ol' yeller

I too watched with horror as the events unfolded yesterday. I was supposed to be on a United flight to Cleveland yesterday that I cancelled due to other reasons. I am proud to be an American as I watched the dignity, honor and sense of purpose of my fellow countrymen as they responded to this heinous act. The hidden blessing behind this tragedy is how united we became as a country within minutes as the details emerged. It was not Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative, it was Americans united against whoever this terrible, cowardly enemy is. My prayers are with those families that now have to deal with the loss of their loved ones. I have every confidence that those responsible will be pursued to the fullest extent of the wrath and resources of the American people. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I too watched with horror as the events unfolded yesterday. I was supposed to be on a United flight to Cleveland yesterday that I cancelled due to other reasons. I am proud to be an American as I watched the dignity, honor and sense of purpose of my fellow countrymen as they responded to this heinous act. The hidden blessing behind this tragedy is how united we became as a country within minutes as the details emerged. It was not Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative, it was Americans united against whoever this terrible, cowardly enemy is. My prayers are with those families that now have to deal with the loss of their loved ones. I have every confidence that those responsible will be pursued to the fullest extent of the wrath and resources of the American people. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Thanks everyone for the input. The jury is still out on whether or not I will keep this great little car. Everyone's points are well taken. I have no doubt that I could drive this car everyday for the next 3-5 years with little to no trouble and only routine maintenence. That is not what I bought it for however. I have a modern SUV for my daily commute. This car sits in the garage and only comes out on nice days when the mood strikes me. I still have my Skylark too that I like to drive for pleasure. There is no comparison between the comfort in the air conditioned, leather seated, Reatta and my 36 year old Skylark, especially now that I am fast approaching 50 years on my personal odometer. I like to drive the Skylark because it puts a smile on my face when I do. Also many car shows/drive ins don't allow the newer cars in for display. I like the uniqueness of the Reatta and if I were to attempt a long distance drive, I would probably take it instead of my Skylark. As you can see, I am still torn somewhat. I appreciate the discussion here and the advice. I do feel better about the reliability of my Reatta.

Padgett, you sound a lot like me. I joke with my wife that some guys like to change wives every few years, she should be glad I only do it with cars. One thing I do like about the Reatta is how this community cares about these great little cars and all who own them. I haven't seen that kind of comraderie since I was into VWs. I have developed a strange fascination with Buicks over the years so I have been collecting what strikes my fancy, again just for grins, not to make money. What I do know is when I put money into my old Buicks, they will probably appreciate enough to cover most of it. I have done a frame-up restoration of my Skylark and am in the middle of one with my Riv. I am a good wrench but only a fair technician. That is why I like the older cars. No one in their right mind would try to argue that the old muscle cars with their antiquated fuel delivery systems are more efficient than a modern FI car. I have a 98 Regal GS which has more electronic goodies than I care to contemplate. When that car wears out, I will get rid of it and move onto something else for a daily driver. With my Reatta I now have @ $8,500-8,700 into it including my purchase price. I have replaced the brakes, struts, tires and wheels and accumulated a fair collection of manuals. I sense that major mechanical costs are a way down the road as this motor/tranny combination is pretty reliable. I'd just hate to get much further upside down on this car if something else major goes wrong. I am not losing sleep over this, I am trying to spark some discussion as I don't think I am the only one out here that questions his obsessions. Thanks for your opinion.

I need the unit that is installed in the dash that controls the heater/AC temperature for my 1969 Riviera. It is the manual control as opposed to the automatic. Please email me at powersfam@qwest.net if you know of one. Thanks!

I have been reading here since I bought my 1990 coupe last May, contributing when I have something of value. I find many of the posts helpful and informative. The problem is that by reading all this, you people are scaring me. I own 2 other collectable Buicks, 1965 Skylark and 1969 Riv, and they are the great joys of my spare time. The Reatta is a great riding, good looking, interesting car and I love it but it seems it is fraught with problems from the posts listed here. My car only has 87K on it and has exhibited none of the problems I read about here. I don't need to use it as a daily driver. Here is my dilemma. This car is too nice to leave in a garage and not drive, plus I believe that cars are made to be driven. If I drive this car as much as I want to, it will soon have the 160,000 miles that most others have and it will be of little value. I am thinking of selling it and passing my dilemma on to someone else. I'd appreciate hearing other's thoughts on this. Are these cars worth holding onto in hopes of appreciation? I realize we are talking several years before enough die off to make them something more than collectable. I didn't buy this car to make a killing on it as as investment (anyone who thinks that way on most old cars is dillusional) but I don't want to pour good money after bad. What do you think?

My 1990 Reatta was converted to a Kenwood CD player by a previous owner. I have the original radio for the car. For originality sake I have been thinking of putting the original radio back in, however all these posts on tape player problems and stereo noises and belts have me concerned. I think most of the posts are for pre 1990 cars but I am not sure. Is the original 1990 radio reliable? I'd hate to go to all the work of replacing it when what is in there works real well alothough it is not original.

I have a burgandy 1990 coupe near Seattle with 87K miles. I will consider selling it for what I have in it, $8,500. It has no problems, runs & looks great. While not a show car, it did recently win Best In Class at local Buick car show. My email is powersfam@qwest.net.

I have a nice 90 coupe with 87,000 miles on it. I am thinking of selling or trading it for something older. I live just south of Seattle. Email me if you are interested. powersfam@qwest.net for details.

See my recent post, Front License Plate Holder. Good Luck!

I paid $15.50 for the bracket at my local Buick/Pontiac Dealer. You do have to redrill the holes in the bracket to match the holes in the front bumper (no big deal as it is made of plastic) and then trim a little off the sides of the lower mounts so it slides between the grille and the lower fascia. I had to remove the grille and drill 2 mounting holes in the fascia which are hidden when you remount the grille. When you line it up to the mounting holes on the bumper, it becomes real apparent what needs to be trimmed. I have not seen an original but this one has the exact same curve in it to match the Reatta bumper from the top. From the side there is a cutout for the Grand Am bumper that shows but I think only a Reatta expert would know it isn't OEM. I found it to be a great solution for my driver that really needed a front license plate without using duct tape or baling wire. I am kinda fussy about how my cars look.

I have noticed lately on Ebay that front license plate holders are going for big bucks. I recently needed one for my new 1990 coupe and found that Buick had discontinued them.(I know, get used to it)He then led me to his bins full of GM license plate holders and said, "find one that fits." The good news is I found one that fits almost perfectly with a little trimming with some snippers and redrilling of the mounting holes in the bracket. I think he said it was from a 1992 Grand AM. The part number was 2255-1295 bracket F. It even has 2 plastic outriggers that mount to the grille area to stabilize it. You probably wouldn't want to do this to a show car but when installed, it is hard to tell it from original. In Washington they really enforce the front license plate thing.

I just purchased (2 weeks ago) a 1990 burgundy coupe on ebay from Chicago with only 81,000 on the clock. I fell in love with this great little car on the 2,200 mile trip home to Seattle. On returning I have had the struts replaced all around, and replaced rotors & calipers all around with a complete system flush & refill. All who worked under the car commented on the amount of surface rust on the nuts & bolts and components under the car. Did Buick have any galvanizing they used on the sheet metal for these cars? I have no body rust but I want to keep this car as long as possible. What do I need to look out for? I knew Chicago wasn't the best place to buy from but I couldn't resist this car for the price. Thanks in advance.