Summer is coming folks, so if you just don’t have the time to get a convertible project up and running soon, maybe this 1995 Cutlass Supreme Convertible is just the thing for you. It is being sold in a No Reserve charity auction, and bidding has now reached $2,426. You will find the Cutlass located in Orange, California, and listed for sale here on eBay.
I know that the Cutlass of this era is not high on many people’s lists of desirable cars, but this one at least offers some enjoyable cruising opportunities. It generally looks to be in pretty fair condition, with only a few minor dings and blemishes on the body. The soft-top looks to be in good condition, and there certainly aren’t any obvious rust issues.
The interior of the Cutlass also seems to be in pretty decent order. There is some wear on the edge of the driver’s seat, but this should be able to be addressed with the careful application of dye and conditioner, and that leather will soon look as good as new. The rest of the interior looks very promising, and with air conditioning, power windows, power locks, both a driver’s and passenger’s airbags, and cruise control, the Cutlass does seem to be nicely equipped.
Under the hood of the Cutlass is the 3.4-liter V6 engine, which produces 210hp. Power is sent to the front wheels via a 4-speed automatic transmission, while it is hardly surprising to find that a car of this vintage also features power steering and power brakes. The owners claim that the Cutlass has only covered 42,800 miles, which I find quite believable for a vehicle of this age. While they don’t indicate how well the Cutlass runs and drives, the fact that it recently passed the Smog Check is a positive sign.
While it might not be a classic yet, the fact that 1995 marked the last year of Cutlass Supreme Convertible production makes this car significant in its own way. It’s worth remembering that this is a 24-year-old car, and it’s also worth thinking about how many of these you see roaming the roads today. This one looks like it is in good condition, and it really does offer the promise of some top-down cruising in a few short months.
Definitely a future collectible with Oldsmobile out of business. Plus it’s for charity! Get your wallets out ladies and gentlemen!
I agree with Not Sure’s comment, however that 3.4 engine is notorious for head gasket issues, even with low miles. It looks like a decent car, & the fact that it recently passed the local smog test tells me it is probably okay for now. But that doesn’t mean it will last.
Nonsense. You’re thinking of something else. The 3.4 is rock solid, the only issue is an occasional intake gasket.
It’s not fair to malign something when you don’t know what you’re talking about.
You know there are 2 3.4 displacement GM motors…..probably not.
I heard back in the 90’s the 3.4 could be thrash. Could be. Meaning some ran good and some didn’t. Too bad. 210 horsepower is pretty good. I had a 1988 with a 2.8L engine. I wished it had more horsepower. I think it had 120hp.
I liked these when they were new. A friend had a sedan version and it was a comfortable cruiser for the day. I’d put this one away for a sunny day
This is the twin to my first Oldsmobile demo that I had for about 3,000 miles. I really liked driving the car. It had decent handling and power. But where service/repair nightmares. 42,000 miles is right where they started to fall apart.
We had a coupe come in on the hook for a no start. Engine was locked up and the oil light did work. It had only 26,000 miles and the original factory oil filter. I asked the owner if he heard any noises or even noticed the oil light on. He said that he heard no noises and never noticed the oil light on. This airline pilot traded it in on the duplicate so that his wife would not notice the difference. I don’t think I would ever want to fly with him at the controls!
Looks super clean, the 3.4 is a timing belt motor, so plan on doing that at 60K, the motor doesn’t crash, at least not on the 1993, there were some changes made to the last versions of the 3.4 DOHC V6, these read “3.4 DOHC V6” where the earlier cars read “Twin Dual Cam V6”, these were maybe 215hp.
The 3.4 DOHC was designed to also be used in the never was to be FWD F-car GM80, there were versions that had dynoed 275hp, but they really didn’t have a transmission that could back it.
The dash on these is kinda sad compared to the original 80’s techy W-body dashboards, all the W-cars sort of got a generic shared dash to cut cost when they added dual airbags to them around 1994-1995.
This looks really clean, looks like it was fully loaded and really well cared for, look very original under the hood, which is cool and kinda scary. This was one of the last real mid-size American convertibles that were available and close to the end of the run for Cutlass Supreme anythings(or Oldsmobiles) in general.
If I wanted one, I would look for an earlier 3.1 V6 Cutlass with the funkier original dash, try finding one of the rarer 1990-91 ones, there were a handful made for 1989 too, but none were sold to the public and there were a few made as pace cars for the 1988 Indianapolis 500 as pace cars with 230hp Quad 4’s and 5 speeds.
Wayne, if the customers car had 26,000 miles on the original oil filter, odds are it had the original oil. I am not a fan of these engines, but what your customer did was abuse lol. My experience with these engines dates back to me owning a used car lot & seeing General Motors cars equipped with this engine going across the dealer auction blocks, all with either knocking engines or steam coming out of their exhaust from bad head gaskets, usually the later (if they weren’t locked up). Your one bad experience involves a customer who never changed his oil after 26,000 miles, and the engine locked up. It was probably so sludge up that the knock would have been muffled. Wouldn’t it be funny if he had the 3.1? Not a great engine either, but WAY more reliable than the 3.4.
I apologize if I offended you. But your comment about how 42,000 miles on this engine being the end of it because of your one experience with this one customer just seems rediculous to me. It could have been a GREAT engine, like the slant six, and still fallen apart after your customers abuse.
I recently started a job @ a Hyundai dealership as a service advisor. I LOVE these cars. I have driven, as my daily driver, nothing but these cars for almost a decade. I left a job @ a Harley Davidson dealership to do this job, so I know what is entailed. This last week, I had some moron come in with his car on a flatbed. It too had 26,000 miles. It is a 2015 Elantra. It was trucked in because the engine seized. The owner never changed the oil. Take care of your tools (a car is a tool) & it will take care of you! Common sense!
Stevieg, I know the difference between neglect and poor quality. Neglect is the airline pilot with terminal stupid. And poor quality is transmissions that fail at 30-40k under normal use. Head gaskets that fail at 29,000 miles and 18 months. Convertible tops that jam up in the showroom when demoing the top for a prospective customer. I related the story about the airline pilot as (I thought) a funny aside to a Cutlas Supreme story. I always thought that an airline pilot was supposed to be observant of everything mechanical and electrical around himself. I guess I am wrong and it was not funny to anyone else. I will stop with the anecdotes. Sorry Barnies.
Wayne, don’t apologize lol. I might have misinterpreted. I actually thought you didn’t realize that the customer was a moron lol. Maybe I am too lol. I apologize to you for my response to your first post. This is a forum where we all should be comfortable writing a post. If my response to your post came on strong, then I need to rethink my posts and responses too.
I come to this site for both the cars & the people. Being a person myself, I am not perfect. But I never mean to offend or alienate. I am here to make friends & learn. Don’t hold back!
It’s anecdotal evidence either way.
And yeah, the pilot not changing the oil on the car was a bad story and a bad example.
I find peoples stories about a “bad GM car” get more and more embellished as they are retold, it may have started out that it ate an alternator at 30,000 miles and turns into the engine falling out the minute it drove off the lot and Roger Smith left a bag of flaming dog poop on their door stoop……
I had a 1997 Cutlass LS sedan and it was a very comfortable and reliable car. Mine had the 3.1 which served well. This seems to me a great buy even with the not so good 3.4. I had a friend that had a 3.4 in his Eurosport Z34 and it was very hard to work on.
I wish it was closer to me and I would think anything under 4000 would be a great buy.
I have a 1994 convertible with the 3.4 and it’s a great motor and has a great sound.