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29K Miles & Grandpa Dings: 1987 Olds Touring Sedan

At first glance, this 1987 Olds Ninety-Eight Touring Sedan looks absolutely mint – and it is, sort of. With under 30,000 original miles, its cosmetics have held up incredibly well and many details look right; however, it’s been driven by an eldery driver for the last several years and hit the carport a few times. Find it here on eBay where bidding is active and there’s a Buy-It-Now of $9,500. 

We like these Touring Sedans for their handsome exteriors and ridiculously comfortable interiors. Although it’s hard to imagine anyone cross-shopping one of these with BMW’s 5-Series or Mercedes’ E-Class of the same era, it at least put up a fight. However, the only fight this car’s been having is with its last owner’s poor eyesight, which the seller claims is the main cause of the body damage. Thankfully, the interior appears mint.

This is the worst of it, but you can see evidence of corners cut and parking scrapes all over the car – which is really too bad, since the rest of the paint still appears to shine quite nicely. The white-letter radials are an odd choice for a car like this but at least they look new; the mesh wheels and OEM mudflaps are nice touches, too. The seller has replaced many components on the car, including axles, injectors, and springs / struts. The A/C’s been converted, too.

So with fresh R134A blowing through those vents and new tires underneath, this Touring Sedan is certainly up for doing some…well, touring. The low mileage is a major selling point here, and a talented bodyman should be able to fix the isolated dings and scrapes without having to repaint the entire car – and, with the recent maintenance, that may be all it really needs. Despite this, close to $10K for a Buy-It-Now seems unrealistic.

Comments

  1. Avatar Rustytech Member

    These were better cars than I anticipated when the General made the switch from RWD to FWD. I had the Buick cousin to this, and was impressed. This looks like it would make a great daily drive ( it’s never going to be a collectible ) but I think the value is about $5k minus $1k for body and paint work. That’s MHO anyway.

    Like 1
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      I agree…They were a comfortable ride with decent MPG’s and a little pep. 6K tops and turn those raised whites in.
      The body work, I could do myself :) I wish seller’s would take a pic of the Service Parts Identification Label when selling a GM vehicle for RPO code verification (not that I think it’s a phony, just sayin’).

      Like 1
    • Avatar gregwnc

      Agreed. Dad had one of these. Very nice cars for the era (even now), but it will never be worth that kind of money. Okay, maybe in another 30 or 40 years when everybody has flying cars!

      Like 1
      • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

        By then…they will be relegated to museums. Folks will pass through with comments like : “I can’t believe that people actually traveled on the ground in something so unsafe ! What were they thinking ?! “

        Like 0
      • Avatar Mark P

        The Rush song Red Barchetta came to mind when I read your post.

        Like 0
    • Avatar ChevyTruckGuy

      “Never gonna be collectible”. People said that about station wagons, years ago. Now, there’s a growing crowd looking for those cars.

      These Oldsmobiles were great cars. Relatively low production. Loaded to the gills. Plus, it’s an extinct brand. The survivors will be collectible. Mark my words.

      Like 1
      • Avatar DweezilAZ

        Have read that since I was 10 years old in 1966, Chevy Truck.

        I have old Motor Trends claiming the same thing about those 50s used cars, usually Robert Gottleib in “Classic Comments”.

        Read the same thing about 70s cars over and over again.

        Like 1
  2. Avatar Mark McConnell

    I owned an 87. White with the same interior. Fantastic car. These were ASC converted cars. Great Bose stereo (big deal in 87) and Lear seats that beat any Lazy-Boy. Still have the tool kit and the Olds driving light covers. GLWTS.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Miles Hoffmann

      Hi Mark McConnell: I have been looking for a set of those FOG LIGHT COVERS!!
      Would you be interested in selling them?
      Regard’s Miles

      Like 0
      • Avatar Miles Hoffmann

        Mark McConnell
        ??

        Like 0
  3. Avatar Todd Fitch Staff

    Having put over 200k on a modified 2002 Buick Regal GS I can’t help but wonder how interesting this car could become with a Stage 2+ L67 and some sticky front tires. You could surprise… well just about anything. However value-wise you could spend $3000 or less and buy a low-mileage GM 3800 car with leather, etc. several times a week, with the L67.

    Like 0
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      Todd…I recently took possession of My Father’s 2 LeSabre’s as he can no longer drive. A ’01 Limited and a ’04 Limited with leather. Both under 40,000 miles. A local wrecking yard is closing shop so I went hunting. I came across a Park Ave. Ultra L67 with extensive rear end damage with 65K on the odometer.
      I struck a deal with the owner and he had the car flat bedded to my house 2 miles away.
      I now have a one off ’04 Lesabre Limited L67 ! I replaced the ELC rear shocks with the Monroe coil over kit to circumvent the well know issues with rear hop as well as the rear lateral links and it handles like a dream. A lot of folks are taken back when it gets rubber off the light and keeps on keepin’ on…
      I just laugh :) My wife dives the ’01 as she prefers the cloth interior. Next up, American Racing Torque Thrust rims in gray to match the gray rocker trim. Not your grandfather’s Buick !

      Like 0
      • Avatar Todd Fitch Staff

        DrinkinGasoline… Nice! The LeSabre (to my knowledge) never came with the L67 so you really have a Super-Sleeper. My Regal was silver – invisible to police. My daughters called it my “Grandpa Car,” and I would say “Exactly.” The first day I took fishing line and removed the “Supercharged” badge from the rear. When the stock motor went at 199k I had a 50k junk yard motor warmed up with a Stage 1 kit by Tim King of TKO Performance, who built the world’s most powerful 3800. Loved that car but just wanted something else and moved on. Enjoy your sleeper!

        Like 0
      • Avatar Scot Douglas

        I want pictures.

        Like 0
      • Avatar Fritz T.

        I have the ’99 Regal GS. Modded brakes, suspension, motor, water-to-air intercooler, exhaust…pretty subdued except when you nail it. Great car

        Like 0
      • Avatar carsofchaos

        Massive props to you sir, that’s freaking awesome and what the old car hobby is all about (even if some may not classify what you have as an old car).

        Like 0
    • Avatar Ignorant

      You have a modified Regal? What did you do to it?

      Like 0
      • Avatar Todd Fitch Staff

        Hello Ignorant – Very similar to this kit, but with a custom flash. https://zzperformance.com/3800/stage-2-performance-package.html
        If I did the math backward it came out to about 292 HP. 0-60 with a ton of wheelspin was 6.0 – not killer fast but I could still load up 4 people and a ton of luggage and get 27 MPH with AC on the Hwy. With the mods I would call it the best all-around car I ever owned for general daily use.

        Like 0
  4. Avatar dgrass

    What happened under the hood? That would be my first question to the seller. These were wonderful highway cruisers, as long as you didn’t get the lemon with electrical gremlins.

    Like 0
    • Avatar whmracer99

      Saw the same thing — almost looks like the remnants of an intake fire. Also, in the description it has new trans pan, engine oil pan and exhaust. Maybe grandpa did a little off-roading as well.

      Like 0
      • Avatar ImpalaGuy

        I think it’s more of a “road salt” issue than a fire. Vehicle is located in York, PA. I would have to see pics of the underside.

        Like 0
      • Avatar whmracer99

        Impalaguy — thought the same but it’s only on the driver’s side. Kinda odd.

        Like 0
    • Avatar gary

      I thought cosmoline?

      Like 0
    • Avatar Miles Hoffmann

      dgrass: That’s RUSTPROOFING over spray from when it was new!

      Like 0
  5. Avatar Duane Hayes

    Please consider, very poor driving can result in bent wheels, bent axles, bent steering and suspension components. How many curbs were hit or run over, huge pot holes cabang! All time consuming and sometimes expensive to repair.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar W9BAG

    My friend had a coupe, with the trick seats, leather, floor mounted shifter, digital instrumentation, the full mashugah. Turquoise. FE3. Wonderful car.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Fritz T.

    I have the ’99 Regal GS. Modded brakes, suspension, motor, water-to-air intercooler, exhaust…pretty subdued except when you nail it. Great car

    Like 0
  8. Avatar JMcQ

    I personally think the OWL tires are the icing on the barn find cake

    Like 0
  9. Avatar carsofchaos

    I was given one of these back in 2002….grey on grey. Always wanted one but the one I got was not running and I was a novice mechanic at the time working 12 hour days….you can guess how that went. I think around $5k is realistic. Just checking the auction with a few hours left it’s at $3550.

    Like 0

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