Whats your story?

[Guest Craig57]

I'm sure that there are some interesting circumstances behind how you became a Reatta owner. My story has yet to be written,but whats yours? Thanks, Craig

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

Mine was sitting in one of those cars for vets ect. but was not owned by them. It belong to a former employee. They never got back to me on a price or if it was even for sale. I shortly left for Iraq and my dreams of owning the car was gone once again. (When I was like 10 I touch this older gentalmens car, in complete aww, and was promptly told that I would never be able to afford it and keep my hand off it.) About six months after my return I found the Reatta to still be there, a year and a half later. I did not know what it was worth so I offered $2,500. They called me back and took $2,000.

[Guest MauiWowee]

Probably not too interesting, but this is my story. I saw Reattas when they were new, but way out of my price range. So when it was time for a new vehicle I started looking. I lurked here for almost a year, learning what to look for, and what to avoid. I narrowed my search to the '91 models, partly because of the differences, and partly because of their rarity.

I found my coupe online, like Reattatude's car, languishing at a dealer. The online pics made it look like it had been repainted a turquoise color. When I requested more info and pics, lo and behold it turned out to be the original Maui blue. My wife and I drove from to Dayton to Detroit to take a look, drove the car, made an offer, and drove it back. I stopped at an auto stereo place, added XM, got a night's sleep, and drove it to Massachusetts the next day.

I've never regretted buying my car, and other than upgrades have never had to fix anything major. Reattas are great cars, and this group has always been very helpful, and I could care less if someone else can't spell or use correct grammar.

[Guest Craig57]

A guy I know here in the Milwaukee area wrote me a note one time. Told me he "fills" sick. Then told me about a "probablam" he was having with his rear "bumber". I kidded him a little bit the next day. However this cat can fix just about anything. He has been doing odd jobs at our houses for many years.(washers&dryers,siding repair,roof,electrical,plumbing ect.) I pay him $20.00 per hour cash. The handyman thing is a second job for him after he is done with his regular gig working at one of the local hospitals.LONG LIVE GARY!

[padgett]

Wanted a bigger Fiero & liked 3800. Saw touch scream and had answer. Bought 88 in 2001 without knowing much about them but had '90 Bonneville and '92 TranSport. Was not even aware of Reatta in '88, stable was all Pontiac.

One of my better decisions. Not 100% sure about white 90 yet.

[Guest craig hewitt]

I was 11 when my brothers buddy drove a 69 camaro up the driveway burg Z with a 302 went for a ride sold on cars from that day on. His car got stolen 4 months later. sisters boyfriend now husband gave me a 66 pont lemans jade green and smashed lft rear quarter panel. My dad worked in the future dept of GM and did sheet metal fab. I went to a junk yard and cut a quarter panel off dad and i installed and paited car white of course i installed as nnmuch GTO parts i could find couldnt drive aneway. had the car on the road 6 -7 months and got side swiped old man from greese just got his permit ran a stop sign. Dad felt bad for me and gave me a 69 chevy capice 427 hiddin headlights fastest car in highschool. afer school all my friends were buying corvettes I got a job at Greenwood racing IMSA got to go to the tracks on the crew. life was good but girls got into the mix. hotels were lonley hired in at 22 as a manager of a midas shop so i could stay home signing bonus was a 68 xke o well drove that car 11 years and a paint job sold it and made 15 grand profit!!! Got sick of working satudays buddys out on the big lakes all weekend long with chicks. went to a buick dealer in 87. Was driving a BMW 320 1983 mint opalpearl. reattas were being shipped in fell in love rgt away but loved BMW also> fell into a 635 csi mint paid 3500.00 for it and still have it. Son put it into a tree did 6200.00 in damage and insurance still cover it! Got into flipping 95-96 rivieras about 7 flips found my first reatta just driving down the road and bought it now 5 later i need a new drug any sugestions. Looking for work in motown !!!Craig .I forgot to tell you that in between ive had my own 69 Z orange 302 stlolen in 8 months bought a 69 trans am sold that 73 pearl charger. panel glass blew out on the car fubar 85 xjs i bought to small block never could break that v 12 looking for 87 grand national but who isnt or and 8 series BMW

[Guest Durahansolo]

Must've been about May of 2003...I was over my now ex-girlfriend's house, and her mother spotted somebody pulling into the driveway. None of us recognized the car, so we ran through the door to peep out. My friend said, it looks like somebody old. At the time he was bent over and he had a straw rounded type hat on the top of his head, I couldn't tell it was a hat and I added "And he's bald." Few seconds later I realized it was my dad when he stood up straight lol. He had saw the Reatta as he was driving and decided to take it for a test drive. After he let me drive it, the rest was history.

[K Howie]

My story how I got my Reatta (sorry, kinda long): when I graduated college, got married and moved to Virginia, my father gave me a 1970 Buick GS, red with a white vinyl top and pearl white interior. Awwwwwsome car that actually was bought new by my grandfather. One morning, heading out for work, I couldn't get it started and suddenly it backfired. I immediately noticed black smoke coming out of the hood and by the time I opened the door and got out, flames were coming out. By the time the fire department put it out, the fire melted all the rubber and plastic parts under the hood, as well as the dash. I was devastated. Luckily, my insurance company was great and gave me cash value for the car but let me keep it. I knew I wanted another unique car, but something newer, and had seen a Reatta running around town, so I started looking for one for myself. With the $6700 the insurance company gave me, I bought a sweet 89 Reatta with factory sunroof, a wrecked 1970 Skylark for parts, and paid my dad's gas to tow the burnt GS back to his shop in Florida. Unfortunately, the GS is still not back to life yet, but I love having my Reatta and I keep a fire extinguisher in the back!!

[DAVES89]

I was driving in winter time Door County, [Wisconsin's answer to East Coast, Glouster/Rockport], when a little sports car pulled out in front of me, causing me to hit my brakes. Normally I get mad when something like that happens, but this time it was "What The"? I saw Buick on the back and tailgated that car until he turned. Couldn't make out the car name, but when I got home looked up Buicks on Autotrader.com until I found the car.

I was hooked.

Went looking and took almost 2 years before I got one I liked at the same time I had money to buy one.

[Guest ripraftn]

I met a British lady in a 90 red Reatta convertible while I was putting gas in an old 67 MGB. She asked me about the MG saying her dad had driven a 65 MG for a while. I mentioned if she ever wanted to sell the Reatta I would like a chance to buy. Several months later she called saying her husbands birthday present to her was a Jag convertible. They didnt have room for three cars and were selling the Reatta to make room. The car had very low miles and only 11 months old but she would sell for less than $20,000. I was in Hilton Head the next day made the deal drove back to Pawley Island SC and have had reattaitis ever since. The lady I bought the car from came to see me at my restaurant the next year and wanted to trade the Jag for her old Reatta. The red beast now has 122000 miles is a little warn but still rides great.

[NYBobP]

<span style="color: #990000">I was doing some work for the Buick division of GM in 1988, and they invited me to see the new '90 line-up of cars. I saw a white Reatta convertible with blue interior and said out loud :"I want this car". Well, I didn't get one until 1990. My neighbor across the street now owns it. Since then I've owned 3 other 1990 convertibles, plus 5 1991 converts.

Now that I'm starting to slow down, I've sold the '90's and 4 of the '91's. I'm left with the white convertible I wanted originally. Just one year newer than I originally saw, that's all.

However, find me a '91 red with under 30k and in mint condition and we'll talk. </span>

[Howard]

My story starts in August of 1998. For those of you who are long time members of the forum, many of you may recall that I worked in car dealerships for almost 25 years. All of my life I've been a huge car fan. However, in 1995 the last dealership I worked for closed, so I had to find employment in another type of business. In the first part of 1998, I received a call from a person I used to work with a number of years before. He had opened a used car lot and wondered if I would help him with his accounting, part time. So, every Tuesday and Thursday after my regular job, I would head there for a few hours. In August of the same year I pulled into the lot to find a pristine 1989 Reatta. I always thought they were neat cars, but had never driven one. As they say, the rest was history. The car had just turned over to 80,000 miles and really was very nice. Out of all the cars I've ever owned, the Reatta was hands down, my favorite. While the car had a number of problems over the years, with the help of this forum, I was able to do many of the repairs myself. In September of 2005 my hometown was forced to evacuate due to the approach of Hurricane Rita. I used the Reatta for my escape. After 19 hours, I had covered only 60 miles. A large hunk of the harmonic balancer broke off during the trip. Really after that, the car was never the same. The car simply would not run correctly. Finally, I was back on the road, but that was short lived. The car started to make a load hammering noise, which I thought was the belt tensioner. Wrong! The engine was burned up. As to how and why, I have no idea. While at the shop, the car was crashed into by a hit and run driver. I decided I did not want to spend the money to put another engine in it. I sold the hulk to a fellow forum member, Alex. I hope he will be able to get the car road worthy again and enjoy it as much as I did. Someday, I would like to own another nice 89, but that will have to wait for a while.

[Guest CL_Reatta]

Wow Howard... I never knew you had such an ordeal.

My story is really long, but it was quite interesting, Back when I was maybe 8 I was camping with my parents, and at a used car lot by the campground my dad saw this 1988 Reatta for sale, I thought it was the coolest thing ever... Touch screen controls, 2 seats, looked like something out of a Hot wheels kit... the inside was like a spaceship I was amazed lol... but the dealer wanted to much for it around $4k I think with 180k miles (it was the owner of used car lot's car) so I was disappointed that dad didnt get the spaceship. Well then when I was 15, I was sick or something (strep throth I think... I felt fine but just couldnt be around school) me and my dad were taking a drive looking at cars just casually.... We drove, and I saw this old 80's dodge pickup, so we stopped and looked (this was at a very small used car lot) Then I sorta took a look over at the other end of the lot, and there I saw two Reatta's for sale, One was a 89 I believe and the otehr a 90 Burgundy with a sunroof. I was looking, and well the battery in the 90 was dead, and my dad didnt want me getting the 89 in fear of the electronics breaking (he had no idea of the good source of parts) so I really really liked this Reatta, and so my dad brought his truck over and jump started it for me... The miles were kinda high, but I was so anxious about this thing that my dad test drove it, even though he didnt want me to get it. Well, during the test drive the car died right on Gratiot suddenly... So we called the owner / salesman (Brian) and eventually got it back to the dealership (The ICM was bad... so after it cooled it ran fine... Brian then told us that he knew what was wrong and to have us take a look at the car a little later.... Had my cousin the mechanic check it out... (he noticed the strange brake system) well we had Brian install a new Radiator, and then my mom and I then stopped by the dealership to leave a deposit on it... then The day to go pick up my first car comes YAY!... me and my dad go there, but as soon as were about to leave, I noitce that the roof is dripping and when I lower my visor a bunch of water pours on me... so that is when Brian informs me that the sunroofs have a leaking problem when the drains are plugged. (the sunroof was not working BTW)... so he helps me take the headliner down and tells us that he will have it re-done. This all was in Febuary. Fall comes, ive been working on my reatta for some time now, but the sunroof still isnt working, ive gone on here, but its the fact that the cables are rusted inside the tubes. So, Brian since he has my headliner said to drop off my sunroof and he would fix it for me. Well so I drop it off and pick up my headliner, but he still has my A-pillar covers, mirrors, and a few other things that he says he has to find.... so I wait, and well it's taking some time and he is not answering my calls all that much, but Thursday I believe he gives me a call telling me that the sunroof is appart and that he is going to heat up the tubes to try to free the cables. I call his cell asking how the results are... I then recieve a message from his wife Monday... Brian had passed away over the weekend, I was very saddened, that this gentleman was working so hard for me to have a nice Reatta.... Well his brother then gives me a call telling me he will open the building for me so that I can get my stuff... and when I walk in the garage, I see my sunroof in a million pieces, heating torch nearby.. he had really been working hard on this for me. Still no interior parts though...His brother tells me that he had owned several Reatta's and a few convertables and like to fix them... but so me, my dad, and Brians brother dig thru boxes until we find my stuff.... And that is my Reatta story, I actually am a bit sad thinking about it... He is really someone I liked, the most honest salesmen you will meet, and a Great Reatta owner.

[Rawja]

Was obsessed with the Reatta from the first. In late '89 I attempted to purchase a left over '88 demo unit from a local Buick dealer in Brooklyn that they were looking to unload due to the interior change for '90 that made the car no longer suitable for test drives.

Took an hour-long test drive and put down a deposit. The dealership tried every permutation of the financing over a period of two weeks, but in the end, my credit worthiness at age 21 just wouldn't support the loan necessary to purchase such an expensive car.

Remained obsessed, pointing out every Reatta sighting to the 'ol ball and chain for the next 10 years.... actually, I still do it. Anyways, I continued to consume new cars every two years or so when finally at the end of 2000 when I turned in my leased '98 A6 it occurred to me that I was spending big money on lease payments for cars that were nice and all, but why not have a car that I was truly gaga over that would be likely cheaper to run?

Did a google search, found this forum, lurked for a while and read every post here which was easy as there were only a few thousand of 'em at that point in time.

Made a deal with the spouse that in exchange for not vetoing the Reatta purchase I'd get rid of the '73 Citroen SM I had languishing in a storage unit, grounded due to unavailability of competent mechanics and vertigo-inducing parts pricing.

Decided I wanted a red '89 with 16-ways, grey interior and body-colored mouldings. Eventually a suitable ride popped up on eBay in Tennessee, I put in an over-market value bid and won the auction. The next morning I was flying to Knoxville. I hadn't slept more than 2 hours the night before as I was so excited.

The seller picked me up at the airport in the Reatta, which was his late father's pride and joy, bought new. We drove to his mother's house to complete the transaction. Had the paperwork done by 1 PM and set out to get back to the city completely giddy with my new acquisition..... I mean I was literally giggling uncontrollably I was so happy. I drove back to Brooklyn in one shot, getting home in the middle of the night. The long drive allowed me to get acquainted with the car, play with all the features and to make a checklist of all the things I needed to fix.

That was in February of '01, actually February 9th (and I can't reliably remember the spouse's birthday, even after 20 years) I really enjoyed that car, racking up 60,000 miles on her over 5 years 'till series on minor mishaps (most notably a destroyed windshield and the deterioration that a 2 1/2 year eviction from my garage to make room for the remains of my failed business had wrought) made the car uneconomic to bring back from the dead.

Found my new '88 on eBay back in May of this year, very local and very very shiny with a better than factory paintjob done in '01. The guy I bought it from was from a "Car Family"; he was a car salesman as an avocation and his Buick Service Manager dad had managed the restoration of the car, throwing every new part that was still available at it, without regard to the "correctness" of the parts used. She has final-gen Riviera chromes, new leather upholstery, new '90-91 "wrong grey" seatbelts and new "wrong" regular-type automotive carpet installed as well as dark-tinted windows.

I'm not crazy about the black mouldings and am considering changing them out to either body-color or silver, I have proper Sunburst 'R' logo custom centercaps en-route from SteveSkyhawk to replace the Rivi centercaps that she came with and I'm waiting for the weather to warm up a bit so I can start to dismantle my old '89 for use as a parts supply.

Also on the "to-do" list-

Track down a security system problem which causes the battery to discharge after two weeks.

Replace crackling radio.

Figure out why I don't have a working cigarette lighter.

Swap in the stereo speakers, compass unit, seatbelts and hopefully the carpeting (condition dependent) from my '89.

I'm also toying with swapping in the seats from the '89 which while not in as nice condition as the ones in the new car, are dual 16-ways. If I do I'm hoping to sell the '88s beautifully recovered and immaculate seats to help fund a re-cover of my old old seats.

I want HIDs for the headlamps and fogs.

I want to do sequential turn signals and have the entire taillight light up when I apply the brakes. I have all the parts necessary, just no time.

I'm so thankful for this forum and for the internet in general, I mean keeping up an older unpopular car like the Reatta would be next to impossible without it and additionally no one I know "in the flesh" is really interested in hearing me yammer about cars in general or Reattas in particular for more that a couple minutes at a pop, except of course when their car breaks down or they're looking for a new one.

Great. Now I'm late for work.

[Guest Kitskaboodle]

Got mine from a fellow Fiero owner.

Saw it in his driveway and thought it

would make a great highway cruiser!

After purchasing it my smile became larger

while my wallet became thinner!

Kit / 90 Coupe

[gr8scott]

My first one was an '88, inherited through my wife's family. We sold it when we moved to Hawaii in 2004 because I've seen terrible things happen to cars shipped overseas. It had 70K miles and I got $5,000 for it. (The buyer recently E-mailed me and said the car had been running trouble free until a few days before, when his CRT went out.)

Upon our return in 2007 I started searching for another, mostly on eBay. Finally saw a red/saddle 89 with 53K miles and a Buy-It-Now price of $5500. The seller was a hundred miles away in the Los Angeles basin, so I E-mailed him and asked to make an appointment to see the car. He called and told me he was a used car dealer and this was his personal car. The next day my wife and I drove up, and found everything to be as described, including confirmation that it was his own vehicle. But now the real story starts.

He bought the car two years before that in an LAPD auction. The car had been confiscated in a drug raid after a car chase and stood on the impound lot unclaimed for four years. Two of the rims were badly scratched as if someone had scraped it against a curb, and the paint looked a bit dull on the horizontal surfaces, but that is all. The dealer has just gone though a divorce so a two-seater appealed to his new life-style. He had all the rubber replaced around the doors and trunk, installed a new harmonic balancer, had the brakes overhauled, etc, then fell in love, remarried, started driving another car, and the Reatta stood in his garage. He had extensive records going back to the original owner, an elderly doctor in Pasadena who bought it for his wife. There were yellowed letters from the Buick dealer to the original buyer, the copy of the Bill of Sale to the eventual drug dealer, as well as service records and annual registrations through all ownerships. Recent records verified that the current owner had put less than 2K miles into the car since buying it, and the guy even told me if I wasn't 100% satisfied after 30 days, he'd take the car back. I gotta say it, I'd never met a used car dealer like this. After driving the car, I told him I'd give him $500 to hold the car, and I'd be back the next day with a cashier's check for the balance. He countered by saying he'd take a personal check, and lowered his price to $5000. I said I didn't bring my checkbook. He said he'd take a credit card. I hesitated, but then he said, "I canceled the eBay listing when you said you were coming up, so I really counted on you taking it. So here it is, $4,400, take it or leave it." I took it.

The next day my wife and I cleaned it out, treated the leather seats, vacuumed everything out, when she noticed that the driver's door panel had come loose. I reached inside trying to locate the fasteners, and came up with a strip of duct tape. A bit apprehensive about what it was designed to hold in place, I pulled the panel clear away, and found the rest of the duct tape holding what looked like a cologne pouch held closed by a draw string. Insider the bag was a small amount of marijuana residue and $2,700. I had no use for the pot, but for the cash I had to say "Thank you LAPD for doing a sloppy search of the seized vehicle." So in effect it cost me $1,700 for a Reatta with only 53K miles on it.

[55chevy]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: gr8scott</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I reached inside trying to locate the fasteners, and came up with a strip of duct tape. A bit apprehensive about what it was designed to hold in place, I pulled the panel clear away, and found the rest of the duct tape holding what looked like a cologne pouch held closed by a draw string. Insider the bag was a small amount of marijuana residue and $2,700. I had no use for the pot, but for the cash I had to say "Thank you "Local PD" for doing a sloppy search of the seized vehicle." So in effect it cost me $1,700 for a Reatta with only 53K miles on it. </div></div>

Made me laugh hehe. Quick, change your story to protect the innocent, the "local PD" will come after you for their money LOL

[Reattatude]

Short Story: I bought a 96 Roadmaster Wagon, checked out some online forums about Buicks, Joined BCA and saw Reatta Club ad in Buick Bugle, went to eBay to see what a Reatta was, decided Reatta would be my next Buick and gathered more info and bought one.

So, 3 months ago I didnt know what a Reatta was but very pleased I found out.

[LukeP]

I learned about the Reatta after walking my dogs daily at Officers Row at Fort Vancouver in Vancover, Wa. There was a beautiful red coupe that was parked out front and it looked like it never moved. It also looked like it just came straight off of the lot. I thought it was a exotic import until I did some research on the internet and found out it was a Buick!

I found my Reatta on craigslist locally for a very good price considering the low miles on it. Luckily it was in good shape with all of the doo-dads working but it had been sitting for awhile. I bought it from a couple who was selling it for her father.....who had bought it at a estate sale. They were glad to get rid of the car and I had the sense that they could not get away from the car fast enough. Some people just don't get it

[Lucky91]

The first time I saw a Reatta was in '88 or '89. It was a burgundy model and I was very taken with it. I was even more surprised when I saw the "Buick" emblem on the tail light. Thinking that it was probably a reasonably price vehicle I hurriedly went to a dealership to check one out. It was a short and disbelieving visit after finding out the price. I would occasionally see them over the years and always thought to myself what a good lookin' car it was. An owner in my neighborhood had a beautiful red '90 model for years and had finally put it up for sale. It sold before I could make a serious bid on it. My quest for a Reatta had begun. It took about two years of studying and looking before deciding on a '90 burgundy model with 110k. That first purchase in '98 led to five additional purchases over the years. Each has had it's own distinct personalities and have brought me many hours of joy and a few very frustating moments over the years. I'm down to one now and still enjoy it very much. Every time I've bought one I tell myself this will be the last one. And so it goes...

Mike

[ol' yeller]

Reattas always intrigued me. About 6 years ago I did some research (here) and decided to find one. After several attempts to find one I saw a '90 Burgandy on eBay in Chicago with around 70K on the clock. After a few emails, 2 phone calls and an inspection by a local Buick garage I was top bidder. On a business trip I had a layover in Chicago so I picked up the car and drove it 2,000 miles home to Seattle. I was a little disappointed as it had bad struts and different size tires on it as well as being filthy. Doesn't anyone else wash and clean out a car they are selling anymore? It didn't drive very well due to the bad struts and tires. He also took the plates and didn't have the title in hand as he had stated in the auction. It took 4 months to finally get the state of Illinois to send me the title. I enjoyed the car very much after some modest repairs but wound up selling her for about what I had into it 2 years later.

In August (last year)I found myself in need of a nice reliable car to get back and forth to work. After looking around I decided another Reatta was the answer. Ironically my old Reatta had eventually been purchased by a friend in the local Buick club and it was for sale. Unfortunatly he wanted about twice what it was worth. I originally wanted a Maui Blue Coupe with a sunroof but couldn't find one. According to Barney, Buick made about 700 Maui Blue coupes in 1990 and about 10% had sunroofs so I was looking for one of 70! Amazingly, one popped up on Craig's List in the same town in which I live. It looked nice but had 146K on it and he was asking $6995 for it. After a month or so the listing appeared again and his price was lowered to $3,000. I went and looked at the car, drove it, gave it the brake test, made an offer and it was mine! It was kept for the last 8 years in inside dry, heated storage and the interior was in excellent condition. He had all the receipts for service. He was the second owner, purchasing the car when it had around 6,000 miles on it. He drove the car to work everyday about 80 miles round trip and when he retired so did the car.

My car has a few minor issues which I am working on but after I get the steering wheel recovered, I will defy anyone to be able to guess how many miles are this car. It is definately a keeper.

[55chevy]

I saw my first Reatta on a calendar, a red coupe with park lights on. I still have a copy of the calendar page somewhere, not sure what year it was but knew it was out of my price range. Later, in 1993 I think (or was it 1991?), I saw a 88 silver coupe for sale in a driveway, 16 way seats with suede. The owner was related to a car lot dealer and was selling it kind of as a partnership, it needed a CRT and they wanted $9,000. Somehow I talked my wife into a car loan and got it, it was showing 72k miles when they fixed the CRT, always wondered if it might have been higher miles. Drove it daily, summer and winter, 80 miles round trip from Kendallville IN to Ft Wayne IN. It was great in the snow, one snowy day it pulled off into the median in about 3-4 inches of snow, I pictured myself stuck like a lot of cars but I just kept on the gas and drove right back up on the road.

Made road trips to N Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington DC, S. Carolina, and Florida, great road car, before moving to SE Alabama and letting a buddy drive it. Tranny started slipping at 268k miles and it got parked, brought it to Florida with me, bought a 90 convertible project/90 coupe parts car and talked a buddy into fixing the rear quarters of the convertible in exchange for the 88 coupe. Still waiting for my bud to fix the ragtop.

[KDirk]

May as well put mine up here too, though it isn't as entertaining as many of those already posted.

I think the first time I saw (or at least noticed) the Reatta was about 6 years ago. I had probably seen them prior to that but never took much notice. Anyway, I was at a stop light on a four lane road, when a Polo Green Reatta (obviously a 1991) pulls up in the lane next to me. It caught my eye initially because it was a really clean car, and I wasn't sure what make or model it was. Then I noticed the driver, who was a quite attractive young woman. Regrettably, that is only an incidental detail of the story <chuckle>.

Later that day I was talking to my younger brother about the car, telling him it was the neatest looking Buick I had ever seen. The story ends there until 2007. I was looking to get a second car, and had planned on an Eldorado. I already had a Deville I planned to keep but thought the Eldo was a great looking car (and still do) so I started looking for one.

Meanwhile, my Mom who had a 1997 Deville (with a Northstar) had head gasket failure. $4000 later it was fixed, but kind of left me with a vibe with me on the reliability of the Northstar engine. That, and I would've had to shell out almost $10K to get an Eldorado of the year and condition I wanted. So I decide to nix the second Caddy.

Then I get to thinking about that green Reatta I saw six years prior (ok, and the Red Head that was driving it) and I think - shazaam - that's the car I want.

I start looking, only to discover that these cars were only made til 1991. This got me a bit spooked, the idea of a 17-20 year old car. However, those who know me will attest that my determination has no bounds. Besides, I do all my own vehicle work, so I figure I can handle it.

So I looked, found a lot of rough daily beaters for sale. No luck for months in finding a clean one. Then I find a 90 coupe locally that was clean, white over burgundy and it looks like this will be a winner. I call the seller, and he starts to hedge. His teenage daughter is using it as a daily driver, and wants a new Honda but he isn't enthused about buying her a new car. Bottom line, he decides he isn't selling.

Ok, back the the search. After over nine months (heh, I can't imagine being pregnant, as impatient as I was just to find a car) of looking I find a 91 white over red in Kentucky. Car looks great online, and the price, while a bit high is within the range I am looking to pay.

I call and talk to the dealer and arrange to hold the car. I drive down with my two brothers and a buddy who is a mechanic early on a Sunday morning last January to check it out. We decide it's a keeper and I pay cash on the spot. Drive it back the same day, and I am just blown away by how much I like the car.

Now I am a year into it (and about $3K more in parts and repairs - I am determined to get it like new) and I have to say I love this car. It has it's minor issues but I am working through those bit by bit. The funny thing is that I still look longingly when I see a 99-02 Eldorado, but I never doubt that I made the right choice in getting the Reatta instead.

As a footnote, the Reatta is like an addiction for me. I have a stockpile of parts already that has me trying to figure out where I'll squeeze out more storage space. I'm also planning on a second one when space and money permit. I really want an 88 or 89 and will probably follow the same path of obsessive determination to get there that I did with the 91.

Anyway, that's my story.

KDirk