Need the opinion of the '71 Buick GS 455 posted on the V8Buick.com under the Original/Restored Cars section (it's beige with a brown vinyl top). The seller says that he has the original invoice and the protecto plate. It has never been in an accident that he knows of, but it did have rust issues in the lower wheel wells which have since been repaired. I'm looking for a '67-72 Buick GS A-body (preferably a big-block version), and I'm looking for one which is unmolested and as rust-free as possible. I can only afford to spend about about $15K, but I would still would like to try to find a car that needs little-to-no restoration. This owner of the GS 455 is asking $18.5K, but I need to know if this is a fair price. Although I'm not crazy about the color combination, it does have a lot of options and it appears to be a nice, original GS. Any input or replies would be appreciated. Could someone also give their experience on buying a car out-of-state? (I live in Southern California, and the seller is in Kansas City, Mo.) How about buying a car online or on eBay? Thanks. Roy
Is this the car you are talking about..... http://www.v8buick.com/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=266 If so it does look nice. The guy only has 3 post on the board. Have him send you some pics. If it is nice,real and #'s matching is may be worth 18.5. There are some members near Kansas City, Mo post up over the bench that you are looking for some in that area to look a car over for you. But don't ask them to go look unless you are serious about buying a car. If you find a car in North Carolina or Virginia you need looked at let me know. You have to remember that a lot of people from the board are at the BPG Nat's this week in Columbus.
Roy, that color looks better in person. There is one in my area that is the same with the brown roof and it looks good together. Mike D.
Don't underestimate the importance of the color combo. You'll be looking at it every day, and it isn't cheap to change... We have several members in KS and MO. Maybe someone in the area would inspect the car for you? Just post in The Bench for help in that area. I'd stay away from Ebay, unless you find a car you can inspect or know someone who can inspect it for you.
Hi Roy - I am one of those that has bought cars on line, two to be exact. I weigh the risks against the price, the car, and the possibility of losing all of it. My advice is: don't do it without someone looking at the car. Find a member nearby and get some feedback. I did this with my most recent purchase and was more confident in my offer. More importantly, you need to determine what you want to buy. The you need to look for it. Once you find a car, ask here for opinions. If it is a board member car you may not get much feedback as many here will not bad mouth a fellow board member. Also, check the sellers postings. You will get a feel for their integrity. In this case its a new member without much history. It also appears to be a nice car. If you think the price is too high, offer less and see where it goes. also, there are many resources on line for price comparisions: Hemmings, Edmans, ebay, etc.
Thank you, Alan, Mike, David and Bill. I appreciate you all for replying. I finally did contact the owner and got him to e-mail me some more pics. It is a nice car, and it is a numbers-matching car. The owner was happy to talk with me and tell me more about the car. The paint job is new and matches the original color. He's also done a some work to it since acquiring it. The thing that made me decide to keep looking is the mileage...he said it has 167,000 miles on the original engine although he says it still run very strong. It also had some rust on around the bottom area of the wheelwells, but it has been repaired. Furthermore, he told me that the divorce choke on the Rochester Quadrajet wasn't working properly and needed repair, but that's probably not a big deal. I haven't completely ruled this car out as a purchase possibly, but since then I've come across a '72 GS 455 (asking price is $23K) that's nearby where I live, and a '71 Stage 1 GS in NC that is also posted on v8Buick.com that is going for $21k! I contacted the seller, but haven't got a response as of this writing. From what I can tell, this would be a great buy. It only has 44,000 miles. However, the originally block was "hurt" and it now has a '70 block with the '71 parts transferred from the original engine. Thanks again to you all for your advice and input! Best Regards, Roy
Roy, I was going to post a couple pics, but I see you got some more. I saw this car at a cruise night last month. Visited with Mark for a while. A friend of mine knows him better, but he seemed like an honest, straight forward guy. Definitely knows cars, and I'm sure he's describing the car very acurately. I actually turned him on to the site here. That's why he is still new. The 2 picks I took that night are very high resolution, and I would be happy to e-mail them to you if you'd like. You can magnify them and get really close up views. Shoot me a PM with your e-mail if you want them. Jeff
Hi Alan, I already contacted the owner on the '71 Stage 1 in NC for $21K. It's already sold. That was a great car...especially for the price. The '71 GS 455 is a nice car, too. I do like it. The biggest thing that scares me is that it has 167K miles. The car appears to be in great shape, but it did cool my heels when I learned it had that many miles. It also had some rust around the bottom of the wheelwells, which has been repaired. However, I'm afraid it may resurface. Also, I had a 71' GTO when I was a kid (nearly 20 years ago), and my father had to remind me that it had rust issues around the vinyl roof. Now that I thought about it more, I'm concerned about getting another car with a vinyl top that will potentially have rust issues. Even though I do live in California, I still live near the ocean and the salt air is prevelant.o No:
