TxBuicks

One registration fee covers you and members of your immediate family. So, if you want to bring your spouse and son, that's all included in one fee. However, if you want to bring your spouse and 2 of your friends, The spouse is included but the friends will count as additional guests at $20 each. Now that you point it out, it does look confusing. I will take out the # line for future registration forms.

Well, I wouldn't claim to be that smart. I think logical would be fair to say. When it comes down to functional and dependable transportation, it would be difficult to find another series or era of Buicks these days that are better. I don't mind driving an unpopular car as long as it suits my needs. I have other Buicks I can drive for "fun". My 1991 Roadmaster Estate Wagon was my daily driver for many years. I took my family cross-country in that car a lot, attending many BCA Nationals in it. Now, no one in my family will be caught near it. And my son said he'd never drive it, so I'd better find something else. Go figure.

Well said, Brad. My experiences with rescuing these 1990's Buicks is that people won't even consider them until they are desperate. I have to lead the people to the cars. When I first mention that I have a good candidate for them to look at, but it is a Buick, they usually aren't that interested. It is only after they actually see it that they become interested, with me constantly telling them how good a deal it is. I have a 16 year old son, and he will be looking for a car soon. Even after seeing me turn over these cars to happy new owners, he isn't interested in them. I tell him, it beats walking.

NTX5467, it all started with that email you forwarded to a select group of North Texas BCA Members, so it would not have happened without you. I know younger kids are not interested in these Buicks. That's why I called his father first. I didn't want to contact the seller if Evan wasn't interested in an old Buick. It sounded like Evan bought his truck used and has had problems with it since day one. At this point, he would take anything. But he seemed very excited to get the LeSabre. He brought his girlfriend, too. She seemed more excited than Evan, probably because she won't be needed to haul him around anymore. And she lives in Houston, so Evan can drive to see her more frequently now.

This one started with an email from one of our local North Texas Chapter members to a few other members. Basically, he knows someone selling a 1997 LeSabre, and it seems to be in very good condition. I received that initial email and filed it away in y mind. 3 weeks later I hear about a college student going to Texas A&M. Evan's little truck was running so bad that he was afraid to drive it back home to north Texas, about 250 miles. He has had it for a while and tried to repair it the best he can but now it was over heating to the point he couldn't drive it anymore. Besides, the A/C went out several years ago and he couldn't afford to fix it. Living in Texas with no A/C is brutal. I first called Evan's father to see if he would even be interested in a Buick LeSabre. His father said he would be interested in anything dependable with A/C. I then called the phone number in the email and talked to the original owner, Tom. Tom bought it new and has taken very good care of it, It has been garaged all of its life, with annual checkups from the same local mechanic. He lived only 4 miles from work, so the car only had 97,000 miles on it, I told him about this college kid that needed a car but didn't have much money to spend. He was sympathetic and came down several hundred dollars immediately. I thought this could be a good deal for everyone. So I arranged to go with the dad to see and drive the car, and he wasn't disappointed. He took some pictures and sent them to Evan. Of course, his son was interested. Look at the pictures and you can see why. A week later, the purchase was made and another old Buick found a good home. Evan plans to keep it through college then see what happens then. But at least he has a dependable car to drive until then. And he can come home when ever he wants and drive in comfort. I've lost count of how many of these 1990's Buicks that I have helped pass on to others. Most of them are still being used daily. It feels good every time,

Thank you, Marty. I couldn't have said it better.

Here is something we received from the Sheraton host hotel about room reservations. I hope this helps explain the hotel situation. See the registration form for the list of alternate hotels. We are over the total contracted number of room nights but a lot of those are the shoulder dates. I just sat down with our Reservations manager and went through the block and added a few more rooms and room types to the block. We are completely out of standard kings in the whole hotel. We do have upgraded king rooms at the following prices, deluxe king: $134 and club king $144. Standard doubles we have a few but there are also upgraded doubles available. Sometimes our central reservations tells people when they call in that the block is full when they ask for a specific room type, such as a standard king room. Unfortunately, they sometimes do not say there are other room types available. Have your guests ask if there are other room types available or they can call Joanne, our in house reservations assistant, at 262-364-1007. She is only in during the week but if they leave her a message, she will get back to them and be happy to help them make a reservation. See below for full explanation about the room block but here is what we still have available: Doubles: $114 Deluxe King: $134 Club King: $144 (includes breakfast and evening hors de oeuvres) They can call Joanne at 262-364-1007 for reservation assistance.

On my recent trip to the north I was able to go by the Sheraton Brookfield hotel, host hotel for the 2017 BCA National meet, to scope it out for myself. I was very impressed. It is a nice hotel, and a great location. It is located right by one of the major highways, has plenty of parking, and sits right next to a large shopping mall. The mall has lots of places to eat and drink, and hundreds of stores to keep you and your spouses busy when not at the meet. And you don't have to drive on any streets to get to the mall. I tried to take pictures but it was cloudy and late so I didn't have enough light. Fortunately, I was able to obtain these photos from Kris of a recent large Oldsmobile event. You can see the options we have for parking and you can see the mall in the background. It is a great location. I think a lot of members are still hung over from the fantastic 50th Anniversary Meet, but July will be here before you know it, so get those registrations in. See previous postings for links to the registration forms.

I don't know the name of the BCA member that bought the 1965 Riv GS. I was standing beside a BCA member that I DID know, and the buyer was with him. He and another guy I didn't know were bidding head-to-head on it until the final price of $1,500 was reached. He was smiling when it came out in his favor. Getting personal now, the 1965 Riviera GS is my top-most, favorite Buick. Although I have never owned one. But I have to tell you, if I had the cash and trailer with me, I would have bought it. And I wouldn't have thought at all about 'Is it worth it?' I wanted it, I have always wanted a 1965 Riviera GS, and this one was in my price range. It would have been a dream come true for me. An opportunity to buy a complete one for that low of a price may not come my way again. Sure, it would have taken a lot of work, but, man, I could have had one. That's all that mattered to me.

I posted some of the results with pictures in another thread in the General section. Sorry about that. Perhaps the moderator can combine that one with this one? They were unbelievably low prices. I was on the way from Texas to visit my sister in Minnesota so I wasn't prepared with a trailer or anything like that. If I had a trailer there, it would have something on it for sure.

Look at all of these early Rivieras. Most of them were 1963-1965 Rivieras with complete engines, wheels, interiors, etc. Every one of these went for $150 - $250. Unbelievable.

1972 Skylark 4 door sedan. This car was running, driving, with good interior. It was one of the last cars sold so I guess everyone was out of money. It went for only $400.

1963-1965 Riviera doors. Look how nice these are. The whole lot sold for $150.

Want some bumpers? Most of these are 1st generation Riviera front and rear bumpers. The entire lot went for $400.

1966 Wildcat coupe. Complete, great grille, original wheels. A BCA member bought this car for $250.

1964 Wildcat coupe. Complete, very nice grille, original wheels. $200.

1962 Invicta, $150.

1960 Electra. Good front bumper, rear bumper, grille, tail lights. $175.

1958 Super. Look at those tail lights and rear bumper! Front end had been picked over. Still had most of the engine. $135.

1957 Special went for $185.

1948 Super and 1955 Century. Notice the nice front bumpers and grilles. The 1948 Super sold for $125. The 1955 Century sold for $175.

Yeah, there was a blizzard on Friday, but the weather on Saturday was quite nice. Although it was cold, the wind had died down and the sun was out. I have never seen an auction like this where the prices were so low. Cars were going for unbelievable low prices. There was no starting bid, so each car started out at $50. There were lots of 1st generation 1963-1965 Rivieras, and a few other Buicks. The owner, for the most part, collected them, but didn't part them out. Therefore, most of the Buicks were very complete, including untouched, original engines. The only damage to them was due to flat tires and sitting out in the weather so long. The gem of the show was a 1965 Riviera Gran Sport. It was by far the highest priced car. I thought the bidding would stop at $500, but 2 guys got into a bidding war and neither one wanted to give it up. This rare Buick sold for $1,500, with a 100% complete 2x4 engine and wheels. It went to a BCA member. All of the other Rivieras sold for under $300.

There is an auction going on in Granville, IA this Saturday, November 19. The owner of a mechanic shop passed away recently and his family is clearing out everything. He had quite a collection of 1st generation Rivieras. Lots of specialty tools, too. I will stop by there on my way up to Minnesota to spend Thanksgiving with sister. Those of you around Iowa should come check it out, too. Here is a link. https://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2016/11/15/one-mans-hoard-of-dozens-of-buick-rivieras-to-disperse-at-auction/?refer=news

I agree with Bernie. Get your car and get out of there as fast as possible, before they do any more work on it. At this point, you will never trust anything they say or do. You may have to pay their bill to do so, but it is too late now. The shop was dishonest in doing the work without your permission or prior knowledge, but the work is done now and there's nothing you can do about that. Chalk it up as a lesson learned, and make sure you get estimates beforehand. References don't hurt, either. I tend to go to places referred to me by trusted friends, whether they are more expensive or not, because I trust the references. Good luck, and please keep us posted on this situation.

Great idea, Bill. I will definitely be doing that. I help run the registrations at both shows. This is a fantastic show. It has been run by the same group of people for many years, with Jeff as the head. Because most people in charge have been doing it for years, it runs very smoothly. Last year I asked many repeat registrants why they keep coming back. For the majority of them, they said it was the variety of cars. You get everything from Yugos to Maseratis. Stock to wild and crazy. The location and atmosphere is wonderful. Friday night is a casual Cruise-In but they give out 100 6-foot-tall trophies, picked by a handful of judges. Saturday is the serious judging, with each group (Mustangs, Corvettes, Buicks, etc.) having their own show-within-a-show. There is a band performing outside for free on both Friday and Saturday nights. It is a fun time. You will not regret going to it.