My dad bought this car for me. It was painted blue with a black hood and lots of rust, (in the sun light the roof actually looked red). The previous owner redid the engine right before my dad bought it.
One of the struts was bad so the car leaned sideways.
The seats had burn marks from cigarettes.
The center consul was detachable.
After I received the car, the oil started leaking, (it was never fixed).
There were 2 gas leaks in less than a week.
My mechanic was going to replace a belt for me. As he was looking over the car, he noticed the muffler looked odd. When he reached up, his hand went through the muffler without any force.
The floor boards in the front of the car had holes in them all the way through, (the mechanic attached a sheet of metal to hold the floor to the car).The one floor mat had never been replaced so if you picked it up, you could see the ground and the original color of the interior.
The last time I ran the car, it had a problem not wanting to start. Here it was that there was either a crack in the block or another problem since water was running over into the oil.
The car was a beater from the start and ended that way.
The best part about the car was that it had an alarm system that was worth half as much as the car. Believe it or not, the alarm system actually worked. It even went off every time my dad moved the seat in the car or stepped out, (it never did this to anyone else).
Well you obviously must have upset your dad in some way... it sounds like to me the car was in just very poor condition... it wasn't well taken care of! all of your complaints were about the condition the car was in and lack of a good mechanic... nothing really about the car itself... I wish your dad more luck/skill next time in purchasing a used vehicle... it usually helps when you open your eyes!
(Smile) sorry if that seemed rude!
1985 Buick Skylark (Owner) and Lover!!! "The Lark"
Hi, my poor ole 1985 Skylark is something. She has over 200,000 miles on her. This week she has a bad trans. leak. So my hubby is outside in the hot sun taking it apart to fix a seal. She has no air, heater, radio, needs seat covers, but this little x engine is great. We've been to fla. a bunch of times in it. Pulled a small trailer behind us. Hate to part with it. Right now she needs two new tires. But since the storm here in LA, it's hard to get things fixed or mounted or anything. We have 3 big books on her, but can't find my Haynes book.
I LOVE my lark. I've had it since I was 18 and had it all over the country. I also own a 2003 pick up truck, but I still drive my lark. It's a classic! I'd love to buy another.
Your dad obviously didn't decide to ask the owner of the car if there were any problems with it, A HUGE mistake on his part. And There is nothing wrong with Skylarks it all depends on how it was taken care of. The Same goes for any other car/truck in the world.
I purchased a 1985 Buick Skylark Custom on eBay almost 2 years ago. I live in Phoenix, AZ and the car was in Philadelphia. I drove it home from Philly after just a tune up and a set of new tires. The car had about 65K original miles on it, and except for the oxidized paint the car was is very good condition, with virtually no rust. By the way, on the trip to Phoenix, I got almost 30 mpg.
After driving the car for almost a year, I decided I loved the car, got it painted, and replaced many parts, all of which worked, but I wanted a trouble free future experience. I got a brand new FACTORY motor (I4), new radiator, new air conditioning, etc, etc. I have spent a total of $11K on the car, and will keep until I kick the bucket. Fortunately, I can have almost any vehicle I want, and I have a new one, but my 1985 Buick Skylark is top notch. Lastly, I purchased the car from the original owner. She was so old, she could hardly sign her name. Thank you Ma'am for a great car.
Funny, I just happened to be looking through here this morning and noticed the comment above. I bought an 84 Skylark on ebay in 2004 with 23,000 original miles on it. Wow! It now has 42,000 but I've had to replace a few gasket, seal type things which should be expected on something 23-24 years old. I picked mine up from St. Louis and drove it to Louisville, Ky with no problems. My only question, how do you get that gas mileage? I'm lucky to get 20mpg out of mine. Can you feel your's go in to overdrive/lockup? I can't really tell because I think I have a worn motor mount. Nice to know somebody out there still appreciates these things. :)
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