65 GS on Ebay....Nice!!!

[scottie]

Nicest 65 GS I've seen on Ebay in years.......anyone knows this car?

Buick : Riviera Gran Sport in Buick | eBay Motors

[mt65riv]

Wow, that is the slickest black paintjob! Nice one for sure. At 45k with 4 days to go, how hi will it get?

[JZRIV]

Probably won't go much higher but then again never know. It is a stunning car with black plates to boot. Odd that a car of this quality and expected value the listing doesn't mention a peep about it being number matching. Shouldn't the hood latch and Bendix master cylinder cap be gold cad on a 65?

[bb1970]

Wow!!!!! That is a great looking car.

[caprice350]

perfect i have drool over this car on e bay some time and i have save all pictures my painter will have them when i start my repaint and i will tell him i want the same result

[Rob J]

Wow, drop dead gorgeous car!!! IMO, it is worth the money and more. I hope my GS turns out this nice once it is completed in a few years.

[carlbraun]

Nice numbers matchng car according to the seller. it was originally a seafoam green with black interior car. Sweet!

now at $46,400 and reserve is NOT met

[Rob J]

Now at 47k even. Seems like a great deal of activity on this car. I'm betting it will hit 60k plus.

[RivNut]

In the text it states that the Black Tags do not go with the car. What kind of dollar figure can you put on Black Plates?

[scottie]

The decision to change the color to black from seafoam green seems to have helped the value.....I don't think the bidding would be this high if the car was still seafoam green. It makes you wonder what effect it not being a factory black GS will have on final bid.

[RivNut]

The only effect is going to be positive. Black is a very sought after color. If the car were being judged professionally, there would be no loss of points for a different color as long as the new color was an original standard color. I don't know what the situation is for repainting in base coat/clear coat rather than the original lacquer.

[lrlforfun]

OK Riviera People: At close to 50K I'm playin' I Spy and I'm finding very few things from the pictures. The carpet is missing from the plastic piece below the console. The hood center is a wee bit too low when closed covering the top of the grille. For a guy that is so use to having rough cars oddly enough, this small detail of the hood has always been important to me.

I would love to know it's history and from what it's condition was before the work was started. The First-gen Rivs are finally enjoying their day in the sun as evidenced by their rapidly increasing value as well as their increased presence at collector car auctions. Grand Sport models seem to be riding the muscle car wave although I have repeatedly said that the most important part of a first-gen Riv is it's energy. Mitch.

[1965rivgs]

Very, very nice car but there are some issues I would not expect to find in a car in this price range. Start with the incorrect wheels and start adding to the list....but a very, very nice car.
Tom Mooney

[rivgs]

In the text it states that the Black Tags do not go with the car. What kind of dollar figure can you put on Black Plates?

I do not know how much having black plates would add to the value, but I am pretty sure this is not a California car originally ( no Cali emmisions present ). Unless the car came to California in the late 60's, it couldn't get black plates.

[carlbraun]

I do not know how much having black plates would add to the value, but I am pretty sure this is not a California car originally ( no Cali emmisions present ). Unless the car came to California in the late 60's, it couldn't get black plates.

The 'D' prefix on the black plates of this car indicate they were originally from a 63 vehicle

[Rob J]

Very, very nice car but there are some issues I would not expect to find in a car in this price range. Start with the incorrect wheels and start adding to the list....but a very, very nice car.
Tom Mooney

Picky are we Tom? JK. What else do you see that is incorrect? When I restore the GS, I want to try and do it as correct as possible.

A couple of things I noticed are, the AC Muffler is missing the metal tie straps, the trunk is missing the jack and hardware. The driver's door is missing one of the drain plastic inserts. Obviously the tires are radials, and although not correct, are much better suited to a car that is driven.

[JZRIV]

The 'D' prefix on the black plates of this car indicate they were originally from a 63 vehicle

Didn't catch that initially but should have since my 66 plates start with S. That explains why the plates aren't going with the car. Apparently for show pics only. It does not appear to be a CA car as Kevin mentioned.

Most $80-100k professional Riviera restorations I have seen (less than a handful) seem to have several obvious authenticity errors and this one is no exception. When spending that much money you have to think its a result of the shop and owner not knowing whats correct and not wanting/caring to take the time to find out. Most likely a result of not being an ROA member. When I see obvious oversights on a big buck resto, it makes me wonder what other corners were cut that aren't so obvious. Having said that its very difficult to get everything right on these cars. Even with years of experience, I have many hours logged tracking down correct finishes and other authenticity details on the 66.

This is a perfect example of why not painting a car the original color is a benefit when it comes to market value. I didn't think this car would break the 50k barrier but it sure might!

[Rob J]

Jason, I'm not surprised it is at the number it is. Honestly, I think it should be even higher than where it is so far. I guess we'll see if it rallies at the end. There have been other 65 Riv GS's that have sold in the 70k range in the past. Although those were several years ago when the classic car/muscle car market was stronger.

[mt65riv]

I love this!

He added to his listing:
"

I'm adding additional photos of the LX stamping, engine number stamping, vin plate (showing matching numbers), the data plate and the transmission "BS" tag. The trans tag and data plate are unfortunately tough to read in these pics but they are there.

This is a rare opportunity to own a beautiful example of an iconic car. The Riviera "experts" are trying their best to pick this car apart but are having a tough time finding anything significant. So far I've got that it shouldn't have radial tires, the A/C muffler is missing some small metal clamps and the driver's door is missing a plastic drain plug. So it sounds like for around $10 this car could be perfect (aside from the tires which is a preference since I drive my cars!).


Folks just to contextualize things, try to find a good, rust free 1965 Buick Riviera Gran Sport with all the goodies. Then take it completely apart, restore the exterior, interior, chrome, stainless trim and most everything else and see how much you will spend in both time and money. Or buy this car and just turn the key and go or show (oh, and make sure you buy the correct A/C muffler clamps and driver's door drain plug!). The single stage black paint job alone cost very close to what the current bid is at.


If the car does not sell in this auction it will stay in my collection and will no longer be available for sale.


Thanks to all for your interest."

Right on! Less than 20 hours to go and stuck at $47k... will it sell? How much? He's right on the 2 or 3 small fixes, you could be 99.9% in a couple hours. I hope it sells, it's been fun to watch. 6k hits! Wow!

[whitewatersky]

Hope you "experts" learn enough some day to lost your quote marks and become experts .......... ;-)

[JZRIV]

Impossible to read the tranny tag. Its almost seems like the seller believes the the tags existence alone indicates its a BS code.
The painted over tag is another sign of lackadaisical work for a $100k resto. For $50k it would have been wise to make it readable in the pic. I guess I'm just too picky. Could you imagine a new owner cleaning the tag off only to find its not the original tranny?
Granted it probably is a BS and I'm not trying to degrade the car because its so nice, its just the principal of it for such an expensive car. If I spent that much money on a resto and was trying to get top dollar I would have documented all the numbers at a minimum on major drivetrain components engine, tranny and rear axle and used that as a marketing tool.

[mt65riv]

Aw Man! I guess he's keeping it. $50,100.01 and it didn't sell with 66 bids. Maybe that's all it's worth right now. Over 6800 hits, people were looking. Still a cool car, hope he didn't spend $100k to have a $50k car.

[lrlforfun]

OK Riviera People: I'm thinking that it would be almost impossible for a person to tell the difference by driving a 65 Riv with or with out the BS tranny. Sure, a turbo 400 has it's shift patterns but almost 50 years later , really who could tell? I'm thinking that one could purchase a shift kit at any speed shop too.

I will say this. Even though I did not attend the Riviera National meet I can imagine that there were a large number of First-Gens in attendance there who's quality as well as eyeball were equal to this. 50K? It would nice enough to have that kind of disposable cash to purchase something and not even have to worry about putting a dent in my till. Mitch

[Centurion]

I looked at the photos once again, and I realized this time that this Riviera GS is the one that has been in the collection of Richard Carpenter (of The Carpenters fame). I have read an article during the past about this car.

The giveaway that this is the Riviera from Carpenter's "Yesterday Once More" collection? Please note the tail-finned Chrysler products in the background of a couple of photos. These "Forward Look" Chrysler cars dominate Carpenter's collection, and I recognize the '60 Dodge Polara (now very rare in the USA) as well as the Riviera.

[JZRIV]

I looked at the photos once again, and I realized this time that this Riviera GS is the one that has been in the collection of Richard Carpenter (of The Carpenters fame). I have read an article during the past about this car.

The giveaway that this is the Riviera from Carpenter's "Yesterday Once More" collection? Please note the tail-finned Chrysler products in the background of a couple of photos. These "Forward Look" Chrysler cars dominate Carpenter's collection, and I recognize the '60 Dodge Polara (now very rare in the USA) as well as the Riviera.

Wow, sharp eye Brian! I kept thinking I saw the car somewhere before but couldn't remember - Duh! I don't doubt for one second they have the amount invested in this car that they claim.

I found this pic in my file (Courtesy of Darwin Falk) of my 67 GS shortly after he purchased it. I'm surprised he is selling the 65. Richard is meticulous. He took the 67 and had it striped to pieces and re-did whole car in black but I haven't seen it yet.