Ah, another listing from one of my favorite channels on eBay. In this week’s episode of desirable enthusiast cars donated to a nonprofit organization, we have the venerable Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon with the mighty 5.7L V8 under the hood and even-mightier fake wood paneling on the sides. This example runs and drives, as it’s been tested by the seller via some basic lot drives to confirm that it starts, stops, and runs (which is much more than they can say about many of the vehicles that are donated.) All of their listings are offered at no reserve, and this Buick can be found here on eBay where bidding is at $2,605.

To me, one of these being donated is a classic grandkid move: grandma passes away or otherwise relinquishes the keys, and the estate wagon that nobody knows anything about or otherwise cares about is offered up for a quick tax write-off and easy remedy for dealing with unwanted things. Over the years, I’ve expressed my dismay at good cars and trucks simply being dumped off at the auction site, but as I’ve gotten older – and my time has gotten more limited – I totally understand how you can gladly sacrifice $2,000 to have several hours of your time back versus dealing with craigslist tirekickers. And given the rough cosmetics of this Roadmaster, it likely wouldn’t have brought top dollar anyway.

The interior isn’t terrible but the leather seats are pretty dirty. The good news is the rest of the seating surfaces look pretty clean, so you could potentially end up with a decent cabin if you can get the grime off the driver’s seat cushion. That’s one of the challenging aspects of any of these estate wagons: there was a good amount of opulence inside, so once it enters the neglected phase of its life, with owners who care less and less about cosmetics, those upscale features are going to look pretty tawdry in short order. Fortunately, the dash and wood trim both look good, so hopefully, a good interior cleaning will be transformational for the next owner.

And here’s some great evidence that the rear-facing third-row seat was never used: it, and the seat belts, both look brand new with nicely preserved leather and seat belts that still have that original “shine” to them. The seller notes a few issues, like that the power windows don’t work, but also adds that the air conditioning still blows cold and that the tires are in decent shape with 30 percent tread depth. The outside is really the worst part, with fading paint and peeling wood applique, but those faults can be resolved without too much of a struggle. With these estate wagons commanding strong prices as of late, anything under $5K for a runner like this Roadmaster seems like a deal. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Larry D. for the find.