Generally, most of what we cover here on BF are old cars, but what defines an “old” ride? At first blush, I have a tough time classifying a 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency Brougham as an “old” car. But wait a minute, ’85 was 41 years ago, for cryin’ out loud, and Oldsmobile went the way of the passenger pigeon twenty-two years ago. OK, I gotta climb out of the past and roll with it; yes, this Ninety-Eight sedan qualifies. Zen found the listing for this top-drawer Olds; it calls Rotterdam, New York, home and is listed here on craigslist for $7,200.
So, what’s up with Oldsmobile sedans and New York State? This is the third one I have covered lately that calls the Empire State home, the others being a 1985 Delta 88 Royale and a 1983 Delta 88. Whatever the case, this one looks pretty sound, as in it has not had to fight New York winters, though the listing says something about this sedan spending time in Florida. Ninety-Eight Regencys were offered in two body styles in ’85: two or four-door sedans, and two trim levels, Standard and Brougham, such as our subject. This C-body platform-based sedan is a member of the Ninety-Eight’s eleventh generation (’85-’90) and is one of 111K Regency Brougham four-door sedans assembled forty-one years ago. Finished in Sandstone Metallic, one of probably eight billion GM cars so painted (OK, I’m exaggerating, but if it moved, it seemed GM sprayed it this color back then), it looks pretty good, but I have to apologize for the images; they’re not very good. Anyway, the seller states, “No surface rust underneath, spotless. Very clean. Underbody is showroom condition. Car came from Florida and was stored in a heated garage here in NY. Never been in snow.” It appears to have a vinyl top, and from what can be seen, it checks out. And, of course, this Ninety-Eight is outfitted with GM’s obligatory eighties vintage wire-wheel covers.
Sitting sideways in the engine room is a 125 net HP Buick-sourced 3.8-liter V6 engine, directing its power to the front wheels via a four-speed automatic transaxle. The base curb weight of this 76K mile subject is 3,300 lbs., so I would expect leisurely acceleration from its 125 HP. The seller is encouraging and states, “It’s like sitting in a Lazy Boy and driving on a cloud.”
A tan exterior means a tan interior, upholstered in typical GM cloth fabric upholstery of the era. It’s a shade that will show dirt, but that’s not the case here; the interior is neat and clean with no indication of excessive wear. The instrument panel looks fine, but I’d offer that it’s pretty pedestrian for a car of a Ninety-Eight Regency Brougham’s status. The seller asserts, “A/C blows ice cold,” so that’s certainly a plus.
So, a member of the old car corral? Sure, I’d consider it as such. It’s not going to have the same cred as a ’55 or ’65 edition, but then everything changes (evolves?). I’m not sure who the likely target market for this sedan would be, but there’s always a bottom for every seat; it just depends on the price. And, speaking of that, what’s your thought on an ask of $7,200- priced right or not quite?
My current daily driver is a 02 LeSabre 3800, getting 27/30 MPG,I love it.
Nice. The LeSabre was always a sweet spot model Rw. 👍
We have a 2001 with less than 50k miles, spotless leather interior, and all the bells and whistles. Still a pleasure to float down the interstate in.
I’m oddly drawn to older luxury boats like this, and this certainly seems to be a solid specimen. The only thing that is not really clicking for me is the color scheme. Boring is the best way I can describe it, at least to me. Hope they get their price. This one deserves to live on.
Hear ya Dave..Navy blue paint w that beige interior be real sweet.
I hated these when they first came out, being so much smaller than the previous model year. Eventually they grew on me, and I had a 90 LeSabre Limited coupe, which was very comfortable with a nice ride, and plenty of power. A relative also had this body style in a 1988 Cadillac Fleetwood d’Elegance, which was also very comfortable and they put quite a lot of mileage on it, although they did have to rebuild the 4.5 Liter engine.
After GM’s styling dominance in the ’50s-’60s-’70s they managed to come up with these awkward ugly ducklings. No flow to the lines and cheap-looking, they appealed to buyers with little imagination or discernment. Instead of going from bigger and solid to smaller and solid they went to little and flimsy. No wonder they were painted in the blandest colors imaginable.
The downfall of the American automobile industry can be directly traced to its deteriorating product offerings. Compare the delicate and artistic elegance of the front end of a 1956 Olds 98 to the generic and deliberately awful lines of the featured car. While you’re at it, compare the dashboards, too.
This is what you get when you let accountants make all the decisions. That’s a fact. You can look it up.
One easy way to improve fuel economy is to reduce weight. They had to meet the CAFE numbers. Every manufacturer made a car like this in the 80s.
The CAFE continues to ruin cars and trucks, which is why we have unreliable transmissions and 4 cyl turbos in everything, even big trucks. You can’t buy a Camry or Rav4 unless it’s a hybrid.
I agree and have always wondered what happened to American car designs during this period. It’s like they all came out with the most basic, generic body style they could come up with. You could not tell one from the other, the car makers seemed to tell their designers to make them as bland and unthreatening looking as possible. Many – like this one I bet – were decent cars overall but man the looks just totally disappoint. It’s easy to see why the imports like Honda, Nissan, and Toyota were killing them in sales.
I think the styling on these cars juuuuuust misses the mark. They got better as time went on, when they dropped the “gingerbread”. You’ve got a relatively modern looking vehicle, but then why put outdated styling details. Padded roofs, spoke hubcaps, little things like that. I’d even say the outside door handles, except that they were perfectly functional. We had several cars with them at that time, and I they were the best…
First year for the new FWD platform that kept many a retired couple happy and content through the mid 2000s. This early 3800 should be about as reliable as later iterations (even if a bit anemic), but it would be a couple more years before they s$%t-canned the distributor for electronic ignition and port fuel injection.
Some harsh comments on here. I was appointed to a position in 86 that included a company car. The prior car was an 81 Coupe de Ville and was allowed to trade it in on an 86 98 coupe. It was the same color as the one featured here. I was 24 and super glad they had shrunk the car, made it FWD and usually hit 30 MPG on the highway. It still had a luxurious interior but handled nicer and more spunk from the reduced weight. The car was reliable, quiet and smooth but got tired of all the jokes of how people couldn’t tell the difference between it and a Buick and a Cadillac. Traded it in on a Mercury Sable.
Only new car my folks ever bought was a 1990 98 Brougham. Maroon and absolutely awesome. They put 150K mile on it in less than 5 years.
when these first came out we had a ton of issues with at the dealer. fuel pump noises, running rough you name it. the later models were much better once they refined this body style and the 3800 v6. as for an 85 no way would i buy 1 not after all the b/s i went thru at the dealer with these.
These 3.8 cars (Buick/Oldsmobile) were what our family called paper plate cars. Nothing bad and nothing particularly good or outstanding except the fuel economy and reliability. The only time we saw these in the service department was for regular maintenance. I had many customers that had these cars with hundreds & hundreds of thousands of miles. 300,000- 400,000 was not unusual. And all they could complain about was the fuel economy had dropped to 31 mpg. In most of those cases we offered to change out the O2 (oxygen) sensor as they sometimes get lazy with that age/mileage. About 1/2 of of them said to go ahead. And it increased the mpg about 2-3 mpg for about 6 months and then went back to their long time mpg. For the customers that did alot of traveling you would have to pry the steering wheel out of their cold dead hands. When I changed to selling vehicles (primarily commercial vehicles) several of my old service customers came into buy new cars “As long as it had a 3.8 engine!” I had to temper their expectations by reminding them that the car will need to be broken in before “super fuel economy happened”. The ride and handling of these cars are not my desired “thing “. But I had to drive one of these to L A. for a business trip and made it all the cray from Carson City NV. to downtown L.A. and half way back before having to stop for fuel. Definitely saved money not having to buy fuel in L.A. County!
Just think, Buick used to have a sweet 3.8 liter V8
Nice in an odd sort of way. Maybe they can get $7200 in that area’s market but at that price it would sit and sink into the ground before it’s sold in the South.