23rd Oct 2006, 12:38
I have just brought a 85 Buick LeSabra collectors edition. I has 176,000 miles on it. It runs good, but I can smell allot of exhaust fumes when it is running for like two minutes parked. I was also thinking about getting the motor rebuilt. Can someone give me a estimate of what that might cost? I don't know what type of motor I have and the owner who's dad passed it down to her. She did not have the owners manual. Also does anyone know a website or someone I can go to find a manual. Does not have to be original just for the style car. Thanks
If anyone knows about this vehicle will you please mail me a cmaxwell2@cox.net.
11th Nov 2006, 22:53
307 v8 engines started in 1980-1990, not '77. no fuel injection. Not all carbs were computer controlled and not all had air pumps. Mine is an '85 and never had any computer or air pump. Maybe alberta's emission laws were different and still are thank god.
12th Jan 2007, 08:56
I bought an '85 Lesabre 2r Custom Coupe Collector's Edition in 1992 when I go divorced. 5.0L,4 bbl. It had 83,000 miles on it the time. I paid $6,000 then. Today I'm going to sell it with 271,000 miles on it, same engine, two transmissions, for $500 bucks to some young man. It was and is a beautiful car and it serve me well with great reliability all these years. She's just gotten long in the tooth now. I feel sad letting her go, but it's times. I don't trust leaving town in her anymore. I'm grateful for having had that car. It'll go down in my life as the best car I've ever owned.
Jim.
9th Feb 2007, 18:40
I just bought an '85 Buick Le Sabre Collectors Edition, it has 88,000 KM on it. It's all original and it's a beast.
It has the 307 and the 4 barrel carburetor and so on, and it will rip the tires off at the drop of a hat.
Maybe it's just because it's in mint condition, but I think it'll last for many years to come.
Of course it's nothing compared to my '68 Buick Electra 226, but it is a great car none the less.
1st Jul 2007, 09:32
I have a 1985 Buick LeSabre collectors edition given to me by by granny with only 24,000 miles on it. It looks great as well. I am asking $7,500.00 for it. Do you think this is too much?
2nd Jul 2007, 12:58
Let me start off by saying I absolutely love big 80's cars, and I think the 1985 Buick LeSabre Collector's Edition is the best of that bunch. I've owned three (two rough beaters, and one beauty with a bad frame) and am picking up my fourth (and final!) one tomorrow morning. Here's a quick over view of my experiences and what I know about them- I hope it helps someone else.
The first I bought because I wanted to find something like the 1983 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham I drove when I moved across country. The Collector's Edition series has the same plush cushy-ness, and they are very similar cars (both made by GM). I bought it for about $500 IIRC and the old R12 A/C needed work. It blew cool, but not cold. It wasn't in perfect shape, and I eventually sold it to a college student that drove it into the ground. I saw it several times after I sold it, missing hub caps and the hood ornament, on a donut... it made me sad. But it still kept going.
They are built like friggin tanks and keep going beyond reason or explanation. Missing my last Buick, I bought a $300 burgundy Collector's Edition via a police auction several states over. Disclaimer: I was young (er) and stupid. I flew out there on a one-way ticket, hopped up on hope and faith in my 80's cars. The vehicle hadn't been run in years, by the looks of it. I got a jump start from a garage within walking distance, had Jiffy Lube change the oil/filters/etc, then drove it over 1,000 miles home. The power features, cruise control, even the A/C worked! Unfortunately, even though it was beautiful inside and out and a total trooper, the undercarriage rust had eaten through the frame.
Did I say they were built like tanks? Yeah... they are. The last one I owned was purchased for $300 with the crazy idea of using its frame to save my nice burgundy one. I drove it a few hundred miles home (another one-way ticket, though this time I had more than two pictures and hope to go on). It was abused, rough, but the A/C worked and it made the trip fine. It was very much a spur-of-the-moment thing, however, and after realizing the cost to swap frames was absolutely ridiculous, I sold off both. That was over a year ago now, and I've been driving a newer, tinier, gutless blah car that I hate ever since. So, last week I sold it.
Tomorrow I fly out to pick up the last '85 Buick LeSabre Collector's Edition I'll ever own. It has no rust, drives well, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep it alive. To answer a previous question: $7,500 is way too much. These cars are getting more rare (in nice shape, anyway) but aren't sought after by major collectors yet. Give it a few years, though. They have more spirit and comfort than ten of these newer plastic POS cars put together. Of course, YMMV and that's just MHO. ;)
-CharredPC
2nd Jul 2007, 13:42
Why don't you look at Kelley Blue Book or KBB.com. They are the authority on this, and then you will know exactly what the appropriate amount for the car is.
3rd Jul 2007, 11:07
For starters, Kelley Blue Book only goes back to 1987, so no listing for a 1985 model.
Between ebay motors and any number of used-car sale websites, you should be able to get an indication of what just about any used car is worth.
Agree that $7500 is pretty high. Just because they called them "Collectors' Editions" does not automatically mean they are collectible (yet). Maybe if they truly were the last RWD Buicks... but they weren't.
5th Jul 2007, 09:49
Updates: I flew out to California and picked up my rust-free Collector's Edition. It drives like a dream, and I got it home through Death Valley with no problem at all, while much newer cars were dying on the roadsides from the 120+ degree heat. I paid $1,150 for it. It needs new plastic bumper fillers, one piece of trim and the A/C recharged. Otherwise it's pretty much mint. I'm explaining this to help out on the price question. I have seen absolutely perfect '85 C.E.'s sell for $3,500+, but that's definitely not the norm. In my experience, usually beaters (ugly, but running) or nice shape non-runners (blown head gasket, etc) sell for $500 - $750. There's a pretty nice condition one up on eBay right now going for $717.07 with two days left. It should end a bit higher than that. A past auction got up to $860.99, but didn't hit the reserve so didn't sell. In the paper or on Craigslist you could probably get $1,500+ for it.
Kelly Blue Book only goes back to 1987, as another poster pointed out. While the '85 Buick LeSabre isn't a true collectible yet, it's graduated to "classic car" status (over 20 years old). There's already a niche market for them- wait a few years and I'll bet they start getting officially sought after. NADA Guides price an '85 Buick LeSabre at $1,025 (low retail), $2,400 (average retail value), and $3,275 (high retail value). If you love these cars, now is the time to grab one and cherish it. If you want to get the most out of selling yours, keep it in the garage a few more years and wait for the value to rise.
I'm just happy I got mine :)
-CharredPC.
5th Aug 2006, 11:25
Whatever you do to this model will not hurt its value and having a #s matching 307 isn't going to have any substantial gains. I would save my money and pick up a Grand National. I have changed engines in a # of GM models over the years. There is not such a large stigma on block #s matching anymore...I am totally against clones however.