What can I get for my Brougham?

My_favorite_Brougham · #1 (**permalink**) 03-08-07, 06:24 PM

Well I took my '90 Brougham in today to get an estimate for the damage done to my front driver fender. They quoted $2500 which is more than I paid for the car. Now I'm thinking the best course of action would be to sell her. Goodbye to my pride and joy. I paid $2000 for her a year ago to the week. Since then I've put in a new water pump, radiator, hoses, fuel filter, and a buick cd player. Mechanics are also telling me the carburator will need to be rebuilt.

So what is the most I can get for her to be able to put towards another 90-92 Brougham?

Cadillac_Fan · #2 (**permalink**) 03-08-07, 08:37 PM

What a shame. I'd reconsider keeping your Brougham. Surely, there must be a shop that can do it for less.

I hit a deer with my '79 Brougham and I ended up getting a junkyard header, '78 hood and fender, plus paint blended all for under $2K from a local, independent outfit, yet that was back in 1993. Even if you were unable to find a garage to do it for a little less, I'd be afraid of buying someone else's Brougham with an unknown history.

Bottom line is you know what you have, mechanically, and that knowledge is worth a lot in its own value. (I've had mechanics telling me for years my Q-Jet needs a rebuild-and it's continued with a little fuss when bitter cold/fine after warmup.) Unless you know the buyer, you could end up buying a real money pit.

Perhaps mine isn't the best advice, yet I'd at least get that "second opinion" from another garage. Best to you and sorry for the misfortune.

arivera · #3 (**permalink**) 03-08-07, 11:21 PM

That really sucks. I'm going through ther same thing. I've had my 93 fleetwood for about two years now. Paid 4000 for her. Since then, I've had to change the rear axel, Full tune up, trans flush, brakes, blower motor, and just today i had to swap out the water pump because it left me stranded about 50 miles out of town. they charged me 350 bucks! it costs a lot to take care of these big beauties. i've also planned on selling it. but what i'm gonna do is make it driveable for a little until i get into something else. then i'm gonna turn this one into my project. in my heart, i know i have to keep it going. otherwise everything i did would be pointless.

devilock76 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-09-07, 09:26 AM

Depends if you sell her whole or strip her down for parts. I still opt you rebuild her yourself. It will save another caddy for the future! Depending how much work you do yourself and your part connections it may cost less. The real reason for doing it is like I said saving a caddy, the other is you just really love that caddy.

Ken

blackcadmatt · #5 (**permalink**) 03-10-07, 05:08 PM

How bad is the damage? Is it just the fender? Any pics?

There are enough of those 1980-1992 RWD's around, finding used parts shoudn't be a problem. I found a complete '91 being parted-out locally due to a bad transmission. That car is fine otherwise, what a shame.

Don't be so quick to write your car off. Talk to us! The doctors are in!

My_favorite_Brougham · #6 (**permalink**) 03-10-07, 05:31 PM

Well if you recall this legnthy thread:

My poor sweet baby Brougham...WRECKED!!!

That is where this all started. The pictures there give the extent of the damage. The body shop folks here say there's an internal frame which has been crushed, and thatat makes it so much more expensive.

The reason I consider selling her have been building up. When I first bought her, I was of the thought that 90's Broughams had the good chevy EFI engine. Only then did I find out that in '90 they still had the underpowered 307. Basically my car is a slug. But I was OK with that - after all, the carb could always be rebuilt.

But since this wreck occured, my Brougham has gone from a symbol of pride and sentiment to a constant reminder of mistreatment I went through during that ordeal, which is still not settled. My insurance rates have doubled, I have a ticket on my record that's in the courts right now. I have lawyer fees, endless fees, and more fees. That other party got the money and I will suffer for the next decade. Then again, I shouldn't get on a roll again.

But you see my point. My car brings me no joy anymore. And the thought of drilling and bondo-ing her just makes me sick. I just want to unload her and try to put some of this behind me. I can't even move on. Selling the car will be one step closer to freeing myself from these blood-sucking...(I shouldn't say the rest). As you can see this whole cloud of trouble that surrounds my Brougham just makes me angry.

I'd like to sell her and get a 91 or a 92, maybe even a d'Elegance. One with no body damage and fuel injection. Maybe then that will cover up the pain of the endless battles I still have to fight.

blackcadmatt · #7 (**permalink**) 03-10-07, 06:18 PM

I never read that, it was posted well before I joined this forum. Powerful stuff indeed...

I feel for you. A similar occurance happened to my wife while our '89 was in the shop. Thankfully she was driving a loaner Jeep and not one of our cars. A woman was speeding and failed to stop and clipped the r-rear of the Cherokee as wifey was backing out of a driveway of a dead-end street. The other driver had every opportunity to stop and failed to do so. The bad part is that the brakes on the loaner failed right before the collision and the other driver kept going until the entire quarter panel of her truck was compromised.

However, the situations are not the same. It was not MY car or insurance involved. there was no police report either.

Follow your insticts... I am sorry for what happened. FYI, the car being parted locally is white, just like your's.

Gwokable · #8 (**permalink**) 03-10-07, 08:52 PM

The body shop is being a bunch of shits. $2500 to paint a junkyard quarterpanel and door and install it on one of the biggest cadillacs ever made?

I know a shop around here that offered to repaint my entire car and replace a trunk lid and door for $3000, $1500 of that is materials, $5000 for all-new paint and an under body coating. Phoenix Body Shop in Warrenville Illinois, good guys and I picked up a lot of tips from em'. The owner even said he'd try to talk me out of it since he doesn't want all the extra business, heh.

Get a second opinion.

I generally look at it this way. Any car you buy, you're in the long-haul with. You're going to have to invest a certain amount of money in it.

Some people buy junkers and dump em' when the engine and trans blows. Other people save up $30,000, buy a car outright, drive it until the extended 5-year all-inclusive warranty expires, save the monthly payments during those 5 years, sell the car and buy another new car and repeat.

Other people, like me, will buy a junker with the frame in excellent condition and build it from the ground up and drive it till we're a part of the million mile club.

I'm not going to tell you what to do, I understand you're young and traumatized by the whole situation. One of the reasons I stick with my brougham is because the parts are cheap and I can do the work on me own. In this respect, $6000 buys all-new parts for the car and a professional engine and transmission rebuild; another $2000 buys the equipment and materials to do a paintjob and underbody coating and when comparied to other cars on the road, the brougham may not be a fuel efficient 4-banger but there is no new car on the road that comes close to the brougham for comfort, reliability and affordability.

Otherwise, you may want to unload it and get a toyota or honda 4-banger and go the minimum-what-you-need-to-get-around route.

My_favorite_Brougham · #9 (**permalink**) 03-10-07, 10:24 PM

Do get me wrong, I love my car, and I love being in my car and driving it. I just can seem to justify being stagnant. Here's the deal. I have two grand I could dump into the car right now, But someone came up to me and offered 1800 for her. My thoughts are that I could take 3800 and get a nicer Brougham. I never did much care for the engine in her right now. So maybe I'm letting that sway me. One thought though. My Brougham seems to be two different colors - A nice bright white from the rear doors back, and a little bit darker shade for the front. It looks like a clear coat. That's kind of confusing, so I'm worried about new paint on a new fender.

Sorry if I seemed bummed out and ready to drop my Brougham. I am open to suggestions.

1990CaddyBrougham · #10 (**permalink**) 03-16-07, 09:48 PM

Am i missing something here? Thats it, thats the damage? What the **** is all the comotion about? A decent dent on the fender and some on the door.

$2500 for a quote. Whoever gave you that is softer then shit.
I think you are over reacting a bit and should def take it to antoehr shop. Used fender, $75 Door is worth repairing. Paint the fender and blend the door. Its nto that hard and not worth 2500. You make it sound like its a salvage vehicle and you hit a brick wall. I work for a body shop, best one in the area, been voted best of the best for the past 11 years running, i know my boss has high prices, but i know even he would come in cheaper then that.
You must not be to mechaically inclined it seems. To swap out a fender aint all taht bad.

Do yourself a favor and go pick a used fender up at the junkyard, and put it on, save yourself some $$ there and send it to a decent body shop to have to door repaied and have them paint the fender and blend the door....

bicentennialcadillac · #11 (**permalink**) 03-16-07, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1990CaddyBrougham

Do yourself a favor and go pick a used fender up at the junkyard, and put it on, save yourself some $$ there and send it to a decent body shop to have to door repaied and have them paint the fender and blend the door....

I agree. Keep the car just to spite the illiterate slobs who caused this mess.

cadillac_al · #12 (**permalink**) 03-17-07, 02:43 PM

If the car is two different shades of white now then it must have been fixed sometime in the past. It shouldn't be a big deal to fix it but if you don't have any reasonable body shops around you may be better off to sell for 1800 and try to find a better one for $3800.

I don't know how dark it was when you got hit but I think some people probably ride around looking for accidents and whiplash. I'm surprised your insurance company is so willing to pay for a possible scam. How do you get whiplash in a school zone anyway?