The Oldsmobile Connection

[mlevy76]

so, my great aunt gave me her '97 cutlass to sell since she's 95 and shouldn't be driving anymore. my question to you guys and gals is the best way to sell it and what i should do to it first.

here's the skinny on her car: it's a '97 cutlass with 20,000 miles -- no kidding. it's grey on the outside with the grey leather interior. it's perfectly mint on the inside, but the outside has some damage to the bumpers where she hit people. like i said, she's 95 and really shouldn't be driving. all four corners got scraped up, but only 1 corner has any serious damage.

do you guys think that i should sell the car as-is or fix it and hope for a good return on the investment of repairing it? also, should i do more than change the oil and get new tires (which i've already done) -- like spend the $300 to flush all of the fluids? what do you think i could get for it, and -- i guess -- are any of you interested in seeing it? i'm new to the forum, so i'm not sure how to upload photos. if you want to see some pictures, i'm happy to email them to you.

what do you think?

[dblack3000]

Hell, 20K miles is practically new (at least for me!!!!). Do you live in the NYC area? If you do, I might be interested!!! Two questions, though--how come you're not interested in buying it? And is it those Cutlasses that look like Malibus (Cutlibus)?

[mlevy76]

thanks for the reply.

i already have a '92 volvo 240 which i love dearly, so i think i'm just going to sell the cutlass. plus, she just gave it to me, so it's mine to do what i want.

from researching it, i think it is the cutlass-malibu model you're thinking of. i'm in austin, texas (but i'm actually on a work conference call with some new yorkers right now!), so let me know if you're up for a quick trip south, and i'll even pick you up from the airport. :)

anyone else? if you're interested, i'll send some pics.

[Brando]

http://encyclopedia.classicoldsmobile.com/cutlass/new/97.html

TOC Admin
Brando

[88 Coupe]

Hi mlevy76, hello everyone,

Welcome to TOC

Quote: ........ do you guys think that i should sell the car as-is or fix it and hope for a good return on the investment of repairing it? ........
Rule of thumb: Money spent in an effort to increase the value of any car, will be wasted money.

You need to know, going in, that (X) dollars "invested" will get you (X+Y) dollars returned, and whether (Y) dollars are worth your time/effort, and the time that cash is tied up.

I suggest you sell it, as is.

Quote: ........ also, should i do more than change the oil and get new tires (which i've already done) ........
Unless they actually needed replacement, you wasted your money on the tires. The originals would tend to back up your low mileage "claim".

Quote: ........ like spend the $300 to flush all of the fluids? ........
Like the tires, it will make it easier to sell, but will not increase its value.

Regards, Norm

[mlevy76]

oh, i'm with you 88 coupe. i don't really want to waste my time and money on fixing up the car either, so i think i'm just going to sell it as-is.

as for the tires, i kind of had to replace them. great aunt judy told me that i had to drive the car for at least a month before i did anything with it (it was her one request), and when i picked up the car and drove it down from dallas to austin in the rain, i almost slid off the road about a dozen times. the tires were the original '97 rubber and looked about as smooth as snakeskin boots. i felt that the investment in tires was basically an investment in my life. :)

be on the lookout for pics soon. it's been raining steadily here since i got the car, so i haven't had the chance to take any photos of it.

[88 Coupe]

mlevy76 wrote: ........ and looked about as smooth as snakeskin boots ........
That would make them an exception. I did not expect the original tires, on that car, to be worn out at 20K miles.

Norm

[Brando]

88 Coupe wrote: mlevy76 wrote: ........ and looked about as smooth as snakeskin boots ........
That would make them an exception. I did not expect the original tires, on that car, to be worn out at 20K miles.

Norm

must of been doing some massive burnouts... :lol:

Just wondering, do you remember what brand/model of tires they were?


TOC Admin
Brando

[mlevy76]

no!!! the tires i replaced had plenty of tread life on them. what i meant was that the rubber on the tires was cracking and scaley from age and exposure. according to a tire guy, they stop being as maleable and able to grip the road at that age and should be replaced. after he changed them, i stopped sliding around in the rain, so his theory was proven correct. i should say that when they took the tires off the car, he showed me just what he meant -- how dried out they were compared to the new tires. kind of scary.

my great aunt replaced the back two tires about a year ago because she punctured one of them and said that a tire guy told her she needed to replace them both. my guess is either than she ran along a curb and the old tires just gave out, or she punctured one of them somehow and the tire guy told her how old and bad her tires were.

that's my guess.

oh, and my mother said that i need to keep the car for at least a few weeks in case my great aunt decides she wants it back (for everyone's sake, let's hope not), so i won't be selling it until mid-february. which is just as well, since i got the car on saturday and need to take the title in to be changed over to my name so that i can sell it.

and for y'all's amusement, i got a picture of me and great aunt judy when i went up there to get the car. we were posing in front of it when she bolted off to the side, hugged the outside rearview mirror and screamed "you won't get away with stealing my car!" right in front of everyone else at the assisted living place. quite a sense of humor. oy!

[mlevy76]

if anyone is interested, i posted an ad for the car in town, and a fellow bought it for $3,000. he spent about 30min going over the car in the driveway and about 15min test driving it around the 'hood.

that was about 3 weeks ago, and i haven't heard from him since and there have been no bricks thrown thru my window, so i'm guessing there were no issues with the car that i hadn't noticed, which were few.

considering that he just paid the asking price, i'm thinking that i have parted with a classic olds without knowing (unlikely) or this just happened to be this guy's dream car (dents and scrapes included).

[88 Coupe]

mlevy76 wrote: ........ i'm thinking that i have parted with a classic olds without knowing ........
Not a chance.

Quote: ........ or this just happened to be this guy's dream car ........
He would be the only one who could answer that.

I have had some very educational conversations, both as a buyer and as a seller, after the cash and paperwork were exchanged.

Norm

[rennie312]

I'm interested in taking a look at your cutlass. I live in austin too. My number is 512.470.7615.
Thanks

[88delta88]

rennie312 wrote: I'm interested in taking a look at your cutlass. I live in austin too. My number is 512.470.7615.
Thanks

:roll: ........