New Caprice - Discussion forums

Hey y'all, so my father recently got a 09 G8 GT as his daily driver. I currently daily drive a 07 Mazdaspeed 3, he let me drive the new G8 and holy s***. I was very impressed with the way it drove, it is completely stock for right now. It drove extremely smooth and definitely had plenty of power. Driving the G8 GT inspired me to acquire one of these Aussie rockets, on the other hand I am a college student and can't afford a G8 as of now. Then I found the Caprice PPV, I can get one for around 8-9k for the same mileage that my dad has on his G8 GT. SO I'm going to sell of the MS3 which I could easily get close to 9k out of. I know that the Caprice PPV is pretty bare bones compared to a G8, I'd like to make the Caprice look like it was never a cop car...atleast on the inside. I want to have full carpet, G8 GT leather seats and steering wheel, and a center console instead of the metal POS that comes in with the police package. For the exterior I am stuck between lowering it on the Police Steelies, keeping the spot light, and putting a wing on the back of it like the G8 GT has. That or get some used Camaro SS 20's and put the wing on the back like the g8 gt. Only performance mods I plan on doing is a Rotofab Col Air and some muffler delete axlebacks with corsa tips. So guys, am I being reasonable with what I've said on this thread? Could you guys give me some advice? I know these cars have some quirks compared to the G8. Hoping I can turn one of these cars into a budget Chevy SS sedan, am I being reasonable with what I have said above? Thanks in advance guys.

Very reasonable. Can get a 11/12 at auction for around $7k and spend the rest getting it up to quality standards.

Where you located? Maybe close to some of the good Auctions.

I'm in Wichita, KS currently. Planning on moving to Fort worth, TX in May of 2019

add a cam swap and DOD delete to your list if you are buying a higher miles ex police car and try to check the engine idle hours b4 buying....

I already have a race car though, this is going to be my daily. lol. Just want something that is roomy, makes nice sounds, and is fairly affordable. The Caprice PPV fits the bill perfectly, Im planning on the muffler delete axle back w/ corsa tips, possibly a mid muffler delete, a CAI, and maybe a tune. That is one thing I forgot to mention about the G8 I drove, not completely stock but it has the rotofab CAI, and a stage 2 tune through a superchip hand held tuner. For being a hand held tuner you could definitely tell a difference... harder shifts, different shift points, throttle response, etc.. Most mods I want to do are cosmetic, basically I want to fully civilianize a Caprice PPV and end up with a poor mans Chevy SS like I said above

Former Wichita resident here!

I bought my PPV for mostly the same reason. It's the car I drive to the mall, park at the airport while I'm on business, etc. It's also my dog hauler. It's a great car after a little elbow grease. After a little work I did end up with a "Poor Man's SS" of sorts.

Definitely check idle/total hours before purchase. This can be checked through the steering wheel controls for the instrument cluster.

Silversled, that's exactly what I would like to do with mine! Garrett, what kind of idle hours should I look for? I've heard from other people that buying these cars with excessive hours at idle usually have a toasted/burnt up cam.

Just about anything with 1/2 of the total hours being idle hours, or more and I'd start checking the car's maintenance history for a cam/lifter(s) replacement.

So I should look for something with less than half idle hours as the total run time? What all would need replacing if I were to get something with more idle hours? Would service records just be in the owners manual maintenance/notes section? Don't the 2012+ only show idle hours. I'd be screwed if I got something older.