Hello, my name is Cyndi and I own a 1988 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. We bought it at a great price when it was only 12 months old, and we had 3 small children to cart around. It was our third try at a wagon, and this one hit the mark! The first wagon we bought was a Chevy Caprice DIESEL wagon. We loved the size, but the diesel was too much trouble. So I sold it and bought a Pontiac Parisienne wagon but it had 60,000 miles on it (just highway miles, the salesman said) but it started needing repairs before we got the loan paid off. Found this beautiful Olds Custom Cruiser and have kept it 26 years so far. For several years I also owned a Saab 9-3 Convertible - which was a blast to drive, but having to take care of two old cars got frustrating so I sold the Saab a few months ago. Decided to use the money I got for the Saab and make some major repairs and renovations to the Olds wagon. Still have a few parts to find, but I've got it scheduled to get painted next month - can't wait to see the paint restored to its original beauty! Found this forum while looking for a replacement filler for the rear bumper. BTW - I'm not a mechanic nor can I do auto body work, but paying for the work is still much cheaper than buying a new car - and there's no new full-size wagons to be found these days anyway!
Welcome! Glad to have you onboard. While I can do some mechanic work, and a little body work, sometimes it is just easier to have a shop do it...
cyndi you are wise beyond your years. Glad you joined us as you restore your wagon. 26 years is a long time to have any vehicle.
Welcome to the SWF, Cyndi! Yup, they're great wagons, aren't they? Mine's an '81 Pontiac Bonneville Safari. Body's pretty much like yours.... Marshall
Wow - thanks for the warm welcomes from everyone! I wish I had pics of the other two wagons we had ('82 Chevy Caprice and '84 Pontiac Parisienne). They were both solid colors so the Olds is the only woodgrain wagon we've owned. I've been reading some of the forum posts about replacement woodgrain vinyl and I'm not sure if it's worth replacing mine. The body shop that's going to paint my car said they couldn't locate the woodgrain through their vendor, so if there's rust under the vinyl then they will just remove it and paint it either the same light blue or a darker matching blue color. But I really hope I can keep the woodgrain look!
12 "months" old? Most people would just be more general and say they bought the car when it was a year old. Do you actually know the month and year it was built, and did you actually buy it the same month one year later? Are you the original owner?
No, I'm not the original owner but I do have the original owners' names and date they bought the car new from a dealership.
Nice intro Cyndiwise. Glad you found us. If you get the chance. a few more(larger) pics of your car before you get the paint job would be interesting, to see the difference after it's painted. You do know that now your a member here you have to post a few pics after the paint job is complete. I hope you get to keep the woodgrain too. aboard.
