1988 Reatta For Sale

[Guest]

The car is in excellent condition. It is white over red with 82K miles. It has been garage kept and I have all the original materials that came with it including the window sticker. The car is located in Maryland and Iam the original owner. Please contact me on e-mail at bing@fastol.com for any additional info you might need.

[Guest EDBS0]

Just a couple of questions to clarify the condition of the Reatta! <BR><B>HOW MUCH???</B><BR>Is there a sunroof? Does it work perfectly?<BR>Any small dings or accidents?<BR>Is the paint original? Is it excellent, good or poor?<BR>Do the headlights work properly? Have they been rebuilt? When?<BR>Is the leather excellent, good or poor. Are there suede inserts?<BR>16 way power seat? All functions of seat work?<BR>Condition of the armrest is?<BR>Any headliner problems?<BR>Have original mats?<BR>Carpet condition is?<BR>Is there a tape player or CD and do they work?<BR>All glass and windshield perfect? Any tinting?<BR>Mirrors working fine?<BR>Does the CRT work? Recent servicing of CRT?<BR>Power windows all work.<BR>Cruise control work?<BR>Intermittent wipers work?<BR>Have the brakes been worked on recently? Accumulator been replaced? When?<BR>Brake System flushed? When?<BR>Tire - make & condition?<BR>Emergency brake functioning?<BR>Exhaust condition is?<BR>Are the rims original and unscarred or scuffed?<BR>Condition of the engine is? Recent work? Uses oil?<BR>Condition of transmission is? Recent work?<BR>Air-conditioning cold? R12 or R134a?<BR>Do you have all receipts and work history?<BR>Is there an annual state Safety and Emission check? Did car pass?<BR>Clean CarFax report?<BR>Any Photos?<P>Why are you selling?<BR>Any thing else we should know? <p>[ 10-26-2001: Message edited by: Drive it like I stole it. ]

[Guest]

Drive Its questions are all valid and should be eventually asked or better yet checked in person, but I think all the questions at once are a little overwhelming.<P>Most buyers don't know if the car they are selling has a four or six cylinder engine, let alone know what an accumulator is.<P>Basically, if the mileage isn't listed, it is high mileage.<P>If the price isn't listed, it is too high.<P>Take it from there.

[padgett]

Agree with both of you. The Reatta is quite special and some elements are very expensive to repair/replace. Not like my Judge where a drive around a long block and a magnet can tell you what you need to know.<P>OTOH, if the Reatta is under U$3,000 (U$5,000 for a convertible), it probably does not matter, you cannot expect more than a #4 with 150k for that.<P>It is when the price is higher that a complete description is needed - it is hard to tell in November whether the cooling system is marginal or without some panic stops on a slippery surface what condition the ABS is in.<P>Certainly for a coupe over $6k or a convertable over $8k, I would expect a complete history to be available. Maybe we could convert DriveIt's list to a web site check list. <P>Such a web site for Reattas for sale would also get all of these trolls off the board other than a single announcement. If no-one replies, it would die of its own accord.<P>Might also mention thate the "Old Cars" rating system was designed for just such shorthand description:<BR>#6 - Junque. Not running. Bow and stern separation likely. May have tree growing through trunk floor. Worth more as parts than as a car.<P>#5 - If left at curb unlocked will not be stolen. Providing transporation for someone who has trouble speeling "Buick".<P>#4 - Your basic fixer-upper. High milage but a lot of potential. Purchase price about the same as cost to get back to decent condition.<P>#3 - Nice 10-10 car. From 10 feet away and at 10 mph it looks good. Cosmetics probably need some help and non-essentials (sunroof, thigh extender) may not work. With lots of effort can probably make into a low #2. No major problems but might not be garaged.<P>#2 - Very nice appearance and low milage for year. Everything works. Low #2 can be regularly driven but requires regular and continuing maintenance to stay a #2. Is always garaged.<P>Is easy to downgrade from #2 to #3 - a few missing or wrong fasteners. Missing or cracked plastic trim, elements like pod illumination that doesn't. Parking lot dings and stone chips.<P>Bottom line: at a local show a #2 should win its class and have a shot at best in show.<P>#1 - Platinum class winner. Cannot be told from new. Without close examination a #1 cannot be told from a nice #2 on the street except you will never see a #1 on the street. Is both garaged (climate controlled) and trailered. These cars are often listed at very high prices but rarely sell except at major auctions (with high reserve). Are sometimes traded for something equivalent.<P>Now there are a lot of #3s claiming to be #2 or better. There are a lot of sales(wo)men out there also. Generally a few exchanges are all that is necessary to tell which is which.<P>Reatta is a special car. For a mid-#3 or below it can be treated as "just another car". High-#3 (potential #2) and up determination takes someone who really knows what they are looking at (and is best to "look at" - anyone who buys anything over a low-#3 sight unseen probably deserves it.<P>Am somewhat biased on the subject. Used to do platinum judging until I got tired of picking apart nice cars (and found few other judges were capable of the same standards - to me, platinum judging takes an hour or two per car. Minimum. Documentation required).<P><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">None</span></span> of my cars (and that includes my Reatta) are "show worthy". I tend to make too many changes (have yet to see a car that the "factory got it right"). My aim is more for high #3/low #2 and since all are driven, this is a challenge. The lack of garage time also hurts.<P>But for under $10k in 2001 dollars, does it really matter ?