Ok first off, to be up front, I am the second owner of this car. I put one owner in the title since I bought the car from the original owner (76 at the time!) and have never registered it in Canada yet. A little history on the car...
I've run the Limited Registry over the years with varying degrees of commitment as my time allows. One of the perks is that I sometimes get a heads up on some nice cars. While travelling out to Ohio to pick up another Limited, a board member put me on to this car. It had been listed on eBay for the owner by a family member (he doesn't have a computer). Partly because of his inability to communicate online, partly because people thought he was miserable and crotchety (he was actually just very emotionally attached to the car), and partly because it is a T-top car, it never sold. Passing through Chicago on my way to eastern Ohio to pick up my white Limited, I decided to detour to look at this car. It wound up being an expensive detour. Not only did I buy this car, but I rolled into Ohio at 2am after driving all day and bought my white Limited sight unseen only to find out later it was a mechanical mess (That's a story that will come out in another thread
). Then, a month later, I came across my tan W02 Limited in Grand Rapids, MI and bought it too, storing it at this fellow's house for a few weeks once this car was in transit to Montana for delivery. It was a busy fall in 2012. But I digress. Here's a picture taken with the previous owner on my little detour...
So back to this car. It's a red D84 chrome car with a grey leather interior. Ed, the original owner pictured with me above, ordered the car late in the '87 production run. So late in fact that the dealership called him a few weeks into his order and told him it was 50:50 whether or not it would be built in time. The Buick gods smiled on Ed though and something happened that allowed him to get his car. The car stickered at $19,068...very high for a Limited. The car's options can be seen on the window sticker, or more completely on the RPO sticker.
Now people are going to ask for pictures, especially since this will most likely be a long distance transaction. Given that the car has been stored since I bought it, taken out only three times in my subdivision to circulate fluids, I figured the original pictures I took when I was contemplating buying the car would suffice...all 341 of them. I've unlocked the gallery in the Registry holding this car's photos. Feel free to view them here. If you want any additional pictures, let me know and I'll pull it out of the shop to take them. Please don't ask if you're not serious...it's not a five minute job as you can see below.
On to why I'm selling it. I'd list these reasons in order of importance.
- I simply do not have the time to spend with the car hobby due to my occupation and additional business ventures. And with what little time I have, I'd rather be at the lake fishing and quadding with my kids. So I've decided to pare my three Limiteds down to just one.
- I had a really disappointing experience with the transaction for my white Limited that really took the wind out of my sails in the Buick community (and my faith in humanity in general...lol). That will all come out when I sell that car...
- Even though this red D84 is the favorite of my Limiteds due to its provenance and the fact it best represents what a Limited should be to me (chrome Grandpa car) , I have to be realistic about my lack of time for these cars. My tan W02 car is a painted hood away from being flawless, and therefore fits better with my commitment to enjoy one car with the limited time I have available. Not that this car needs a lot...I just have more I wanted to do with it to bring it to a level even beyond the tan car. I felt its provenance warranted it.
- Carfax lists it as having received serious damage on June 1, 1991. Ed's son hit a deer near their home. The hood, header panel, and hood ornament were all replaced with original GM parts. Twenty years after the fact, Ed was furious at Carfax and tried to get them to change it to not say "severe damage reported", but they won't. I think the pictures pretty much answer who is right. I never noticed it until he told me.
- In looking over the car in Michigan, I noticed the right rear bumper filler looked a little wavy and the right rear bumper shock looked like it might have been compressed. Ed swears the car never had an accident other than the deer. I believe him. But I wonder if his son or someone else maybe backed into something back in the day. Look closely in the pictures. It's minor but it's there.
- Ed, bless his soul, decided to install driving lights on his Buick. These are easily removed, but will leave small holes. Again, there are pictures of this.
- The paint on the PS door mirror is spider-webbed. I'm not sure how or why this happened, nor why it only affects the mirror.
- The driver's seat headrest has a scuff in it near where the seatbelt guide attaches. I'll try to get a picture of it.
- The exhaust is not original. Not a big surprise, but still the only thing other than a K&N filter that is not stock.
I've seen quite a few Limiteds in the past few years. These cars were typically bought to be driven, unlike speculative Grand National owners who squirreled their Buicks away. Now almost 30 years old, very few are worth buying and holding onto for any length of time in my opinion. Only five of the hundred or so cars in the Registry have fewer miles than this car. I am not aware of another Limited that remained with it's original owner for as long as this car. While T-top cars are not typically favored, this car is UNMOLESTED and doesn't suffer the usual issues present with T-top cars. I wouldn't hazard to say a Limited in the condition of this one pops up even once a year anymore. The vast majority are major letdowns when seen in person. So if you're interested in a Limited for whatever reason, give this car some consideration. I know the person who will appreciate it best is most likely on this forum. And I will do whatever I can to help another Limited fan acquire it.
If I can answer any more questions, please feel free to contact me by PM here or by email.
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