Why does it feel so wrong to find a 1980s specialty/muscle car in decrepit condition? Perhaps because it doesn’t feel like it was so long ago that cars like the 1984 Buick Grand National shown here on ebay were new. And if that perspective doesn’t grab you, how about the fact that these cars are a lot like modern ones, in that they run more electronics than their 1960s ancestors, like fuel injection and engine control modules? If you’re in the market for such a machine, this one is up for auction and bid to just over $5,000. Its buy-it-now price is about double that. Should you jump in?
What’s the value equation on this car? Great ones are in the market for around $50K. Middling examples that still look good and don’t need paint but are not pristine run into the $20s. And then there’s this car. Is it likely to go for its asking price, despite the fact that it does not run, though the seller says he drove it onto a trailer to get it home? Don’t you get a little bit nervous when you read that an owner has “heard it run” but knows it mostly as a car pushed onto a trailer in Tennessee and driven to Cortland, New York?
How about the fact that the description is about as elementary as they come? Do you really need someone to tell you the car has two doors and four seats? How about the nugget that it runs on gasoline and has left-hand drive? It had 40,000 miles or so back in 1987, and now has 834 miles showing, listed as “miles not known” in the ad. Since the seller gives you very little else, what does a quick check of the images show?
An engine that looks like it’s been in a sandstorm. Bits and pieces of parts, some used and some still in boxes. Rust at the base of the A-pillar. Huge areas of flaking paint on the hood with rust where the color coat used to be. If that isn’t enough to scare you off of this admittedly cool, NASCAR-reminiscent 1980s turbo dream car, then you have the fever, bad. You’re not alone, apparently, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be the last one with the bidder’s paddle raised when the hammer drops. If that’s you’re thing, though, go for it. You’ll have a two-owner (three with you) car that appears all complete, if a total mess.
Nope if it were an 87 maybe ….
Spend 20+k on a driver example and enjoy! Too much work here.
Someone might buy it just for the seats and then flip it.
These cars were collectable right out of the gate. For a two owner car? They obviously didn’t care about this particular Buick. So I’m sure this bad boy’s been ridden very hard, and put away very wet.
Not with all that rust, can you imagine the body rot and rust we can’t see in the pictures?
I owned a bunch of G bodies, mostly turbo Regal T Types, Malibu’s, and Monti Carlos, these cars are notorious for frame rot, I remember the bodies were rust free, get them on a lift and surprise, the most likely place for frame rot is over the rear axle and back, buyer beware.
5 grand is about 4 grand too much!
On the box in the passenger seat (on eBay): “ELECTRIC FULE PUMP”.
If they don’t know how to write the word fuel, what does that say about their product?
Rust holes in the A-pillar???? That would have me trying to outrun Usain Bolt away from it!!
Those are just the holes for aftermarket A-pillar boost and temperature gauges!
It’s still rusty there, and those holes no longer look like they are from screws or proper cut-outs to mount something. They look like something was ripped off. Or a blind person mounted those gauges originally with a sawzall. And what about that spot on the door right next to those holes? All-in-all, not something to inspire hope for this turd.
That’s not a barn find that’s a junkyard find
I couldn’t find a BIN price for this car on BF or ebay, anyone got a clue what the BIN price is?
This is what it says:
US $5,250.00
12 bids
Ends in 5d 20hFriday, 03:55 PM
Reserve not met
US $10,000.00
Buy It Now
And $8,500 on this website:
https://www.townlinemotorsny.com/Inventory/Details/e1bb1dad-1149-454a-8d8b-91de765bc060
$5K is a bit high for a non-running, rusty, who knows what else is hiding underneath project car. You would have to be able to do all the work yourself for this to make any sense.
Did anyone else notice that the picture that had the “fule” pump in it, also showed the read end of the console and it looked like Swiss cheese with all the rot on it.
I think what you were seeing was just the inner side of another plastic panel that had been removed. If you look at another photo after it, it shows it between both front seats. Either way, with just the rot on that A pillar I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. I can imagine what the underside probably looks like.
This thing has been toasted. Parts car.