1926 Buick opinions wanted.

[Guest]

Hi fellas. My Great-Grandfather owned a 1926 Buick Master. It's still in the family, but not in my garage. I'd like to buy it from the other family member. <P>It is in unrestored condition and complete, as near as I can tell from having seen it only once. (OK. The radiator cap is missing) The top is old and dry, and the interior is all there, just old. No mice.<P>What would be a fair price to offer?<BR>How difficult is it to get parts?<P>Thank You.<BR>Al B.

[bubba]

Could you tell what model it is? Is it a two door, four door, convertible? If it is a Master it will be a 40 or 50 series.

[Guest]

It's a four door. Beyond that, I can't say. I don't know which model, but if I were to guess, it would be the more expensive of the two you mentioned. It was his policy to buy the best.<BR>All I know is that I want this car with a passion, but don't want to start a family fight by offering too little for it.

[The Old Guy]

perhaps you should ask the person who owns the car what they think it is worth, and use that as a starting point. It may be that you can arrive at a number that is mutually agreed upon and is fair to both.

[old buicks]

The model number of your car can be found on a tag on the firewall of the car. It will be a 26-47, 26-49 or a 26-51. 26 denotes the year and the other numbers tell what series and quality level the car is. There are a lot of things to consider with a car like this. Is the engine free, what shape is the car in general, will you have the work done or do it yourself and have you ever undertaken a project like this before? <BR>Also consider how big your bank account is. What you consider a large sum for the project will be eaten up fairly fast whether you do it yourself or have it done. EXPERIENCE TALKING!!!!!!

[Guest]

Al:<P>I have a 1927 model 51 which is probably similar to yours. It is a 4 door long wheelbase closed car with an oval rear quarter window.<P>My car was extremely complete, just a few small items missing. It had been in dry storage since 1939, had little rust, and it actually ran to a degree. The roof was gone, and the interior looked bad but was still intact. Almost all the wood was in great condition.<P>I didn't pay a whole lot for the car ($3000 about 9 years ago), though I felt it was "worth" much more than that to me. Unfortunately, even though cars like this have almost vanished completely, they are not worth nearly as much as newer collector cars. 20's cars are relatively dull looking, can barely live with modern traffic, and have outlived those who remember them. <P>I find my '27 to be an incredible piece of history and I have thoroughly enjoyed restoring this car over the last 8 or 9 years. Still, I don't think of these cars as being of inherantly high value. Check with the Old Cars Value Guide and see what they say, or get an appraisal. Look in Hemmings, you can find this sort of service.<P>ps parts are hard to come by for these cars, but there are some suppliers for a few basic items. If your car isn't complete, you will probably need a parts car to get anywhere with it.