It’s hard to believe that 1978 was almost five decades ago already. Cadillac was touting the standard features of its ultra-luxury 1978 Eldorado as having power steering, power disc brakes, and front-wheel drive, all things we take for granted today on even the most basic little cars. The seller has this gorgeous low-mile Biarritz edition listed here on eBay in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and they’re asking $26,500, or you can make an offer. Thanks to Curvette for the tip!
What a beauty, the Biarritz package really adds some zing to an already gorgeous car. At a hair under 19-feet in length, this big warehouse is a perfect spot to store your giant 1970s car collection. I’d have trouble selling some of these cars, but I guess when you’re in the business of buying and selling vehicles, it comes a little easier than it would for some of us.
I always look at bumper filler material on these big American cars from this era. Sometimes, you can tell that it’s either old and cracked, or original and perfect, or even whether it’s been replaced and repainted to match. It’s hard to tell on this one, although it doesn’t appear to fit perfectly on the bottom in the photo above. And, the other side has something going on with the big gap between the taillight and the warping above the bumper.
This might be a good time to talk about Hagerty’s value on these cars. They’re at $27,500 for a #2 excellent-condition example, which a lot of this car seems to be, but then again, other parts look more like their $12,700 #3 good-condition value. What are your thoughts? The interior is almost impossible to beat; it’s absolutely beautiful, both front and rear. The trunk looks nice as well.
The engine needs a lot of detailing to bring it up to a #2 excellent example, in my opinion. This is Cadillac’s 425-cu.in. OHV V8, which had 180 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque rolling through a THM-425 three-speed transmission to the front wheels. The seller says it’s a great driver, and it looks pretty nice in most of the photos. What are your thoughts on this ’78 Eldorado Biarritz?
I’m going to start by agreeing with Scotty on those rear filler panels. The paint is a different shade on the passenger side, and the fit on the bottom seems a bit sketchy to me. It can’t be helped, they get old and crack very easily. The fronts dont seem quite right either. The rest of this Caddy is pretty clean, but also, again, to agree with Scotty, under the hood could use some detailing. The interior is in good shape, especially considering its age.
As for the color…………
I’ve seen a few of these in this color combination over the years. Either here on Barnfinds or elsewhere. Yet, I don’t ever remember seeing any this color when they were new. And you’d think you’d remember one like this. Its a steep ask, I think. I guess we’ll see.
As for the paint job, all it needs is a pair of steer horns in front.
Now here’s a carriage fit for our Queen! Yes, it will need some tidying up before her highness takes her first ride in it, but that sight would indeed be worth it. As for the mileage, I’m gonna add
another 1 to the advertised mileage. All the flaws you speak of makes me think this may be the case. And if this is a high mileage car, then advertise it as such. The phrase well cared for
works very well here, as the car
certainly does look that way. Or…
could all the flaws we see with the exception of the engine bay be well preserved assembly issues? We all know that except
for the Germans and the Japanese, build quality on American cars was horrendous.
And that includes Lincoln and Cadillac too. The whole auto industry rested on it’s laurels, got
fat and lazy, and here is the end
result–we don’t have an auto industry left. Most everything you see on the road is now imported. But I digress. Despite
it’s flaws, this car looks great for
what you get though. And as I said in the beginning, what a great carriage for our Queen 👑
Beautiful Caddy, and in agreement with Scotty.
The ask of a hair short of a #2 is a bit too far. I see 18k max with the detailing being the easiest part. To get the panels correct fit and finish will be a task at best. That brings it above a #3 and would be well on the way to owning a true work of art.
I have soft spot for 7th gen Eldos, as my late father drove new ones in this era. I have owned several, including a somewhat rough ’78 Biarritz. I prefer the earlier ’71-’73 models as they don’t suffer from the problematic filler panels, and have noticeably more horsepower. I also tend to favour the convertibles over the coupes. I currently own a ’71 convertible in decent driver condition.
The car here is one of the nicest I have seen. The ultra-low mileage makes this car ideal for a collector of “show cars”. I like to drive my cars, and would be reluctant to put miles on this one.
The price is in the ballpark for an excellent example, and is substantially cheaper than trying to improve a lesser example.