Hi all,

thanks a lot for all your good wishes for my road trip. Probably wasnt enough. Road trip cancelled. I had been down to Missouri to look at the car - or better to finalize the deal and drive away. The only reason I had accepted going that far was for the ensuing trip. I had wanted to bring my family down later and go with them through the Smokeys, Shenandoah and what else.

I had been picked up by that guy and out to his place, where the Brougham was indeed a 29.000 mile car with an immaculate interior and fabulous mechanics, but a truly crap exterior. NONE of the pictures showed what the "touched up scratches" on the doors turned out to be. This little old lady had managed to ram the Brougham into absolutely everything in her way. Not a single panel remained unscratched and the "touch-up" was a brush with the toothbrush at best. Not a day in hell would I let that one park on my driveway. :mad2:

He had another one which was indeed fabulous, a very dark blue 1992 Brougham, which was only a 5.0 liter. Not for me, but I might have been swayed if his expectations weren't too high. He wanted over 10 for that one as well, and being a 5.0, no way. But it has to be said, both drove like a dream and the 5.0 is the best one I have ever seen on the road. That one as a 5.7 liter for 7, that would be it.

Luckily I made it back with Continental that same day, so at night I was able to say to the wife, I had spent a day in Missouri. And she was able to say "serves you right".

Wheelman, I followed your saga for a few days now, and found the original ad, just to realize it was indeed from out here. 5 min outside my door. Ironic. But the road trip back up Route 17 was apparently not enticing enough for me.

Well, better luck next time. Anybody who sees a dark dark blue low mileage 5.7 (need not be a d'Elegance) within 100 mi of New York, let me know.

Cheers

Axel

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

Keep your eye out, low mileage doesn't always mean clean.

My Dad's 1992 with 100K miles is cleaner than my 1992 with 70K miles.

Regards,
Elias

That is truly a bummer. But it does show you the power of photos. My car had a pretty fair exterior and it only brought 2.5K, yet a "crap car" brought over 10K on eBay. Just be thankful that you didn't pay, then he shipped the car. You wouldn't have discovered it until it was already yours.

I had bought one car sight-unseen before but with about 50 photos that I shared with an expert and the price (in contrast to this one) was low even for a car two categories worse. This one was so high on the top that it needed to be fantastic (like his other one is). Which is why I agreed to come down and inspect/buy it then.

I will say that I am pretty happy that I managed to keep my cool and not get myself into buying something ´just because I had "come such a long way" already. Worst ever. All I lost was a day and a flight.

And yes, I am prepared to buy a brilliant Brougham with 50 or 60.000 miles if it is indeed a good condition. I can afford a good one but don't need to be ripped off.

As I said, don't need a d'Elegance, but need leather. Let's have a look out there.

Bah! What a crock!

I know how you feel, I got screwed by a guy who claimed to have a "mint" condition 88 Brougham on Long Island. It was only a days drive there and back from where I am in Massachusetts, and I made sure to ask him several times if it was truly "mint" and he kept saying it was. I took the trip, and saw the car, and inside and out it was anything BUT mint. The seats were beat to hell, the paint was faded and pitted, as well as the chrome. The front right of the car was clipped by a taxicab he said (something he neglected to mention when I asked him if it was mint earlier) The roof lining inside was COMPLETELY gone, which was a nice touch. Never mind the fact that the car ran like crap, and was leaking coolant all over the road and driveway.

Suffice to say, a happy camper I wasn't. It was still a nice trip, and a learning experience.

NEVER buy cars you can't see in person without meticulously archived high-res images to back it up.

I bought my 99 K2500 Suburban in Maryland and I live in SE WI. It was ok, I was pretty satisfied with the pictures. The owner was a dealer that had been in business for a long time in the area and had a reputation of being a fair and honest guy. I think he was more nervous about me coming 1000+ miles to buy it with a cashier's check than I was of getting a lemon....

Probably only "issue" was someone put larger injectors in it than it should have, so it runs rich, and the carpets were PAINTED with some darker spray than stock, which is wearing off now. Strange, but didn't hurt things.

The price was more than excellent, so I couldn't complain either all things considered.

In all fairness to the guy. I don't really think he was wanting to deceive me. After all, he didnt sell the car. He felt pretty bad that I pointed out so many things. I dont know whether he really did see them and kept the secret or just thought he had told me enough about the "scratches". Whatever, that episode is over and I am quite happy about the feedback I get here online.

Now off to find me a 5,7 in dark blue with leather interior and very low miles.

Some people see them but ignore them as "nothing", and figure the buyer won't care either and don't understand why they care. The important thing MUST be the 29K miles....

Not for me.... If I am dropping that much of a chunk of change, I better get my $$ worth....

Are you buying it as a collectors item/show car? That is the only way I could justify spending that kind of money for a low mileage Brougham. I paid $3,000 for mine with 70,000 miles, but it is a daily driver.

I've seen what you are describing many times here in FL. Low mileage simply cause the elderly person that owned it just didn't drive it far. Often these same elderly owners aren't exactly meticulous with the cars, it is just transportation to them. In many cases these cars are scraped along the sides from hitting against the sides of the garage and/or have damage from hitting divider poles or what not. Definately not "mint" but the interiors are beautiful and they run good. As far as body work goes, usually its just cosmetics and no rust here in FL.

A friend of mine picked up a $1100 94 Fleetwood on Craigslist. My 94 with 233K miles is in better shape for a lot of it. It wasn't taken care of at all.

I am just finished swapping the engine, amazing how much oil is underneath (the car has SAT for 5 years in inside storage), hack job of wiring an aftermarket stereo. Just generally dirty with some good scratches on drivers side door. It will be nice once again, but a LOT of work to do it....

A friend of mine picked up a $1100 94 Fleetwood on Craigslist. My 94 with 233K miles is in better shape for a lot of it. It wasn't taken care of at all.

I am just finished swapping the engine, amazing how much oil is underneath (the car has SAT for 5 years in inside storage), hack job of wiring an aftermarket stereo. Just generally dirty with some good scratches on drivers side door. It will be nice once again, but a LOT of work to do it....


Your friend could have bought a nice '94 for $3500-4K instead of going through all that work...

Yup, unfortunately the engine swap wasn't forseen and I didn't go with him to check it out, which I would have likely go it started and found out first hand, but we found out once he towed it back and then heard it rattle like a 6.2L diesel on a -10F cold day.... He was looking for a daily driver that is reliable and long lasting, and cheap.....

Wheelman, I followed your saga for a few days now, and found the original ad, just to realize it was indeed from out here. 5 min outside my door. Ironic. But the road trip back up Route 17 was apparently not enticing enough for me.

Well, better luck next time. Anybody who sees a dark dark blue low mileage 5.7 (need not be a d'Elegance) within 100 mi of New York, let me know.

Cheers

Axel

That sucks....Don't feel bad about missing out on the 91 though. It is a beautiful car, but it's not without its flaws. The right quarter panel has 9 pin head size knicks that will not buff out. Pre-detail the right fender also had white scuff marks typical of an elderly man misjudging the garage entry....luckily that buffed out but there is still a tiny crease. It's hard to find these cars in absolute mint condition but I'm happy with what I got. Good luck with your search and i'll defineatly post any finds that I come across.