58L-Y8 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 For Sale: 1938 Buick Limited 90 - $35,000 - Denville, NJ https://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/denville-1938-buick-limited-90/7233404071.html 1938 Buick Limited touring sedan, a full CCCA recognized classic, this is the big one! Only one repaint in 82 years, Gainsborough Blue. A superb turn key driver. COMPLETELY reconditioned for immediate enjoyment. These are the cars that Cadillac brass complained to GM about. As nice as you will find anywhere for the money. Partial interesting trades considered. If you have the financial means, a proper garage and don't need permission. Many thanks. Contact: call Gup for honest details: (973) three hundred sixty six, fifty eight fifty three. No emails. SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY PLEASE. NO BROKERS! I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1938 Buick Limited 90 sedan. Note: The Buick Limited was the model which the prosperous smaller town banker, factory or business owner who felt a Cadillac would be too showy would buy for his family car. The 1938-'40 Limited shared the Fisher-built bodies with the Cadillac 75 and 90. The seller's note is correct, Harlow Curtiss was pushing Cadillac hard with the Limited 90, only he could have gotten away with it from the way he saved Buick. Alfred Sloan pretty much gave him free reign to do as he saw fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 The big brute sure looks good with blackwalls, doesn't it? Not loving the living room coffee table in back, though. I think these are great cars (obviously) and that they should be worth more than they are, but the reality is that this one is pretty much pegged on the expensive end of the gauge. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Just looking at this makes me feel like taking a road trip. What a beautiful road car. I'm not a column shift person so seeing the shifter on the floor is really appealing. I wonder if the furniture in the back came with the car originally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted November 19, 2020 Author Share Posted November 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Fossil said: I wonder if the furniture in the back came with the car originally? No. its just something the owner set in there to place the period Art Deco radio on. This car is the Model No. 91 six passenger touring sedan, one of the 437 built. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaddds Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 With the rear room id have thought there would be the folding jump seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted November 20, 2020 Author Share Posted November 20, 2020 9 hours ago, deaddds said: With the rear room id have thought there would be the folding jump seats. There were two other Limited Series 90 models, both with folding jump seats for eight passengers: the 90 touring sedan and the 90L limousine, the later with a partition window. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 The sad thing about this car is that it's a 6-passenger touring sedan, which is the only model with a moveable front seat. It's the only 90 Series that tall people can comfortably drive. But then they planted that ridiculous table in the back to pretty much eliminate that advantage. You could certainly remove the table, I'm sure, but it appears that the carpet is custom tailored around it so you'd be re-doing that as well. Who knows how it's secured? Holes in the floor to fix, too? At this price, your budget for fixes and upgrades is already a negative number. Maybe the table is great for oohs and aahs at shows, but not so great if you want to, you know, use it as a car. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 (edited) Use it as a car...........🤔........Strange thought indeed! I am told there is no sensation like launching a Duesenberg off the line, pounding the gears till you hit the century mark..............maybe, someday, I will know for myself?😇 Edited November 20, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 We spoke to the owner at the DPC field at the AACA fall meet at Gettysburg. Really a friendly fellow! The car has a really nice presence. There is a photo in the Gallery of the event that shows the Blue color to be a bit brighter since it was a bright sunny day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suchan Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 In lieu of the jump seats, wouldn't this model originally have a backseat footrest? Looks like the new upholstery needs some re-fitting. Hard to tell if the dash and garnishes have a dark woodgrain, or are simply brown paint. And as long as I'm nit picking, the front bumper badge should be painted black AND red. Agree with the coolness of the blackwalls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 I believe he mentioned to me that the jump seats were removed so that the bar could be installed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuicks55 Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 As the owner of a 1938 Limited 90L, I would agree with the comments so far. All the pre-war Limiteds are great cars and classics and they should be worth a lot more, but the market indicates otherwise. I hope the sellers get their price, but realistically I think the one for sale probably needs to drop at least $10K or more to move any time soon. From what I have seen, buyers seem to be particularly picky when everything isn’t perfect on these. I do really love my 38 and it is definitely a car I plan to keep for a lifetime. I have had it about 12 years now and enjoy driving it. We even used it for my wedding and several friends' weddings as well. An odd thing is that if I take it some place where it is mostly “car guys”, like a local cars and coffee or small car show, it doesn’t really get a second look. I think it is just seen as a big old four door sedan. However, when I go someplace where it is mostly non-car people or a show that has a lot of the general public attending, they seem to go nuts over it. Mine has the glass divider and leather seats in front but oddly enough no jumps seats. It has a built in bar/storage cabinet in the back of the front seat, which is substantially different than the one installed in the Limited for sale in this thread. I haven’t seen the option that mine has in any Buick literature but I have seen enough 38 Limiteds (at least three others) similarly equipped with the built in storage compartment and no jump seats that it would seem to have at least been an option. Oh and as someone mentioned, the front seat is fixed and probably designed for someone about 5’10” or less. But if you are taller, don’t let that scare you too much. I am about 6”2” and while a couple more inches of leg room would be nice, I have driven the car close to 2,000 miles and for me, it has just been something I have gotten used to. My brother in law is 6’5” and he has driven the car several times, without significant complaint. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 ob55, Can you post a picture of the storage cab in your car please? Idle curiosity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 I am curious since the owners on here state the 90 series "should be worth a lot more than" $35,000. What should new buyers pay for a nice one? $50,000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 1 hour ago, B Jake Moran said: I am curious since the owners on here state the 90 series "should be worth a lot more than" $35,000. What should new buyers pay for a nice one? $50,000? No, the point is that 90 Series Buicks are a lot of car for the money and that $35,000 for a high-quality vintage luxury car shouldn't be an eyebrow-raising discussion. SHOULD and IS are two different concepts. But yes, you should pay $50,000 for the best one in the world and be forever pleased with what a great car it is. Or pay $6000 for a crappy one and forever beat your head against a wall. By the way, this hobby flat-out sucks when you boil it down to dollars. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuicks55 Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 Someone requested photos of my cabinet in my 90L. I have no doubt it is not exactly as it came from the factory as some of the hardware is a little too crude. Still I have seen enough similar examples that I think the cabinet was an option and not just some crafty restorer's substitute for missing jump seats. But I could be wrong! As a side note, I don't think the wood around the divider window crank is probably stock. Also, for those who are curious that is a clock above the crank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 Nice place to store your weapons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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