Purchase Advice Requested - '95 Roadmaster Wagon

Dan, this car is the wrong color, I understand, but it was just TOTALLY gone through by one of the old-time wagon experts on the Longroof forum. It's had a TON of good updates done to it, and it is a SUPER NICE car at a very fair price ($5k). I think everyone on the Longroof forum would vouch for this car and the seller. It's solid too, and is a rare and sought-after color (DGGM - Dark Grey-Green Metallic!).

It also has an awesome back-story to it.

Note the tow-pack rear was already added, so it has the better gearing. New tires, NO OPTISPARK, the coil mod ($$) was done. It's really an amazing deal for all the NEW and updated in this car. He fixed just about everything.

The seller really wants this to go to someone that will love and appreciate it too, and I know he'd work with you to make that happen.

http://gmlongroof.4umer.com/t13671-1996-dggm-roadmaster-for-sale-july-2017-lrom - Listing

http://gmlongroof.4umer.com/t13583-july-2017-lrom-the-viking-roadmaster - Back-Story, with pics of the fixes, updates, and mods too. Really DONE!

I can't overstate how much I personally would like to see this one find a good home myself. If I was in the market, this would be on the way to Texas.

-Mike

 

KK - yes, that would best describe him. At one point he mentioned that he was unsure if the correct collector plates were even on the car. He assured me that it is OK to move collector plates from car to car...this is not true in MN. No way to fact check, but he was bragging up that he has the last Camaro IROC Z28 to come off the line and it is stored with a friend in CA. My BS meter was fully lit, spinning and the siren was loud in my head, but not loud enough to drown out his yammering. If the car was priced right and with a different seller, I may have thought about it. When we left and I acknowledged that my wife and daughter now understand my desire my first words were "well, we will have a V8 wagon, but that is not the one for us". I could see the look of relief on my wife's face. Today she mentioned that he had additional license plates in the back pocket of the driver's seat. There is no way this family is purchasing anything from this guy.

As mentioned above, there was a quick decision to make a hard pass on this car. That said, I learned alot. Glad the car was close, it was only a 20 minute drive to where he met us. We ended up in an area near a neat little old school, lake side, "Supper Club" which recently reopened and we have been wanting to go to. Had one of the best dining experiences as a family for a long time. The staff couldn't have had more fun with us and the food was fantastic. My kid even put her phone screen down on top of my phone on the table. Should almost thank him for setting us up with a memorable evening.

 

I just chalk up those failed check-out-a-vehicle trips as just an adventure. Drove up to Olympia, Washington one day with the Mrs. to check out a Colony Park wagon. Wagon was horrible, but the trip was nice......

 

At least you checked it out. My pop used to say never buy the first car you look at. Consider this a lesson, now the next time you go look at a car you'll be that much more prepared, and also have a reference. I always try to go in person to a lot of These guys. Sometimes you can get good leads on other cars or parts and you can also get a general feel of what and who is in your area Sharing the same interest

 

Hey Dan, I sent you a PM sir.

-Mike

 

Thought I'd throw another monkey wrench into the works. Bring-A-Trailer auction... Looks nice.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1996-buick-roadmaster-2/

 

Well, I have an update:
There is not only one Wagon that will be on the way to our "stable", but 2.

Before deciding on an RMW, my wife and I worked out a deal on a nice little 1969 VW Squareback. The car went through a fairly in depth rebuild about 10 years ago. I am purchasing it without seeing it in person, however the seller seems to be a stand up guy, was not pushy, answered all my questions and did several in depth video walk-arounds that he emailed to me. He also has a few other very nice VWs in his collection and is selling this one and a beetle that he had not started to free up funds to put into his primarily VW shop. This has an upgraded 1776 motor instead of the 1600 and the PIA fuel injection has been removed. We are finalizing payment this week and then will be arranging for an enclosed carrier to pick it and deliver it for us. We are going enclosed since it has a Ragtop. This will be our local cruiser - probably will not take her on drives much over an couple hours from home. Comes with several extra parts as well, including 2 transmissions (one is complete and the other is apart for rebuild, several glass pieces and some other odds and ends). Here are a few pics for attention (read on for the RMW update)



On to the RMW. We have worked out a deal on the one that Mike @81X11 referred us to. It was not the desired color but if you read through the threads, there are a lot of nice updates on this car. All trim pieces are there, which is getting to be rare from my searching. New tires, new shocks... I have to admit that I really like that headrests were added to the rear seat (not that the VW has any headrests since the highbacks were replaced with lowbacks - but different cars for different purposes) and a few of the other details that the current owner has done. The first few things to get done will be tint, removal of the pinstripe. Hopefully new wheels before Spring - I am thinking of some Torque Thrusters with the gunmetal grey internals or if I can find a clean set of the old Buick rally wheels - gotta get away from the grandpa look or my kid will never let me drop her off at school in it. The current owner sent a few pics of the underside (1 is below) and I doubt this car has any or very minimal rust. She will not see road salt and will be stored in a heated facility along side the VW, our 22' Wakeboard boat and a 15' Boston Whaler. Over the winter I will be replacing the factory radio with a larger touch screen unit with backup camera and will evaluate the speakers and replace if desired while retaining the factory look (aside from mentioned head unit). If budget permits and if I feel needed after driving, there may be a few easy performance upgrades to the LT1. Our fingers are crossed that we will have a mild enough fall that we can drive both of these vehicles a bit before putting them away for the Winter. Here are pics of the RMW



For those counting, yes - that makes 2 vehicles purchased sight unseen. Maybe I am a sucker , or maybe I am just getting lucky. The RMW, I am going to fly out to NY and pick up. I am hoping to get my Father to travel with me, he used to work with some Reps out there and has kept in contact with a few. HOpefully we can pick up the car, meet up with one or two of the Dad's friends and have a Father & Son road trip home. Figured it would be a good way to get the family memories started in the wagon!

Thanks for all of your help and I am sure I will have more to share and more questions to ask.
-Dan

 

I think these purchases are exceptions to the rule, Dan.

Congratulations on your new wagons!
Marshall

 

I'll admit the squareback looks nice. I still have bad memories of the nearly new '68-'69-'70 we bought from the VW dealership not far from home. Now a Chrysler dealership.
I could probably find the exact year and photos of the deep blue squareback but then the memories would return. I must have gotten a lemon. All wiring, alt, etc burned up twice on road trips. So many other things went wrong I practically lived at the VW dealership until I traded it off.
I can't tell which way those rear side air vents aim. The dealership had a kit to reverse whatever direction mine were, saying they were wrong from the factory. So add on louvers were placed over cut out holes on each side. A lemon I tell you!
As for the RMW I had considered calling also. That's a car to enjoy.

 

Dan one more tip here, and maybe you can find a solution. On the Roadmasters (and Caprice/Olds Custom Cruisers) the dimmer for the digital climate control gets it's signal FROM THE STOCK RADIO when you turn on the headlights. When you install an aftermarket stereo, the climate control no longer dims at night, and the readout is VERY bright. This has kept me from replacing my stock radio...I instead got a same-style Delco Monsoon from a Regal, with both the CD and cassette, and added an Ipod jack. Looks stock and works fine. Came from Factory Radio on Ebay. They test the radios and replace all the bulbs and such too.

A plus with keeping the factory radio is you can be on the lookout for a Buick wheel with the radio controls. These can be found in many mid-to-late 90's Buicks, BUT the real find is a LeSabre or Regal without electronic climate control. The cars with manual climate control did not have the temp controls on the wheel...only the radio buttons. HARD to find. The climate control buttons on the wheel do not work with the Roadmaster ATC heads, but finding a wheel with non-worn control buttons is hard enough now...even with the climate buttons.



I do still look in every Buick at the salvage yards when I go...just in case. If you find one, you also need to pull the clockspring and wire from the steering column, and then you can plug right into the stock radio. If I ever find a good one, my next stop will be to buy a lotto ticket....

-Texas Mike

 

One more ting, GM cheaped-out on the wheels on these cars, being half plasti-rubber and half leather. The color rubs off the wheel, especially on the rubber sides, so my 96 wheel was re-dyed with SEM paint. Did the entire wheel and it came out great and has lasted over two years now.

I HATE that GM went to these "dyed" black steering wheels, with half plastic and half leather, but they did so we deal with it. The SEM stuff really works!

BEFORE:






AFTER





Well worth the effort!

-Mike