1988 Allante'

[BJM]

Went and looked at an 88 Allante' today that has just about meet it's end.   It's hard to believe these great cars get to the point of salvage. 

The owner drove this car fairly regularly.  Last year he pulled it out of garage storage, top down and his dad passed away that day.  He never did anything else to it.  That meant an Iowa fall and winter with snow and rain.  We had a ton of rain this year and there was enough soil in the carpet to allow maple trees to germinate.

[Caddyjack]

What a shame. It's too bad the Allante hasn't become as collectible as it should. I have owned three (own two currently) and they are fantastic cars. WAY ahead of their time. But as any 25+ year old car, they need an owner who is patient and connected with resources.

[76eldo]

Left it outside with the top down all winter? 

I have owned several Allante's as well, the last two being parts cars.

Under appreciated for sure and destined to go up in value in the next 5-10 years, but you need to find nice clean low mileage ones or they are money pits.  90.5 through the 93 are the best ones.

Brian

[BJM]

A quick Auto Tempest tour of 750 miles from me saw at least 25 Allante's - most in a price range of $3500 to $8000 offered.

I can get this car for $400.   I understand from the seller that there is an Allante' business in Florida that would help with restoration or that this car can be parted and make decent money. 

What id does not need is to go to the U Pick It Yard.

[Roger Zimmermann]

I understand why to top stayed open. It' a nightmare to open or close it if you don't know exactly the sequence to pull, push and so on. I still cannot understand why Cadillac gave the OK for such a top's design.

[D.Yaros]

They WILL become collectible, in time.  Do not know if it will be in my lifetime?

They ARE most definitely high maintenance rides!

They ARE fun to own/drive ...

[76eldo]

For $400 it's a parts car.
88's are not worth doing a lot with.
I have parted out a few and they are a pain to take apart once you get past the easy to pick parts.

If you have the time and inclination you can make money parting it.


Brian

[James Landi]

 I guess the seller could not afford a !5.00 dollar tarp... simply sinful.  Why is it that folks with decent cars that are no longer in use, don't cover them-- if nothing more than, in this case, to honor the memory of his dead relative. My wife assures me that old cars and boats I love will be sold or given away immediately upon my death. (My rant for the day- thank you for indulging me.)

[Art Director]

There's a salvage yard in the Denver area with at least eight dead Allantés of all years. The owner said he gets them cheap, but there isn't much call for parts.

[76eldo]

When I bought an Allante about 10 years ago he Allante Club had a very active message board and guys were always looking for parts and helping each other with tech tips. Same board today is almost dead with one tenth the activity.  I have a bunch of Allante parts from 3 I bought to part out and they are really slow moving items.

I have doors, fenders, quarters, hoods, trunks, and tone of shiny bits and electronics.

I will have to sit on this stuff for another 10 years before it's worth anything I guess.

Brian

[D.Yaros]

Sell it to Dick Hussey and free up the space?

[76eldo]

Dave,

Body parts don't sell at all on these cars.  If I gave it away he wouldn't want to pay the freight.

I put an ad on the Allante website for a ton of parts for $1000.00 for everything, no interest.

I have the stuff in storage and as of right now it's not costing me much.  If that changes... right in the dumpster.

Brian

[D.Yaros]

Dave,

Body parts don't sell at all on these cars.

I guess it all depends on one's definition of "body parts?"  When I was in the market they were asking/getting BIG bucks for tail light housings, headlights, etc.!  For the person who needs a hood, deck lid, fender or door I would think it would be a seller's market?  But then I also think complete cars should be worth a whole lot more in today's market than they are!

[Alan Harris CLC#1513]

As a former Allante owner, I believe that these cars will only begin to rise in value when the memories of how rotten they truly were when in daily use begin to fade.

Based on my personal experiences, that is going to take a very long time.

[James Landi]

Having owned a late 1990 for several years, I have to agree with you Allan, that those radios, the window switch gear, the liquid crystal displays, and the top mechanism that puncture through the top, and the windnoise in the cabin  were among the sadly disappointing elements of this product.  I enjoyed the speed sensitive ride (until a Cadillac dealership disconnected it because they had no more speciality shock parts), and the top down look and feel of the car were special. They simply were not build to be very durable in systems that Cadillac had built to last.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

I am presently "looking" and you guys are doing a great job of making me think about keeping my money...  The radio I can do without. The other non-working item is the RH window. And it doesn't have the hard top. Both are 1992 models, one with 79k and the other with 108k. The higher mileage one needs nothing according to the seller.

We would use it for a play car to have the top down. Since the Seville has a hole in the roof, maybe we should use that instead.

The low mileage one is below three grand and the higher one just over. By chance, there is a top about 75 miles or so from the low mileage one for $350. Oh what tangled webs we weave.

[76eldo]

Barry,

The 90.5 through 92 are essentially the same and they are pretty good.  The 87-88's are the worst with respect to the top and top cover operation.  I had a 92 and also 1 93.  If you buy a 92 contact me and I will tell you a few things to check out before and after you buy.

The 4.5 engine's in the 92's are a great engine but inspect carefully for oil leaks.  Make sure the hard top you buy is a Phase II with the front hold downs in the front, not on the sides like the 87-88-89's and early 90's.  There are two 1990 models, the 1990 (early) and the 90.5.

91 and 92 tops are identical, and the cars are also.  Same shop manual for 91/92.

If it's close to 100,000 miles, I would budget for a complete tuneup and change the injectors.

Good Luck,

Brian

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

The high mileage one had the injectors done last year. has a good top with no leaks and he knows how to work it. I'm waiting for more pictures of the lower priced lo-mileage one. It's far enough away that I'd either have to fly out there and drive it back or have it shipped here. I haven't made any offers as yet, but it's been on CL for a month already, so I figure if he wants to sell it before the snow flies he's going to have to come down some. I have some clear pictures of the car in a garage and the red paint looks nice, as do the shiny seats. Unless he's treated them, they are better looking than any of the dull appearing ones most of the cars have.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Just got a call, the one in South Dakota is sold. Sigh of relief???

[James Landi]

Barry, if you can tolerate some of "the issues" that plague these cars, and you'll use it occasionally for nice day, top down driving, go for it.  It has a big, old time Cadillac suspension at around town speed-- and then magically, the entire car tighens up as you speed it.  There fun... treat yourself to a nice one.   Happy day, James