My adult daughters are furious at me, my wife is skeptical, but I am intent on buying a 94-96 buick roadmaster estate wagon, to replace my 80 chevy pickup, ol' Rusty. A regular seller on ebay told me the '94 is best mechanically, while the '96 is best for collectablity. Does anyone have any thoughts on the relative merits of the of the 3 model years? I think the 4l60E transmission was new in '94, which is usually a red flag. I also read that Buick had some issues gettting the 4l60E and the LT1 to work well together. I would love to get one with the tow package, and haul a travel trailer around. The '96 with tow package is supposed to handle 5,000 lbs. Is this realistic? Thanks! Chuck in Austin
Welcome, Chuck. While not an expert on the GM b-bodies, I know a bit. There are others here who will chime in as well. Have you been over to the Impala SS forum yet? Quite a few b-body wagon experts there. I don't know why a '94 would be better mechanically than a '95 or '96. AFAIK, there were no mechanical changes during those years. If I was shopping for one, I'd stick to the '95-'96 only because of the outside mirrors being changed to a better version. (Look at pics and you'll see the diffeence). Your best bet is to simply shop for the cleanest beast you can get within you price range. And don't be afraid to go a bit west to get it (although Texas wagons can be in pretty good shape). Tell your family that in additon to having the cool car that you want, it's also a good investment as cars go. Prices on them certainly are not going down, and as long as you keep it in good shape, it should appreciate a bit in value I would think. Good luck with your search. Marshall
Definately a good choice. No real differences between 94-96. I do agree that the 95-96 mirrors are much nicer. Especially for towing. I currently have 2 94's and a 95 and prefer driving the 95. Heres some good info for you. http://gmlongroof.4umer.com/91-6-b-body-wagon-general-discussion-f1/model-year-differences-t627.htm And finally, Welcome!
(in my best announcers voice) wwell...chuck in austin.... to the show..... you realize were discussing the merits of collectible pianos right? and now back to our regular programming... to the board...i own one ...but ive never driven it for more than 20 minutes.....so i got nuttin...im a FORD guy that had one fall into my yard....so its 4 sale... but im toooo far from you
Chuck! Roadmasters are a good choice. I had a 95 Roadmaster sedan for a while. I do miss that car. Mine had the tow package, but never had a hitch. I would definitely say that 5K lbs is possible...I towed a friend's broken-down Chevy SUV across town with my Roadmaster. The differences aren't great between the 94's and 96's...they all have the LT1 engine. I don't know that the 94's would be any more reliable than the 95's or the 96's. The 94's have the smaller mirrors, set further back on the doors, while the 95's and 96's have the larger ("breakaway") mirrors set at the front corners of the windows. Many people have an issue with the smaller mirrors...otherwise the 94's and 95's models are about the same. In 96, GM went to the OBD-II or something like that and some people have complained that it doesn't allow for as many mods to the programming. Seems to me that if you aren't into trying to hot-rod the thing out, then it won't matter if you have OBD-I or II. Also, when looking at the 96 models, they ALL are labeled as "Collectors Edition". They all have a special "lollypop" hood ornament that is gray, with the Buick TriShield emblem and says "Collectors Edition" on it (resurrected from the hood ornaments of the 1985 Buick LeSabre Limited Collector's Editions...last of the RWD LeSabres). So if you see an ad that states that a particular 1996 Roadmaster is a "special edition" and/or was "specially ordered", just know that ALL 1996 Roadmasters were badged as "Collectors Editions" and they're still somewhat plentiful, so I wouldn't buy into the hype of the '96 models being that much more valuable. What is more collectable then the 1996 "Collectors Editions" is any Roadmaster Estate Wagon with the "Woodgrain Delete" option. The woodgrain was a standard feature on the Estate Wagon, but could be deleted, if so desired, upon ordering. When I was part of a Roadmaster owners' forum, the "Woodgrain Delete" wagons were much more desired. Personally, I have seen wagons in colors that look better with the woodgrain (white, for instance...and black w/ woodgrain is pretty sharp!) and I have seen those that look good without it (Medium Adriatic Blue w/o woodgrain is a nice-looking wagon). You might already know this, but the Caprice Classic wagon of the same years are very similar. They can have the LT1 engine, but I can't remember if the LT1 is the standard engine. Properly equipped, the Caprice can also tow 5k lbs. The Caprice will have the digital speedometer w/ analog guages (vs the Roadmaster's all-analog guages). The Caprice is not quite as luxurious, though, in general. The materials is only slightly less-than, though. The climate control on the Caprice Classic is manual only...no automatic climate control is available, IIRC. The biggest difference is the rooflines. The Caprice Classic has a flat roof, with a luggage rack; while the Roadmaster has the "vista roof" in the second row. So the Caprice Classic wagon might also be an option for you...depending on your needs/wants/desires. Hope this helps!
to the wagon train, chuck. About the only real difference's between the 94 and 96 are the mirrors and the 96 went to the OBDII. I'm an old school guy and didn't much like any of the PCM cars but I'm beginning to like the OBDII. You can do a lot of tuning things through the PCM with the right tuner. You can't go wrong with your choice of either the 96 Buick or the 96 Caprice. I have a Caprice I'm playing with. They are great cars.
Chuck. Just don't go near the Broken Spoke parkin' lot after dark or you'll probably have Lumps on yer new Byerick. Practisin' Line Dancin' in there don't help 'um focus once they get behind the wheelJer
Welcome Chuck. Once your gals get behind the wheel of one, they'll calm down. I have a Ford Fairmont Squire and I love it. HandyAndy has a 1996 Caprice for his wife. I drove it back from Andy's lakeside lodge and I'll tell you, its one easy and fine-handling machine.
There is a guy named Justin that frequents the Z71SuburbanTahoe Forum that owns "Black Bear Performance" that will tune your car for you. I had him make a PCM for my Suburban and it really woke it up. He can set it up as radical or as mild as you want, and will do it all by mail. His is great to work with and I recommend him highly to anyone with a PCM car. I think I spent around $200, and it was well worth it...
Buick Roadmaster Wagons There's an ebay reseller out of Waterloo, n.y. who claims to have bought/sold over 500 BRM 94-96 wagons. He calls them his favorite. He writes a pretty detailed narrative about each one, and it has been educational over the last year or 2. He notes where they typically rust, a cracking tendency on the driver's interior door panel, and wear and tear to the steering wheel cover, among other issues. He's the guy who prefers the '94s mechanically. Do they have the real gauges still? Or are they idiot lights? Oh, and BigBarney... I don't get down to the Broken Spoke too often, but it's always fun. It scares my yankee friends when they come to visit, though. The SPJST dances in Copeland are more fun. Real country dance!
