented optispark though, and if you plan on replacing the 3 speakers with 5 or more better speakers, then it's not much different from a '95. Find a '95-'96 with the optional Bose speakers if you can, especially if you like heavy bass. Look at '93s if you like the yellow lettering on the interior pieces or like the car's comparatively old fashioned engine and transmissions. (If you're old-school, you might enjoy modifying a '93 better than '94-'02). Look at '94s if you want the same paint colors as the '93s but want some of the benefits the '95s had. Get a '96 or newer if you want OBD II. Get a '97 if you prefer the interior design all of the '98-'02 cars had. The LT1 cars all came with a fantastic sounding OEM exhaust (with rectangular exhaust tips) that worked perfectly with the LT1. They sound amazing at idle, at rev, WOT, and while just regular driving. It burbles and babbles and sounds great. The same looking exhaust was used from '98-'02 with the LS1 Z28s, but it just doesn't sound the same... the unmodified LS1 cars are very quiet in comparison and do not sound good. I'm mostly a purist who prefers unmodified cars, but if I owned a '98-'02 Z28, I would be unsatisfied with the quiet stock exhaust and be looking for a used SLP catback, specifically CME or Dual/Dual.

If you're looking for an LS1 Camaro, I'd stick with '01-'02, because GM essentially ran out of things to change and they were the best of the LS1 cars. The downside to these two years is that they featured almost entirely some of the more boring, high production paint colors. Almost all of the colors used these two years were high production colors from previous years, so they visually don't stand out as unique year-specific cars. If you want a rare color, you're going to have to look at '98-'99, but you're not going to technically be buying as good of a car if you get a '98-'00 compared to '01-'02. Go for an SS if possible, just for the more attractive hood and spoiler if nothing else. SLP's quality control was phenomenal and the fit and finish of the SS cars were always a bit higher than the '98-'02 Z28 cars.

If you're looking for a V6 Camaro, I'd stick with '96-'02 (or '96-'98 if the electronically controlled throttle from '99-'02 turns you off) and look for one with the Y87 RPO code. Very few people even know about Y87, and it's truly a massive step up from a base model Camaro or Camaro RS ('96-'97 only) that may lack Y87. You can recognize it most easily by the Z28 dual exhaust (if the car is still unmodified and original) with rectangular exhaust tips. Additionally, the Y87 cars came with several other Z28 parts already on them, so if you plan on engine swapping to a V8... you'll save some money during the conversion by not having to replace the steering rack and some other things. The 3800 V6 engine in the '96 to '02 V6 Camaros was used in many GM cars, so parts are very plentiful.

Regarding the '93-'95 V6 cars... there aren't very many performance enhancements or very much enthusiast support online for them That 3.4L engine was just kind of a low-tech engine with not much going for it. I would not personally want to own a Camaro with that 3.4L engine in it. It would be hard to find parts for, there'd be very little enthusiast support when working on issues, and frankly, many people are flat-out rude to owners of these cars who reach out to others for help. The '93-'95 3.4L V6 cars are all show, no go, and you'll be missing out on the entire experience of owning an exciting to drive Camaro if you keep that engine.

My personal ratings for each year

These ratings ARE biased because they are my personal opinions only. You may disagree. These ratings are 100% based on Z28s and what they came with from the factory.

1993 - 7/10

1994 - 8/10

1995 - 9/10

1996 - 10/10

1997 - 9/10

1998 - 8/10

1999 - 8/10

2000 - 7/10

2001 - 10/10

2002 - 10/10