OldSchoolRider

This is a very clean car. The car only has 103,5XX miles and it runs and drives very well. I have owned this car for six months and I am the second owner. The car has a clean title. The car is equipped with the famous Pre-Series I 3800 V6 engine. We all know these engines and how long they last. The 3.8L fuel-injected V6 is coupled with a 4T60 4-speed automatic transmission. The car's exterior and interior are both in excellent condition. The car has a great set of tires. The car has a new battery, a new alternator, new spark plugs, and a new drive belt. The car needs front brake pads and rotors.

I have invested about $3,500 into this car and I just don't want to invest anymore money into it. I bought this car to use as a daily driver and it has served it's purpose up to this point. I am selling the car to either buy a truck or get my 1988 Monte Carlo SS running.

The car is located in Covington, GA.

NADAguides has the average resale of this car listed at $4,125. I paid $3,000 for the car and invested another $500 into it after that. I'm asking $2,900.


http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/4670566652.html

Thanks for looking!

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site, nice ride. Good luck with your sale.

OldSchoolRider

Thanks, guy.

Hey guys! Don't sleep on this classic H-body. These cars dominated the late-80s and early-90s! Everybody had an H-body back in the day and this one is just as nice as the day it rolled off the showroom floor. I'm only asking $2,900, but I may be willing to negotiate... it depends on my mood.

jaunty75

I think you're facing an uphill battle in selling this car. It's from the era (late '80s) of Oldsmobile design, especially for the "full-size" cars, that many people argue contributed to the death of Oldsmobile. The cars were small-looking, even if they weren't any smaller than their predecessors in terms of interior space, with an uninspired design that left them pretty much indistinguishable from same-year, full-size Buicks or Pontiacs, and they even didn't look much different from the smaller Pontiac 6000 of the day.

These have almost no following in the Oldsmobile hobby, and my guess is that the person who ultimately buys this car will be someone who looks at it as a good-condition used car, perhaps as the first car for their newly-licensed, 16-year-old son or daughter.

As far as value, the NADA guide is famous for being over the top. Here's one online guide that puts the value of one of these in "excellent" condition at about $2,000. In "clean" condition, which might describe yours, the value is only about $1,400.

http://www.vmrintl.com/used-car/olde...%20ROYALE.html


The Old Cars Price Guide is a little more optimistic. They're not online, but I have their latest issue that covers the 1988 model year. It's from June of this year. In showroom condition, their value for this car is just under $5,000. In "car show" condition, the next level down, the value is about $3,100. In "runs and drives but needs complete restoration," the value is about $1,400.

Now your car sounds far better than the "runs and drives" condition, but given that it still needs some work, it's not quite "car show." So perhaps a value in the low to mid $2,000s is reasonable. So your asking price is probably quite reasonable, but, if someone comes along and offers you anything in the $2,000's for it, you might take it and run. You can't use what you paid for the car nor what you've put into a car to determine its value, so the fact that you spent $3,000 to buy it and $500 on it (or $5,000, for that matter) to fix it up means nothing. The marketplace determines value.

Good luck with the sale.

OldSchoolRider

This is a classified ad, not a lecture forum! LOL! I've never even heard of that website in the link you provided, but from the looks of it, it was created by someone like you who believes that they're some sort of expert or something. Get outta here, man! The GM H platform was very popular, from what I remember, and it still is. In fact, I see a LeSabre, Cutlass Ciera, Celebrity, or Bonneville at just about every red light that I stop at in the city. No potential buyer is going to be this critical and if anyone came at me with this non-sense I'd just point them in the direction of the highway. Suggested resale value is just that, a suggestion. I only reference these values, because most people would like to know what a car is potentially worth. Personally, I could care less about NADAguides and Kelly Blue Book, etc. If I have $3,500 into a car and I want a certain amount of that back when selling the car, I won't sell it until I get a buyer with the amount of money I'm asking. Opinions vary and one can't equate their personal opinion to something that "many people argue", because I have never even heard this point of view. Thanks for the incite, but if you're not interested in purchasing the car, at my asking price, then there is no reason to carry on this dialog.

redoldsman

I think Jaunty was simply trying to give you some advice and realistic expectations. He is not trying to beat you down on price and buy your car. He has two nice cars already. I have always believed this body style was the beginning of the end of Oldsmobile and the decline of GM. While it may be a nice driver, I don't think it will ever bring $2,900. I saw a 1997 Aurora with 57,000 miles on it and spotless sell on ebay a couple months ago for $3,600. Good luck on your sale and let us know when you get your price.

tannerblackart

You have a great looking Delta 88. I saw your ad a while back on CL and the only reason I didnt jump on it then was because it was a 4 door and not a 2 door. I've had three 4 doors in the past and wanted the coupe edition. Its awesome that it has the luggage rack and low miles. Loving the chrome bumpers and nice paint as well.

Having said that, Red and Jaunty know their stuff. You might want to think about their advice. Either way, I hope you can find a good home for that car. Best of luck with the sale.

rustyroger

Don't jump on somebody because they don't tell you what you want to hear.
Btw I own two H bodies, they suit British roads very well.
You weren't being lectured, merely being offered an opinion based on experience.
Even this side of the pond, where anything American gets a better price than in North America you might struggle to get your asking price.
Try "pontiacbonnevilleclub.com" to sell your car, it caters mostly for H and C Body cars, a better chance of finding someone who wants a car like yours.


Roger.

jaunty75

Absolutely right. I've got no dog in this fight.

The OP came on here and said "Hey guys! Don't sleep on this classic H-body" about a week after starting this thread, the clear implication being that, up to that point, he had seen no interest in the car. I was just commenting on possible reasons why. Nothing more.

oldcutlass

However, comments such as a car being priced to high is considered thread crapping as the OP did not solicit advice on price. The Op will make his own pricing decisions based on the response they receive and their desire to sell. So please refrain on posting opinions on pricing in the future unless asked.

jaunty75

Show me where in my post I said his price was too high, and I'll apologize. I seem to recall saying this. (I went back to my post and read it again just to be sure. You might consider doing the same.)

"So your asking price is probably quite reasonable"

OldSchoolRider

I don't remember asking anyone their opinion on my car's value. Nor do I remember asking anyone's take on the Delta 88 and its stance in Oldsmobile's classic car following. Forum users always want to hit people with passive aggressive criticism, like "that will never happen, but good luck", get outta here! As if! I've been buying and selling cars since I was 18-years-old, I know what I'm doing. If you're not interested in the car, I'm not interested in your opinion.

Thank you!

jaunty75

I said it originally, and I'll say it again.

Good luck with your sale.

oldcutlass

This would have been sufficient.

jaunty75

That's not the same as saying his price is too high. I was just commenting on what the price guides say and how a car in the condition his is in would fit into that particular guide's range of prices.

It seems to me you're looking to find a problem where none exists.

oldcutlass

What does it matter, his price is his price, how he got there is not a concern. If he had asked what do you think, that opens the door.

jaunty75

What matters is not him or his price. What matters is YOU. You have used your authority as a moderator to come on here and accuse me of doing something I did not do.

Rocketguy

IMHO you crapped on the thread. You mixed in just enough positive in attempt to justify it.

Oldschoolrider, I noticed that your car has G67 load leveling suspension. That either means that it has sport suspension or the trailer towing option. Do you know which? Both ad to the value.

redoldsman

I have disagreed with Jaunty a few times in the past but I agree with him on this one. I have reread his post and he never told the guy his price was too high. I think he gave him some good guidance. This guy has come on here for one reason and that is to sell his car. Then he goes off acting like a jackwagon. When this is over, we will never hear from him again. Seems we get one of these every few months. Quite frankly, I hope he never sells his damn car.

jaunty75

Thank you. It seems at least one other person is reading the same words I am.

OldSchoolRider

I have no idea, but thanks for the info. I will use this information as a selling point.

rustyroger

My '87 Delta 88 2 door has self levelling suspension too. Apparently it has factory 15" alloy wheels but nothing else to indicate it might be a sporty version or is equipped for towing.
It has a tow bar but I'm pretty sure it was fabricated in the UK after the car arrived here. Self levelling does make towing less of a chore though.


I see you had a more positive response putting your ad. in pontiacbonnevilleclub, if you sell it through that forum, or any other site would you let us know please?. If you don't mind I and I'm sure some others would be interested in how much someone thought your car was worth. No disrespect to you or Jaunty intended.


Roger.