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Used car question...1984 Buck Regal with about 90,000 miles

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by JR, Jun 17, 2008.

  1. kleeda

    kleeda Active Member

    I will say the following about Regals of this eran having turned a wrench on many in a former life.
    It has as bulletproof a drivetrain has even been produced by any manufacturer. It is perhaps the last great design by Fisher Body. It will be -- if it already isn't -- seen as a classic in the future. It has great upholstery and interior fit and finish (generally).
    The downsides include excessive front end wear and tear after about 30k miles, necessitating replacement of ball joints, etc. Inferior brakes. Poor exterior fit and finish (but you will be able to see that). Miserable hardware such as door handles, locks, mirrors and antenna. But if you have the time to baby it, it can go well over 300k miles.
     
  2. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    A press man bought it for $50. I bought it for $100 because it needed new motor mounts and since the sellers were family friends they dropped the price from $1,000 to $100 so I could replace them. I never did, and the car lasted another four years. The only major thing I had done to the car was to replace the serpentine belt, which inconveniently blew out on me while climbing Snoqualmie Pass.

    Sure, it was lucky, but I'm just saying I think Buick's are pretty good American cars.
     
  3. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Bubbler's next car after the Regal... :D

     
  4. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Bought my first car, in 1996, for $200. It was a 1987 Chevy Celebrity that had 108,000 miles on it. It had also been in a wreck, and needed two new doors and a new fender. Spent about $600 for those, conned my brother-in-law into doing the work for free, and got five good years and almost 80,000 miles out of it before selling it in 2003, I think. Drove that thing literally across the country on several occasions.
    Among its quirks:
    -- The passenger's side seatbelt was barely bolted in and was mostly for show. Which wasn't too bad, except if you took a turn too sharply, the passnger's side door had an unfortunate tendency to pop open.
    -- The radio had one speaker that would go in (if you positioned the radio just right) or out (if it wasn't right) intermittently.
    -- For the first year I owned it, the driver's side door only opened from the outside. I finally fixed it with some wire and one of those cheap magnetic rods.
    -- It was three different colors, because of the repairs -- blue, gray and rust. I figured it'd cost more to paint the thing than the car was worth, so I just lived with it.

    I had bought a new car in 2001 and barely drove it for a couple years. My landlady finally either had someone who needed a cheap car or just wanted to get the thing out of the parking lot once and for all, and put me in touch with some teenager who bought it.
    For $200.
    I figured there was some symmetry in it.
     
  5. Bad Guy Zero

    Bad Guy Zero Active Member

    "400 Bucks" by Reverend Horton Heat:

    I sent you 400 bucks
    So you could buy some car
    Well I loved you so much
    I didn't get too far

    For my 400 bucks
    You were sweet that day
    I guess I should of known
    That you'd never repay

    400 bucks 400 bucks
    And you don't give a fuckk
    About my 400 bucks

    A '57 sedan
    And it's a mom and pop car
    And now your old boyfriend's back
    My only friend's at the bar

    400 buck 400 bucks
    And you don't give a fuck
    About my 400 bucks

    You got a new puppy dog
    Threw your cat on the street
    And now we're both fucked
    Without my 400 bucks

    400 bucks 400 bucks
    And you don't give a fuck
    About my 400 bucks

    Remember when you said "Honey,
    Someday that car is gonna look so good in front of our house"

    BITCH!
    I want my 400 dollars!
    I want my 400 dollars and I want it right now!
    Give it to me!
     
  6. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Count on replacing an oxygen sensor about once per 5,000 miles. That's true for most mid-80s GM cars. Good Lord, between my '84 Regal and my pair of '87 Bonneville's, I'll bet I put in 5-10 oxygen sensors.
     
  7. kleeda

    kleeda Active Member

    Just replace the oxygen sensor and the PCV the day you get it. By the way, the new tires may be hiding the aforementioned front-end problems.
     
  8. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    He approves the purchase of a Buick:

    [​IMG]
     
  9. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Good story in the NYT today about struggling new-car dealerships in this economy, centered around a family-owned Buick store in Columbus, Ohio. There are only about 85 Buick-only dealerships left in the U.S., and this one struggles to sell 200 cars a year. In the good ol' days it sold 200 a month.
     
  10. Sleeper

    Sleeper Member

    Nice. That's a damn good-looking car. Seriously. K-cars and minivans may have saved Chrysler, but they had no character.

    My first car was a 1986 Mercury Cougar coupe with fake spoke wheel covers, plush pleather seats, a digital speedometer and a surprisingly weak V-8. I loved that thing. But if I hadn't worked at an auto shop, it would have cost me a fortune in repair bills.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  11. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    I have a 1993 Olds Achieve with 201,000 miles on it. It is paid off. I'll keep driving it until I can't. I've fixed a lot of things, but it's still been cheaper than making that monthly car payment. Makes it to work and back and around town and even two-hour drives just fine. If I need to make a long trip, I'll rent a car.
     
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