89 Brougham DElegance - Should I buy?

[Mike #19861]

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[Mike #19861]

 These cars should not be used for towing anything more than a light utility trailer. I think the stated maximum is 2000lbs, and that is pushing it.

 The 89 used a 2.93 gear, which with 140 hp is completely unsuited for the task. My 86 has the 2.74 gear, and is even worse. I towed a box trailer from U-Haul last summer and that really taked the capabilities of the car, and it was light. I towed a smowmobile trailer with my 71 Ski Doo Olympique on it. That really taxed it as well.

 On the other hand, the GM B-Body wagons in the 80s could be ordered with a 6000 lb trailering package. And they used this same powertrain, but likely with a much lower rear gear. I have seen Parisienne Safaris and Caprice wagons towing sizeable trailers, but rather slowly.

 Mike

[George Woodford clc21025]

I would buy any Brougham after 1979.

[Rusty Shepherd CLC 6397]

Did you mean I WOULDNT buy any Brougham at 79? (The last year for the 425 engine).

[Kelly Watson]

$33k??!!! (Tell em theyre dreamin)

I remember I drove past that place one day and they had an Eldo convertible out the front (I dont know the exact year, but it was the smaller early 80s model), and nearly crashed into a post when I saw the $50k price tag on the window. Yes, conversions are not cheap, but that is ridiculous.

[Ian Robertson CLC # 20080]

Hi David,

Now thats an interesting question! Just watch how the costs add up:

Assume we can purchase a reasonable car for say $US10,000.
We then incur a shipping cost to the west coast of the U.S. of say $US1,000.  In addition there is insurance of say $US300? Then we ship to Australia at a cost of say $US2500.

Depending on how Australian Customs then value the car for customs and GST purposes we could end up with a landed cost of say $US13,800 = $A17,468 @ .79c exchange rate.

Customs duty is then charged at the rate of 10percent = $A1,746 giving a cost so far of $A19,214.  Then we are charged Goods and Services Tax at the rate of another 10percent on the total which is a further $1,921. Yep, thats right - the Government double dips on the taxes!  So our total cost to date is $A21,135.  Now thats a good way of demonstrating how easy it is to inflate the cost of a car - and we havent even started on the conversion  to RHD yet!

RHD conversions used to cost around $A10,000 or so, but in recent times, as the complexity of the electrics, options, and statutory safety items (e.g. airbags etc) have been introduced, so has the cost of conversion increased. I would expect to pay somewhere between $A15,000 and $A20,000 for a good job including a compliance plate to say that the car complies with Australian Safety Standards.

So now we have an all-up cost of say $A41,135 - a horrendous increase over the original outlay of $US10,000. And Im not really sure that I have that right - there could be other little traps in there that I havent mentioned such as Customs Agents Fees, etc.

On Friday evening I was talking to Peter Ratcliffe in Melbourne and he mentioned that he had spotted a 1996 Fleetwood for sale in Sydney in the middle of last year with a price tag of $A50,000 - so maybe my sums and assumptions are not too far off the track.

Hope this is of interest.  By the way where are you?

Regards,  Ian.

[David #19063]

Ian,

I live in the middle of the Rust Belt, USA.

Actually, NW Indiana, about an hour SE of Chicago.  Or about 20 miles or so south of the bottom point of Lake Michigan.  Right now, the last of our snow is metting and we have sun today (a lot of Winter clouds usually when you live by the Great Lakes) and it is 55 F out.  Yea!

You can ask Bruce about the rusty cars he saw out here.  He stayed with us a couple days.  He was rather appalled at the total rust buckets still allowed to be on the roads.  He even took pictures of some.

I just picked up a nice 94 Fleetwood Brougham for $4000.  Had about $1100 of work done (truely not much) and I have a nice car.  Now I need to find a CD player for it to replace the one that does not work in it.

For $10,000 you could get a real nice low mileage 96 Brougham.  Probably for less.

Thank you for the informative information on conversion.  I figured it would be expensive.  For towing, a 94-96 Brougham with the LT1 would be ideal.  But for A$50,000 for a 96 or A$35,000 for an 89 Brougham seems overly expensive.  

For either of those prices, coupldnt you buy a very nice newer low mileage Holden Statesman Caprice with a 250 kW 5.7L?

We cannot get a full size 5.7L or 6.6L GM car over here...but we can now get 5.7L and 6.1L Hemi cars.

I love to get a newer Statesman Caprice, no one else has one here.

David

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Ian,

I can vouch for the rust belt, and believe me, that "Belt" is wide and long.

I still cant believe that the cars in the pictures I took were still being driven on the roads in the condition they were.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[Mike #19861]

 Rust! The worst 4 letter word! Also known as the great Canadian Loc-Tite!!

I have lost more than one car to this cancer. It permeates every nook and cranny in the car, slowly eating away at the structure. In southern Ontario, it is a real problem. There are cars here on the road that have fenders flapping, huge gaping holes in the fenders and doors and considerable structural damage. The imported unibody cars are the worst. Once you see the rust, the car is all but structurally dead. And it spreads so rapidly.

 That is why we store our cars. To keep them away from the salt that is so liberally used here. We drive beaters around in the winter. Sacrificial cars, so to speak.

 But, its so nice to get a good solid southern car. Where the tin worm has not had a chance to do its damage. We then oil them liberally, and keep them away from the salt in the winter.

 Currently I have 2 cars in winter storage, my 1970 Fleetwood and the very solid 85 Eldorado the Porter donated to my cause.

  Mike

[Mike #19861]

 Rust! The worst 4 letter word! Also known as the great Canadian Loc-Tite!!

I have lost more than one car to this cancer. It permeates every nook and cranny in the car, slowly eating away at the structure. In southern Ontario, it is a real problem. There are cars here on the road that have fenders flapping, huge gaping holes in the fenders and doors and considerable structural damage. The imported unibody cars are the worst. Once you see the rust, the car is all but structurally dead. And it spreads so rapidly.

 That is why we store our cars. To keep them away from the salt that is so liberally used here. We drive beaters around in the winter. Sacrificial cars, so to speak.

 But, its so nice to get a good solid southern car. Where the tin worm has not had a chance to do its damage. We then oil them liberally, and keep them away from the salt in the winter.

 Currently I have 2 cars in winter storage, my 1970 Fleetwood and the very solid 85 Eldorado the Porter donated to my cause.

  Mike

[George Woodford clc21025]

Correction, I wouldnt! I like the body style used in the 80s, but the engines and transmissions, well you know the answer.