What's wrong with this 442

[William]

30k miles on a 35 year old 442 for $25k. That's a good price. If it had t-tops, it would be closer to $28k.
I don't think there's anything really objectionable about the exhaust. It looks like someone was trying to get more noise out of it.
As for the wear on the car; it's 35 years old and has had 4 owners. Those things considered, it looks well taken care of.

 

[olds307 and 403]

30k miles on a 35 year old 442 for $25k. That's a good price. If it had t-tops, it would be closer to $28k.
I don't think there's anything really objectionable about the exhaust. It looks like someone was trying to get more noise out of it.
As for the wear on the car; it's 35 years old and has had 4 owners. Those things considered, it looks well taken care of.

Problem is, it probably isn't 30,000 miles. Most of us won't pay that for a car that couldn't beat new economy cars in race. A GN is the exception, their value shows it. I love Olds performance cars but stock they are not exciting. These sit forever at these prices.

 

[565bbchevy]

Great input thank you so much. I've been looking for a solid burgundy/burgundy 442 for a long time, the issue is I really wanted the T-Tops.
However I don't come across many in this color combo, especially in this condition.

My question is as nice as this car might be can you really get past wanting T-Tops and after spending all the money to buy this how long before you get tired of looking up at a solid burgundy headliner before you regret your purchase.

 

[69hurstolds]

My question is as nice as this car might be can you really get past wanting T-Tops and after spending all the money to buy this how long before you get tired of looking up at a solid burgundy headliner before you regret your purchase.

I think T-tops are one of those options that got more popular once they weren't available any longer. Recall, back in those days, it was adding $2200 (today's dollars) for ONE option to your car. That was a good chunk of change back in those days. It's not like every car had them. I don't have T-tops in the H/O or in my 87 442. Which is fine by me. Never bothered me one bit.

I agree, if T-tops are important to you, then DON'T buy this car. They make it look like eye candy and all purty and shiny, but there's something under the skin that doesn't make the car worth the money they're asking. JMO. Your money, though. Just make sure you want to keep it for a long time if you do. Because unless you find that one fish, you'll never get back what you put in it, that's for sure.

 

[Hammer442]

Thank you again. I'm probably going to pass on this one.

 

[Hammer442]

To the guys that pointed out the interior, this looks more like a 35k mile interior. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1650939772...d=link&campid=5335822911&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

 

[69hurstolds]

To the guys that pointed out the interior, this looks more like a 35k mile interior. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1650939772...d=link&campid=5335822911&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

Not for $49K. Jesus F. Christ. And the catback has been replaced with some sort of cobbled up crap. And the trunk liner looks home-made.

I swear, people are just getting retarded. I'm betting that one will languish awhile. If not, Imma gonna get a for sale sign ready for my 87.

EDIT: Appears they used the Walker 44866 Y-pipe for a Monte SS and cut the front end off of it and welded it to the cat connector flange pipe.

 

[rogue_ryder]

35 years in Texas will do a number on the interior. My car is very similar except it's an 85 with grey interior; my car was actually sold new in Sherman Texas and spent its entire life in Texas until 2017. Mine had 100K on it and the interior was much, MUCH worse than this car's so I'm gonna say that it's unlikely that this car has 130K on it. The Sun and Heat are brutal in Texas and even stored under cover (carport and non climate controlled garage can put age on a car), these cars weren't exactly built when GM was known for having the highest Quality Control either.

Look at the Brake Pedal and Gas, they don't look to have the wear of a car over 100K. Nor is their evidence of any oil leaks, a car over 100K would have had them.

Is their asking price high? It's definitely well beyond the $ figure most anyone would pay on this forum. BUT based on other cars with this mileage on eBay even before Covid their asking price is on par with what other dealers have asked. ASKED being the keyword here. You can do a completed listings search on eBay to see what others have recently sold for if any. The biggest problem is there wasn't a million 442s produced and because they played 2nd fiddle to the Buicks not a lot were preserved so holding out might not yield a car in the "right price" unless you're very patient. The recent sales of low mile Buick GNs has really really cemented their place in the collector car market and now we're seeing the prices of the cars with lower collectability get pulled up in price; according to Haggerty an '86 442 is worth $21K in #2 condition, so if this car is really #2 "excellent" then $20K might be a fair price. Here's a decent comp: https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0516-240893/1986-oldsmobile-cutlass-442/ $17,000 in 2016 so 5 years later, lots of inflation and a huge collector car market upswing in the last year and I'd say $20K is probably close to if not the right number.

Here's what $10K Get's you: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3041697093...d=link&campid=5335822911&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

I was hoping that the market up tick was temporary because people wanted projects in the lockdowns, or something to blow their stimmy checks but I'm afraid the high prices are here to stay because the dollar has been devalued so greatly in the last year. If you think the prices of Gbodys are nuts, go look at what were already crazy MOPAR prices. Somebody out there is paying $10 for roached out /6 Darts and Dusters!

 

[08Malibu]

I own a legit 36k mile car, a few more now. I bought it from the original owner in 2007, and have all service records. The car is far from perfect, but it’s legit. You guys nit picking and acting like it should be perfect are nuts. There are certain areas that dried out, and some that are worn. It all depends on how it was driven and stored.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Most of us who see a 25 to 50K price tag expect perfection. For 50K, a brand new Challenger GT can go in my yard. Getting anywhere near that money from a bank for an old car, good luck. I wish there 30K just lying around my house. Even then, even a mint 442 needs major drive train improvements to keep up with modern performance base model cars.