Many of us have come across the Duncan Classic Cars website in recent years because of their absolutely ridiculous stash of JDM vehicles. What is less known (or at least less promoted by them) is the fact that they have an impressive collection of preserved American cars and trucks as well – like this absolutely spotless 1987 Buick Century Landau coupe. It’s said to have under 50,000 original miles and be in condition grade number four, which is the second highest rating they offer. Find it here on the Duncan Classic Cars website for $5,999.
To me, this seems like a very fair price for quite possibly one of the nicest examples of these cars left on the road. I’m curious if Duncan found this overseas in Japan, as many classic American brands like Buick are quite popular over there. There’s no tell-tale sign that I can see that this is a European-market vehicle, like glassed-in H4 lenses or wider license plate mounting locations (not that it matters in Japan, where the license plates are taller, not wider.) Regardless, there doesn’t appear to be a single ding down the side of the body or on any of the panels.
The interior is also in spotless condition, with perfect floormats, carpet, and bench seating surfaces. The dash shows no cracks and the steering wheel looks like new. The ambient lighting gives this Buick a surprising feel of luxury, almost like that’s what the company originally intended – but by now, all you see on the roads or in junkyards are total beaters, which negates any intentions the original designers had. Duncan’s website doesn’t provide any insights into how this Buick survived so well, but it’s safe to say the company’s many connections clued them in.
Under hood continues the same spotless vibe, and while the listing doesn’t provide any details on maintenance history or recent mechanical jobs carried out, the selling dealer has a reputation of being quite fair and honest – so I’m sure any serious buyers could get a comprehensive drill down of the car’s history and any needs. If you’ve been looking for one of the best preserved Century coupes still in existence, I can’t imagine you’ll do much better than this – and if you’re inclined to restore one, you’ll be way north of the asking price here in no time.
When I first saw this, I said “I want this!” Why? To relive my teens. Mom had one, and I bought one in my twenties. Hes was an ’86 with an Iron Duke, I had the 3.8L V6. Both Limilted sedans. These cars are not outstanding in many ways, but ride, comfort, power was on par for the times.
I guess I should be saying “I want this – so I can relive that part of my life, that I remember to be less complex and had far less drama!”
Now that is out of my system, I will move on…
I love this car, lots of family members had them in the 80’s, all versions.
They were always comfortable and reliable. I’d own one today!
Six grand for a car that’s dirt cheap to drive and insure, and no one will try to steal it? What’s not to love?
Honda was eating everyone’s lunch in the late 80’s because this is what the competition offered. Eesh.
Looking for that comparable Honda here.. Bueller? Bueller?
I’m not ashamed to say I kind of want it lol
Well, if you ever wanted one of these, this is the one! Used to be one every block or so, but even then the ones with 50k on them didn’t look this nice.
And Dave, great point – nobody will steal this, but it is a very fair price!
I’m kinda interested in this one, but I’ve read and heard over the years that the 3800 engine is the better than the 2800.Any thoughts about the 2800 reliability? Thanks in advance all.
I had a ’87 Cavalier Z24 with the same engine, no trouble with it in my experience.
These were pretty reliable motors. The one flaw that all the gm engines of this era had were the plastic intake gaskets. V6’s to the v8’s…they all had them. But that was an easy fix buy the Fel-pro steel/rubber replacements and you were good to go. I have a 94 Z24 with a 3.1 that i got a little over 300k miles on before a rod started knocking in it. Granted i ran the crap out of it alot . So i was pleased with the longevity. Going through the rebuild as we speak!
I believe the 2.8 Buick V6 was rated at something like 125 hp. so I don’t think these cars built up much track time… :-) :-)
My grandfather bought one of these new in August 1987, his last new car. His was light blue, with the roof and interior were the same as this one. His had the four-speed automatic with the 2.8 MPFI though. I thought the car was nice looking except for the silly chrome luggage rack on the trunk lid, which many ’80s rides had but served little useful purpose. There was a sticker on the driver’s door jamb that said the car had been modified in March 1987 by Cars & Concepts. Evidently GM used that firm to install the “heavily padded Landau” top, which if I recall was a fairly costly factory option at the time, somewhere around $600-$700 if I recall. I later regretted passing on the opportunity to buy the car when my grandmother traded it on a new ’94 Accord LX after my grandfather went into a nursing home. In comparison, the Accord had hard seats, its 4 cylinder was a little noisy and the transmission shifted a bit too firmly for my taste, and overall it lacked the deluxe and luxurious feel of the Buick’s Limited trim level.The fact that GM sold so many A-bodies between 1982 and 1996 and that they remained on the roads years after production ceased in 1996 tells me they were pretty decent cars. I wouldn’t mind having this one to honor Gramps’ memory.
I had a pontiac 6000 in 1988 with the same engine…had that car for 16 years and still sold it for a good price. Costed me in the long run less then a honda would ;)
Put it in a Barn for 50 years
Then there will be interest
Maybe not as a collector car Del, but I know of a lot of people that would like to snag this up, myself included. The only dilemma would be is, do you use it sparingly, or as it was intended, which would be drive the wheels off of it? If this was closer, I’d walk into this dealership with $5k in my hand, and probably drive off with it. I like it!!
This is in the Premier Driver Group. Buy this for its comfort, do what Gary S
recommends (above) and you won’t regret it. I have a 4Door Sedan Century Limited, same size with a 3800 and all the toys, they are fine. Someone do this. I would but I have no room.
I checked out the Duncan website because I remember them as being the place that has the huge number of those quirky Nissan Figaro’s for sale.
What a weird place. They have 2 locations now with almost 400 “classic” domestic cars listed. Problem is, almost all of them are listed as “Private Collection Not For Sale” And most of these “classics” are standard run-of-the-mill cars – American, Asian, German, etc.
Very strange. It’s not even a museum.
My Dad had the four door, very reliable car. As for Duncan Motors, I had contacted them twice in two years for two different cars – never heard back either time. Too bad.
Oh, my Gosh!! Here’s another example of some out-of-work magician, trying to fool us. The pics in the link are of a brand new car. Look at the right side pic…See the pricing info??? I may be older but, I’m not buying this story and therefore, not the car. Would really love to have one…IF they would show us the pics of the car advertised as it sits now.
Before passing judgment, did you bother to go and view ALL of the pictures on the website? It is clearly not a brand new car that has been Photoshopped or whatever you think is going on.
That pricing info is not a dealer’s sticker, it is the information that used car sellers typically post on a car.