This was up for sale on ebay for less than a day. I received my usual overnight email from ebay with anything that matches my "1978 Toronado" search terms, and this came up. But when I went to look at it a few hours later, the auction had already ended with the not-uncommon "car is no longer available" message. Odometer shows 922 miles. It is a gorgeous car, and it's an XS, but $30 K is a bit much. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Oldsmobile-Toronado-XS-/293948222295?ul_noapp=true&nma=true&si=cKxAJokqR9Z8Dis6PCz%2FPJAWbtw%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 There is some kind of rust spot near the front edge of the hood on the driver's side. They do take pains to show it. The interior looks flawless as you would expect for such a low mileage car. It has cloth seats, not leather. The biggest surprise to me is the rather pedestrian-looking engine compartment. First off, where's the big blue air cleaner decal? There's just a blank space. There should be a big blue decal that says "Toronado - Front Drive". How could that disappear in less than 1000 miles? Also, overall, the compartment looks more like what you would expect on a 50,000 mile car, not a 1000 mile car. Anyway, prior to two days ago (Tuesday), when that 23,000 mile '78 Toro (not an XS) sold for $19,500 at the Mecum Kissimmee auction, I would have said that anyone who thinks they can get $30K for this car is dreaming. Now I'm not so sure. I wonder WHY the car is no longer available. Did it sell locally? Some excerpts from the auction listing: Purchased brand new in 1978 at Fred Stecker Oldsmobile in Euclid, OH by a gentleman in his mid 60's. Shortly after purchasing he was restricted from driving but refused to sell his car. It was parked in his attached climate controlled garage under his home where it sat for the next 34 years. It was last registered with license plates in 1979. These registered plates and dealer license plate bracket are still on the car today. After the passing of the original owner, the car was sold through the estate in 2012 with just 920 miles on it at the time. The second owner bought the car as an investment knowing how rare this car was with just 920 miles on it from new. The second owner put just 2 miles on the car from the time he purchased it until our recent acquisition. It has been stored in a heated building since 2012 until recently moved to our facility. We have only driven it about 200 yards. The current actual original miles is 922.6 The car sat untouched by the original owner for nearly 34 years. It does show some signs of wear from sitting in his garage. The top of the rear passenger side quarter does show some wear in the paint. The family of the original owner explained that the car sat in the garage near the main door to the owners house and that for over 30 years the original owner used the top of this quarter panel has a hand rail while walking into his house door. The car also has a wear spot on the hood where the original owner had laid things to rest. This wear is minor and easily repairable, obviously we left it untouched as it is original wear to the car. Nearly every component to the car is original. Recent improvements to the car include the original carburetor being rebuilt, a battery, a new gas tank, as the old tank had a sludge type gas that had been sitting in it for decades, and fluids changed. She starts right up and purrs like a kitten. We've only driven it about 200 yards and don't intend to add any more miles to its odometer. The tires are original. They are date coded the 14th week of 1978. Yes - they are dry rotted. We would not recommend driving the car on these tires; however, they are round and do hold air.
Ad text indicates the spot on the hood is a 'wear spot'. To me, it looks more like paint damage from something dripping......
The text of the ad says that the owner regularly set something on the hood in that spot. From my original post: "The car also has a wear spot on the hood where the original owner had laid things to rest." Apparently the car was parked in the garage right by the entrance to the house, and the owner, in his aged frailty, would grab the top of the right rear fender to maintain his balance, and that's why there's wear there.
