Believe it or not, near perfectly-preserved Cadillac Allantes are still coming out of the woodwork. It goes to show you that plenty of people loved these cars when new despite their sales shortcomings, and kept them under wraps as fair weather-only cruisers. This 1989 model is in exceptional condition and sports a somewhat rare color scheme of maroon metallic over a burgundy leather interior. It shows just over 23,000 miles from new, and based on the photos, it does appear to as mint as you’d expect. The seller has listed it here on craigslist for $12,500 which seems like a fair number for an Allante that’s still new in the wrapper.
When you see an interior that remains in absolutely mint condition, it just makes you feel even better about the car. Personally, I can forgive any number of exterior flaws if the cabin is as outstanding as this one. I’ve gotten to the point where it’s easier to replace body parts like hoods and trunk lids with clean junkyard items, or fix isolated patches of rocker rust at the hands of a competent bodyman, versus trying to find a set of mint leather seats or a center console tucked away in storage. The Allante is a car I often associate with a light cream, tan, or black interior, so this gorgeous burgundy cabin with matching center console parts is a treat.
We often fawn over the later Allantes with the powerful Northstar V8, but as we all know, those motors had some mechanical faults that can lead to some very expensive repairs. The earlier engines weren’t nearly as powerful, but some enthusiasts might argue that they were easier to live with and cheaper to maintain. The 4.5L V8 found in the 1989 Allante delivered 200 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s not terrible based on the era, but you can still see why it was a disappointment for anyone who had eagerly been awaiting the arrival of Cadillac’s flagship. It was much like the Fiero in terms of execution, with the introductory engines being a let-down and later getting the power it deserved right before GM pulled the plug.
Still, when you see an Allante in pristine condition like this one is, there’s no denying these were very pretty cars. I honestly hate seeing them in junkyards because it seems a travesty for its jewel-like details – take the taillights, for example – to get smashed in by a fork lift. The seller’s description leaves a lot to be desired, but it is essentially an as-new Allante for less than $13,000. Looking at recent auction listings, cars with under 5,000 miles seem to top out in the low $20,000 range, so the ask here is market-correct for the miles. If you want a distinctive drop-top with a fascinating history for not much cash, the Allante is still a good option in today’s market. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the find.
Due to the immaculate condition of this one, I can just picture in my minds eye just how beautiful this looked sitting on the Cadillac showroom floor back in ’89. Lets face it folks it wasn’t sitting outside on the lot with the common DeVilles. The burgundy interior looks like new to my eyes. I’m with you Jeff, interior issues can definitely be more difficult to deal with than exterior issues. Curvette, you really found a creampuff here, Jeff great write up and great points about those tailights too I remember liking them when they were new. It’s funny as a young guy I didn’t really pay much attention to these Alantes, but now, I really like them. As they say, find the best one you can if you can afford it. This one certainly fits that description.
I wonder if anyone’s done an LS swap on these? I can’t imagine the transaxle is up to the kinda power most seem to want from these engines, but if you kept it tuned to Northstar specs, it might make it less prone to failure.
Beautiful exterior colour, I think I see them mostly in white. In my mind, I always see shiny polished wheels, but an image search shows mostly pictures with this one’s “dull” finish.
You’re reading my mind. Chevrolet built some FWD Monte Carlos and Impalas in the mid 00’s. I wonder if anyone has tried a complete powertrain swap with one of those?
When we received our first `87 Allanté at Fanning Cadillac-Buick in Chicago it was an outright show.
Solo car carrier with white curtains that rolled up on the sides to reveal the car before rolling it off.
The carrier driver was wearing matching white overalls with Allanté embroidered on the back.
It was a Bright Red sold order for a regular customer, Hayes Boiler.
Two of our service technicians had been sent to another state for training.
A year later the cars were showing up 3 to 4 on a carrier wrapped in plastic, open to the elements.
When our dealership was being torn down in `93, someone stole the Allanté wall display before I could get there.
I did save the Reatta wall display, which I later sold to the man with the largest Reatta collection and parts at the time in 2010.
Friday Harbor is a pretty hoity-toity area. You’ll need a ferry ride with this car to get it back to the mainland. Seems like an excellent car for the money being asked.
I just was thinking, location on San Juan Island ( ferry about 80 miles North of Seattle), explains the low miles. It’s a good size island and yea, hoty tody in some areas, but farms and regular folks too. I suspect this was someone’s Island car for flying in for the weekend or summer.
These cars had many problems and mostly were electronics. The master cylinder and the radio stack come to mind first. Cadillac imported them and sold them but then stopped supporting the things with parts etc.
I bought the last 27 fenders GM had and the last hood. Whenever I discovered a discontinued part I searched the GM warehouses for any still in stock parts and bought them. I sold most of them to a friend who had an Allante shop and stocked parts.
I think this would make an excellent ride with a better engine. and less electronics.
Look at it this way- Where are you going to find anything like this on the market today for anything CLOSE to this price? A gentleman’s touring roadster they simply don’t make cars like this any more. Remember the Buick Cascadia? It came and went without notice. People aren’t interested in this type of car any more. It has all the toys except GPS and you have your smartphone for that. What else can you get for your 12k? How about an 8 year old Corolla 75.000 miles on it.
I think this is a beautiful car. I love the color and it’s condition. I have often wondered if a GM 3.8 series 2 supercharged engine would fit. Nice power great reliability would really make this car.
Certainly elegant cars with electronics impossible to correct when failed, ie, dash display etc…. Other issues existed with this engine such as cylinder head/block studs stretching, a costly if not fatal issue. They are a liability but fun to own if some of these issues never rear up their ugly head…. Hope it goes to someone who can maintain and love it…. with a lot of disposable income… LOL.