Rent, Lease, Sell or Kill: 1995 Buick Roadmaster Limited

by Steven Lang

Published: December 7th, 2010

rent lease sell or kill 1995 buick roadmaster limited

It’s one of my favorite cars. Don’t ask me why. Engine straight from a Vette. Rear wheel drive as God rightfully intended. Big leather seats that are as thick as a saddle, and a ride that Norman Rockwell would approve of. This late great Roadmaster has 158,000 miles and nary a check engine light or mechanical issue in sight. It rides great. The cosmetics? Not bad. A little glue on the door strips here and there thanks to Georgia summers and GM bean counters. I’ll tell ya, if gas were $1 a gallon this would have already been in my garage. It rides like heaven but with gas treading $3 in the low demand winter season, it’s hitting the road; especially since I paid $1385 for the beast.

Rent: I tried renting this thing for weeks and nobody would touch it. “It’s too big.” “A V8? No, I can’t afford the gas bill.” Every time this car was parked besides a Park Avenue or Bonneville, it was left alone. You would think that this would be the ultimate of rentals? Well, let me fill you in on something. Women hate them and men… go straight to the Bonneville. The dowdy styling of the exterior combined with the Shamu inspired Caprice side profile couldn’t quicken a pulse.

Finance: This would be the perfect retiree vehicle. Except it’s too big, consumes too much gas, and well… most retirees don’t finance their rides. A young person wouldn’t give it much street cred and middle aged folks are too busy trying to make ends meet. The Roadmaster may offer more space and power than an SUV from the same era. But it doesn’t have the high seating position or the pseudo-tough styling. It’s an older car for older folks… and therefore…

Sell: Yep, I sold it. But here’s the surprise. I sold it to a young guy in his early 20’s. Why? How? Huh? Well it all comes down to some very creative advertising. The Vette engine. The Caprice rep. Great pictures of great seats… it went something like this…

✪CORVETTE ENGINE – 260 HORSEPOWER – LEATHER – BUICK ROADMASTER LIMITED✪

This Buick Roadmaster is the same exact vehicle as a Chevrolet Caprice .

However it comes with…

✪ 260 Horsepower – Corvette LT1 Engine

✪ A far better Leather Interior

✪ Premium Surround Sound

✪ Four Wheel ABS – Cruise – 158k original miles

✪ Enough space in the back to start a family

We can be reached at….

We have 100% positive Ebay feedback (username: …) as well as low (but firm) prices.

At $1995 it was out the door. You would think a car that once attracted the most affluent clientele in GM’s lineup would be worth more. Perhaps it is. But after 60+ days of sitting around it was time to slap a good price on it and send this Q-ship on another maiden voyage. I loved the car. But don’t regret the profit.

#BuySellLeaseOrKill? #HammerTime #UsedCars

Steven Lang

More by Steven Lang

Comments

Join the conversation

6 of 55 comments

Bikegoesbaa on Dec 09, 2010

I bought a '92 white Roadmaster wagon in good shape with 140k for $100 back in October. This may be the single best vehicle purchase I've ever made, and I've bought a lot of cars. I'm sure I could sell it tomorrow for at least double that. $150 for brake hoses, shocks, and an alignment and its runs good as new. I originally got it as a joke, basically, but it's come to be my daily driver, road trip car, utility vehicle, and night out friend hauler all in one. It's comfortable, practical, tough, and cheap. What more could you want from a beater? Over Thanksgiving weekend the beast took an 1,100 mile road trip, getting 24 mpg with the cruise set for 75, and zero problems. It is a ridiculous and profoundly flawed vehicle, but still has the potential to be a great car. I'm 27, and my other vehicles are a Miata and a motorcycle. Until recently I was looking at getting a brand new car rather than driving the Miata everyday, but decided they weren't worth the cost premium over something like this. I think you can have more fun with a B-body wagon and money to burn than I can with any 2011 car you care to name. Way more fun. And now I'm off to take myself and 7 co-workers out to lunch!

Like Reply
- See 2 previous
- 86er on Dec 10, 2010
  
  Truly the last of its breed. It's good to know that some people are experiencing it before they exist only as museum pieces. Too many are still of the 60s-era mindset that we must tear everything down and bury everything in the name of "progress". Enjoy.
  
  Like
- PrincipalDan on Dec 10, 2010
  
  I can see the display now. "autous-wagonus domesiticus extinction caused by popular indifference and being the primary prey of the Essuvee, whose numbers exploded during the late 1990s."
  
  Like
- 86er on Dec 10, 2010
  
  The SUV also proliferated due to CAFE light truck loopholes. CAFE is primarily responsible for the death of the large passenger car (wagon and sedan). So the U.S. Federal Government would need a shout-out in there too. But I don't see that happening.
  
  Like
Rudiger on Dec 10, 2010

While there were many reasons for the demise of the full-size, RWD, big-engine wagon, I suspect that the biggest one was ride height. Drivers of a shorter stature who needed a vehicle with more passenger carrying capacity and were also able to see above traffic in a 'command height' vehicle was a key element to the success of the minivan, then SUV. Unfortunately, it's a real PIA for those of us who drive vehicles of a more conventional height.

Like Reply
- 86er on Dec 10, 2010
  
  That, and Baby Boomers' rapidly aging knees.
  
  Like

Recent Comments

HotRod Not me personally, but yes - lower prices will dramatically increase the EV's appeal.
Slavuta "the price isn’t terrible by current EV standards, starting at $47,200"Not terrible for a new Toyota model. But for a Vietnamese no-name, this is terrible.
Slavuta This is catch22 for me. I would take RAV4 for the powertrain alone. And I wouldn't take it for the same thing. Engines have history of issues and transmission shifts like glass. So, the advantage over hard-working 1.5 is lost.My answer is simple - CX5. This is Japan built, excellent car which has only one shortage - the trunk space.
Slavuta "Toyota engineers have told us that they intentionally build their powertrains with longevity in mind"Engine is exactly the area where Toyota 4cyl engines had big issues even recently. There was no longevity of any kind. They didn't break, they just consumed so much oil that it was like fueling gasoline and feeding oil every time
Wjtinfwb Very fortunate so far; the fleet ranges from 2002 to 2023, the most expensive car to maintain we have is our 2020 Acura MDX. One significant issue was taken care of under warranty, otherwise, 6 oil changes at the Acura dealer at $89.95 for full-synthetic and a new set of Michelin Defenders and 4-wheel alignment for 1300. No complaints. a '16 Subaru Crosstrek and '16 Focus ST have each required a new battery, the Ford's was covered under warranty, Subaru's was just under $200. 2 sets of tires on the Focus, 1 set on the Subie. That's it. The Focus has 80k on it and gets synthetic ever 5k at about $90, the Crosstrek is almost identical except I'll run it to 7500 since it's not turbocharged. My '02 V10 Excursion gets one oil change a year, I do it myself for about $30 bucks with Synthetic oil and Motorcraft filter from Wal-Mart for less than $40 bucks. Otherwise it asks for nothing and never has. My new Bronco is still under warranty and has no issues. The local Ford dealer sucks so I do it myself. 6 qts. of full syn, a Motorcraft cartridge filter from Amazon. Total cost about $55 bucks. Takes me 45 minutes. All in I spend about $400/yr. maintaining cars not including tires. The Excursion will likely need some front end work this year, I've set aside a thousand bucks for that. A lot less expensive than when our fleet was smaller but all German.