It seems that the older we get, the faster the clock seems to spin. I mean, take this Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham. I find it hard to believe that it’s 32-years-old because 1988 doesn’t feel as though it is that far in the distant past. The Olds has been a part of the same family since new, but they have decided that the time has come for someone else to enjoy the vehicle that has served them so well. It is an original survivor that is ready to be driven and enjoyed, and has been listed for sale here on Barn Finds Classifieds. The 98 is located in Springfield, Ohio, and can be yours for $5,000.
Finished in Dark Sapphire Blue with a Dark Blue vinyl top, the Olds is a striking looking car. It was driven by its original owner until she passed away at the age of 91-years. It was then passed to her daughter, who has used it ever since. The vehicle has always been garage-kept and never driven in bad weather. As a result, it is completely rust-free. In fact, the owner provides some really clear photos of the car’s underside, and it is as clean and solid as you could ever hope to find in a vehicle of this vintage. The paint is said to be original, and apart from a couple of minor blemishes, it has survived extremely well. The most obvious of these is a small ding in the trunk lid, which seems to be the only significant damage. Before I considered taking the Olds to a panels shop, I would be very tempted to have a talk to someone at one of those paintless dent removal companies, because you never know your luck on that front. The rest of the panels appear to be nice and straight, the paint has a good shine to it, and the vinyl top also presents extremely well. The hood emblem is said to be blemished, but the rest of the chrome and trim looks to be really nice. The wire hubcaps appear to be in good condition, and the whitewall tires add a further touch of class to the exterior.
Opening the doors of the Oldsmobile reveals an interior that is original, and has very few faults. The headliner is beginning to sag a bit, but this is an extremely common fault. Repairing this is quite straightforward, but if the next owner would like an as-new appearance, a replacement cloth kit can be found for less than $70. Then it just requires a little patience, because while it can be a bit fiddly, it should only take about 4-hours to fit this and to have it looking great once again. Beyond that, the rest of the Dark Blue upholstery and trim appears to be in really nice condition. There are no signs of any cracks or problems, while the leather on the seats still looks soft, supple, and oh so inviting. If comfort is key, then this Olds shouldn’t disappoint on that front. As well as air conditioning and leather upholstery, we find power windows, remote exterior mirrors, a very nice looking AM/FM radio and cassette player, and a leather-wrapped tilt wheel.
The 11th Generation of the 98, which first broke cover in 1985, marked an enormous transformation for the badge. Gone were V8 engines and rear-wheel-drive. In their place, we found V6 power and front-wheel-drive. Even though the 98 was now significantly smaller than its predecessors, it still managed to hold onto generous levels of interior space. More importantly, smaller dimensions also equated to lighter vehicle weight, meaning that the Olds still offered pretty respectable performance levels. For the 1988 model year, what owners received was the 3.8-liter V6, capable of producing 165hp. These ponies found their way to the front wheels via a 4-speed automatic transmission, and with an overall vehicle weight of a relatively low 3,333lbs, the 98 could get up and moving quite well if required. This particular Regency Brougham appears to have been treated with a great deal of TLC and has only accumulated 83,000 miles during its lifetime. The engine bay looks very clean and tidy, and the owner probably sums it up best when she says that the Olds drives great.
This 1988 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham is a 32-year-old car that presents very nicely. What makes it really interesting is that although the 98 sold in respectable numbers during the 1988 model year, they don’t actually come onto the market that often anymore. I guess that many suffered that fate of being driven into the ground before being driven off to the scrapyard. That makes this car an interesting proposition, because finding a nice 1988 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham that has remained in the same family since new is now a bit of a rarity. When you search around for the few that are on the market today, the price on this one is extremely competitive, meaning that this is a car that offers its next owner some pretty luxurious motoring at a very affordable price. That sounds like a good combination to me.
People appreciate such level knowledge in detail.
Thanks
Isn’t it missing an engine cover between the valve covers?
Sweet car.
No Weasel, it’s not missing, they didn’t start putting them on until 91 or 92. Awesome ride, ell worth the money.
I can’t post a picture as I’m not a sustainer but the 1988 model did indeed have a cover. It had the iconic words “fuel injection” embossed on it.
Just sayin
My 89 eight eight royale brougham had a cover.
Yes they had in 1988 a cover I do have a 1988 just like that one
I inherited one of these back in the early 90’s because the dealership wouldn’t give my father in law anything in trade. It was a awesome car!! One of the best. Comfortable, plenty of power and great on gas. Made a lot of road trips with the kids. Was a great car for a young family. Tempting, but no room in the garage these days. Looks like this one is in great shape.
I drove one of these when new for about a week; it was everything 98s always stood for, plus handling and size so that one could park on city streets. GM is dumb. I don’t buy cars from them anymore because they have bad judgement (letting go of Oldsmobile and Pontiac) and the junk they build now is crass and stupid. Drive old cars.
Adam, those are wheel covers, not hub caps. Aside from those hideous wheel covers, and those lame ass whitewalls, I love this car, and for $5000, it’s a steal.
I’ve seen a beater example around town, what really stands out about it in modern traffic is how low it is. We just accepted sedans were 52-53″ tall, they had been for 20 years, now everything under 60″ looks low-slung (and is sales poison for that reason). I’m glad for the vinyl top and leather, if this car in this color had a tintop and velour it’d be absolutely irresistible.
We owned a maroon ’88 with a very plush maroon cloth interior. One of the nicest driving cars we ever had. Loved it. The only problem we had was that the drivers’s side arm rest had so many buttons and luxury gadgets in it, the weight caused it to start pulling away from the door. The 3.8 was no dog, and the ride was a dream. We have had many (too many) cars over 46 years of marriage. This one ranked right up there! Thanks for the memories!
Grandma’s car? Daughter inherited? I see car auction stickers on the back glass.
LOL Many of the listing photos were taken on the Auction property, even! The gall of some people…..
I own a couple of these, both 1985s, and I loved them. (They’re both parked now.) 85s are a bit off an oddball since they had 3 vee belts and an HEI distributor while 86 and up had the serpentine drive belt and distributorless ignition systems. Those were two nice improvements. I think sequential injection arrived for 1987.
The basic body panels and interior trim remained the same, though, and it was very attractive (IMO). I drove my black one through Philly’s blizzard of 1996 and, with true snow tires up front, it was practically unstoppable.
IF I had more garage space this 88 would be a nice addition to the fleet. I’ve always liked that pleated seat upholstery.
Oh, one more thing. At some point in my ownership it dawned on my that a LOT of light bulbs came on when you opened a door. I counted them. No less than 15 bulbs lit up the interior when you opened a door IIRC. Nuts.
Pete, the 86 MY was sequential injection. That’s why the C3I (crank triggered ignition. The 85 was MFI (w/HEI).
I’ve owned 3 Olds 98s of this vintage. My first car was an ’87 that my brother totalled right after I got it. I had an ’85 before I upgraded to a ’90. Super roomy, plush ride, very dependable, easy maintenance, a bulldozer in the snow. Still my favorite daily driver, and I’ve owned several BMWs.
The quintessential upscale geezermobile.
When my late sainted father died in 1989, his Buick analog went to his inamorata . I shed no tears. Earlier in the run, while in law school, I worked for an Olds-Jeep Dealer. Just the thought of pushing that iron sends chills through my bones lol.
I’m just not old enough yet.
My daily driver is a 89 silver/maroon cloth with 116k on it. I’ve driven one for the last 16 years and had a dealership that really focused on these. Would get special orders to find these for people and they would wait til’ I found what they wanted. If you knew what I leave in my garages, it’s testimonial to it being a great grocery getter to a long haul, enjoyable ride. Love these(and my taxes are 16 bucks a year!)
I had a blue 88 Toronado Trofeo for 10 years before a deer as big as a moose ran in front of me at 70 mph on I 84 in New York. KABOOM. I was so mad. I hope that freaking useless animal died. It went flying off the road. Anyway, these cars have the absolute most reliable engine GM ever made. You now know why they replaced this gas miser and iron clad reliability beauty with that horrible 3.6 liter POS boat anchor. The 88 models still had a metal intake manifold so no anti-freeze issues like the later models in the mid to late 90s. Other than that, these engines would last 300,000 miles. Mine had 205,000 miles before the deer incident. Never a problem. Change the oil, use good gasoline, change the coolant and fuel filter and the 440 transmissions were bullet proof. I dropped the pan on mine and put in good old Dexron and a new GM trans filter every 30,000 miles and it never missed a shift. Also 28 mpg all day long because I don’t drive 90 mph like every idiot on the road today. I am buying a house right now, or this 98 would be in my garage. If GM built cars like this today, we would see fewer Toyotas and Hondas.
Sorry about the deer incident. I, myself, hit a deer back around 2003 in my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee doing 75mph at 4am going East bound on I-40 on the East side of the mountain that is on the East side of Albuquerque, NM. The entire hood flipped up, and the abs brake system worked flawlessly stopping me in mere seconds. Insurance covered damages after the $500 deductible. So the Jeep wasn’t totaled out by the insurance company. It looked like new after it was fixed, and still drove fantastic.
On the Olds 88 in this article, I never really thought it was a great looking car. But if the engine was that good, heck, that is a plus.
A Deer on I-84 in NYS. That is in my area. I am in Dutchess. Where are you?
Last year, I had my 84 Mercury Cougar LS for sale in a parking lot. Next to it was one of these cars in a tanish color all original looking. I believe it sold after about two to three weeks. I had mine parked there for a month with no luck. I think that I later saw the oldsmobile cruising around. It looked like the new owner had put some 20s on it. I don’t think I have never seen a foxbody Cougar with 20s on it. It probably wouldn’t look right. lol.
Cadillac should have put this engine and drive line combo in their 85 and up Deville Line at least as an option because these were bulletproof whereas the 4100 V8 was not as problematic. I believe both bodies were from the same platform.
I find it amazing how the 3.8 in the 1978 Pontiac Phoenix is junk but the 3.8 in this is the best engine GM ever made. It is the same engine.
Sure, when they started using computers in the early 1980’s, they had run ability issues. They were trying to work out the bugs! By the time they were making these, they were exceptional performing, but still the same basic engine from 1978, and actually from the 1960’s.
That’s like saying a 1955 265 cid Chevy small block is the same engine as an LSX. Makes no sense.
The two “different” 3.8 engines are a LOT closer related than a 1955 265 & a new LS.
You need to do your homework.
I will check into it, but don’t be so rude to me. There is a chance I am wrong & you are right, but there is also a chance I am correct. Let me do some checking around.
Last I knew, the bore, stroke, crank, rods, bearings were the same. Block was different because it went from rear drive to sideways mounted front drive. That is what I have believed for decades. But I might be wrong. Either way, maybe your message is worth while, but your delivery sucks.
I am at work & couldn’t go too deep into research, but if you look it up in wikipedia, it is the same engine, which goes along with what I learned decades ago. It was refined over the years, the biggest internal change being the change from odd fire to even fire, but it is the same. There have been induction changes which also forced redesign of heads. There have been changes to ignition (points to electronic distributor, then electronic distributor to coil packs), but it is the same basic engine as the “junky” 231.
Don’t forget the balance shaft that came into play in 1988 with the 3800.
Sorry if I hurt your feelings. Your demanding way of putting it, initially may deserve some reflection on your part.
I did forget the balance shaft. I apologize if I came across as demanding. I am in a kind of foul mood & it is even coming across in my posts. For that I apologize to all lol.
I am reading these while at work to try to make myself feel better. Apparently it isn’t working today.
I will get off this site for today, close shop in 45 minutes, go home & take a nap lol. Maybe then I won’t be as grouchy.
And ACZ, I meant it when I apologized to all for you to be included. I come to this site to make friends & to learn, also to try to get my mind off things. It does no good when I act like an a$$hole lol.
You’re making a generalization from little fact.
Ok. Believe what you want. As far as I am concerned, as a repair shop manager, they are basically the same engine. You can believe them to be different. Unless you are an engineer at GM who worked in research & development, you will not change my mind. I just don’t care enough to try to change yours. I have other issues to deal with. In the mean time, we can agree to disagree & leave it at that. No hard feelings on your end, I hope.
Very good. That’s exactly who I am.
Ok. I give lol.
If you are an engineer at GM (or were…maybe you are retired, maybe work @ Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, whatever), please educate me. If I am wrong, I don’t want to always be wrong on this subject. I really do want to lb earn, and if you can teach me, I promise to be a good student.
Retired twelve years ago, after 35 years.
So you were there for the 231 & 3.8, along with a bunch of other really cool things!
Sir, I would LOVE to pick your brain! Just sayin!
I hope you give me the opportunity to do so one day.
$5,000.00 is a bit much for this. Some body dings, etc. Interior looks pretty good. I had a ’98, Olds, 98(almost sounds like I’m stuttering, doesn’t it.),Brogham. Was fairly good until someone hit it while parked.
I had a twin to this car, identical back in the 90s when I was in my 30s and my kids were little. A perfect family car. We took trips from Brooklyn to Disney World, even did a cross country trip to CA in it. Just as smooth as can be. Mine had over 150k on it when someone offered twice what I paid for it and I bought a 1990 Bonneville for less than I got for the 98. That car, basically the same car stayed with us till I got divorced and the wife got it and drove it for at least 5 more years.