I’m guessing a lot of you besides me remember when the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertibles were “the last American convertibles” due to expected governmental regulations that never happened. Now Barn Finds reader Armando wants to sell the car that he’s had for five years in Rosemead, California. If you’d like to purchase this example of Americana, contact Armando via the form at the bottom of this post.
From Armando: This is a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible that I’ve had for a little over 5 years sitting in the same spot…the body is pretty solid, the previous owner had the paint wet sanded and has yet to be polished. I’ve looked for rust but haven’t found any.
You can see here you’ll need to get those filler pieces between the bumper and the body, but I believe those are reproduced now.
Armando continues: It has new white leather interior which now needs a good cleaning due to sitting around. Additionally, the top is new but with the elements is starting to age, but it’s still a solid top.
Recently I’ve had a mechanic get the motor running, but the car will need additional work to be road worthy, most notably power steering hoses and brakes. The car will move forward and backwards but I do not recommend driving it. It has a clean title and I have new plates and tags. So what do you think, readers? The asking price is $15,000, but contact Armando to see how negotiable that is.
If the weather hasn’t shown me that I’m living on the wrong coast, this drives it home(no pun intended). I’ve always liked these cars.
Very interested to see what this goes for. Think it will clean up well. I have a 76 Eldo convertible as well. Mine has 26K original miles and is Calumet Cream. Love the color of this one. Can’t wait to see the selling price Hernandez!
What’s the price ??
Sorry, folks, I thought that came out in the form. Corrected now :-)
Odd that the title transfer date is November 23, 2016 since the seller says he’s owned it for five years. Probably just never got around to the DMV requirements?
Good question Jim. Plenty of nice pics but no price?
What’s with the transfer date on the registration? Is someone trying to flip something?
“There was something in the air that night, the stars where bright, Armando” (nice car, too many cookies and too far away for me)
The ask is rather ambitious. If the car was in good running condition then maybe but 15k doesn’t get it for a 70’s gas guzzler.
I have to say there’s nothing like sitting back seat in a convertible and being chauffeured around. Used to love that with the Ex and her families Wildcat convertible. A little ‘air in the hair’ time is worth it.
I like the car but already have enough convertibles in the garage to consider anything new for some time to come.
Open letter to Armando: Haggerty has the values as follows…
#1 – $26,900 (Concourse)
#2 – $18,000 (Excellent)
#3 – $11,000 (Good)
#4 – $6700 (Fair)
You bought this car (reputedly) 5 years ago, parked it, and left it out doors in the sun. You say the top is new… oh, no it isn’t. It is at least 5 years old, and will need replacement from 5 years of abuse.
The steering wheel is shot.
No pix of the engine compartment, trunk or underside, but one can only imagine.
There is MUCH remaining to be done in the interior, not the least of which is replacement of the steering wheel, and all of the weatherstripping. I will leave the matching of various colors, stitching and grains of leathers and vinyls to the eye of the would-be purchaser.
There are missing chrome, trim, and body pieces to be gathered.
It needs a host of mechanical repairs, indubitably more than listed in the ad; since, after correction of the listed items, more will be discovered upon road trials.
By no means finally; the paint. Please.
It was a grand car, so many years ago. It was a last hurrah for the expansive, optimistic period in American history. It was among the last holdouts, before the U.S. automotive industry descended into the malaise of its decade-long Dark Ages.
Your asking price is fueled either by a naive estimation of the car’s worth, or a cynical estimation of the market’s intelligence. Had you put ANY effort into putting the car into at least ‘GOOD’ condition, then a reasonable buyer might have a good starting point for negotiation.
However; that would have required that you attend to the items that would make it roadworthy, (rather than telling us it needs brakes, hoses, etc…), and buff the paint yourself. A good body shop will do that for about $250 – $500. But you know and we know; 5 years in direct sunlight and exposed to the elements has killed whatever ‘fire’ was left in that gorgeous metallic paint.
On the other hand, if you get your asking price, that makes my brother’s 396 Corvette worth at least $250,000. Soooo, best of luck.
I was thinking about 5k best. That “color sand” job is hiding a needed paint job and the leather interior job doesn’t look factory at all. Good luck.
Does the seller realize what we could buy with that same money…come on really
No he doesn’t which is why his head is in the clouds on this one.
Love the car…but 5k max.(and that’s if it’s running)
I was going to be kind and not mention too loudly how I didn’t like them then, or now back when, I was in my early 20s so a Caddy convert would probably not been on my priority list .. have to mention though the prices have remained stable… but… how does that compare to ’76 prices? Certainly not a 401K investment and I am comparing it to the performance cars of old ( who knew back when?) so now we have a bunch of “low mileage” 76 Caddy converts that are demanding top $$ and, no one buying them .. get a low mileage 75 Convert for much less, and enjoy it !
Back in the mid 80’s I front end alignments for a fellow who owned a body shop in SW Miami, Florida. He owned a really nice 76 Eldo convertible. It was black Ext. With white int. I drove it a few times, it was a blast. Cell phones were a novelty item at the time and he had one installed on the front floorboard but high enough that it was easy to use. My step daughter thought it was really cool to call her friends from that car.
Way too much $$ for one you can’t hop in and drive home.
I’ll just leave this here for a bit of pricing perspective:
https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/1976-cadillac-eldorado/6439843154.html
this is a 4-5000 dollar car on a good day. Keep dreamin.
Up close on my computer, the interior appears to have been dyed white. The interior is a factory white but this one looks as if it was refurnished. Out of sight for the money.PRA4SNW, that yellow Caddy on that southjersey site is a beauty. That one is all complete for $12000.00.
And it only took 10 minutes of searching using SearchTempest.com to find.