I've made the leap from wagon lurker to wagon owner

It's been a number of years since my last wagon but I've finally found one again.

I discussed the wagon a little bit in this thread:
http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11573&page=3
but since that thread was technically started about another wagon I'm starting fresh here.

The seller of this one has taken forever to respond to my offer. The car is part of her recently deceased father's estate and she's had some family related issues with selling it. Her son really wants the car, but doesn't have the money. Technically she's legally required to sell the car to liquidate the estate so her sister was upset at not being able to give it to her son. Apparently she felt she couldn't sell the car until she convinced everyone why they couldn't have it. I've left her a few messages over the last two weeks and finally she responded to me yesterday. We spoke on the phone today and haggled on price a little. I came up from my original offer but only very little and got it for $2700.

There's nothing left to do but the paperwork. I have to head down her way on Saturday to pay her and pick up the car. After only a few months of searching I'm about to become the ever-so-proud owner of a '94 Roadmaster.
It's got just over 150,000kms on the odometer and was regularly serviced by a devoted senior. It was undercoated every year and the couple of rust spots are due to stone chips and parking lot hickeys. There are some minor interior panel issues to address and I've already ordered some replacement rollers to fix the rear window from my Dad over at the local Napa store. A rear quarter chrome strip is inexplicably wrinkled and there is a small ding in one door that shouldn't be too hard to pop back into place. I'll tackle that and repairing the passenger side window switch this weekend. Hopefully nothing else turns up during the inspection and I can be driving her in a few days.

'Fox, you'll be happy to know that this will be my summer car and I'll be selling my Parisienne so that the Roadie can be bedded down for winter. That way I also get to start shopping for a winter car as soon as the Parisienne is gone.

Here are the sellers pics for anyone who hasn't seen them in the ad.

 

Congrats you're going to enjoy the ride.
The lad who wanted it will be really disappointed though...
geez they're being a bit stuck up the butt about the "disposal of the estate" thing.
My sister was executrix of my dad's estate and after many years we're still working some things out. My Dad did not leave a proper will.

 

Looks good. Welcome from another newbie.

 

Congratulations Cyber. That looks to be a nice car. And also the good news on it being the summer fun car. A wise move. Saturday will be an exciting one for you.

To bad about the young fellow not getting the car he wants, but who really knows all the behind the scenes things going on in the family.

It's good for you, and that is the important thing to all of us.

 

Car looks real sharp! Hope you really enjoy it!

 

Way to go, wiz! Nice score....you will enjoy driving that car.

 

Cograts man, I like the colour combo

 

Congrats.. That is a nice wagon.

 

Well, I've had better days

I went to Oakville today to pick up my new Roadie. I played everything by the rules. I got the transaction complete and headed to the licensing office to get a temporary permit and then picked up the car and drove it home.

The trip home was pretty uneventful, I got back to Guelph and unloaded the included snow tires in the garage and went back out to gas the car and wash. Less than a block from my house I got pulled over for a safety check. The rear shocks are pretty soft and the officer noticed it as I went by. He had me follow him back out to the city transit garage where a Ministry of Transportation mechanic did a safety check on the car. I let them know that I had just purchased it an hour ago and was headed home so we had a good time looking the car over. After all, I'm really getting a free mechanic's inspection right? The mechanic was impressed with the car (the cops were interested in the LT1) and he confirmed that everything looked fine from a safety point of view and I really just needed rear shocks.

Next comes the Ministry of Environment officer. He informs me that, according to the computer, the car failed it's last emissions test and a temporary licensing permit isn't enough to have the car on the road. It's illegal to operate a vehicle on Ontario roads without a current emissions test (unless the vehicle is exempt of course). I've yet to figure out why the MTO will give you a temporary permit without proof of passing an emissions test! If the car had passed the previous emissions test he probably would have left me alone even though I hadn't yet had a test done after registering the car in my name. He explains that he is perfectly justified in suspending my license and taking the car. Given that I didn't give them a hard time and had only owned the car for an hour he settled for giving me a $360 fine. He said that the fine is just to keep people from paying it and not bothering to do anything about it. He suggested I get the car tested and fixed, given that it's obvious I was about to do that anyway, and then take them to court over it. Once he explains "what a nice guy I was" and that I've done the repairs, the fine will undoubtedly be dropped to ~$50.

To top it all off, when I went over to see my father (works at NAPA) he explained that he couldn't find me the roller part to fix my rear window in any of their Ontario warehouses. Now, I can't certify the car without fixing the window, I have to certify/emissions test it to get out of the fine, the fine has to be dealt with in 15 days, the temporary permit is only good for 30 days, and I'm not supposed to drive it anywhere without the emissions test anyway!

On the upside, at least I wasn't driving the Parisienne. It's old enough to no longer require an emissions test, but the carburetor is running so rich they may have taken it away anyway once they got a whiff of the exhaust.

I have most of the receipts from the previous owner. In addition to the car having been regularly serviced and undercoated, I can see that the car passed an emissions test in July 2009 after a new EGR valve. In July 2007, it passed after new catalytic convertors, plugs, and a new EGR. During that time it also had two new mufflers and an exhaust assembly up by the manifold (Y Pipe?). The mystery to me, is that the previous owner clearly had to renew his plates in July every year and the car passed in 2009. Why then, does the Ministry have a record of the car having been tested, and failing, in Nov 2009. Makes me wonder if the officer didn't fat-finger the VIN number in the computer. Fortunately the Roadie fits just fine in the garage.

 

Where the hell do you LIVE?!? In MOSCOW???? This story is ridiculous....and who EVER heard of the "state" taking a car away from the rightful owner?? I have to say...where ever you live...I will never go there.

 

Congrats om your new wagon. I love Buick wagons. Too bad about the power hungry SOB you had to deal with, they are every where. It took me 4 trips to the DMV to get mine registered this year, all because of _one_ know-it-all jerk in the VIN Inspection dept. In the end it was worth it. At least I don't have to deal with emission control issues since it's a 62.

Cheers,
Ken

 

It isn't unusual in Canada. Where I live I lost a car to the city because I couldn't prove ownership. Just because we live in the States does not mean we are safe. Our Leaders in Congress is trying to kill the car hobby as we speak.

If our Government officals have their way the haves who love old cars and trucks will be have nots unless you can buy a new car every 4 years. Also every vehicle over 10 years old will be crushed which will wipe out not only our hobby,wipe out Salvage yards and Parts store will not be able to carry anything for older vehicles.

It's going to happen and California has started paving the way. With new laws saying you can't build a Hot Rod without new emissions legal engines.

http://www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?id=60852

 

True. Sad, but true as long as enough people keep voting control freaks into office.

 

We also need to let them know what will happen if try to sneak any laws in about our hobby in different pork filled bills. I better stop before I get kicked out of here.

 

I've been digging through the paperwork on this Roadie. It looks like this poor beastie has been consistently difficult about passing the NO ppm test at 1200RPM.

In 2007 it failed with a reading of 810 (331 is the limit) and then failed again with 501 on the do-over test. The receipts indicate that the car then had 2 new O2 sensors installed, new CATS, and a new EGR valve. After that she passed the test with a 206 at 1200RPM.

Apparently the car ticked along OK for a while but in 2009 she failed again with a 394 at 1200RPM and 968 on the do-over test. This time the EGR valve was replaced and she passed with a 237.

It sounds to me like there's a pattern here. To be honest it sounds almost identical to what Phantom309 has gone through with his black flamed wagon. He's documented it pretty well over at GM Longroof and it sounds like he's had a fair amount of agony getting his to pass the NOX portion of the test.

Anyone have any ideas why this thing would be going through so many EGR valves? I'm really hoping to get her certified and e-tested soon but I'm pretty spooked that I might be in for a recurring theme. I don't want to put an EGR valve into it just to buy me time until my next e-test in two years and do it again. I'd really like to get to the underlying cause.