1933 Buick Roadmaster Victoria, not mine.

[Xander Wildeisen]

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/783939333740036/?ref=search

[7th Son]

Sorry, potential buyers, but 1936 was the first year for the Buick Roadmaster. Secondly, my old eyes must be failing me: that's an unusual shade of grey.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by 7th Son (see edit history)

[neil morse]

Looks like a beautiful car.  The ad says the exterior color is burgundy, despite what is written in the OP.  But not a Roadmaster, as noted above.

[7th Son]

43 minutes ago, neil morse said:

The ad says the exterior color is burgundy,

 

My wife always said I was colorblind and borderline dyslextic, but maybe there's others out there with sight challenges 🥸

 

facebook:

driven 26,300 miles

Manual transmission

Exterior color: Grey

Interior color: Grey

Fuel type: Gasoline

Excellent condition

Clarkson, KY · over a week ago

 

 

[AdamInNH]

I looked at this very car in January 2021. It was in Birmingham, AL at the time. I had made an offer on it, pending my inspection, drove 1200 miles, one-way, to see it and decided to pass. 
 

Rare car. If it needed nothing, $50K would be all the money, IMO. It needed, so I moved on. 
 

Hasn’t been driven much since I saw it, just a few hundred miles 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by AdamInNH (see edit history)

[alsancle]

We have talked about this car before. I’ll have to go find the link. The Gray makes me think it’s a scam advertisement?

Edited October 26, 2023 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

Beautiful car, 1933 is a great year across the automotive industry.

[alsancle]

"I drive it up and down the street, want to keep the mileage down".     What sort of statement is this?

 

Here is the original thread where the car was marked sold:

 

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

When this 1933 Buick Model 96 was for sale a couple

of years ago, I spoke with the owners.  I even put them

in touch with a couple of collectors I thought might be

interested.

 

One well-known and ardent Buick fan ended up not interested.

I don't know why, but I believe he had one of this model already. 

 

I didn't think the interior looked correct;  Nicola Bulgari's

upholsterer confirmed my thoughts and said it would cost

$20,000 to redo properly.

 

I appreciate the car's graceful styling and its scarcity.  I have

quite a few pictures the owner sent me when it was for sale

in 2021.  Here is the interior--which the owner thought was correct:

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[28StutzCabriolet]

I'm a little slow this morning. What series is this? I agree - the upholstery is not correct. You could use it, but my eyes would get sore after a while. Looks like it was done by an around the corner upholstery shop.

[alsancle]

8 minutes ago, 28StutzCabriolet said:

I'm a little slow this morning. What series is this? I agree - the upholstery is not correct. You could use it, but my eyes would get sore after a while. Looks like it was done by an around the corner upholstery shop.

90

[alsancle]

2 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

When this 1933 Buick Model 96 was for sale a couple

of years ago, I spoke with the owners.  I even put them

in touch with a couple of collectors I thought might be

interested.

 

One well-known and ardent Buick fan ended up not interested.

I don't know why, but I believe he had one of this model already. 

 

I didn't think the interior looked correct;  Nicola Bulgari's

upholsterer confirmed my thoughts and said it would cost

$20,000 to redo properly.

 

I appreciate the car's graceful styling and its scarcity.  I have

quite a few pictures the owner sent me when it was for sale

in 2021.  Here is the interior--which the owner thought was correct:

 

 

It is a shame when this happens.   I'm sure some money was spent doing something that ends up detracting from the car.

[neil morse]

11 hours ago, 7th Son said:

My wife always said I was colorblind and borderline dyslextic, but maybe there's others out there with sight challenges 🥸

 

From the Facebook ad (not the opening post):

 

"About This Vehicle

  Driven 26,300 miles

Manual transmission

Exterior color: Burgundy · Interior color: Grey

Fuel type: Gasoline

Excellent condition"

[Xander Wildeisen]

I guess I have to ask, if it’s $20,000 dollars to redo the interior correctly. Is that going to add $20,000. Dollars to the value? And if the interior is not done correctly, as being stated. Does that subtract $20,000 dollars of value off of the finished product? How much does the incorrect interior hurt the finished value of the car? 

[John_S_in_Penna]

Spending money on a car doesn't improve the car's

value by that full amount.  So I guess it's fair to say

that needing $20,000 of upholstery work doesn't

subtract that full amount either.

 

But I would deduct a large amount--maybe $10,000--

from the car's value for that wrong upholstery.  The

car isn't accurately priced, in my opinion.

 

One can imagine a past owner speaking to an upholstery man:

Shop man:  "The material isn't made any more.  We'll have to

     have the material specially made if you want to do it right."

Car owner:  "Well, just use that gray velour you used on my

     1989 Nissan.  And make sure the seat-belt buckles are plastic.

     No one will ever tell the difference."

 

The adage is true:  If you do work on a car, do it correctly!

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[neil morse]

I'm not sure there's such a thing as "accurate" pricing.  The right price will turn out to be a combination of whatever the buyer is willing to take and whatever someone is willing to pay.  It sure is a beautiful and rare car, that's for sure. 

[Xander Wildeisen]

So is the difference in cost just the material? Labor is labor, maybe a difference with some material like leather, if it is harder to work with. What material type was used in this car originally?

[alsancle]

There is a really nice Packard out there that a new owner decided to redo in nice but completely incorrect materials.  The finished job was done well, to a high level but  inappropriate for the car.   Last I checked it has been three years and it hasn't found a home yet.  I'm convinced the interior is holding it back.

 

[Milburn Drysdale]

29 minutes ago, alsancle said:

There is a really nice Packard out there that a new owner decided to redo in nice but completely incorrect materials.  The finished job was done well, to a high level but  inappropriate for the car.   Last I checked it has been three years and it hasn't found a home yet.  I'm convinced the interior is holding it back.

 

Any photos to see what you mean?

[John_S_in_Penna]

3 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

So is the difference in cost just the material? Labor is labor, maybe a difference with some material like leather, if it is harder to work with. What material type was used in this car originally?

There isn't really a formula to determine how much to deduct.

It's a judgment call of the buyer, and the seller has to concur

that the car isn't worth the price of a correct one.  It may take

a seller quite a while to realize.

 

Buick specialists of 1933 can tell you what the correct fabric

should be.  I know some late 1920's Buicks had a velour--

I've seen a darker tan, and maybe there was a dark blue, and...?

By the 1930's, many cars had various versions of striped

broadcloth, with the base color being tan and the stripes

very narrow in other conservative colors. 

 

[alsancle]

32 minutes ago, Milburn Drysdale said:

Any photos to see what you mean?

 

I'd rather not.  I know the guy that owns it.

[neil morse]

3 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

So is the difference in cost just the material? Labor is labor, maybe a difference with some material like leather, if it is harder to work with. What material type was used in this car originally?

Labor is labor, but it can take a lot more of it to do things correctly.  This car, sadly, seems to have been upholstered like a living room couch, with squared off cushions with piping on them.  I'm no expert, but I doubt very much if this was the way it came from the factory.  Here's a photo of the Bulgari car from another thread that shows just a bit of what the presumably correct interior should look like.  That special stitching requires more labor for sure.

 

 

 

[DFeeney]

All things said,  Victoria's always seem to take my breath away.

[Xander Wildeisen]

23 minutes ago, alsancle said:

 

I'd rather not.  I know the guy that owns it.

What are friends for?

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

What are friends for?

Who said he was a friend?

[Den41Buick]

All it needs is fuzzy dice to go with that interior!

Oh its kind of annoying that  someone thinks its a Roadmaster.

[jps]

When this car was originally for sale about 2 years ago, I was very interested.  I spoke with the owners and asked several questions, but it was located too far away for me.  Shortly after I said no, the car was sold on auction and I never saw a bid over $33000, even though the asking price when I was interested was $48000.  I think this would be a great car for $40000 or less; if the upholstery is wrong I personally wouldn't be too concerned as long as it was done well.  Kentucky is still too far away for me, but it is getting closer... 

[m-mman]

3 hours ago, alsancle said:

Last I checked it has been three years and it hasn't found a home yet.  I'm convinced the interior is holding it back.

To understand this phenomenon look

at Real Estate.  
You want to sell your house.  The agent looks at other similar homes in the area and determines the “value”. 
 

That sets the (asking) price but not the actual value.  (Sold price). 

 

The actual value/price is hidden in another statistic, Days on the Market.  
3 houses, all the same. All 3 said to have the same “value”. 2 are in escrow within 14 days, one has been on the market for 90 days with no offers.  
 

Every appraiser in town gives the 3rd house the identical value to the other 2.  (You could get the appraised amount as a loan) Well something is wrong with it.   What? Sometimes it’s hard to tell, but 90 days without an offer means something is off.  
 

Real estate agents then suggest lowering the asking price until it finds a buyer. 
 

So, does a $20,000 interior add $20,000 in value?  No, but it might result in a very quick sale.  
The other alternative is to take $20,000 off the price.  The numbers are the same, the question is what are your goals?  
Keep it and fix it? Or gain another parking space? 

[AdamInNH]

There’s a reason that I made a 3000+ mile round trip to see and drive this car in January 2021. You can count on one hand how many are extant. Buick made great cars and awesome engines. Pictures don’t tell the whole story. I have undercarriage and close-up pix of this car, I had it up on a lift.

 

The engine ran OK, but not perfect. At about 35 MPH, driving around the block a few times, twice I hit the same bump on the road and the ‘kick shackle’ didn’t do its job - the car went into a +crazy+ speed wobble - can’t see that in pictures. 

 

The undercarriage was decent. Certainly not exposed to salt back in the day. 

 

As noted, the interior is amateurish at best.  At $30K, I’d buy the car today knowing I’d be far upside down in no time. At $32K I’d have to think really hard about it; not a penny more. The car needs $30K of work, right off the bat, and who knows what else? Paint? Fugeddabouddit. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by AdamInNH (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

Sounds like the car is the real deal. So the overall condition is holding it back from the asking price. What is realistically the top value for this car in #1 condition?

[John_S_in_Penna]

3 hours ago, AdamInNH said:

At about 35 MPH, driving around the block a few times, twice I hit the same bump on the road and the ‘kick shackle’ didn’t do its job-- the car went into a +crazy+ speed wobble... 

What do you mean by "speed wobble?"  Do you mean

that the suspension was bad and that the wheels were

wobbling side to side?

 

2 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

What is realistically the top value for this car in #1 condition?

In perfect cosmetic and mechanical condition, my

guesstimate would be $70,000 realistically.  Old Cars

Price Guide says $56,500. 

 

However, it sounds like this car needs a thorough

re-restoration, costing perhaps $100,000 or more.

If you got the car for free, you'd have a lot of fun, but

you would consume plenty of money.  This is not the

"great investment" that the hyperbolic seller says it is.

[alsancle]

Absolutely perfect cars bring the most money but that it is typically a fraction of what they cost to restore.  I'm a big fan of the 90 series Buick 31-35.   This is one of my favorite body styles.    I'm not sure a perfect one of these would bring 70 but make it would.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Let’s run the numbers. Max value $70,000. Current asking price $57,000. Cost to redo the car to make it a 100 point car $100,000 +. Best thing to do is go in with a lower offer. Book a plane ticket, ship the car. And go for a nice quiet drive in the English country side. During the drive, the wobble in the front end will be figured out. And any issues with the motor, will become very obvious.