1988 Buick Electra Estate

Discussion in 'Station Wagon Auctions, Craigs List and Other Stat' started by jwdtenn, Mar 5, 2013.

  1. silverfox

    silverfox New Member

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    ??????????

    LOL.....the questionmarks were directed at jwd's post but then he deleted it.
    Just in case you were wondering.
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2013
  2. jwdtenn

    jwdtenn Well-Known Member

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    Sorry. Meant to post to Alphues to let us know how things go today with (hopefully) bringing home the Buick. :)
     
  3. silverfox

    silverfox New Member

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    Yeah....we're all waiting to see the on going results of this fiasco. Some car dealers will do anything just to make a few hundred dollars more on a car. Even put their entire reputation down the tubes. I hope alph gets the car and it is in great shape and runs good. Somehow, I'm not real confident that this deal will close with all parties happy.
     
  4. jwdtenn

    jwdtenn Well-Known Member

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    Fiasco would be the right word. Trying to be optimistic, but the history on this "deal" is not good. :(
     
  5. silverfox

    silverfox New Member

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    Wait!! I see alph is here??? Isn't he supposed to be in Ontario, California picking up this car????:confused::confused::confused:
     
  6. jwdtenn

    jwdtenn Well-Known Member

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    Alphues, what happened yesterday? :huh:
     
  7. silverfox

    silverfox New Member

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    um....Yeah, alph. I saw you here yesterday morning and was surprised....thought you would be on your way to get this Buick that either is or isn't yours. Hope it's yours.
    So....you gonna let us know???:confused:
     
  8. alphues

    alphues New Member Charter Member

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    Hello Silverfox and all
    what should have been a 7 hour down and back trip ended up being a two day afair!! When we got there I found Jerry but no buick. The story was he dropped it off Sunday at the smog shop but when he went to pick it up Monday morning they were closed:banghead3::banghead3: So that killed Monday. We got a motel and 9am today we were back at WDC. there waiting for me was a 1988 buick wagon. Silverfox you were lucky that you didn't win it:whew:. Lets see where do I begin:
    "DETAIL" WHAT DETAIL:rofl:
    PAINT SHOT
    PLASTIC BEHIND BUMPERS BROKE UP OR MISSING
    LEFT HEADLIGHT BEZEL BROKEN
    HEADER PANEL CRACKED ON THE RIGHT SIDE
    NO HOOD SUPPORTS
    100,000 MILES:rofl::rofl: TRY 146835
    TOTALLY MISSING THE HEADLINER PASSED SECOND SEAT.
    SPLIT IN TOP OF DRIVERS SEAT BACK
    FRONT BRAKES DOWN TO THE WARE SENSORS
    BROKEN RIGHT TAILIGHT
    NO GAS CAP OR SPARE TIRE
    Rust Showing Thru Below Both Rear 1/4 Windows
    LAST LICENSED IN 2008

    What I got was a typical used car "back lot special"

    Well I felt sorry for the old girl. it's like going to the dog pound and saving the one that next to be put down:cry:

    Bottom line I loaded it up and it's home. just got here at 5pm.
    tomorrow I will investigate the mechanicals.
     
  9. occupant

    occupant Occupantius

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    So what you're saying is for $1600 it was a steal?

    It's what I would expect of a 25 year old $1600 car in California.

    At least they smogged it for you. Bumper fillers are not easy to find but they are out there and they ARE reproduced. Tail light can be replaced. Headlight bezel can be replaced. Header panel can be smoothed out. Paint can be restored, refinished, or redone. Hood supports stopped working by about 5 years old in these. Driver's seat torn in one tiny place you're lucky. Missing headliner just means you don't have to remove it because a GM headliner is gold if it lasts ten years. Brake pads, really? Change them out, I do that on any vehicle I buy if they're below 50% just so I don't have to be concerned with them. Change or turn the rotors while it's apart. Repack the wheel bearings. It's just good maintenance. The car's been off the road for over 4 years, it's going to need some work.

    I'd be upset about the misquoted mileage, time off the road not disclosed, rust-through under the quarter windows, and the missing gas cap and spare. I can understand missing floor mats, owner's manuals, spare keys, and little things.

    I think it would have failed smog without a gas cap. I bet they bribed a tech to push it through. You have to have gas cap integrity for an emissions test so vapors don't go to atmosphere.

    Hey, before you get too far into this, pop off all the center caps and make sure the letters or numbers or symbols all match on the wire wheel cover locks. Because if all that other stuff was missing, I bet you don't have a key to undo those locks or if you do, it might not match one or more of them. If the locks are missing you can always add them just make sure you get all four the same code and the key to match.

    My last '88 Electra... http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3237641/1988-buick-estate/page-2/

    [​IMG]

    ...was an absolute pile compared to yours, dry dry dry flat paint, cracking dash pad, ruined carpet, it had exhaust problems, electrical problems, tore up dash and seats, no headliner at all, windows didn't work too well, tires balding, header panel damage, bumper fillers disintegrating, but it was a $600 car. If only I could find one like yours here in Texas for $1600 I'd sell all my more modern computers ($800 desktop setup, $600 laptop, $300 laptop, Blackberry Playbook) just to get it and I'd work slow as molasses on my old Powerbook G3 just to have one.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2013
  10. silverfox

    silverfox New Member

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    I'm so sorry to hear this, alph. I really am. I guess if it had been me I would have walked away. Two different scenarios come to my mind having been in the business and seen my share of crooked dealers.

    1) They had enough time, because of their stall tactics, to dumb the car down with bad parts, etc hoping that you wouldn't take the car. Then they would reinstall the good stuff and clean it up again after you left.
    2) More likely, since they are a "global" dealer, they were hoping to get a buyer from across the pond and stick it to him without local repercussions.

    This whole deal has shown us one thing for sure...at least me, anyway, ... creative and selective photography can make a sows ear look like a silk purse. I looked at that car and thought it was a winner for the money that had been bid at the time. I thought that you stole a good deal. Apparently, I was wrong. That's why I have stated here many times that I never even bother to look at a car to buy that says I have to pay a non-refundable fee up front.
    Since you didn't walk away from this deal I assume you drove the car and that you believe that, with the money you paid and what it will take to bring it up to snuff, you can end up with a good car for a decent amount of money. I'm sure that if you didn't feel that way you would have told them to keep the car.
    I feel bad that I was fooled by the pix of this car and hope that my thinking it was a good buy for the money didn't lure you into taking the car.
    Finally, I think from what you are telling us about the car...people should still be warned to stay away from this dealer.
    Again, alph, I apologize if I was instrumental in swaying you into the purchase of this car if you are unhappy with it.
     
  11. alphues

    alphues New Member Charter Member

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    Hello occupant

    The biggest problem was that they lied all the way thru the ebay auction:

    They state" car has clear title" but they don't have one.

    It took ONE week to get to see the car!

    Auction ended on 03/12/3013 I called 20 minutes later to make arrangements to pick up the car.

    In the state of CA. a dealer selling a used car to the public has to make sure that there is at least 50% brake lining and 50% tire tread before the car leaves the lot.
    This car has neither.

    The gas cap issue is a common one. Bar 97 machines test the cap off of the car. many tech forget to put it back on.

    AS far as the hood supports, they are missing not broken.

    The wheel cover tool and owners manual were in the glove box:)



     
  12. alphues

    alphues New Member Charter Member

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    Hello Silverfox
    No I am a big boy and made my own mind up to take it home.

    I would be willing to bet in 2008 when they first got the Buick it was a much nicer car. The way they have them parked like cattle in the back lot it's no wonder the wagon got banged up like it did. They also used it over the years as "parts storage" according to two of the lot boys.

    If it were not the color it is I might have walked away. But as they say "beggars can't be choosers" after all they don't make em any more.;)
     
  13. occupant

    occupant Occupantius

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    I got a hood support for my Buick. Was one of the first things I did. They had five colors in stock, several different trims for the end caps, and I spent less than $5. They even cut it to the length I needed, long enough to hold the hood up, short enough to fit under the hood when not using it...

    [​IMG]
     
  14. jwdtenn

    jwdtenn Well-Known Member

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    Wow very sorry to hear all the problems. They certainly disguised it well in the photos. The only thing I noticed were the cracked bumper fillers, which is expected. Flat out lying about the miles on the car is just wrong.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2013
  15. KevinVarnes

    KevinVarnes Well-Known Member

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    Did the Buick use gas struts for the hood lift/support? I swear my old '85 Parisienne used the standard springs. I would have thought the Buick would be the same.

    Post up some more pics actually showing the car. It still doesn't look too bad even with all the little issues you found.
     

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