reattadudes

there may have been some new ones available a few months ago, but they all seem to be gone now. we had bought the last new one on earth from Safelite about 6 weeks ago, and we had to pay around the same price your insurance company did...no discounts. we have spoken to the people at Pilkington Glass (L-O-Fs new owner) and they do not have any plans at this time to remanufacture the windshield. the final run was made last summer. we had checked with the top ten glass wholesalers in the country as recently as two weeks ago, and there are absolutely no Reatta windshields in anyone's inventory. there is always the possibility that there is one out there somewhere, but don't have a clue on how to find it. the biggest problem with windshield glass is shipping it. no wrecking yards will ship it, as breakage is an obvious problem. we sell quite a few windshields, but we deliver each and every one. the only exception was one we sent to a customer in Europe, and we had to have that one crated. the crating charge alone was over $300, but it arrived in perfect condition. I have seen some postings here about wrecking yards who have glass in stock, but if you aren't going there to pick it up, it isn't going anywhere. its hard to realize how big this piece of glass is until you see it out of the car. we transport these inside of a full-size crew cab pickup, and the glass has a quarter-inch of clearance on either side of the rear doors, and it must be transported upright. Mike

there are two screws above the gauges to remove (#15 torx) there are also two more, one above and inside each vent register. when all the screws are out, begin to snap out the bezel. I like to start around the instrumnet cluster, and work out. be careful not to pull the black section away from the chrome part of the bezel...remove it as one unit. the climate control/radio cluster is also held in with #15 torx screws.

the power window motors are interchangeable between convertibles and coupes. please be aware that the motors are riveted onto the window regulator. this is not a fun job.

another possibility: the car was ordered with the stripes deleted, and they were added later. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

we can help on both counts. please email us at www.buickreattaparts.com all of our refurbished electronics come with a one year free replacement guarantee. thanks, Mike

there was a post last year about this, as far as getting the radio to play while there was still a tape in the player. for the life of me, I can't remember which button to push, but by pushing one of the buttons, it restores the radio function. its one of the buttons on the tape side of the unit, I think. you will have to push it every time you turn on the radio, but at least it will work. sorry I could not have been of more help. Mike

the optically restored lenses run $350, exchange. that includes the entire assembly. wouldn't want to take the assembly apart personally, as once the factory seal is broken, there can be a lot of moisture issues to deal with. last time I checked, there were still some NOS lenses available from www.vintage.org the part number for the lens is 16507512. I believe there were 37 left a few months ago, and their price on them was in the $150 range. caveat, however; the oversize charge from UPS was pretty high. give them a call; their number is on their web site home page. as far as our technique on the lens restoration itself, all I will say is the guy that does it for us takes six hours to do one lens, and you can't imagine all the black stuff that comes off. all the other 'fixes' for a cloudy lens are just temporary. we have the first lens that was restored still here, pointing straight up into the hot Arizona sun. its been there for fifteen months now, and still looks great. Mike

you might want to stop a high end dealer in your city. try a Lexus, Mercedes, or Cadillac dealer. their customers are pretty discriminating. you can usually make arrangments to meet the striper there, and he will have you car done in less than an hour, while you wait. Mike

paint checking on a twelve year old car is usually indicative of a dried out clearcoat, usually caused by a car not being waxed on a regular basis. as I stated above, on the thirty five plus cars we have here, there are remarkably FEW which have any paint problems whatsoever. this is especially amazing, since the waterborne paints used on these cars were just in their infancy when the Reatta was built. its hard to believe when we sell body parts to people, many just hang the parts without repainting them as they match so well to the perfect paint on their own cars. if this paint for some reason seems poor to you after twelve years, perhaps you should remember the previous lacquer that GM used, which would peel and check within two years...I'll take the good stuff on my Reatta. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

that was actually our car that sold at Barrett-Jackson, a maui blue with white leather, never titled or registered. if the price listed was $12,900, it is wrong. it actually sold for only $10,900, unfortunately. the Barrett-Jackson web site will show the price at $11,500, but that also includes the buyer's fees. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

if there was a parts list that had currently-available Reatta parts, it would be quite small. we estimate that over 97% of Reatta-exclusive parts are no longer available from GM.

we have all the parts you need in red. please email us back at www.buickreattaparts.com

nothing really close to you, but Seaside Buick in San Diego is excellent. also, Childress Buick in Phoenix, and Royal Buick in Tucson...all have been Buick dealers forever, and are not dualled with other GM franchises. Seaside Buick is one of the few exclusive Buick dealers left, anywhere.

Barney's right. out of all the cars we have (35+), there are two which have bad paint: a bright red one, which looks like someone had re-clear coated the original paint, and a sapphire blue '88 which was subjected to a $65(!) paint job. its amazing to see all the similar year GM cars running around, and not many have very good paint compared to the Reatta. I also think most of the original Reatta owners took very good care of their cars as well. Mike

the plug for the 16 way seats is right next to the 6 way plug under the seat. usually there is a plastic cap over it, but just remove it, and there you go. the sixteen way seats make a big difference in comfort over the standard seats.

now I look at the photos and see things totally differently...if you look at the instrument panel pictures, the key is obviously in the "on" or "run" position, and the radio is ON. a good reason for the antenna to be up, don't you think? I'd be worried if the antenna wasn't up! of the 37+ Reattas we have, I have never seen a black lock cover. every one has the black finish wearing off, even cars with 30,000+ miles. I've also learned to never trust the quality of any digital pictures...if you check out the driftwood '90 coupe a little further on ebay, the driver's seat bottom looks like it has no pleats (or its made of mud), but I'm sure its just a bad picture. it comes down to the glass being half full, or half empty, don't you think? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> looks like a very nice car at a good price to me!

we have an absolutely beautiful set of sapphire blue six way seats from a 35,000 mile coupe we just got in. please email us back at www.buickreattaparts.com thanks, Mike

Barney, I had noticed on the cars we have here that the "R" logo varies by interior color, all combined with gold, gray, burgundy, and blue accents, depending on the overall interior color. we don't have any mats for comparison to your logo, as we have sold them all. Mike

go to an auto paint supply store and they will have the exact correct color. use a preval sprayer to shoot the color on.

we have them available. email at www.buickreattaparts.com thanks, Mike

if your solenoid unit is bad, we do have them available. for information, please email us at www.buickreattaparts.com thanks, Mike

what you'll need to do is unlatch the back of the top, lift and lock it forward, and lift the tonneau cover. somehow, you'll have to crawl or contort inside, and look for the orange lever, which will be to the right of the trunk latch as you are looking toward the rear of the car. the hard part here is that you will have to have two arms/hands available, as you will have to push the trunk up with the other hand, or have someone lift the trunk while you are pushing the release lever. good luck!! one of the reasons you were probably having the problem with the solenoid constantly cycling is one of the switches was stuck, either the button in the glove box, or perhaps the key was pulled out before it was in the complete vertical position.

we now have remaunfactured door panels available. all vinyl and foam is replaced, and they are re-vacuum formed, exactly as the originals. we have ten sold door panels in production right now. they are sold on an exchange basis, and order time is about six weeks. cost is $650 each, plus shipping. you will need to use your old speaker grille, door defogger grille, carpet insert, and courtesy lamp. we have found that all used door panels have one of two problems (or both); excessive wear on the armrest itself, with cracks or punctures, or foam delamination, which leaves an "alligator" look on the armrest. the second wear area is just above that, where someone would rest their elbow, with the same problems. we don't see any sense selling used door panels where you are just trading one problem area for another. mileage or geographic location don't really seem to matter; age is just as much the culprit as wear. as with all our products, the door panels have an unconditional satisfaction guarantee. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

we have tem in stock at buickreattaparts.com send us a email at this address for more information.

you have the correct number for the headlight bezel. if it won't pull up on gmpartsdirect, it has probably been discontinued. we have these in stock. the bellcranks are still available. you had the wrong part number. the correct number is #16510108. as far as the running headlight motor goes, it is either the bellcrank, or you need to replace the delrin bushings in the motor assembly, a very easy job. the best thing to do is the bushings and the bellcranks, as this eliminates both areas that could be problems, and you're done with it. the bushings are available on ebay for $5.95 per set. hope this helps. Mike, buickreattaparts.com