Need to sell this thing, 1966 Buick Electra Convertible

I'll try one last shot here, bargain basement price, $12,000 US, it's a 1966 Buick Electra convertible in driver quality.
Recent changes in life are forcing me to get rid of this car. If you also want it, for $2K US extra on top you can get my black 1966 4door hardtop Wildcat. Everything must go, and it has to go before spring.
Needs some work to make perfect.

The Good:
Powertrain all overhauled and rebuilt, 401 engine, 400 trans has 20,000 miles since rebuild. Basically lifted the rad cap and rebuilt or replaced everything underneath.
It's reliable and can be driven anywhere.
Heater works, as do the power windows, power seat, power antenna, Factory AM/FM with underdash 8 track.
Top is about 5 years old, the car is constantly garaged and never was winter driven. (Up here you'd freeze to death if you tried to drive it in winter)
Paint and body an older repaint, but still presentable.

The Bad:
Needs a front seat reupholstery job. I'm heavy and it's shot.
The top hydraulics are out of the car right now, I had planned on replacing it all. so they'll be in the trunk.
It's dirty and needs a detailing.
Would need a windshield to pass a safety. (new ones last 10 minutes up here)
The car is located in Alberta Canada, but importing to the US isn't a problem, you just need a broker and a transporter, you can't just drive it across the line.
Tires are getting old.

I'm throwing in the deal 2 1965 bucket seats and a full correct console with tach along with a tilt steering column. They would all need to be restored before going in the car. Any 66 Buick parts i have will also get tossed in.

As I said, there's also a 1966 Wildcat 4 door hardtop with 70,000 original miles, original, never torn down 425 with matching 400 switch pitch trans, good running condition, new exhaust, rusty but workable, good floors, good rockers, trunk area is the only real problem, not licensed since 1984.

Here's your shot at getting into the Buick hobby for less than $20,000. You will not find a cheaper running set of cars, even with import and transport.

 

Some more pictures of the Electra:

 

I can look at this car if anyone is interested, good luck with the sale!

 

Those are nice and a heck of a deal. Good luck with the sale!

 

I can also post pictures of the Wildcat if anyone is interested. There's also a thread on it on this site.

As I said, I need these gone, My health is going to hell, and I'm going to be retiring and moving later this year, and I'm not taking these with me. There's absolutely no interest up here for these cars, nada, nichts...didn't get one phone call on them. So that's why they're cheap. I'm losing my shorts on these cars, and it's painful. If there's no interest here or where else I'll list, then I'll seriously consider crushing them.
So please pass the word around, there has to be someone who's interested in these things.
And yes, they obviously can be sold separately.

 

Sorry to hear about your health, I hope things turn around.

your other car:

https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/new-to-me-1966-buick-wildcat.370123/

 

Jeez...somebody's gotta want a good car for cheap...or at least know someone who does.
Considering the same car in the US in the same condition averages at around $21K and up , this thing is essentially going for half price, all you have to put up with is US Customs and a shipping cost.
It's still here, hasn't moved since October, but it has to be gone by April.

The Wildcat hardtop hasn't garnered any local interest either, except from low-ball flippers who want it for nothing. I might just let one of them have it so that they can also enjoy being saddled with a 4500 lb boat anchor that nobody wants. I'll probably crush it in the spring if the only offers I get for it are salvage value.

Who'd have thought that a convertible would be so hard to get rid of.

 

I would absolutely love to have the Electra and wouldn’t mind the ‘Cat, but I’m far away and they’rw not in the budget. A man can wish though…
Patrick

 

Hi Marc,
That Electra is one fine looking ride! Where was it built and was it originally sold in Canada or US? If Canada is there any difference from cars made for the US market?
John

 

Hi John,
The car was built in Fairfax, Kansas, and it was built without A/C which was pretty much standard for the Canadian market at the time. Electra was never built in Canada. It was delivered to a Pontiac-Buick dealership in Lethbridge Alberta and used by the dealership owner's wife as a summer car on Vancouver Island until the early 90s. It was returned to Alberta, given a typical paint "restoration" at the time, and then sold to at least two others before me. That's when it got the paint that's currently on it. The rest of the car is original; - the chrome hasn't been done, the interior is the original, and it's all basically "driver" quality. That all shows like it has 120,000 miles on it, which it shows on the odometer.
These cars spent most of their lives sitting around, they're too cold to operate in winter, there's no way to keep the glass clear if one tried. The heater works ok, but that top loses heat too fast, particularly at -25 or colder. So this car spends 8 months of the year sitting in the garage waiting.
There are no differences in this car from a US car, in fact it's totally different from one built in Canada, which the Wildcat is. The Wildcat has a bigger heater core, the front cowl is slightly different, and there's more shielding against road debris under the hood. The fastest way to tell a US car from a Canadian one is look at the cowl; - the Canadian cars will have a body colour painted cowl whereas the US ones are always black. The VIN numbers are located in different places too, and the tag is very different. Sometimes the Canadian cars will use a different front suspension, there was a lot of differences between the Lesabre and the Wildcat/Electra tie rods, and some Wildcats got the LeSabre rods whereas none of the US ones did. As a result, the parts books are a mess up here.

The Electra didn't sell well up here. Price wise, it was in the Cadillac range. The other thing was, most people around here weren't as affluent in the mid to late sixties as they are now, so the Chevys and cheap Mopars did better up here.

 

It might be worth transporting it down south to sell.

 

That might not be a bad idea! I know it's been mentioned that getting it across the border could be hard.


Keith

 

My experience is, that if the car was originally manufactured in The United States, then getting it back into The States from Canada is a much simpler process as compared to importing a Canada manufactured car into The States. But my experience is 20 years ago so take it with a grain of salt. GLWTS
Tom Mooney

 

Tom is right, it's not that difficult to bring a US built car back. All one needs is to prove title and ownership and have the car at US Customs at the appointed crossing at the appointed time. A good broker has that all lined up before the car gets loaded on the trailer.

As a Canadian citizen on a tourist visa, I can't legally sell anything like a car in the US, I would need a B-4 visa to do that. That allows "aliens" to do business in the US. I'm not about to get my a$$ tossed into a US jail on some IRS or customs charge, the Bill of Rights tends not to apply to "aliens" and it's a sure fire way to get lost in the US prison system for a long time.

The toughest part for any buyer is the element of trust. The car is paid for up front and so is the shipping before anything turns a wheel. That means committing a large sum of money to a foreign bank, and once it's transferred, it's tough to get it back. So the buyer has to trust me that the car is as I say it is, and that I own it and he'll get it. So I film it leaving my garage on to the truck, along with all the info on the truck in case it decides to disappear, and then if there is a problem I can at least help the owner go after the trucker. Once it crosses the US border, or actually once it's at the border, I lose complete control over it. That no-man's land between the two countries is where all pretenses of any rights are by law suspended, and US Customs can do whatever it sees fit. The rules as specified by US Customs have to be followed to a T. That's how cars end up in Sherriff's auctions if they aren't followed. The border between Canada and the US is enforced a lot tighter than the porous mess in Mexico; they don't let anything get by at all.

So the car stays here until the new owner gets his paperwork done and sends a trailer, of course I'll help out and make sure the information is as current as it can be. Before I sign over the car, I want to see the trucker's paperwork and when the car is expected at US Customs. Any prospective buyer is advised to check in with their DMV to see if they can accept a Canadian Bill of Sale in place of a title, some states are pretty backward and will not, which means title would have to be procured through another state. I'm not familiar with that process, but in those states, no title means salvage only, you can't ever register it.

Most transport companies have brokers that make the process a breeze. The car I sent down to Indianapolis went there with no issues once the paperwork was all set up and the required fees were paid. The new owner was driving it the same day it crossed the line. The gentleman I sold it to had no previous experience importing a car or dealing with Canadians, I think he found it quite easy and pleasurable. It just took him a lot of time to find a transport company he was able to afford that would do what it claimed. I think all told, it ended up costing $2K to ship the car to his door, which was 4 days away from mine.

 

I noticed the car wasn’t advertised on Kijiji, I would put up an ad there for sure! Is it on Facebook?

 

Where exactly in Alberta are you? How close to the border of what state and a commercial airport?

 

Looks like he is about 450 miles due north of Glacier Park in Montana. Or about 720 miles from the BC Border crossing north of Seattle.

Sherwood Park Alberta.

About 30 minutes from the Edmonton AB airport...

Hope that helps.

 

As I said I can look at it for anyone who is interested. I can recommend a good shipping broker as well if anyone needs. I've had great luck moving freight and cars in and out of Canada/USA.

 

This is a steal of a deal , A few years ago I imported a Canadian car it was a breeze
If I was in a different place in life I’d grab it.
Im surprised no one in Europe has grabbed this car seems they grab a lot of full sized cars

 

GLWS if I only had the garage space. All thought it would make current projects come to a screaming halt.