Newbie buying a 90's Roadmaster ?

vic,
dont forget the demographic this car had when new.

most buyers of the Buick wagons were 65-85 yrs old that being said. the low mileage ones exist because so do some of the original owners. these cars dont see the daily rigor of commutes or harsh weather.
tha lot of these cars end up with a 2nd owner who appriciates them...or if your me....drives them about once every 2 weeks and keeps it safely in the garage the rest of the time!

there is about 1 really clean one for every 2 or 3 rusty beat ones. they are out there. this isnt a car that i could see someone taking the time to roll back the odometer.

 

Vic,

You are a very skeptical guy! Although I agree that you have to be when buying a semi-collectible car, or any car for that matter, but come on. You don't know how a guy has all these older low mileage cars for sale? If any of us on this forum had the cash, we would all have multiple low mile wagons, and we would all run out of storage eventuality. So a guy that owned a dealership, loved wagons, has cash, and storage..... nuff said. Oh, and old rotting hey would stain the paint.

I worked at Dorschel Buick, Oldsmobile, Toyota, Lexus, and Saab dealer in the Rochester area while in high school and collage during the early '90's. The owner of that dealer took it over from his father back in the early '80's. When I was able to see the storage barn that Rick (the son) had, there were probably 25-30 cars in there. Many of which were never registered. That is were I saw 2 1987 Buick GNX's, one was a friend of Ricks, and the other was his and was never registered, it had 300 something miles on it back in 1994. That barn had quite a few '50s and '60s cars in there, including some wagons, mostly GM's. So there is that kind of stuff out there, and there always will be. Not everyone is out to take your money and then kick you in the shorts.

If you want leather that badly, you should buy a leather car. It is getting harder and harder to find nice leather seats in the yards, especially the wagons. Just a heads up.

I'll keep looking, but that black woody is sweet! Maybe he found a black wood delete car to take it's place.

Mike

 

Crazy eBay bids

Hi Mike,

Somebody must be agreeing with you as it has reached $12,500 so far with 5 days to go... too rich for my blood as that is starting price for recent Magnums with Hemis.

Thanks for the heads up, but I can't compete with guys who just dumped their stock portolios to avoid the crash looking for any kind of useful asset.

I'll stick to cars at fixed/negotiable pricing from dealers or private parties. The eBay Casino is a drain of energy and/or cash.

Vic

 

vic, that grand marquis is an absolutely gorgeous car!!!

the hay thing, i believe. most farmers do store the hay in the "hay loft" in the barn. the cracks in the floors are usually more than wide enough to allow hay to fall through. when i had my Comanche, i kept it in Jens great aunts barn. you wouldn't believe the filth that covered it between the times i drove it. and i only had the truck for a year i can only imagne what 25 years worth of gunk looked like.

 

Tough read

Interesting looking on this site and seeing everyone bash my car. Seeing pictures all over. Yeah it was messy, it is well maintained, the mechanic didn't reset the oil change light. Tell someone you've gone "above the speed limit" in a roadmaster and they think you're beating the car. My God, the car isn't even breathing, hard. Tell them the truth and suspect you're lieing to them. If someone looked at the car and actually knew about Roadmasters, like the guy I bought it from.....they'd see it's a good car. It's not a trailer queen it's a car I really appreciate and enjoy. Have receipts for the work done to it and to validate statements. These are great cars hope CrownVic found his car.....cause he won't get mine now.

 

Anyone have ANY idea who this readetruimph is??

 

I'm guessing he owns the Light Driftwood Metallic Roady with wood, and fancy wheels that started this 20 something page thread.

Readetruimph, We were not "bashing" your car, just giving Vic our opinions on a car he was looking to buy. If you have read the whole thread you must now see that the car you have is not what Vic is looking for. Vic is looking for a cream puff, and yours is not, and neither is mine, it's not a bad thing, it just is what it is. You made your car how you wanted it for how you use it.

I know one thing I said, the dirty, rusty looking front wheels look like a sign of neglect to me. I still think that when I see that kind of thing, doesn't make me right, but doesn't make me wrong either. When someone is asking "all the money" for their car, and someone makes an appointment to come look at it, it should be ready to go and clean. If not, it makes a bad first impression, then the car will get nit picked more than likely. Just for the record, I liked your car.... If you care what I think. So did you ever sell it?


Mike

 

tough read

Hi Guys.

Wrote a long statement about my car.....going over all that was said in the posts. Seeing people make assumptions about my car that aren't true made me ill. I hit send and couldn't get the notes delivered. I suggested and offer this to anyone....have a mechanic, someone who knows something about cars check mine out. If I'm off..I'll pay for the visit, if we can't come to an agreement, I'll let the next buyer know what we found. I have all the records to verify what was done to the car. It was not used hard....unless your definition of hard use is conists of anything over 65mph and towing 3,000 highway miles abusive....if that's the case then yes... I've abused my car. I thought that's what they were meant to be used.

Yeah...I did do one tank at 75 mph on the way to florida..I did get 8 mpg. It was quite stable with the "parachute" out back. It was a new Fun finder, 18'9" 3600 lbs, found out it's the aerodynamics that result in poor gas mileage. The rest of the trip I went 55-60 mph and got 12 mpg. Found it's best to tow with a 3/4 ton truck...if I could make this into an 3/4 ton wagon, I'd do it in a heat beat. camper towed like crap, wheels were located too close to the center line....sold the camper, kept the car, I don't think I need to explain that reasoning on this forum.

Rims..they are aluminium..that's brake dust, last I knew aluminium didn't rust. Yeah I replaced the coils in the rear with progressive weight springs...I get the same normal ride and an better more controlled ride in corner and when it's loaded, with people or that camper. Springs from 1995 do sag. Yeah I replaced the original worn out shocks with Bilsteins....my preference, I understand it might not be someone elses....but it rides great. I put on heavy load rated tires because at the time I had a purpose...they have stiff side walls...I wouldn't use them otherwise. Carpet in back is stained, that's why I'm replacing it and how I came to your website. What is the big deal? My cars may get messy at times...but ask my mechanic, look at the records, I take car of my car.

Had a guy offer $2,000 for this car, is that all they are worth? I'll be driving this car for basic transportation if that's the case...we all know they are good for 250k. Who's trying to take advantage of who on prices like this?

It's not a cream puff, never said it was....I'm not going to go over details on this post again, but would be happy to discuss or show anyone in person. No power...I have no idea what he was thinking...did he find the gas pedal? Let's hook up his crown vic/caravan to my woodie and see who's got power! Wish my other post didn't go off into cyber space...it was more detailed and pleasant to read.

Anyway...I'm having a ****ty monday....may have lost a 1.5 million dollar deal and....no I'm still not selling it for $2000. If that's all they are worth...It'll be my coffin. I know how hard it was to find this one...yeah maybe I paid too much at $8300 but I don't regret it for a second.

Sincerely,

Neil Johnson work 583-9400

 

Niel Johnson, what's all that about? It was CrownVics thread, and I haven't got a clue about who said what, about your Roadie.:confused:

Glad you like the Roadie, but I think losing that deal caused you to vent to a blank wall. Totally discontiguous. Why not start your own thread and try again?

 

crown vics thread....my car on opening

I understand or maybe I don't, this is my first time going on a thread. The opening is about my car, of which I reluctantly have for sale. Totally understand that it might not work for him. He raised a ton of questions, about the car and what I told him. Had we discussed things or had he actually paid to have the car inspected by a professional he would have found his concerns were not founded. I'm not expecting him to buy my car, but I'd like others to know the facts, it is a small group in Vermont. I'd pay for the inspection if it wasn't to their satisfaction. Having said it before it's not a cream puff car...but it is very nice. It is well maintained. It was dirty when he saw it. If he has stated he was looking for a perfect or cream puff car in the begining...would have saved everyone a ton of time. It is a very good car. Sincerely, Neil

 

Aha! Thanks for tying that together. I'm ok, now.

 

This is just one of those threads that has gone on far too long and, IMHO, should be closed.

 

possible wagon he might like

Crown Vic should check with Fred on Ebay. That's where I got my wagon. He may very well have what he's looking for. I don't think he'd sell it for that price, but hey it might be worth checking out. I believe he goes under the title of mostly_unusual cars. Seems pretty straight up and certainly has a passion and knowledge of these cars. When I needed a headlight replacement, he sent one free, free shipping too. It might be good for him to have a nice example while he's searching for perfect. Life is short, I think mines a bit longer...because of the wagon.

 

apologies

My apology for any....aggressive tone. Please don't end it from my defense...sincerely wouldn't want to keep a guy from his wagon quest. Guess I like the wagon more than I care to admit, it's a great car.

Neil