I thought I’d get this out of the way right out of the gate: this 1988 Cadillac Coupe DeVille has a Continental Kit spare tire on the back. THE HORROR! Too dramatic? Like it or not, this otherwise beautiful little luxury car is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in De Pere, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $3,900. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
We already know I have weird taste as far as vehicles go. Ok, personal grooming and general appearance-wise, too, but I like my personal vehicles to be a little unusual if possible. My business road trip vehicles aren’t cool or unusual, they’re boring. They’re reliable appliances for making money, which includes driving 30,000+ miles a year, so I can’t exactly use a Gremlin or a Yugo for that and expect to keep my clients happy when I’m on the side of the road every day or two. My road trip vehicles are the equivalent of a white Ford F-150 that contractors use as their business vehicles, literally just a tool that I use to make money. I have to say, though, I’m not a fan at all of the Continental Kit spare tire hanging on the elongated rear bumper of really any vehicle, especially a tiny Cadillac.
Otherwise, this car looks great from what I can see. The small sixth-generation DeVilles were made for model years 1985 through 1993, and they generally don’t get the love that earlier DeVilles receive, maybe due to the front-drive configuration, or the HT-series V8 engines, or a combination of both of those things. Page 9 of this brochure shows the Coupe DeVille, but it’s wearing an equally polarizing faux convertible top! COME ON! Here’s what the trunk compartment looks like, by the way. Hagerty is at $6,000 on the low end for a 1988 Coupe DeVille, so this is a steal at its $3,900 asking price if you can get past the Continental Kit.
One of the coolest options for this car wouldn’t have been leather seats, although that would be popular with buyers today. The coolest option that wouldn’t be popular with current buyers would have been the “cellular mobile telephone,” the modern equivalent of a whalebone corset. Totally unusable today with its obsolete analog technology, I got my first cell phone in February of 1987, and it’s still hard to believe it cost $2,200 in 1987 dollars ($6,525 today!) for my Radio Shack CT-300. This is the only interior photo in this listing, but it looks almost like new. Very nice, if not a heck of a lot of brown inside and out. This car has the optional power moonroof, which is great.
This engine is Cadillac’s transverse-mounted HT-4500, a 4.5-liter (272.5-cu.in.) OHV V8, which had 155 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque when new. Power is sent through a four-speed THM-440 automatic to the front wheels, and they don’t say anything about how it runs, but I have to believe it works as great as it looks. It does have new tires, so that’s good. Any thoughts on this Coupe DeVille with a Continental Kit?
Well,,,”kits” are a take it or leave it thing, depending greatly on the application. I happen to think this is just right. Clearly the red Edsel one was was overblown, but this has some contour, and this still retains the stock bumper, so I like it. Just an add on from the dealer, and doesn’t detract from the looks any. The car itself I’d really love to have. I wouldn’t dawdle on this baby. Even if you did have to put a tranny in this someday, it’s a nice enough car to be well worth it.
Now, you know how DePere got it’s name? A Native American swam out into the Fox River and said, “Kemosabe, it’s deep here”,,,such a nice car, how did we ever lose our way?
It looks like an honest, well preserved “period correct” Coupe Deville. Maybe a little polishing and detailing and you’d have a nice weekend cruiser. I usually wouldn’t go for a Continental Kit on a Caddy like this, it just seems a little out of place, but I do see where Howard is coming from on this one, it’s not really that bad, it has the stock bumper and doesn’t stick out like a park bench either. I’d probably just leave it.
It could go with your Mustache Wax Scotty!!! 😆 🤣 😂 And thanks Scotty for the brochure link too. I always enjoy seeing those.
Really nice car but I’d lose the spare kit if possible. Not sure how it’s mounted but if it was a major hassle or expense to remove I suppose I’d just live with it. As Mr. H pointed out, it’s way nicer than the Edsel picnic bench version we recently saw.