cost of my LeSabre

[Guest john300]

Please give my your honest opinion. Is my 62 LeSabre worth the $5000 I paid

for it? I think it was a good deal. And , I wanted it, and thats what it cost.

It needs very little. And also, Would anyone here feel confident driving this car 1000 miles ? It has low miles and it sounds and drives good. Power seems ok.

I just want some input. Dont be harsh.

[Guest my3buicks]

That may be a little high for a base LeSabre sedan, but the condition looks really good. How many miles? Is it original or has it been painted? Is it in pretty good mechanical repair? You said a mouthful with " I wanted it, and that's what it cost" - in that case then cost is irrelevant.

I without doubt have paid way to much for a few high end NOS goodies I have bought for my cars, but, "I wanted it, and that's what it cost" : )

As far as traveling 1000 miles, as long as you go or have gone over it mechanically and every thing is up to snuff, then 1000 miles is nothing for an older Buick to travel. You will find that on a long haul though, it may not be as comfortable as you might think, Those old bench seats can be a little rough on the body after being in them multiple hours especially in some of the more basic forms.

Many of us put that kind of mileage on our Buick's just driving to various National Meets, etc.

I look forward to seeing it this summer. ENJOY IT!!!

Edited March 2, 2011 by my3buicks (see edit history)

[Guest john300]

it has 47000. It was painted ten years ago. all original. numbers match. needs a few mssing interior parts. seats and headliner were reupholstered not covered. new carpet.

[JohnD1956]

INHO I would say don't look back. It's a nice car. You won't find many like it at any show, including a Buick National. The engines and transmissions are very reliable, provided you refrain from burning rubber at every start. As of late these "basic" cars are much more deisreable than they ever were. You wanted it and it's yours. Enjoy it and don't worry about what you cannot change.

[Guest Kingoftheroad]

Looks like a nice low mileage old car.

[Aaron65]

I am the king of buying too high, dumping good money after bad, and then never selling anything. If you like it, roll with it man. If I added the cost I had in my 4 old cars up, I could probably buy a new Corvette and an Aveo to commute in.

[Guest my3buicks]

Nice low mileage then, as I said, make sure it's mechanically up to snuff and head down the highway. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE TRAVELING DOWN THE ROAD IN AN OLD BUICK!!!!

[TxBuicks]

Drive your old Buick with confidence. But keep a BCA membership listing handy, just in case.

[Guest john300]

And what is a BCA membership listing?

[stealthbob]

Its a list of all BCA (Buick Club of America) members, they/we like to help out when in need.

TxBuicks post was a nice polite way of recommending that you join the club!

http://www.buickclub.org/

https://www.buickclubofamerica.org/subscribe.html

Nice car, enjoy it and don't look back. Please though make sure the braking system is up to snuff....especially on the freeway runs!

Edited March 2, 2011 by stealthbob (see edit history)

[Guest john300]

I will join as soon as I get the car back up here from Florida. A little off subject but I spent a week with the car in tallahassee and decided to buy it. Now I gotta get it here. (Pa.) shipping it is a bit pricey so I really want to drive it back but I need to find out how reliable the old girl is gonna be. U-haul says my truck wont pull it with their trailer.

[Guest Skyking]

62 Buicks are very comfortable and handle well. I've put over 30,000 trouble free miles on mine. Enjoy it!

[Guest Trickstar]

Please give my your honest opinion. Is my 62 LeSabre worth the $5000 I paid

for it? I think it was a good deal. And , I wanted it, and thats what it cost.

It needs very little. And also, Would anyone here feel confident driving this car 1000 miles ? It has low miles and it sounds and drives good. Power seems ok.

I just want some input. Dont be harsh.

Yeah id say it was worth 5k (buick lover) and if its running id drive it all day lol.

I paid 27 hundy for my 69 , washed it and changed some brake parts and it drives all day long.

the going rate for that car around here (ct) is anywhere from 6 to 10k used

[buick5563]

The only thing I would do before heading out is go to a local Midas to have them check the brakes, and a Jiffy Lube to check/ change fluids. Yes, I know, they don't know anything about old cars, but at least they have a lift/ pit. Even if you pay a few hundred bucks, that is good insurance against obvious mechanical failures. That is a modern car compared to many cars we (collectively) have driven thousands of miles.

Enjoy it.

[JohnD1956]

The only thing I would do before heading out is go to a local Midas to have them check the brakes, .

And the only thing I would say is take everything they say with a grain of salt. If the local franchise is anything like the one in my neighborhood, you'll have another 5K into it. Maybe there is a local Buick club member close to the town where you bought it on this forum, who can direct you to a reliable service operation for this checkover?

Also John, Check your PM's.

Edited March 3, 2011 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[Guest my3buicks]

TIRES!!!! make sure the tires are not old, good tread or not. You get an old set of tires hot on the interstates and well, we won't go there.

[Thriller]

August 2010 Old Cars Report Price Guide lists a #4 condition car as 3400 and a #3 condition (typical 20-footer) at $7650. So I would suggest that you paid a reasonable amount. Another thing is that if you look at the cost of repairs, there is value in not needing to do stuff...things like rust repair are expensive. As a low mileage car, particularly if it was reasonably well cared for, the driveline should be in good shape overall.

Good luck getting it home and enjoying it. I hate U-Haul...they're the reason I wound up buying a GMC 2500 and ultimately a 22' enclosed car hauler.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Thriller
Had missed magazine name...was confusing w/o it (see edit history)

[Guest john300]

Thanks thriller . That was most helpful

[buick5563]

And the only thing I would say is take everything they say with a grain of salt. If the local franchise is anything like the one in my neighborhood, you'll have another 5K into it. Maybe there is a local Buick club member close to the town where you bought it on this forum, who can direct you to a reliable service operation for this checkover?

Also John, Check your PM's.

I totally agree John. I generally recommend small businesses, but in a time crunch in an unknown city, sometimes you have to go National. Excellent advice Keith. I forgot tires.

[page2171]

It sounds to me like you got a good deal. I definitely would make sure the tires are good. Then make sure all the fluid levels are good. Once you got all that I would hit the road. I tried the U-Haul trailer thing too. They didn't like the idea of my 62 Electra on one of trailers being towed by my Silverado.

[Larry Schramm]

I agree with Thriller.

I have had the same experience with U-Haul. I am not sure what they will allow to be towed with their car haulers except a model T by a 2500 Silverado. Even loads that my trucks say are fine based on the manufacturers guidelines, they have declined.

In their defense I might guess they rating capacities to the lowest common denominator in the population with a W I D E safety margin. How many times have you been driving down the road at 60-70 mph and saw a trailer loaded to the max pass like you are standing still?

I finally went out an bought a Silverado, enclosed car trailer, and an open trailer to eliminate the hassle. (all over time, not at once.)

Edited March 3, 2011 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[Thriller]

I think their trailers are stupid small...something like 3200 or 3500 lb limit. Plus, the weight of trailer and load can only be 25% heavier than that of the tow vehicle...apparently that is in place for braking...must have come about from using vehicles that either weren't intended for towing in the first place or weren't very good tow vehicles.

[Guest my3buicks]

I used to tell u-haul I was trailering an 81 Buick Skylark - then I hauled what I needed to haul :cool:

[JohnD1956]

Their trailers are not only small weight wise, but length wise too. I don't think you could get a car this long onto the bed of a u haul trailer.

[Guest my3buicks]

I have had my 67, and a 57 on them.

[JohnD1956]

How long ago? We rented one two years ago for a 89 Lesabre and it didn't look like there was lot more room.

[Guest my3buicks]

it's been a few years, but they appear the same. The backends of the cars hung over a bit. I had a 3/4 ton truck and they pulled and stopped well.

That all said, I WOULD STILL DRIVE IT HOME!!!!!!!!

There is no bettr high on earth than buying a Buick and driving it on a long trip home.

[Guest Dans 77 Limited]

What Ive done in the past was to rent the trailer and rent one of their $19.95 a day trucks. Kinda takes away all their arguments about the truck being able to handle the trailer. Ive driven my Limited back and forth to Daytona Beach a few times with no problems.

Dan

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

For what it is worth, I agree with Keith. I flew to San Antonio and drove a 1950 mod 52 home to Springfield, Mo. Over 700 miles. Fun, Fun. This was a couple years ago.

Ben

[Guest GRANNYS70SKYLARK]

I might have asked if the price was right BEFORE I bought it but that's just me.