It’s a very rare occasion to see an automobile preserved as well at this 1948 Buick Roadmaster. This car has been in storage for the last 49 years and is truly a survivor, wearing it’s original paint and interior, both in very good condition. This stunning piece of automotive history is currently listed here on eBay for an asking price of $10,500 BIN and is located in Oakland, California
Finds as well preserved as this Roadmaster are simply breathtaking. In the picture above, you can see a small dent in the driver fender, the only major flaw in the bodywork. The paint, according to the seller is Verde Green, which shines well given it’s age of 71 years. All of the chrome is present and shines well (with the exception of one missing trim piece), and there is a nearly endless gallery of photos for this car so you can see the condition of the car yourself, instead of just taking the sellers word for it. California black plates are present and the seller says that the car has spent it’s whole life on the west coast. There are undercarriage pictures in the eBay gallery, and as you can imagine, rust is limited to surface with no rot to speak of.
This picture does a good job of demonstrating the condition of the interior, which presents very well. There are some minor imperfections in the drivers door card, something that should be expected for a car of this age. Both bench seats and the headliner, shown in other pictures, are clean and tear free, further showing how well this car has fared over the last seven decades.
The way that the hood opens on these is just too cool. This Buick is powered by the 320 C.I.D. Fireball straight-8 that the seller says starts and runs excellent and doesn’t have any visible fluid leaks. No word is given on the car’s drivability, so I would make a point to cantact the seller about the condition of the brakes and transmission before potentially purchasing the car.
If this Buick is as good as it looks (and if time and money were not object), I’d buy this with the plan to road trip it back home to the Midwest, creating an epic story along the way. Another comment by the seller is that the Buick is part of a 300-car collection that is being sold off, and I can only assume that the cars in the background are part of this liquidation, so I would keep an eye on the seller’s eBay page. What do you think of this Roadmaster?
What would be the reason that Buick would have the hood open like that?
It opens like that, you pull a latch on the other side and it opens the other direction – or you can remove the whole thing. Packard’s were the same way… it really wasn’t that unusual back then.
Couldn’t reach the engine to repair or maintain it if it lifted from the front.
@NotSure. I had a 1951 Buick Super 8 with the same hood operation. It could be opened from either the right or left side and if opened both sides at the same time it just lifted off the car. Ideal for removing the engine when necessary.
I recall my dad marveling at the engineering of our Buick, noting that if someone needed to work under the hood on that str8 it’d have been harder with a front opening hood.
Door card. Yeah.
I’m hoping that after cars become electric and fuel mileage as well as emissions aren’t an issue that the proportion of this type of “step in” era sedan are replicated for modern use. This is the way to get in and out of a proper sedan as a Rolls-Royce continues to be today. When Detroit went sidetrack in 1959 we started stepping down and falling into holes. It makes ingress and egress tiresome. That’s why today’s consumer buys crossovers.
Anyone turning their nose up at this car for $10,000 needs to take a good look in the mirror, personally I would prefer a 48/49 Cadillac but this Buick is an absolute no-brainer
Seen them, even rode in one. Beautiful car for a Sunday drive.
This is one I WANT BAD just not worth $10500 Maybe $9000 I Guess we will see I am bidding!!
I feel a portrait comin’ on!! This car is
absolutely gorgeous the way it is. I
showed this one to Mom and she even
liked it! Too bad it’s a stickshift and not
an automatic. I could just see Mom (77)
driving this car and getting a part in a
movie. Then, she could be cast as one of
those little old ladies we used to see
driving cars like this when we were young. Seeing it reminds me of the ’48
sedan I bought for $50 back in ’69 to
haul band equipment. And though it
was rusty and all beat to hell, that old
straight 8 purred like a kitten and the
Dynaflow drive worked perfectly.
Sold it in ’70 to someone at our church
whose husband needed a cheap work
car. He drove it three more years before
the rust monster finished it off. Me, I
broke even on it and yes, I liked the lift
off hood when came to tuning up that
massive straight 8!
Had a ‘47 Super like this in Hawaii way back. Cost $100 at Aloha Motors. Got us around, but sucked gas and ate retreads!
Granted a 1948 is different than 1949 but I Had a 49 4 door Roadmaster that had the Dynaflow – drove like a dream. Front seat rivaled most couches for comfort. Many prefer the manual to the Dynaflow as repair Of Dynaflow often involved dropping torque tube/driveshaft. Unique hood opening either side often caused alignment problems with hood and gouged fender and cowl paint. Photographs of old wrecks often show the entire hood separating from car in a crash – not good. GTLA
what a honey
Daddy Warbucks rides again!
What a well presented original car. Kudos to the seller. Lots of photos, concise and forthright description. This well worth every bit of the Buy it Now
Someone, please buy it now. Worth every cent.
I can’t believe such a beautiful car is only worth 10K.
Totally agree with you Miguel – if the 49 year slumber is true, you pay for its storage and get the car for free!
This is reality for many bombs popping up now and then; too old but too new , too heavy and too lazy, two doors too many but lacks the fifth. But for those of us that doesn’t neccesarily need to burn rubber all day, such finds make a great Sunday’s cruiser that’s not only a great piece of history ,they have tons of charm and dignity whether they’re moving or parked, and also immediate headturners that are still AFFORDABLE!
There are still great fishes to catch; this Buick more resembles a whale- and I love everything about it!
I think it’s shiny because it’s wet………
my dad had a buick identical to this one. interior and exterior oolor and all. super car.
If this car could talk, think of all the stories it could tell. These older unrestored car’s have a certain personality to them. A soul if you will. Restored cars loose that feel. If I had the space, I would be chasing this one. The price is unheard of for that condition. What a deal. Hope the new owner takes it out and drives it.
I think this car is beautiful 😍 and doesn’t need much to be driving it? I have no clue what the Buick market is these days but I could see this beauty going for a bit more than the BIN?
No Ventiports. Pass.
I Love this car, true survivor, man I wish I had the space, I would buy it in a second
In the 70s I had a 48 2door grey as I recall. Had a bunch of period hats in the back under the rear window, rule was you had to wear one when we were cruising to the drive in.