VickyBlue Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 (edited) One owner car. White with buckskin interior. Seats are 9/10, carpet is 7/10, headliner is 9/10, dash is 10/10. Chrome is 8.5/10, no rust, drives and stops as it should. Poorly optioned, no A/C, manual windows, power brakes, power steering, 8 track, 1100 miles away from me, but comes with lots of paperwork... I spoke with the owner and I was planning on making the trip sometime next week. Price is $11,000Now I have second thoughts... Love the color, both interior and exterior and I could live with the manual windows and the front bench seat, but the lack of A/C in Houston kind of holds me back... What should I pay for it? Edited December 1, 2014 by VickyBlue (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I think no AC in Houston is a deal-breaker. 68-69 Riv's are easy to find, and this one seems over-priced. Hold out for one with the options you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 How about this one?http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/4725643327.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 How about this one?http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/4725643327.htmlCalled him and left a message. Waiting to hear from him. Looks like the vinyl top needs work and I have never done a vinyl top before. I do search CL... I guess I need to get better at it. Thanks for your input. At the end of the summer I promised myself I was going to get that aftermarket A/C kit and make my own brackets and install it in my 56... Now that the weather finally cooled down and I have a heater, I am procrastinating... John, imperial, thanks..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Called him and left a message. Waiting to hear from him. Looks like the vinyl top needs work and I have never done a vinyl top before.That's one of the things I leave to the professionals. That top is glued to the metal. What you need to be aware of is that as the vinyl "goes away" and leaves just the backing, it's no longer water proof. I've seen lots of cars with rust problems, with no signs of bubbling, hidden under vinyl tops. If you can see the backing, chances are pretty good that there could be some surface rust. The place you'll find it the worst will be in the factory lead seams where the metal top is leaded to the quarters. That part was probably never prepped properly for paint and you'll be in for a nice surprise. You haven't found one without a vinyl top have you?Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 (edited) If your going to invest in a '68/'69 Riviera, then get one with all the options you want !Ed's CL pick is a rare '68 GS with most of the bells 'n whistles, with a few new parts at a reasonable price, but it does need some TLC and some fixen up to be a keeper.It even has the vacuum door lock option, but that dull Inca Silver Mist, and faded Black vinyl top has to go.Depending on the overall body 'rust' situation, and final price, it might be just what your looking for - keep us posted !! Edited December 1, 2014 by 68RIVGS (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Just off the phone with him. Really nice older guy, (older than me) was honest and up front, felt like I knew him for ever. He bought the car back in 1971. He drove it around for about 30K miles and then he parked it last winter. After he got it out of storage this past summer, the car developed a miss. He couldn't tell for sure if it was electrical or valve train related. The vinyl top is gone. Numerous people have seen the car. The front left post shows signs of "bubbling" under the vinyl. There are bubbles by the L side park light. The from bumper was "bumped" while the car was parked, and the center portion was "pushed" up towards the hood. As a result, there are bigger than normal gaps from the center flowing outwards towards the end of the bumper. The vacuum door locks work opposite from their original operation. The headlights also work, but are slow in operation. There was hail damage at some point in the past, shows more on the roof, than the rest of the body. He mentioned also there is some rust on the rear fender, lower by the trim piece. Just starting to bubble. The A/C compressor works, the condenser though froze up. Other than that, floors are solid, carpet is good, headliner is good, glass is good, wheels are good, no pitting. Has the protect-o-plate out of all things...He told me if he was going to keep it, he was going to pull the heads off and have a valve job done. He did;t want to sound like he knew what was the issue and try to downplay it. He was just plain honest with me. One guy asked him to haul the car to his place in Lincoln to check it out... Another guy if it would drive to Louisiana...From what I understood, he is getting older and either lost interest, or it is too much work and money for him to do justice to the car. It will definitely need paint and body work. Plus a new top and possibly head work. He sounded like he would take an offer. Question is, a lot of people with better eyes and much more experience than me have passed this opportunity and there might be a reason for that... I just don't want to get into something way over my head... I did a car once that was so misrepresented, by the time I was done with it I think I barely broke even... Too proud to admit I screwed up, pack everything up right at the first signs of trouble and call it a day. I did the car justice, but I will never do it again. I will need professional help with this one. I don't know a lot of people in this huge city and there is a trust issue with body shops off the white pages... Definitely better than average, but at the end you get what you pay for... Edited December 2, 2014 by VickyBlue (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 This is the car I was referred to on my initial post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 The car referenced above with pics looks to be in fabulous condition. Holding the price back would be the color combo and low options. If it had a few options and a more appealing color seller would have no problem at $11k. Put a nice set of chrome road wheels on it and the car would be instantly transformed. Since you like the color that's in your favor as you won't deduct value for that personally. Others will and fewer interested people will drive the price down especially this time of year. I'd be surprised if seller was able to find a buyer for more than $8-9k. There is good value in having a car with a solid body throughout and it looks like it does. You can always build around that. The aftermarket makes some great add-on A/C kits for classics if you really need A/C. One last point, Rivs with hardly any options benefit in performance due to much curb less weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Maybe some one can learn from my mistake. After the first email, I got a lot of detailed, high def pictures, close to 50 of them describing the car. I typed "1968 Buick Riviera values" and got to thishttp://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch/Report?vc=112237I could see the car had no a/c, but initially I did not see that it didn't have power seat or power windows, which is fine with me, but had I noticed that immediately, I would have accounted it for in my offer. I called him and as we were talking about the car, I asked him if his price was firm. He was asking $11,999. He said "what do you have in mind?" I said "my main concern is that it has no a/c, so would you take $11,000 for it, it gives me about $1,000 for an after market a/c unit?" I hadn't even finish my sentence and he said "I can do that!"... The car is 1100 miles away from me, I bought both my cars "sight unseen" both were one family car and both owners had passed away, both came with lots of documentation, pictures, records, and after seeing the values on the above link, I thought $11K was a fair offer. I have a week off starting next Monday and I was going to take my 4Runner and a flat bed and go get it. I sent him an email last night telling him basically I offered to much based on what I thought the car had and did not have and I am backing out. It was stupid of me to make an offer over the phone and the fact that he took it right away, made me feel even worse. I didn't just disappear, I told him the truth and at this point I just don't know what the real value is and how much I should have offered initially. I think my chances of getting it are slim to non, at least via long distance. If I was closer and drove up to his place with a flat bed and cash, maybe it would have been a different story. But I am not willing to risk a 2,200 mile round trip for a nice car I obviously overpriced based on the information I had at the time I made the offer. Now you are telling me something different and I am having second thoughts. I don't want to make a $2,000 mistake, he is trying to get as much as he can and I am trying to get it for as little as possible... I don't know how to handle this.Hope someone can learn from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) If its meant to be it will be. Patience is a virtue. If you are concerned with resale value I wouldn't pay more than $8k but that's just me. If the car really speaks to you there is no harm is paying more than a perceived market value when its a very solid rust free and tidy car inside and out. The seller may eventually find he can't sell it for what he hoped and at that point a lower offer from you would be looking pretty good. Heck - it sounds like he may have accepted $10k at first offer. Estimating value on Riviera's is a tough task because of many variables. Book values aren't always as accurate for Rivs as they can be for mainstream classics. I admit I have my own assessments which are based on what I have personally seen other cars sell for both first hand and on ebay. Really nice 68-69 Rivs show up for sale fairly often so if this one doesn't work out there will be others. A 2200 mile transport trip is nothing to sneeze at. Gas, wear and tear, risk of accident, food, tolls, lodging etc will add up. For me to make a trip like that it would have to be for something very near and dear to my heart. Edited December 2, 2014 by JZRIV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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