Please Help!!!

[Johnny1990]

Hey Peeps,

Hoping somebody can help me so new buyer first experience I have two 1987 buick grand nationals to choose from. One body going to get a fresh paint job and the emblems are all located in the correct spots via http://www.gnttype.org/general/buyguide.html

But the interior is shot needs upholstery done headliner etc. engine needs major clean up tune up. Runs great though.

Second car emblems are all in the wrong position trunk not on the driver side the passenger and driver emblems are positioned a lot lower than usual and etc..but interior is in much better condition.

Is the second car legit? Do I go with the first and do the work?

What do I do????

 

[Johnny1990]

Hey Peeps,

Hoping somebody can help me so new buyer first experience I have two 1987 buick grand nationals to choose from. One body going to get a fresh paint job and the emblems are all located in the correct spots via http://www.gnttype.org/general/buyguide.html

But the interior is shot needs upholstery done headliner etc. engine needs major clean up tune up. Runs great though.

Second car emblems are all in the wrong position trunk not on the driver side the passenger and driver emblems are positioned a lot lower than usual and etc..but interior is in much better condition.

Is the second car legit? Do I go with the first and do the work?

What do I do????

Link for second car http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/4982229209.html

 

[Johnny1990]

Images for first car

 

[jopaustu]

I'm no expert by any means, but for what they're asking on Craigslist for that first car .You could do a lot better. Have you looked for cars in your area on this forum?I'm thinking maybe you're on the West Coast since that Craigslist was L.A. Seems like I always see a decent cars for sale on the west coast. If you're spending close to 15k for a grand national. I personally think you could do much better take your time and check the cars for sale on this forum although I'm sure you already have

 

[fastblackracing]

Welcome to the turbobuick world, That first car is alot rougher than you think it is, let that one be someone elses problem. Number 2 looks to be a better car but a 122k mile car, 15k price is too steep for me. thats alot of miles to start out with. Have you been looking long?

 

[Johnny1990]

Welcome to the turbobuick world, That first car is alot rougher than you think it is, let that one be someone elses problem. Number 2 looks to be a better car but a 122k mile car, 15k price is too steep for me. thats alot of miles to start out with. Have you been looking long?

Thanks for the feed back...I've been looking for more or less a couple of months now

 

[626gn]

I agree with all of the above advice. If you are willing to drop 15k on one of these cars, you could do much better than the 2 your posted. There is quite a learning curve to understanding these cars and starting with a project car, like the 2nd car you posted (post #3), is not the place to start for 98% of the people new to turbo Buicks. You had the smarts to post up here and ask for advice before you bought. Keep doing that. Lots of knowledgeable people here who will gladly guide you in the right direction. Good luck on your search.

 

[Johnny1990]

I agree with all of the above advice. If you are willing to drop 15k on one of these cars, you could do much better than the 2 your posted. There is quite a learning curve to understanding these cars and starting with a project car, like the 2nd car you posted (post #3), is not the place to start for 98% of the people new to turbo Buicks. You had the smarts to post up here and ask for advice before you bought. Keep doing that. Lots of knowledgeable people here who will gladly guide you in the right direction. Good luck on your search.

Thank you!!

 

[Johnny1990]

I agree with all of the above advice. If you are willing to drop 15k on one of these cars, you could do much better than the 2 your posted. There is quite a learning curve to understanding these cars and starting with a project car, like the 2nd car you posted (post #3), is not the place to start for 98% of the people new to turbo Buicks. You had the smarts to post up here and ask for advice before you bought. Keep doing that. Lots of knowledgeable people here who will gladly guide you in the right direction. Good luck on your search.

What about this one??
http://m.ebay.com/itm/201335435486?nav=SEARCH

 

[626gn]

What about this one??
http://m.ebay.com/itm/201335435486?nav=SEARCH

Better. I like the fact that its a low owner vehicle. After a quick look here are my initial thoughts:

-Maybe just me because I'm picky about paint but the paint issues alone would prevent me from paying asking price. Hard to tell on my computer but I see what looks like a crack developing at the top of the opera window. This is a common problem area but could also give an indication of how hard it was driven which leads me to my next 2 points.

-The description says "never been chipped, modified, rebuilt....." If it still has a stock chip in there engine damage could have resulted. The stock chip has too much timing for today's crappy gas and needs to be replaced with a modern chip.

-Relating to my point above, there is an adjustable wastegate, which is not stock, suggesting someone at one time was playing around with the boost. Not a terrible thing in itself but doing so with a stock chip and no scanmaster is not a good thing.

I probably missed some things on my initial glance. Maybe someone with a sharper eye than me can give additional insight...Lots to think about when buying one of these cars and I'm not sure what you're looking for - stock, stock w/few mods, modified, etc. but as mentioned I would start looking at cars for sale on this board before I went to craigslist, ebay, or anywhere else for that matter. Especially if you're a first time buyer. The best advise I can give is to look at as much cars as you possibly can (this is the fun part) and enlist the help of someone who knows these cars well. I would also venture to say not very many people rush into a purchase and end up happy with what they get. Patience is the key here.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

What 626GN said. What area do you live in?
Welcome to the site.

Mike Barnard

 

[Johnny1990]

What 626GN said. What area do you live in?
Welcome to the site.

Mike Barnard

Thanks Mike! I live in Southern California...South Bay Area....glad I signed up!!!

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Check with Turbo Lou. He's in Lake Forrest. He's got a 50,000 mile, 87 GN, that would be much more bang for the buck than some of those other cars.

Mike B.

 

[Johnny1990]

Check with Turbo Lou. He's in Lake Forrest. He's got a 50,000 mile, 87 GN, that would be much more bang for the buck than some of those other cars.

Mike B.

Wow! Thanks a lot I really appreciate you helping me out!! It means a lot since being green around the ears lol

 

[626gn]

Johnny, now you got a real expert in your thread (Mike)! He knows waaayy more than I will ever know. Your in good hands now

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Hey! I ain't good. I'm just lucky.
Or as Turbo Lou says, "Even a flying squirrel catches a nut sometimes".

 

[turbolou]

Check with Turbo Lou. He's in Lake Forrest. He's got a 50,000 mile, 87 GN, that would be much more bang for the buck than some of those other cars.

Mike B.

Mike thanks, but I'm not ready to sell this car yet probably another several weeks before its done. I have to make sure that I'm offering the best car possible before I can release it for sale. I've never made an enemy on a car sale yet & intend to keep it that way. Lou

 

[turbolou]

Hey! I ain't good. I'm just lucky.
Or as Turbo Lou says, "Even a flying squirrel catches an acorn once in a while .

Mike, I just corrected my quote that you screwed up

 

[626gn]

Hey! I ain't good. I'm just lucky.
Or as Turbo Lou says, "Even a flying squirrel catches a nut sometimes".

You're always so humble in your awesomeness Getting any waves out there lately?

 

[Johnny1990]

I will wait as long as it takes no worries Lou, can't rush perfection ....

Scott you took great care of me lol your not off the hook yet lol I am still going to bug you haha