1985 Caprice Estate Diesel $11K Wexford PA

Low miles, dents. Not sure...

https://www.lwautomotive.com/vdp/17...sic-4dr-Wagon-for-sale-in-Pittsburgh-PA-15237

Wont allow me to post photos

 

Looks like some ripples in the rear fender? (Ken, if you go down the page and click on the "large photos", you can copy the image address for the large photo).

 

Normally I am pretty smart on uploading pics, this one kind of kicked my butt, but I appreciate you posting them for me!
11k for a wrinkled quarter panel... I didnt think they made diesels this late.

 

Very last year for them, by 1985 they were usually only ordered by accident so very few were made.

$12k for a diesel wagon with body issues strikes me as overpriced. The joke of "16k miles because it was in the shop so much!" just makes itself...

 

Love the Diesel. Price seems high. Too bad about the body damage. Might be fixable with good PDR guy.

 

Now at $9999 still to high

https://www.lwautomotive.com/vdp/17...sic-4dr-Wagon-for-sale-in-Pittsburgh-PA-15237


I went and looked at it and took a test drive. To be honest, I was expecting a little more in some respects and it was a little more worse for wear in others.

Cosmetically that giant dent in the rear quarter panel is an issue, I think it could be tapped out from the back side or suction cupped. Will need rear bumper filler. Rust at the drip section on both rear windows. Some touch up spots on roof and fender with what looked like fingernail polish but I recon it was just brush on paint. I think the car could use a respray to be fair. Nydoc on the passenger side fender starting to wear through.

Some Rust on lower doors where the water would drip. If this is a true 16K mile car, it has sat for a long time. I debate the mileage. Underneath is very clean, could be because of it being a diesel, or just from oil coating some of the underneath. Cannot tell if it was rustproofed underneath, rockers are good.

Inside not bad, smells like an old car that sat, that musty smell. Fixable. All the power windows work. Did not test the power seat, the dash pad has some blotching. good headliner and carpet.

Now for the real issues beyond rust and dents.

Rear gate has something wrong with it, it wont open unless you pick up on it. For a car with low miles I would have not expected that problem. Thats an issue. the rear gate also has some dents in it where they nydoc is scratched.

Engine ran pretty good, not billowing smoke when you took off, granted its not a speed demon. Seem to handle ok. I did notice a bit of oil on the exhaust headers, so I am thinking the gaskets are gone. The steering links are good, covered in oil or grease, so it might need either a clean up or new idler arms, center link etc. I recon it was mostly from the engine leaking.

Service engine soon light is on, so it could be alot of things not looking into it. Could be as easy as oil, oil filter and fuel filter change. But its interesting. Also the Volt meter was active, and I am not sure if its due to a low battery from sitting or the charging unit needs attention.

From what I understand and you all can correct me if I am wrong, but I thought by this date they had the diesel figured out by now and it was not the basket case it was earlier.

Honestly I was thinking 4K for it, as it really did not speak to me, mabey it was the color or that year when they changed the dash to that silvery look, or just the unknowns of the diesel. What was funny to me as well was how small it seemed inside versus what I remember them to be like.

At least they kid, yea he was that young, that showed it to me was honest enough to say he did not know much about them, or anyone at the shop. So I schooled him on the car as best I knew.

I think they think because its odd, it worth alot. So goes it with most people who sell specialty cars. If this was a 74 CE in the same condition for the price and it was Bronze Metallic on black inside I would have been all over it.

Well can say thats the first estate I got to look at in person in many many years.

 

The Diesel in my old Cutlass ran great and got great mileage. The only issue was winter cold starts which could be a real pain. I don't recall ever seeing a check engine light in mine. I'm not sure what it could be for. It was all mechanical.

It looks like a decent enough car, but with the obvious issues and not obvious issues that you pointed out it is way overpriced.

 

Boy that seat is squashed down a lot for only 16,000 miles! The previous owner must have been a private investigator who did not drive much but spent a lot of time sitting in his car taking pictures of cheating couples, or, he was 400 pounds!

 

Even the passenger seat looks “squashed” as well. Maybe the Frank Cannon investigator took his 350# wife.

 

My lovely wife, who is of an average womans weight, has riden in the passenger seat of our 87 Safari for over 30 years and about 70,000 miles. The seat looks almost new.

 

By 1985 they had the diesel figured out mostly, so it wasn't the disaster that it was earlier (still needed better fuel\water separator and head studs, but they didn't blow up). They aren't a powerhouse though so the only people who tend to want them are collectors and weirdo fans (like me). Everything you described is not a car that has 16k miles but a car that has 116k or 216k miles. The tailgates don't break and fail just sitting, usually only with consistent use.