vektro

Thanks. Looking forward to cleaning and piddling around with it.

Thanks, Mitch. And thanks for all your advice. You've been around these cars longer than I have, and I appreciate your input. I keep you posted as to how it goes.

By the way, I am so confident in getting this car, I have signed up for the Riviera Owners Association for a 3 year membership. Thanks ROA!!

Well,I have decided to buy this car just a bit under the asking price. I have put some earnest money down, and agreed on a price. As long as the car passes my inspection, and everything is as presented in pictures, and on my 200 or so questions about the car I discussed with the owner on the phone, it is a done deal! If not, it's on to looking for another one. I think that the '65 Rivs on getting hotter,as far as demand, and it looked like a nice enough car that I didn't want it to get away. Several things attracted me to this car, over some others I have looked at. Mainly , the car seems to be all original. It has only been owned by 3 people. The last owner had it for 19 years, this for about 5 years. The last 2 owners have been older gentlemen, who just loved the body style and kept her in the garage all the time. The last owner says he has never had it in the rain. The 74,000 miles seems to be legit, as does the originality of the car. Current owner, I believe, is a stand up guy in my several conversations with him. I have dealt with several people in my career, and in life, and I am confident in my ability to judge folks, given the chance to talk with them for awhile. While I am not too comfortable buying a car before I have actually seen it in person, sometimes you just have to have a little faith in other people. I have bought another car, for over twice the money, like this before, and everything went quite well. I have bought a motorcycle the same way, again for more than this transaction, and it was great! A person does need to be careful, and do the research to know what they're getting into. I have been all over this forum, and several others I have looked at cars from every website you guys suggest to me and likely 30 more. I have spent countless hours researching the 1st gen Riv's and am getting very good at all thing Riv. I do do the homework and research on not only cars, but TV's, fans, breadmakers, or any other thing I want to buy. It usually takes awhile before I make a decision, but when I do I am confident that I made a right choice. Thanks to everyone on this forum for all your great advice and insight. It made learning about these cars a lot easier!! Cheers!!

I a few pics. Hope these work! http://s840.photobucket.com/user/vektro1/library/

irlforfun, Thanks for the help. Clams do work fine, even close with no gaps. Heat and a/c both work great, as well. Chrome is in good shape, car has been garage kept for all it's life. Seems to be all original and in good shape, but as we all know, looks aren't everything! I agree that a closer inspection is in order.

Car has original paint, no accidents, bondo, etc. Not show quality, but body is very straight. I will check it out more thoroughly. may be able to negotiate a better price! Thanks for all the input!

Thanks RivNut!! You have come through with the answers once again! I know I'm not alone in appreciating your help and expertise on this forum. This has been a great place for me to peruse and get more knowledge about these cool old Rivieras. I may soon be joining the Riviera Owners Association, if things go well. I am very interested in this '65. Does $18,000 seem like a reasonable price to you? I think it's not bad from what I have seen other asking.

I was looking at a 65 Riviera for sale that looks to be in great shape. Silver with black deluxe vinyl interior, PS,PB,PW,A/C. Power antenna, and tilt wheel. Stock steering wheel(not wood). Engine bay looks very clean, with a 401, but the valve covers are Buick green. I thought all 65's had ribbed valve covers that said Buick. I am concerned that maybe this isn't the original engine, or were some of them like that? Car has new tires, rally type wheels, newer brakes. Body and paint, as well as interior, are in very good shape!! 74,000 miles. Older owner, who has had it for about 9 yrs. Only issues are clock not working, power antenna not working( says the mast got bent), and stock radio recently quit working. All these seem like fairly easy fixes to me. Asking price $18,000. Is that a reasonable price(at least from my wonderful description lol) ? Should I be concerned about those valve covers? I am very interested in this car. Any advice would be appreciated.

Jim, You're right. Doesn't mean the car doesn't have some merit. He has sent me additional pics of the underside of the car, undercoated, painted frame, looks nice. Pics of the body all sanded down(car was originally light blue with blue interior), and a shot of the motor on a cherry picker, all painted up with chrome valve covers and intake. Also, one of the interior with no seats installing the carpet. ( should have fixed that rear window at that time!!) So a lot of work has been done, Just needs a little more to get her right. Dynaflow Hum. Awesome Zappa reference!!

Thanks for the replies. Looks like it was just cleaned a bit on the motor. I was afraid that window would be quite a pita to deal with. Probably need to remove the seat, and a lot of hassle to get to it. Also , didn't realize the a/c would be so costly. Here is a link to the ad http://www.cars-on-line.com/69509.html

I have been looking at a 64 Riv that looks nice, but has a few issues to sort out. These may be fairly easy fixes, but thought I'd get some expert opinions here! Owner says the driver seat motor sticks and works sometimes. Also. the rear passenger window wont fully close. Are these a big deal, or fairly easy fixes? Also, the air conditioning was going to be redone, and though supposedly complete, not on the car. What does it take time and dollar wise to fix that? Car has new paint, carpet , interior, painted frame, been through the top end of the motor. Says compression was 175 all around do didn't pull the heads. New exhaust, wiring, transmission, pertronix, Edelbrock 600cfm, new tires. Looks great, but you know how looks can be!! Just trying to get an idea of what it would take to get it right, and thereby maybe figure out what a good offer may be. Thanks for the help and Merry Christmas!!!

Thanks for the reply RivNut. There are a few of these cars around and I'm finding prices all over the place. Seems like most classic car dealers think they are pretty valuable! I've seen some for around $40,000. Not 1965 GS. Just nice 63's. Wow!! I have not owned a classic car, but am thinking about it. These old Rivieras are really a nice combination of luxury with a bit of attitude thrown in. I like them better than their Olds cousin the Toronado. Trying to find a 63 or 64 Riv that is done or pretty close, for $20,000 or less. Can't do too much of the work myself, so rather get one that's been gone thru pretty well. Doesn't have to be an all out show winner. There have been 2 white 63's on eBay that looked great. One that says it was a ground up resto, with blue interior, and the white one with silver door panels and white seats. First one will sell it to me for $24,400. The one with the white seats is a dealer in Florida who wants $26,000. Both seem high to me, although they are nice. They both are far from me so looking at them in person is tuff. So, the search continues. Always another great deal somewhere!!

Yeah think you're right. Sure seems to have all the goodies though. Too bad they didn't take more care in the resto.

Car can be had for $24,400. Guess the high bidder backed out or just changed his mind after the reserve was not met. May still be a bit high for me.

Think this is the same car Mr. Riviera commented on a couple weeks ago. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:B:SS:US:1120 Looks pretty nice, has a lot of options, but I can't stand that interior. Car, I thought, was sold for around $15,000, but I guess the deal fell through. Seems like a pretty fair value for the 465 motor and all the goodies, but a bit hard to evaluate from the pictures. Does changing the color from the original silver make a huge difference in it's value? How much do you guys think it would take to change the carpet from red to black, and redo the seats in black or better yet, white, and also doing them with the correct tufts and buttons, etc.? It seems the rest of the car is in pretty good shape.

Yes the white one is very nice, but what about the price? Seems a bit high. Bid is only up to $14,500. What would be a good fair price?

Here's another one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buick-Riviera-RESTORED-A-C-72K-MILES-LOW-MILE-LUXURY-MUSCLE-1963-Buick-Riveira-Coupe-72K-ORIG-MI-/190979216100?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2c773f92e4&item=190979216100&pt=US_Cars_Trucks Looks nice but seller is asking $27000. Seems a bit high to me. Maybe $20,000