reattadudes

Jim, any reason you deleted your post that covered the fact that names of club members are not available to other members? just wondering about that "high road". Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

here is another one of those puzzling facts. why on earth would the club not provide a roster of members? I've been in car clubs for over 30 years, and have never been a member of one that did not provide a member's roster after I joined. a new, updated roster would come out every year. this just gets more puzzling by the day. and they wonder why the numbers are so low. still haven't heard why the Reatta club needs any connection to the BCA. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

Jim, I fail to understand the purpose of your post. how is Ronnie tearing down the BCA and Reatta club? by pointing out the sad truth that many people have no interest in paying 50 bucks to the BCA? is it bad to see how pathetic the membership is as opposed the the number of Reattas out there? what does the BCA have to do with the Reatta club? I asked this question before, and haven't received a single response. as I pointed out, the TC club has no affiliation with the Chrysler club (WPC), neither the Allante Club of America or the Allante club have any affiliation with the Cadillac/LaSalle club. why should they? how much more effective (and fun) could the Reatta club be if the dues for the Reatta club were $50, with no BCA affiliation, and 5,000 members? the messenger is truly being shot here. the real truth is actually quite ugly. over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

Brent, I truly fail to understand what point you are trying to make, except trying to turn it into an Anti-American rant of some type. 1) first, perhaps you could explain your anti-union comments. let's look at this from a standpoint first where it concerns the Reatta. in case you didn't know, the Reatta was built by union workers. when it was in the initial planning stages, it was decided that it would have it's own dedicated plant. Buick wanted it to have quality second to none, so they went to the UAW and asked for them to select the best workers to staff the plant. see any "anti-union animosity" yet? the UAW selected the best of the best, and the minimum time any selected worker had that was hired to work at the Craft Centre was 10 years, and that even included the cleaning staff. this "us vs. them" company/union opinions might have been true in the 70's, but no further than that. move on. I've seen this first happen with Chrysler. back in the early 80s, Chrysler didn't have the money to pay parity wages to their workers to match increases that Ford and GM were paying. Iacocca met with the unions PERSONALLY (not just the leaders), and made them this offer: -if they would forgo the parity wages, Chrysler would take the money the workers weren't getting and convert that into Chrysler stock. when Chrysler paid back the loan guarantees, the workers would get the stock. of course, the pundits had a field day. "the workers won't get a nickel", or "Iacocca won't pull off the resurgence of Chrysler", or my favorite, "Government wasting money on failing company". that doesn't sound familiar, does it? should we apply that to Chrysler or GM now? it's your wise choice. so what happened? Chrysler paid the loan guarantees back seven years early. and the workers who "foolishly" took the stock option? EACH ONE WAS A MILLIONAIRE, with the average worker who chose to cash in the stock options getting $1.2 MILLION DOLLARS in 1985. I have the Automotive News front page headline framed and still hanging in my office today. every US automaker has a board where union members and company representatives sit down on a weekly basis and TOGETHER discuss how to make production and quality better. workers have made hundreds of thousands of suggestions on how to streamline and improve things. before we get off of the union subject, how do you think this happens in other countries? no unions? you'd be dead wrong. there are strong (much stronger than the US) auto workers unions in Japan, Korea, the UK, France, Germany, and Australia. they make considerably more than US workers do, too. the other countries don't have the virulent anti-union sentiment that you see here. they see the value in unions, and understand that you can't have a living wage at $9 per hour, like Toyota pays it's "contract' workers here in the US. they don't have this class of worker in Japan at all, and their average worker in Japan makes the equivelent of $95 per hour. European auto workers make more than that, too. what a combination; pay US workers who build Toyotas 1/10 of what the workers in Japan make, and then have the US workers clap and cheer. who are the real fools here? 2) trade restrictions. perhaps you should look to that shining star of the east, Japan, for the best lesson on those. what is the percentage of imported cars allowed in Japan? 3.5%. any comments about trade restrictions? what was that about a "free market economy"? whose? in case you didn't know, Japanese automakers "dumped" (sold for less than cost) ALL vehicles sold in the US until 1986. they would still be doing it today if Congress didn't threaten them with hearings. does this seem fair to you? is this "free trade"? 3) ah, and that tired old "liberal agenda". does a "liberal agenda" mean keeping our US workers working? does every other government in the world have a "liberal agenda"? I'm asking the question because EVERY other country in the world has given their auto companies money, and it's money they don't have to pay back. and here in the US, those auto bailout funds WILL BE PAID BACK WITH INTEREST. now where is that "liberal agenda" again? I truly think folks of this mindset will be truly disappointed when the loans are paid back. was Ronald Reagan a liberal? he was President when Chrysler got the loan guarantees, and we know how that worked out, don't we? I'm always puzzled by some of these Anti-American attitudes that exist today. these folks claim to be patriotic, yet they trash the US at every turn. they want the country's auto industries to fail, yet they are driving Chevy and Dodge pickups. they trash GM and Chrysler for taking money from the Government to stay alive, and praise Ford for not doing that. of course, the only difference is that Ford secured the funding it needed thru private sources mere weeks before the crash in September of 2008. if they hadn't, they would have gotten money, too. they never take the time to get out of their turtle's shell to see how things are done in other parts of the world. they never think for themselves, choosing instead to have others do the thinking for them. when this is met with catastrophic results, they scratch their heads and ask what happened. "I wanted GM to fail, but I still want my Chevy 4X4". they want all of this, as long as it doens't affect them in any negative way whatsoever. it's like seeing a tea bagger with a sign that says, "get the government out of my Medicare". indeed. they are delighted when a $35 union job is replaced with a non-union one for $9 per hour, clapping like one of those cymbal-playing wind-up monkeys. then they wonder how that nine bucks an hour is going to put food on the table for their family. were the unions excessive in the past? absolutely. I watched my home town, Akron, Ohio, get destroyed in the early 70's by the United Rubber Workers Union (URW). two hour "shower breaks" and other ridiculous things written into union contracts like this doomed Akron. I had many relatives that worked in the "rubber shops"; one uncle who said he made "blems" (less than perfect tires) for a living, and an aunt that had an entire houseful of things she stole from BF Goodrich, yet still managed to go to church every Sunday. now I understand why she never missed confession. my dad worked at an aircraft company in Cleveland, and one of his co-workers invited us out to his farm to go fishing. it wasn't hard to find, as his barn was painted in the company colors with paint he stole. the story was no different in Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Cleveland, Toledo, Gary, or hundreds of other places. whats' happened now is things have come full-circle, just like in 1920s, when unions brgan forming. workers being exploited, working long hours, no or little benefits, fired for no reason, no job security, employers working around things, like with "39 1/2 hour weeks", and substandard wages. is this describing 1920, or 2010? it's your choice. over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

Kevin, I would have no qualms buying a GM car whatsoever. the Government has absolutely nothing to do with GM's operations in any way. GM will have the Government repaid in full by June, and hopefully all of the "Government Motors" stuff will stop. it's a little too high school for me. I got my Dodge dealer back in 1982, which was not exactly a stellar year for Chrysler. we had to listen to the same stupid stuff from idiot customers back then ("waddya goin' ta do when Chrystler goes outta bidness, sell stoo-d-bakers"?). of course, with Lee Iacocca at the helm (he's still my hero) things got corrected quickly, and Chrysler paid the loan guarantees (these were NOT bailout funds like now) back SEVEN YEARS EARLY. I haven't heard a single thing bad about the CTS (I'm very good friends with a Cadiilac dealer here), and I've been tempted. I will most likely end up buying a new Enclave. I've wanted one since they came out, but they are a lot more expensive that the Rendezvous I had leased in 2006. the Enclave prices just keep going up (they've gone up over $3,000 since 2008), so I might as well bite the bullet and get one now. it is truly one of the most beautiful vehicles I've ever seen. resale value is so ridiculously high that buying a used one makes no sense. the AP story about Toyota is now all over the internet and even on the local TV news. this is not even the smallest tip of the iceberg, and this will dominate the news cycle all week. can't wait to see Dimitrius Biller's testimony; it will be riveting. I have to say I get the biggest kick out of the mess with Toyota when it concerns the "small timer's bible", Consumer Reports. why on earth would anyone automatically recommend a vehcile, just because of who made it? EVERY manufacturer has made a few cars that were less than stellar, and no company deserves a free ride. my rule of thumb for my entire adult life has been to always (without fail) to buy what they hate. it has never failed to provide a super reliable vehicle that never breaks down. by the way, CR's chief engineer was the only engineer ever fired by Chrysler for incompetence. this helps explain why they have so much love for Chrysler. over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

some very interesting comments here, although as a former new car dealer, I truly fail to understand the delusion that imports hold their value better. they don't. I bought a new Lexus LS400 when they first came out in September of 1989, as 1990 models. I bought the car in Los Angeles, and drove it to Florida in the spring of 1990 to see some friends in Fort Lauderdale. I really began to hate the car by the time I got to El Paso, as I realized it was just as soul-less as any other Japanese car, albeit a much more expensive one. by the time I got to south Florida, it had a whopping 6,200 miles on the odometer. I decided to "shop" the car at four different Lexus dealers. this proved to be a waste of time, as they were all owned by the same company, JM Enterprises. JM owns Southeast Toyota Distributors, which is the exclusive Toyota importer for the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. where was that "great resale value"? the car had an MSRP of $42,500, and the best buy bid I got was $25,000! six months old, 6,200 miles, and that was it. I went to Bayview Cadillac in Fort Lauderdale and bought a new black Sedan deVille. they gave me $2,000 more on trade than any of the Lexus dealers. mine was the 10th Lexus they took in on trade that week. what a thrill it was to head down Federal Highway, and jump on the Florida Turnpike. you stepped on the gas, and you heard an actual engine growl. I had a real car again! I bought a 1991 Mercedes 350SDL when I moved to Arizona in 1991. I'll skip the litany of issues, but by the time I got rid of it in July of 1994 (on another Cadillac) Mercedes had spent over $27,000 in warranty repairs to keep it somewhat running. and what was that "benchmark of German engineering" worth with 32,000 miles on the clock? $10,000 back of low book, and that was a buy bid from a Mercedes dealer! I'm a little confused about the deal with the Impala LTZ. first of all, it would take a minimum of negotiating skills to get the car from $31K to right around $24,500, or even less. I could list at least 30 websites right now that have similar cars for sale like this (certified used) for just under $20K. what's the big deal? a Cadillac CTS has a much higher resale value than any 3-series BMW, and with a much better warranty to boot. there's a reason BMW gives free maintenence; they know how much it cost to perform it's incredibly frequent required service. and the CTS? change the oil, and drive it. ...and poor, poor Toyota and Lexus. in the past several weeks, I've talked to at least twenty dealer principals I know very well. the consensus? they are taking ALL Toyota and Lexus models in at 50% of low book. they are basically holding the cars and not selling any of them. due to the incredible liability issues, auctions don't want them either. an AP story just broke about an hour ago about the release of an internal document from Toyota about how they changed the scope of recalls, and all of the $$$ it saved them. they also talk about the stonewalling they did to thousands of Tacoma owners with rusted frames, and how much money they saved. the Congressional hearings start on Tuesday, and I can't wait to see what former Toyota counsel Dimitrius Biller will be bringing. he is the guy who knows where every skeleton is buried, and has all of the documents to prove it. Toyota got an injunction early last week to bar the documents. Congress then issued Biller a subpeona on Friday requiring he present them. the subpeona overrides the injunction. Biller was so concerned about the number of deaths that he flew to Japan and met with Toyota executives for FOUR DAYS. they told him to shut up. he quit with a very nice severance. Toyota also had some good help inside NHTSA. a NHTSA employee, Chris Santucci (Google him, and read the chilling ABC News story) went to Toyota in 2003, when the first unintended acceleration complaints began to come in. after his meeting with Toyota executives, he went back and changed the parameters of the complaints, only allowing complaints of unintended acceleration of ONE SECOND OR LESS, AND WITH NO BRAKE APPLICATION. sounds fair, doesn't it? even then, there were over 1,900 accidents and 20 deaths. I shudder to think what the real numbers will prove to be. by the way, after his great help for Toyota with this "little problem" he quit his NHTSA job, and got hired as a lobbyist for Toyota. Toyota is the only auto company in the USA that has two (or ANY) ex-NHTSA employees on it's payroll. does anyone remember back in 2007 when long time Toyota USA President Jim Press shocked the world when he left Toyota to help run Chrysler after Cerberus bought it from Daimler? many internet forums were clogged with comments like "what an idiot", "why would he do that", etc. mine was the only one (like the proverbial t*rd in a punchbowl) that said, "maybe he knows something is about to hit the fan". boy, did I get trashed by the Toyota "experts". it blows me away how many folks bought into the "floor mats, oops, it's the acclerator pedal assembly" circus. it's not, it's the engine control computer (ECU). Toyota is the only manufacturer in the world who did not have a fail safe in the ECU software that would cut engine power if the brakes were being pushed at high engine RPM. they have also competely avoid recalling any Lexus models (except a "voluntary recall" of the slow-selling, Prius-like 250h), even though they have also been involved in hundreds of crashes and numerous deaths. several of those deaths in a runaway Lexus ES350 happened in California last year. this one involved an off-duty California CHP (he was a CHP certified high speed pursuit instructor) and his family in a loaner ES350 from Bob Baker Lexus in Carlsbad, California. his brother in law made a chilling 9-1-1 call from the rear seat, screaming "the brakes won't work"! the car left the road at over 100MPH. police at the scene said the front brakes were on fire, and the pads had melted to the rotors...yet Toyota still won't recall them. another customer who had the car a day before complained about the same thing. the dealer did nothing. why? this simple admission would cause their entire house of cards to collapse. they've conveniently blamed everything on bad accelerator pedal assemblies from a US supplier, CTS. CTS had supplied US built Toyotas since 2005, and had won numerous quality awards from Toyota every year. what makes this even more bogus is Toyota allegedly did "quality checks" of any component sent by a supplier. there is just one little teeny problem. the Lexus ES350 is made in Japan, it uses a different pedal assembly, made in Japan by DENSO. an admission of guilt on the Lexus would now cover every single Toyota and Lexus model. if they can't blame the American company, is the problem realLy something they don't want to admit to? I've read several Toyota owner blogs discussing their cars after the "shimmed" pedals were installed. they are all now complaining of "hair-trigger" response from the pedal. anyone with a junior high school level understanding of science would know what happens when you cut the travel of a lever. they are also still having the unitended acceleration issue, since the root cause is still not being addressed. sorry for getting into this lengthy diatribe about this, but I think this is the absolute biggest story of my automotive life. this type of coverup is quite common in Japan (just Google "Mitsubishi executives in prison"), but most other Japanese companies refrain from doing this type of thing outside Japan. can you imagine if an American auto company did anything along the scope of this? there would be torches and pitchforks. on a lighter note, a mesaage to Mr. Finn: that delightful Plymouth Cricket you had the honor of owning was actually a Hillman Avenger, not a Minx. a friend had a Cricket in Ohio back in 1973, and I can remember the joy of having to start it once an hour in cold weather. if you missed that hour by just a few minutes, it wouldn't start for days. over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

oh, this is just rich, and keeps getting richer. of course, the real elephant in the room is the fact that 97.8% of all Reatta owners in the US and Canada aren't Reatta club and BCA members. it appears that this is just ducky with many of the folks here; who needs new members? talk about fiddling while Rome burns! ANY car club that dosn't have a strong outreach to new members (and that includes cars with 18" wheels and black or chrome valve stem caps) is absolutely doomed to failure. it doesn't make a bit of difference what they've done with the car; the most important thing is they HAVE an interest in the car! I'll begin by addressing Padgett's comments about the fact that it doesn't matter how many members a club has, but how active it is. how very true. perhaps some of the Reatta club members should check out the Allante and Chrysler TC Maserati sites; they would see what a very ACTIVE club really does! they don't wait for one event per year, but have actual active CHAPTERS (horrors!) that do events all year long. by the way, both clubs have only "people's choice" judging. there are things going on every month, all year long. neither club has any connection with their respective parent marque (Walter P. Chrysler ((WPC)) for Chryslers, or the Cadillac/LaSalle club for the Allante). why does the Reatta club need any affiliation with the BCA? why do Reatta national events have anything to do with BCA events? far less than 10% of my customers have another collector Buick, period. I have far more customers that have TCs and Allantes than another collector Buick, so why the BCA affiliation? what's very interesting are some of the events these other clubs have. for example, the TC club had a meet in Indianapolis, and club members got to drive their cars on the acutal Indy Speedway. that doesn't sound like fun, does it? and speaking of TC events, let me talk about how they work. first of all, most events bring in 40-70 cars from all over...and from a group that has a vehicle population that is only 1/6 the size of the Reatta population! how many Reattas show up for the Nationals? there was a TC event in Tucson, Arizona, I attended two years ago. half of the people were from east of the Mississippi River. there were several sightseeing trips, and the weekend ended with an awards banquet. guess what folks: it was people's choice, and the awards were given out that night, NOT results two weeks later. they run events just like I have; IN-clude people (and awards) as much as possible, they don't EX-clude people by having very few awards that are not given in front of the attendants, or make people feel their car is not good enough. this is quite counterproductive, don't you think? they had awards for the most original car, the person who came the furthest, earliest build car, the latest build car, the best modified car, the person who came to the most events, the car with the most potential (horrors! it was even parked with the others!), they gave out many more awards than just first, second, and third place, with the object being to IN-clude as many people as possible. there were new TC owners with a car that needed a lot of work that had tears in their eyes when they won the "most potential" award. do you think this inspired them to work on their car and come back next year? IN-clude, IN-clude. I went to one mixed make show myself in Texas where I took home a diner-style napkin holder for my 1977 AMC Pacer X. I was elated. the next year, I took my 1978 AMC Matador Barcelona to the same show, and took best of show. quite honestly, the napkin holder was just as good as that big award. it was just so much fun to be here! in contrast, I took a then new 1993 Allante (one of the first 1993s that were the Indy Pace Car replicas) I had to a Cadillac National show; I couldn't have been treated worse. ditto for being foolish enough to take my then new 1990 4 door Avanti to a Studebaker show, with the same result. sometimes you have to learn things like this, and avoid shows where you are made to not feel included or welcome. I can only laugh when I see the negative comments leveled at Steve Scott and myself. the one thing that humors me the most is the fact that both messengers are truly being shot. instead of looking at the constructive criticism being presented (like the fact that the Reatta membership is pathetically low, and there must be a reason), it's just easier to trash us. we like our 2.2% membership, now go away!! Steve gets trashed for offering to look at cars for other members. why? I've known Steve to drive over 200 miles one-way to look at a car a forum member (or lurker) is interested in, and refusing to accept a single cent. he's done that numerous times. how many others here would do the same thing, or would their "meter be running"? we get trashed for talking about any possible variation other than the rigid party line that is toed by our "database keeper". I've already discussed my experiences in Flint back in 2003 when I was told, "I'll show you up for what liars you are" by the "database keeper" that was witnessed by two other forum members here. ..and what horrible thing did I do? I had the nerve to suggest that there were Reatta convertibles that were built at the Craft Centre that had cloth tops, and our "database keeper" said they didn't exist because he hadn't seen one! and how did that meeting turn out? well, the last guy to speak, a Craft Centre trim line employee, got out a scrapbook with photos of newly completed Reatta convertibles. "here's a silver one with a blue cloth top, a red one with a tan cloth top, another silver one with a red cloth top...". it's rather funny that now the cloth tops are "suddenly" no longer an issue (I have an orignal cloth top car in my garage now), yet all I took was ridicule for the mere suggestion of such a thing! I could give quite a few more examples, but I covered those in a previous post. or perhaps someone was around at the meet in Colorado Springs last year, and saw the '89 sapphire blue/saddle coupe (horrors! this can't exist!), and what the "keeper" put the car's owner thru. ALWAYS guilty until proven innocent...and we wonder why membership is flagging. I look at things from the opposite side. after talking to many of the head people who worked on the Reatta project for the past ten years, I have no doubt that there are hundreds of cars that were built that weren't "in the catalog". I would never suggest events should ONLY be in my "home area"; that's a little silly. what would make much more sense would be to have strong regional chapters formed. Florida would be a great place to start, as it is by far the number one state for Reatta registrations, followed by Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. the western states are way down the list. we have over 870 customers in Florida, and only 650 in California, which is a much larger state by population. Reattas were strongest in the east, and Allantes were strongest in Florida, then California. TCs were #1 in California, then Florida. I attribute this to the fact that all Allantes and TCs were convertibles. I always believe that any constructive criticism should come with positive suggestions. griping for the sake of griping is nothing but counterproductive. a miniscule number (far less than 1%) of actual Reatta owners even read this forum, or know it exists. perhaps an ad in Hemmings every month would be a much better way to reach potential new members. over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

some food for thought; let's compare the Reatta club with another similar car that was out at the same time, the Chrysler TC Maserati. Reatta production: (1988-1991), 21,763 Chrysler TC Maserati production: (1989-1991) 6,320 present vehicle population (est): Reatta: 18,000 (US and Canada registered vehicles only) does not include brand new Reattas (est 400), and Reattas outside the US and Canada (est 700). Chrysler TC Maserati present vehicle population: 3,300 Reatta club membership: approx. 400 Chrysler TC Maserati club membership: 2,700 let's recap: 3,300 Chrysler TCs on the road, and 2700 members in the club. (81%) 18,000 Reattas on the road (US and Canada), and 400 members in the club. (2.2%) that's 81% versus 2.2%. why? -could it be that many Reatta owners see no reason to also belong to the Buick club, too? -could it be that owners take no interest whatsoever in silly "400 point judging" that only creates animosity, instead of creating a fun atmosphere? -what qualifications do the judges have? did they work on the Reatta project? GM? have they had hundreds of Reattas of their own that allowed them to have years of knowledge from taking apart these cars with their two hands? are the judges open to the many variations of Reattas, or do they consistently refuse to acknowledge these variations? cloth convertible tops, anyone? -could it be that many Reatta owners have taken the time to drive hundreds (or many thousands) of miles to the event, only to be told in a meeting before the show "why the wouldn't be winning anything"? would you go back? -could it be that many owners of Reattas who have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their cars are turned away from the show, because their car is not "box stock", no matter the quality of the work? -and probably the most glaring issue: why do results of the judging not come in the same day? do they want no witnesses? we've not talking about judging 600 cars here, but perhaps 50! I've been in the car hobby my entire adult life, just like many of you have. has a single one of you ever been to a weekend car show event that does not have a Saturday night awards banquet? I didn't think so. I never go to "400 point judging events" unless I have a strong desire to see grown men act like there is an after-school fight. isn't this supposed to be a fun event, or should it strictly be testosterone-fueled? is this the time for judges to settle scores with folks they don't like? I could go on and on, but I'm going to stop here, with the one last thought. I keep notes on a lot of things. I found a list of customers who called me after they went to a Reatta club event. the minimum mileage driven to the event was 660 miles; some were over 1,800. 32 people in total. not a single one would ever go back. 81% versus 2.2%. do we make the events fun, have "people's choice" judging, or do we continue down the same rigid, "I'm right, you're wrong" path, and watch club membership sink even further? over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

there are many items you can buy for your car that are rebuilt. I'm sure everyone has the horror story of the bad rebuilt alternator or A/C compressor that failed, with exchanges under those "lifetime warranties" only providing another equally bad item. those "lifetime warranties" also never cover labor/installation costs, or the cost of multiple A/C recharges. many of us learned a long time ago that they were not really such a bargain at all. there is one big difference between these components and a headlight switch: the components have rebuild kits available, and the headlight switch does not. as I mentioned in another post, the headlight switch fails for a reason; it is worn out. the worn out parts can be reinstalled and rearranged, but they are still worn out. when it flies apart, it is like a runaway Jack-In-The-Box. I was not even aware that anyone was rebuilding the switches until a few months ago, when we began getting a lot of requests for switches. these are common items to fail, but I was perplexed when customers began mentioning "rebuilt" switches. I was even more concerned when several customers also needed lengths of dash wiring that had melted from an internal switch problem. one customer's wiring was so bad that we had to send the entire wiring block that is in the "pod" section of the dash in front of the driver. this got to be a very expensive proposition for the car's owner, as the entire dashboard had to be removed from the car to replace the wiring block. he was very fortunate that the entire car didn't catch fire. we have three cars here with extensive fire damage from owners who attempted to rebuild the switch themselves. when I started this business almost ten years ago, I looked long and hard at items I would and wouldn't sell. I consulted several people in the used parts business, as well as an attorney. we sell just about anything that is exclusive to the Reatta. we DON'T sell "liability nightmares", like anything related to the ABS brake system (with the exception of the Electronic Brake Control Module in the trunk), or anything under the hood. we have an excellent remanufacturer we recommend for any ABS issues. they are fully insured, and their products come with a three year warranty. we do not want to be responsible for a catastrophic failure of a brake system we sold used at a "bargain price". I don't think anyone's life is worth that, do you? all of the electrical items we sell (instrument panel clusters, CRTs, CRT controllers, radio modules, CD players, PCMs, and BCMs) are professionally rebuilt by Delco/GM licensed remanufacturers. we also (unlike most anyone else) don't believe in only repairing the problem a failed component had. our rebuilders also replace all of the things that could fail, like all of the cold solder joints and circuit boards. it makes no sense to us to only replace the failed item, as all of the other parts in a given assembly could fail at any time...and we are dealing with 20 year old parts here, aren't we? we also provide a two year unconditional warranty with any electrical component we sell. I am not mentioning any of the comments I've made concerning rebuilding of the headlight switch for the purpose of "tooting my own horn", as we are presently out of stock of the 1990 headlight switch assemblies. I am merely voicing my concerns from the problems I've heard about from the customers who have brought the issues to my attention that they have had with the "rebuilt" switches. I can remember taking a switch into my rebuilder a few years ago about the possibility of a rebuild; he just started laughing, pointing to a litany of issues. he wanted nothing to do with it. we have located (and are in discussions with ) the company that supplied the 1990 Reatta headlight switch assemblies to NAPA. they are no longer available, but the company is considering another run, since no one else offers them. GM discontinued them about eight months ago, with the final list price on the last GM switches being in the $800 range. we are trying to arrange for an initial run of 500 switches. this will defininitely be the best way to go when you switch fails. over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

I would be extremely skeptical of any 1990 "rebuilt" headlight switches. they broke for a reason; they were worn out. many have cycled over 50,000 times, far beyond their planned life expectancy. they are also extremely complicated. I wasn't even aware that they were being rebuilt until about two months ago, when we began to get a flurry of calls about broken "rebuilt" switches. we sold 5 "original" switches to replace the "rebuilt" units in November, including two cars that needed the headlight switch wiring back about 8". we sold eight more in December, with three cars needing the wiring that had melted or burned. it seems that there is also someone out there telling 1990 Reatta owners that a 1991 light switch would work. it won't. in either case, if your tail lamps or parking lights won't work with either the "rebuilt" switch or an incorrect 1991 switch, the problem is not anything concerning your car (unless something has burned), it's the incorrect switch. the switch was discontinued by GM last year, and it's final list price was $781.00. the aftermarket units are also gone. your only choice is to watch for one for sale here on the buy/sell page, or watch for one on the internet. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

I've been down that road before, and I have chosen to stop posting photos altogether. 1) tried with the maui blue/saddle convertible I mentioned here. grief arrived. 2) it happened again with the maui blue/white convertible we sold at Barrett-Jackson in Palm Beach. another visit by grief. 3) it happened a third time posting a photo of an early build 1988 that clearly had a build date of 1/87. explained the history of this car in great detail, and was accused of "doctoring the photo". for what purpose, I have no idea. it was a $500 parts car. third time, stupid me. no more desire for grief, skepticism, rudeness, and other issues that contribute to unecessary increases in blood pressure. as they say, "stay tuned for the book". it's about a year and a half away. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

as many long-time posters and readers know, I used to be a very regular poster here. there is one person who drove me away, and I'm sure you all know who that was (or is). what's really saddest to me as I have absolutely nothing to gain here by posting incorrect information. we've had over 500 Reattas at our facility here over the years, and I've personally taken apart at least half of them with my two hands. I would like to think that counts for something. I owned a Dodge dealer for over ten years, and I completely understood how the Chrysler order and distribution system worked. when I started selling Reatta parts ten years ago, I was essentially starting at square one again. this was all different. the one thing that was the same was what I had learned when I was a 27 year old, green pea dealer principal, the youngest Dodge dealer in the country back in 1983: if you have questions, ask an expert on the subject. my experts actually called me for Reatta parts. we have eleven customers who worked on the Reatta project, all the way from the head guys to folks who worked on the line. they all share two things: 1) their knowledge of the car (like it was yesterday!), and 2) an unbelievable passion about the car. there is not a single one that I've met personally that did not have tears in their eyes when talking about this car. I now share their same passion. their knowledge became my knowledge. they gave me photos (like Barbara Sinatra having her Reatta delivered at the Palm Springs compound, 'ol Blue Eyes in the background, complete with robe, slippers, cigarette, crooked toupe, and some sort of brown "morning beverage" in a glass with ice), spec sheets, change orders, reams of VIN numbers, and relayed personal information they would only know. how many customers picked their cars up at the factory? 9. what was the policy about a "lemon" Reatta? if the dealer could not repair it in 48 hours, the Craft Centre would build an identical car for a replacement, and it would be delivered to the dealer within one week. how many customers took advantage of this? 2. how many Reattas did Frank Sinatra, Jr. own? 3. how many had a factory-installed custom exhaust systems? 2. what else would you like to know? I have turned into a virtual cesspool of Reatta knowledge, thanks to the Craft Centre employees. they explained how they played "fast and loose" with many things. this happened many times because the Reatta was extremely unpopular in the market after 1988, and they did whatever it took to move units, and kep the Craft Centre humming. the dealer's wife wanted a black convertible with a white interior? it's on the way! what can we build for you? this made complete sense to me from a dealer standpoint, as there were many "non-available" cars that rolled onto my lot over the years with Dodge. has the resident "expert" here spent one day working at (or owning) a dealership? any time as a factory rep? any idea how the dealer/factory give-and-take works? over the years, I've made every effort to try to help all of the Reatta owners here by sharing my knowledge. I base anything I talk about either on what I've learned from the real experts, or what I've seen. I looked at myself here as an advisor, and that advice came whether you bought parts from us or not. -it has absolutely nothing to do with a pathological need to "always be right". -it has nothing to do with having some kind of power over another person, or intimidating them, like telling someone who drove from California to Michigan (talk about a commitment!), and is told to "park that behind the hotel and cover it up", merely because it's a non-stock color. five speed and supercharged? don't even think you're bringing that to the show area, because you're not. -it has no egotistical need to base my judgments on the fact that if I haven't seen something, it can't exist. my mind is open to anything. -it has nothing to do with a pathological need to consistently tell Reatta owners their car has no value (like nice coupes selling for $5,000, and 1991 low mileage convertibles not being worth more than $12,000), because I know that isn't true. the mid 90's have been over for a long time, and values today are easily double the low "expert" numbers given. as a matter of fact, someone who feels they hold a lofty position of "expert" when it comes to giving these ridiculously low values is actually hurting more than they are helping. the only thing that is getting a boost is their ego. ...and here we go again. it seems that someone is back to "proving a point" again. it would work a little better if our "expert" would at least find the correct vehicle that had been discussed. I'm sure our "expert" will again be demanding this unwitting seller provide a photo of the parts and service identification label. sense a little "need to be right" here? over and out. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com +

Barney, perhaps you're had a lapse in memory. this is not the only maui blue/saddle 1990 Reatta out there, and you know that. let's roll the clock back to 2003. we sold two Reattas at Barrett-Jackson, one in Scottsdale, and the other in Palm Beach a few months later. while we had the Scottsdale car in the display tent before the auction, we had many Reattas owners stop by to chat, over 300 in total. one of them was from Toronto, and had a Maui blue/saddle convertible. it was the Reatta used for the 1990 Canadian auto show circuit. the current owner was kind enough to email us photos when he got back to his hotel in Scottsdale that night. I was very excited, and immediately forwarded this photos onto you that night for this unexpected find. there were photos inside and out, and even a photo of the window sticker, which showed it's two options (16 way seat, CD player), as well as the VIN number. the window sticker even said "color-keyed mirrors, no charge". the next day, I was shocked to receive a call from him, and he was upset. you had sent him a nasty email, basically insinuating that his car was not genuine. quite honestly, I was quite surprised and embarrassed. here was a fully documented car, and you refused to believe it's existence. the next car we sold at Barrett-Jackson in Palm Beach a few months later was a maui blue/white/white convertible. we bought the car from the Buick dealer in Missouri that had originally ordered it for himself. he even picked it up at the Craft Centre personally, and drove it back to Missouri. he had the car shipped to his second home in Southern California. when we bought the car, it was still on it's original Manufacturer's Statement of Origin from GM. it had never been titled or registered. here was another fully documented car, and you refused to believe it's existence. we saw you a few months later in Flint, Michigan, for the Buick meet in the summer of 2003. we've had a standing invitation from the company that maintains the private GM collection in Sterling Heights (MI) to come for a visit. there were two green 1991 convertibles in the collection. we know they were there, as they had requested a replacement tonneau cover in green a few months earlier. the only stipulation was no cameras. we graciously invited you to join us, but you refused to abide by the "no cameras" rule. we graciously declined the trip, as to not a offend our kind hosts with someone who would not abide by the simple rule. a few hours later, we were walking from the host hotel in Flint, across a field to the Tech Center. some of the folks who originally worked on the Reatta project in many capacities were going to speak to the group of Reatta owners. we were really looking forward to learning about the Reatta's history from the very people that created and built the car. there were four of us in our group walking over; myself, my former business partner, Randy Graves, Greg Ross, and Tom Payette, who had retired after owning a Buick dealer in Louisville, Kentucky, for over 30 years. you walked past us as we crossed the field, looked directly at Randy and I, and said "I'm going to show what liars you two are". you continued walking on. Greg and Tom looked at us with some bemusement. I explained that we had information that Reatta convertibles did indeed come with cloth convertible tops from the factory. we receive much of our information from our customers that worked on the Reatta project directly. our customers include the chief engineer, the plant manager, and program manager. you said they didn't have cloth tops, because YOU HAD NEVER SEEN ONE. the meeting with the Craft Centre folks was great, and very informative. the last person to speak was a jug-eared guy with a Southern accent. he had worked on the trim line at the Craft Centre. he got out a scrapbook of some of the cars that were built. with his drawl, he showed photos of convertibles. I'll never forget his words: "here's a blue convertible with a blue cloth top, here's a silver one with a red cloth top, a black one with a tan cloth top..." Greg Ross was sitting directly behind me, and I thought he was going to kick a hole in the bottom of my chair. this maui blue/saddle coupe in the Houston is no different than any example I've already given. I could easily give twenty more. guilty until proven innocent. it doesn't exist; I've never seen one. but the car in Houston does indeed exist. one of our customers brought the car to our attention after he looked at it. no color change. the real deal. I did work on the headlights of a long-time customer's Reatta convertible over the holidays in Palm Springs. he has a 1990 convertible that came from the factory in light camel (code 57), a pastel light beige that was a 1990 Century color. our customer is a retired senior executive for McDonnell Douglas. he bought a new Park Avenue and Reatta convertible in 1990. he was personal friends with Ed Mertz, who was Buick's General Manager at the time. Ed saw to it that both the Reatta and Park Avenue were factory-painted in the requested color. oh I'm sorry, it can't exist. it wasn't in the catalog. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

Steve is exactly right. information is only as accurate as provided, and the way much of the information was gathered is suspect at best. gleaning information from places like eBay, Craig's List, Autotrader, and any other print or online source is only asking for error. the VIN has 17 digits; that's 17 different opportunities for mistakes. I don't think most folks see the database is meant as a "ballpark" list, yet that is exactly what it is. let's look as some basic facts first. the regular posters here make up far less than 1% of the total number of Reatta owners. add the "lurkers", and the number might jump up to 4%. that leaves 96% of the Reatta owners (or potential owners) either unaware or totally uninterested in this forum at all. now, let's say you are interested in buying a Reatta. you don't have any Reatta knowledge at all, so you turn to the internet. a quick Google seach turns up reatta.net. there is a database there, and you look up the VIN number of the car you are looking at; it shows either bad information, or information that is totally inconsistent with what the car actually is. you say screw it, I'll buy an Allante. is this acceptable? I think not. it should clearly be stated that the database may contain errors. it does not say that anywhere. most collector car databases are comprised of information that is supplied by the manufacturer. the Reatta database, for the most part, does not. let me give an excellent example. I received the GM master list of all 1991 Reatta convertible production about four months ago. Barney Eaton has the same list. I'm not going to go thru the whole list, but am only going to concentrate on just four cars. they have VIN numbers 900014, 900015, 900016, and 900017. the GM list provides absolutely no information about the cars; all it says is CAD (these four cars were shipped to Cadillac Motor Division). under the "status" section (this provides option and color information), it says 'NO REC" (no record). in other words, there is absolutely no information from GM. now, let's compare this with the information provided on the database for these same four cars. the database now shows the cars were white (GM didn't know the colors, but the database does?), and they were "pilot cars", and "probably scrapped". probably? is this definitive, or just a guess? it's a guess. and that is only four cars of 305. how many more errors are there? how would you feel if you were looking at one of these four cars to buy from GM (they all still exist, and two of them are Polo Green), and consulted the database, and found that the car you were looking at was "probably scrapped"? how would you feel to find out that the car was "white", yet the car you were looking at wasn't, and never was? in reality, the pilot cars stopped at 900013. the cars shipped to Cadillac WERE NOT scrapped. this (again) was a guess on the database, and a wrong one at that. and that was only for four cars. how would you feel if you had your pristine Reatta for sale, and were getting no calls? how would you feel if you found out there was a Reatta database, and your car was shown as being wrecked or scrapped? we stopped using Carfax altogether in 2004, when we found the accuracy rate was about 52%. again, change one digit of the VIN, and it's a different car. I wouldn't anticipate the database as being any more accurate than that. there should also be a disclaimer that the information is assumed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Mike Rukavina buickreattaparts.com

Ronnie, this is very good to see; it puts NADA right in line with Old Cars Weekly concerning values...very good, indeed. the one problem is the NADA Guide is not really used west of the Mississippi; Kelley is King, and they just look at the Reatta as another old car. if you ask most dealers out here for an NADA Guide, they'll just look at you. Mike buickreattaparts.com

Brian, you can scream and yell till the cows come home, but you'll never convince just about any bank to look beyond what their blinders will allow them to. they are not used to having any requests for financing beyond their narrow scope; i.e. "normal cars". they will only use a Kelley Blue book, or NADA Guide. the CPI Guide is published by Black Book, and is subscription-only. presently, the CPI Guide shows the following for a 1988 Reatta: #4, $1725;, #3,100;, and #2, $5,575. ironically, 1989-1991 Reattas are worth more. you can also check the Old Cars Weekly Annual Value Guide. their values will be about 50% higher than CPI. when we do an aggregate value for an insurance company, we use both guides, plus recent sales, lump them all together, and come up with an average. that average is over $7,000 for a 1988-1990 coupe with 170,000 miles. your best bet would be to pick up a Hemmings Motor News, and look in the "Financing" section. there are quite a few companies that specialize in colletor car financing, and they will take quite a different view than your local bank. another issue is where you live. how many other 1988-anything is still on the road? most vehicles of this age in corrosive climates have boards for bumpers, and are days away from their final trip to the salvage yard. unfortunately, most banks think the same way, no matter how nice your car is. Mike buickreattaparts.com

Barney, there are only two companies in the US who make Reatta convertible tops, and neither (thankfully) offer tops without windows. the "top without a window" is only available for tops that have a "curtain". translated, this means the window is the zip-in type, not one that is attached adhesively to the top like the Reatta has. there are two reasons for the Reatta convertible window delamination, and they are interconnected. 1) the top has shrunk. many owners are not aware, but if you can see the window gaskets over the side windows, the top has shrunk. just because it has no holes or rips does not mean it doesn't need replacement. 2) the top shrinks everywhere as it ages. this in turn pulls on the rear glass, and the delamination occurs. many attempts at rebonding the glass are attempted, but few succeed. this is very similar to attempting to rebond the hard rubber front track on the door glass; it just doesn't work. in both cases, the items should be replaced. Mike buickreattaparts.com

this looks like guaranteed bloody knuckles to me. I've taken literally hundreds of these radio modules out of Reattas, and it is much easier to do from the top. after the gear shift knob and quadrant are removed, four screws secure the entire console top. with those removed, the entire console top is easily pushed to the passenger side, and out of the way. the radio is now completely exposed. there are no issues with removing any of the plugs (both top and bottom) and the antenna is a breeze. the entire job from beginning to end should take no more than thirty minutes for a first timer. the seat removal mothod would not work in a wrecking yard, either. it would be impossible to access the seat attachment bolts if there was no power available. Mike buickreattaparts.com

palosfv3, thank you so much for your post; you're right on the money. I have repeatedly asked the original poster for more information, but at this point have still not received any response. it would appear from his initial posting that the other party is indeed at fault, and your are correct that they must do more to make his car "whole" than if his company was responsible. the windshield is a very difficult one to call for several reasons. first, I don't know if you're aware, but the Reatta does not have metal fenders; they are glass reinforced plastic (GRP). in temperatures below 40 degrees, they will quickly shatter with a minimum of pressure. I don't think this minor impact (allegedly only the fender was damaged) the car received would do any damage to the windsield. the Reatta is a very strong automobile. we had a customer have a recent collision in Minnesota in below-zero (-26) cold. he was broadsided (left side) by a lifted 4X4, hit squarely in the front of the driver's door (deflected in 3 feet), which also took out the front fender, rear quarter panel, and blew out the rear window. the windshield remained intact and uncracked. this is very common. we work very hard to help everyone get a fair settlement for their cars. however, we do need to speak with you first (by telephone) to get more details, so we will know the best way to proceed with your settlement. we have working arrangements established with many insurance carriers, and this makes the job much easier. Mike buickreattaparts.com

if you have full coverage insurance, you should expect FAIR MARKET VALUE for your car, not some ridiculously low offer. it would be truly scary to have full-coverage insurance, and be happy with a $1,000 settlement for a total loss. the premium would probably be more than that every year. it comes down to this. if Reattas were worth as little as many think they are, I would not be in business, or anyone else who sells Reatta parts. Pilkington would have absolutely no market for their $2,200 windshields; something this costly would be an automatic total, wouldn't it? in reality, they sell about 300 per year, and all of us in the Reatta parts business keep pretty busy. here, we sold 19 front clips in the month of January alone. the average body shop repair ticket was over $6,000, and all were paid by insurance companies. if Reattas had no value, this would have never happened. for those who question the Reatta's value, call a collector insurance company like Hagerty. what's interesting here are two things: -first, they have no problem insuring a Reatta, as it's recognized as a collector car. not every car is recognized as a collector car that is this new; their criteria for this are quite strict. -even though you can set coverage at wherever you like, their opening minimum will be in the $8,000-$10,000 range for a 1988-1990 coupe. have you ever had an insurance company offer you more than your car was worth? I didn't think so. they know the value of the Reatta. if you choose to value your car at less than they feel it's worth, well..that's up to you. by the way, many regular insurance companies offer "stated value" coverage. the cost is quite reasonable, and it avoids any issues like this if there is a claim. Mike buickreattaparts.com

they will TRY to use value guides for regular cars, but they need to be schooled. we use the CPI Guide (Cars of Particular Interest, and others) for valuations, as it more accurately reflects real value of collector cars like a Reatta. you don't "book out" a muscle car or a Rolls-Royce in an NADA Guide; the Reatta shouldn't be booked there, either. as I've mentioned before, our average customer with a 1988-1990 Reatta coupe with 170,000 miles, in average condition, gets an average valuation of $7,240. that's an average number for (at this point) 76 cars in the last 15 months. lower mileage, all 1991 models, and 1990 convertibles are worth substantially more. it basically comes down to this one thing: would you prefer to be the victim, and complain about getting screwed by the insurance company (and at the same time allowing the adjuster to get a big fat bonus for settling cheap), or would you rather step into the driver's seat, and get the correct valuation for your car? it's totally up to you. Mike buickreattaparts.com

I have no issue whatsoever with not having an obstructed plate; the real issue is that the plate is not obstructed! the Coulter Cadillac license plate frame on my car covers exactly 1/16" of the top of the word "Arizona". the "Grand Canyon State" and cactus are still plainly visible. the standard-issue plates like this are most likely on at least 98% of all vehicles registered here. so where is the problem? it absolutely amazes me that so much time is being wasted over vehicles like mine, and there are thousands of vehicles out there that have the "prism" covers over license plates that are designed to completely obscure (from photo radar) the plate if not read from any angle other than straight-on. this to me looks a lot more serious than worrying if you can read a word at the top of the plate, even though officers know what state it is. I spoke to some friends today at the Arizona Automobile Dealers Association, and they will pay for counsel for anyone who gets stopped for having a dealer license plate frame on their car. they must want to push this repeal thru even faster; I don't blame them. Mike buickreattaparts.com

the PCM (what you call the ECM) will be exactly where I mentioned, whether you have a Reatta or Riviera. as I also mentioned, it isn't easy to see the PCM, it is right next to the A/C controller, and both are in black plastic sleeves, in a vertical (NOT horizontal) position, to the right of the glove box cavity. it is quite difficult to remove the PCM for several reasons. -first, the screws that secure it on the top are at odd angles, and it can be difficult to reach them. -being that the sleeve that secures the PCM is also attached to the A/C controller, it is many times easier to remove both units at the same time. be sure to pop off the arm on top of the A/C controller before removal is attempted. -as I mentioned, the hush panel must be removed under the right side of the dash to remove the PCM. many times, the removal of the unit will be easier if the carpeting is pulled back. clearances here are extremely tight. -the plugs on the bottom of the PCM can be especially difficult to remove. be very careful that the plugs or wires are not damaged in the removal. also, be careful to not damage or pinch the vacuum lines for the air conditioning control unit. the units cannot be removed without unplugging them first. Mike buickreattaparts.com

I just talked to my state representative on Friday, and he assured me that the law will be repealed shortly. they've been busy with dealing with the budget deficit. I'd give a lot more credit to our peace officers, too. they are informed whenever a new license plate design becomes available, and are tested on this frequently. they also carry a book that lists every different style of plate. Arizona is far from alone in having a multitude of different license plate styles available; how do all those other states cope with this? why does this law only apply to Arizona cars, and not the many out-of-state snowbird cars that ply our roadways? wouldn't you think that out-of-state plate covered by a large frame be more difficult to identify by our peace officers than a plate of our own? I will continue to drive with the dealer license plate frame on my car. if they would like to ticket me, I'll be more than happy to go to court. Mike buickreattaparts.com

Window tint should not affect it at all. I have tint on both of my Reattas, and the keyless entry works just fine. Start with the battery. Mike buickreattaparts.com