General Motors took another crack at large, rear-wheel drive cars in the 1990s. That included the Buick Roadmaster from 1991 to 1996. They resurrected the nameplate after a 33-year hiatus and applied it to full-size 4-door sedans and 6 or 8-passenger station wagons. This 1995 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon has an LT1 V8 engine and has been in storage in El Paso, Texas for more than 10 years (though it wears California plates). Brought back to life, this well-used transport is available here on eBay for $5,900 OBO.
The Estate Wagon shared its B-platform body with the Chevy Caprice Estate and Olds Custom Cruiser. Producing 260 hp, the fuel-injected 5.7-liter engine in the Roadmaster was derived from that used in the Corvette (you needed a lot of power to haul around a 4,500-lb. wagon). It was no slouch and would top out at 108 mph. These Buicks had a “Vista Roof” borrowed from Oldsmobile and came with shaded sunroofs and simulated (aka faux) woodgrain paneling on the body sides and tailgate. The 1995 Roadmasters had skirted rear wheels. More than 200,000 Roadmasters were built in six years, and one-quarter of them were big wagons like this one (9,000 copies of the wagon in 1995 alone).
As the story goes, this Buick originated in California and found its way to Texas where it’s been in dry storage since 2013. The fuel tank needed cleaning and the seller installed a new fuel pump to get the beast going again. It’s said to run and drive well, but no mention is made of any ancient tires or other parts that need changing due to age.
The body and paint are far from perfect, reflecting every one of the 179,500 miles the wagon has traveled. The rear quarter panels and moldings are dinged up but good enough if you want to use this wagon to haul the kids to and from soccer. The interior is nice but reflects a lot of butts in these seats over the past three decades. These big Buicks were said to run forever, so if you’ve got $6,000 (or less) to spend on a daily driver, would this one fit your needs?
That cargo area looks like it could hold almost as much as the bed of that Ram truck behind it-and it’s covered besides.
The downside? Our 2006 Trailblazer SS got the same MPG with 100 more HP.
LS 5.3.
Three Pedal conversion.
Loved mine.Great family hauler. And power? A guy at work gave me a hard time about my “old man car” ( he drove a 10year old Mustang) until I took him for a ride. Lit ‘em up for half a block. Had to come up with some kind of excuse for why the car smelled of burnt rubber.
You better spend a little bit more money and buy a nice model year 1996 Collector’s Edition Roadmaster Limited Estate Wagon. 8,962 were built for that final year.
Given the mileage, it would fit my needs for $3K. Interior actually doesn’t look too bad given its age but if it hasn’t run in a decade some more work will be needed. I like that it’s an LT1 car.
I would much rather have this than an SUV.
SOLD. Best offer accepted.
It sold already, so it’s academic, but here goes. The Good: LT1 engine with a suitable A/T, lack of visible rust. The Bad: 179k miles, well used, so lots of stuff will need to be replaced, due to age, wear, or both. The Ugly: Stick-on fake wood, God knows what else will need to be tended to after sitting for over ten (10) years, but the list will be long, and likely expensive.
The LT1 can be rebuilt and upgraded, or a more modern and powerful LS or LT series crate motor is only a phone call away!
I had 2 of these cars. A low mileage 1994 and a high mileage 1996. I loved both of them. When salt ended my 96 I felt like crying. I bought the 96 with 170,000 miles on it and drove it another 60,000 miles. It still ran but because of the rust it had a ton of electrical problems. Would have been prohibitive to repair it. Knowing what I know now, I would never have scrapped that car.
Those 94-96 Roadmaster, Impala SS and LT1 powered Caprice automobiles were great cars, had plenty of power and still got decent fuel mileage, as long as you weren’t doing 80 mph in them. I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase another one and I don’t even care for GM (Generic Motors).
In 1993, my boss had one of these cars. He asked me to take it to the dealer, which was way out in the country, for some service work. I got it up to over 100 mph. Smooth as silk. He would’ve crapped his pants if he’d known how fast I was driving his car, 😆
Would really like to have a road master wagon or sedan liked the way they looked and road but I am a GM man
Sorry. Buick did not borrow from the VistaCruiser. Buick came out with the tinted window top in ’64. Called the Sport wagon, it shared with Olds. They both came out that same year.