While we’ve seen plenty of pace cars with low miles, it still sort of leaves you in awe when one turns up with delivery mileage still on the clock decades later. This 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 is one of the 645 pace cars made for the 1993 Indy 500, and it has just 38 original miles with the plastic wrap still on the seats. There’s literally no faults, other than nothing this isn’t the most desirable pace car of this generation, as an even smaller batch of these multi-colored Camaros was used in the Indy 500 Festival. This may not have been one of them, but it’s likely still one of the newest of the 1993 pace cars you can buy. Find it here on craigslist with an asking price of $29,750 in Hopewell Junction, New York.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Ikey H. for the find. Fun fact: I grew up down the road from Hopewell Junction. Thinking back, it makes me wonder which neighbor or house that I drove by had one of these cars squirreled away under wraps for all of those years. The paintwork looks phenomenal, with perfect pinstriping and no signs of color fade. The original fog lamps remain inserted securely in their perch with obviously no rock chips to worry about. The thing about these pace cars is they were literally identical to every other Camaro on the lot at the time, aside from their novel paint scheme. Still, between Indy fans and collectors who believed this was destined to be the next great collector car, Chevy likely had no problem selling out of them.
The low mileage does pose an issue, however: this is the only way this Camaro will ever be used. A static showpiece that will lose much of its value if it’s ever driven significantly further than it’s already gone. And when you account for inflation, I doubt the original owner made a dime on this Camaro by keeping it under wraps. If I were a pace car hunter, the scenario that makes the most sense to me is to use it a few times per year and not lose my mind if mileage crept over 100, or even 500 miles. This generation Camaro isn’t worth a ton anyway, so trying to adhere to the measly 38 miles on the clock likely won’t net you much in the way of additional return.
Throw in the fact that the pace car tribute era seems to be fading away and it’s not impossible to see how the market for these cars might go soft in the next few years. But when you consider all that this Camaro offers – a 275 b.h.p. V8, T-top roof, full power, upgraded factory stereo, and that very 90s-appropriate upholstery – there’s a lot to like about this example regardless of its pace car graphics. And if nothing else, a Camaro Z28 with 38 original miles is always going to be a crowd pleaser, and hard to repeat. Would you spend $30K on the time capsule Camaro?
(IMO) I think that the reality of owning these “static displays” is rearing its ugly head. As stated by Jeff, not the most desirable Camaro, the graphics aren’t that great, and to continue trying to maintain current mileage in hopes that at some future date value will rise is futile. GLWTS!! :-)
Moparman nailed it!! A good stock investment, over the 27 years that this car has been owned, would have likely earned 5-6 times the $30.000 amount that the owner is probably looking for. Then again, maybe for some folks, it’s worth $6,000 or so a year to be able to gaze at an aging Camaro. And as most of us on this site know, real old-car enthusiasts don’t buy cars to make a lot of money on them.
Well, at least this one was kept clean and running, unlike the 1700 mile example from a week ago. But is it worth nearly twice the price?
Again, I find the graphics and the seat fabric design to be fun, so I must be an outlier taste-wise. Oh well!
Actually I’d Much Prefer to have that Car as it was Actually driven over the Course of a FEW yrs & wasn’t a Museum piece like this one. Granted it had been Neglected & was going to need some work to be put in Running condition but that Pretty Much eliminated the Originality of the car. You could drive that One Till it had about 20K miles on it & it still wouldn’t Ruin the Value that much.
I think these Gen 4 Camaros are great cars! Not crazy with the colors on this one but whoever ends up with it will like the power and handling. I’ve had two including my current Z28 convertible with only 12k miles. Great cars!
It’s all about personal tastes. I sold 4th gen Camaros new. I love everything about them from a mechanical aspect. Even the V6 ones. I just never warmed up to the body design. I never loved or hated it.. That’s where personal taste comes in to play on any kind of vehicle ever made.
One just sold on EBay 2 days ago with 1700 miles for $16650. This one is over priced.
Ron,
That car was featured here.
https://barnfinds.com/1700-mile-1993-chevrolet-camaro-z28-pace-car/
They are not in quite the same league. Depending on the desires of the buyer, one would be a better buy than the other.
Wow. This had an MSRP of about 25,000 in 1993, excluding any dealer gouging, tax, delivery, etc. But just using that number for bleeps and giggles, that comes to $44,600 in 2020 dollars. And if you’d put that 25,000 in a mutual fund in 1993 and it averaged 7.5% per year (which would be weak given the dot.com boom and housing booms but we’ll use that to be conservative, you’d have about $176,100 in your bank, versus a ’90s-tastic Camaro in your garage!
Super…..That comment has to be the smartest I think I have ever heard. It’s funny to actually see an investment like the Camaro above. When you run the numbers it is really absurd. It’s sickening. I think the guy lost out twice. One for buying it not to drive only to profit later. Two not driving it and enjoying it. After all it’s just a car at the end of the day.
GM and others was into making specialty cars and with some tape stripes and nothing more. They learned they could charge over and above what the overall vehicle was worth calling it a limited edition. Sadly there were those that fell for it. How about a matching Chevy Nascar edition truck? Remember those?
Those million dollar American Muscle cars from the 60’s and 70’s are over. The thought was these would be next. My guess the same person has a room full of mint unopened 1990’s baseball cards and Bean babies and his wife has Longaberger baskets!
Nice Get 4 but way too much money, I bought my Gen 4 convertible with only 12k original miles in original factory condition for only 9k.
I mean the paint and interior make it look as dated as a baggy pastel colored shirt with parachute jeans and white high tops. But it has an LT1, 4 wheel disc brakes, and a great suspension.
I hope whoever buys this rips the plastic off those seats, lays a 40 foot patch of rubber, and proceeds to mod the Dickens out of it, and then drives it 15,000 miles per year rain, snow or shine.
Pace cars will always be desirable
Wow…… stickers!
I guess I don’t get buying a car and then basically not driving it. Really, how much do you add to it’s value, especially when tons of other people did the same thing. Even if I owned several other nice cars, I would have a very difficult time keeping the mileage on a seemingly desirable hi-pro car under 30-35k miles after 25 or so years even if I only drove it to car shows or on occasional short trips. I guess if you’re wealthy you can do silly things like this.
I’m not sure the people who do this are necessarily rich. I think it ties into the “get rich quick” thing. Remember, in the early 1990s when this was built, we were in the middle of the muscle car boom and values of 1960s and early 1970s iron had been skyrocketing since the early 1980s. So many assumed that’s how it’d also be with present day cars.
This is why there are so many low mile Third Gen F-bodies and Grand Nationals out there. And with special editions like this, there are even more. Their visions didn’t pan out, of course, but that was the mentality of buying something like this and never using it.
Drive the car, for crying out loud. This car was built to drive & enjoy.
Not to be hidden, under a tarp, somewhere in a garage.
Trying hard to remember what I thought of this era Camaro at the time and since I have no recollection, I’m guessing not much. If they weren’t amazing at the time it’s a rarity that they will get more popular as time goes one. There are a few exceptions to that but not many. So if you are going to buy something to put away as an investment I’d suggest you start with something that people wanted when they were new.
Its worth… most likely 17 grand top money… and then.. what are you gonna do..
but just look at it…. No thanks
I bought a 1998 last year . I always liked this style and when I went looking for one was very surprised how inexpensive they really are . that price makes me laugh. I seen very nice gen 4 camro z28 with 60000 miles for 9000.the one I bought is in excellent shape inside and out and I paid 4200. Only downfall it has 150000 miles on it. Anyone pays that much for that they are nuts