84 Coupe DeVille buying advice sought

[CaddyShackPA]

Friends, I've come across an extremely nice 84 CDV for sale, in white with red leather. White landau top recently redone. Almost 50k miles. Apparently had one owner until about two years ago, then came to the present owner who used it very sparingly. Car is straight with original paint except for some touchup on one front fender and the trunk-to-rear-window filler panel which was replaced and refinished when the top was done (owner showed me the original filler panel; had some rust where the trim clips attached so he chose to replace it with a southwestern piece; no rust or leaks in the trunk underneath the window); very clean underneath; extraordinarily nice bumpers and overall trim condition. The sole exception is the (vinyl?) narrow factory bodyside moulding, which is graying in some places. Wire wheel covers in very nice condition.

The chassis of this car suggests it was rarely driven in the rain, let alone snow or salt - it's that nice. There was one surprise lurking, however. Apparently the AC was leaking water inside the car which accumulated at the low point of the right floorpan. There is a 3x3 section of rusted floor that would necessitate removing the seat and carpet and doing metal work to fix that area.  

The trunk, engine compartment, and interior are absolutely show-ready. The head surface and valvetrain components inside the valve cover are very clean and suggest plentiful oil changes, and the engine runs quietly and well. HVAC and all electrics working properly. This was clearly a much-loved car all its life; owner wanted $5500 and says he has $7K in it but honestly seemed to have no idea about the floor situation.  

If this were an 80 or 81 368 car it would already be in my garage, but the 4100 is of course a fright. Can I please solicit your take on this car's value? I'm not too concerned about the floor because I have a friend who is an artist with steel and welding, but the engine is another story. What say you? Thanks very much - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Regards,
J. Papciak, #23864    

[R Schroeder]

To me that is a little high.
It sounds like the heater core is shot.
I'm not a big fan of 4100 engine either, but you will find guys that have had good luck with them.

Here is one that is on E-bay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-OWNER-CA-CAR-45204-ORGNL-MILES-/180605806851?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2a0cf1e903

[TJ Hopland]

Im thinking slightly high but not crazy high.   I think those are much better looking cars than say the 77-80 range and like you said the issue is engines, or lack of. One thing that is helping the value of those cars is they are popular (even the 4 doors) for the folks that put the huge rim on them and extra chrome.  Those people apparently dont care anything about performance or reliably and certanly would not be seen reading a forum like this.  You see those going down the road imagining the ride quality with a 1" sidewall and really screwed up geometry and they seem happy.  Its pretty common to see a car like that for sale in my area for that price but a foot note that its only the car, stereo, with the factory wheels for that price, if you want the 20's its another few thousand.  Assuming you have those sorts of people in your are that would always be a possible out for you if you did buy the car and decided you did not like it.  Im not afraid of the 4100's.  I have owned a few and did not have any serious issues.  I would not hesitate to own another one if the right deal came along most likely in a Fleetwood Coupe.   The power was on the low end of the normal range for the era but the MPG was on par with small and mid sized cars of the era.  Keep up on the maintainance especially cooling system (based on time since miles will be low) and DO NOT keep running it if it does get hot.  If the engine temp light comes on shut it off as soon as you can get to a safe place to stop, dont try and make it home or to the next exit or whatever.  Same as modern aluminum engines all the horror stories about expensive head gasket issues usually started with some signs that were ignored then 'I made it the rest of the way home'.

This all comes from a guy that is about to set off on yet another road trip (if you can call it that when the roads are all covered with ice) in an 80 Eldo diesel.   

[Davidinhartford]

Buying an HT4100 car is like taking that $5500 to Las Vegas and hitting the casinos.   Same rules apply.  DO NOT PUT any money down that you are not prepared to LOSE.

Sure you will have fun while it lasts, but be prepared to walk away without your original $5500 investment.

If you have your heart set on a 82-85 RWD Cadillac, buy a mint one and drop a 5.0 or 5.7 motor in it. 

[TJ Hopland]

Rust on the trunk lid can be very expensive to repair, usually you would just replace the lid.    I assume this is caused by some sort of air turbulence back there depositing road grime under there in those seams?     Did the pre 76 stuff have that issue also?  I know the 77-79 stuff had it real bad but then it seemed to get a little better in the 80's. 

[Derek J Sherwood]

I would run, not walk, at that price.

Rust in the floor pan and on trunk?  Leaky water pump?  Possibly leaky AC or heater core indicating the potential for corrosion in the cooling system?

Yes, it sounds loved and all, but IMHO it's not worth the price.

My '82 with 71k miles, a fresh paint job, no rust, and only needing a vinyl top to complete it only cost $2200 back in 2001.  I regularly see these cars going for less than that.

I won't even get into the HT4100, good or bad.