Questions about price on 2 cars? Please help.

[FleetwoodRidin]

Hello everyone. Newbie and soon to be Caddy owner. Great site. Lots of info.

Wasn't sure of best location?

Please help decide which car to buy. Both cars are at new car dealers in my area. BTW(Most new car dealers in my area mark older used cars up from I'd say from 40-60%)

1. 1991 Deville 33K mi, asking $4,990, Maroon/White Leather, Gold Grill, Gold maybe 16in 100 spoke knock offs w.whitewalls. Pictures look flawless.

2. 1986 Fleetwood Brougham, 55K mi, asking $3,995, Silver/Red Interior. Description says car is flawless but no pictures. Also, much longer drive about 50+ miles to dealer.

I like the 86' but the 91 is mint and very low miles.

Questions:
1. Which car you would buy and why?
2. What would you offer for each vehicle and why?
3. Which vehicle would be overall more reliable?
4. Which vehicle would get overall better gas mileage (real world, not EPA est.)?
5. What should I look/listen for when viewing and test driving?
6. Besides obvious differences in bodystyle, the 91' is FWD and has a fuel injected 4.9 liter and 86' is RWD with carbureted 5 liter(305/307) right?

Maybe one of you who has owned one or both vehicles could give a first hand comparison. Any information would be much appreciated. Going to call and prob. look at the 91' today. Thank you to everyone in advance for your responses and any insight. Looking forward to owning a Caddy soon with your help. I'll try to post any pics I can get a hold of.

[ocjmakaveli]

Unless there is something really wrong with those cars i dont think the price would go down that much maybe 500-1000 yeah but not much more than that and you'd be pushing it at 500 IMO.

I would say your best bet for those prices check for private sellers or auto magazines and deal with private sellers and you can find a good buy for those prices but no dealer is going to sell a worthy car for $2000 anything you can buy at a dealer for 2000 you can get for about $1500 maybe less with a private seller and either way your not getting warranty etc. and best of all you won't have to pay any taxes just the title etc.

[FleetwoodRidin]

Thank you very much for the info., your the first one who responded. I'm comfortable buying from either one of these dealers as they are reputable. I know I might be able to get a better price from a private owner. Just don't trust people being truthful about cars' history, ya know. These two cars are about the best two caddies I've found in my area anyway, mileage and condition wise. Also, I'm in FL so they were both likely traded by some senior citizens. Likely well maintained, driven easy type of thing. Thanks again. Keep the repsonses coming please. TTT

[Broughamfanatic]

I'm not too well versed in the FWD Cadillac Devilles, but I can tell you things to look for on the 86. There are a few things to look at to determine if the car actually has 55k, not 155k. Unless the car was left outside all its life, The gray stripe on the bumper guards should be mostly there. The driver's side seat should show hardly any wear. If the steering wheel is leather wrapped, it should also be in like-new shape. If the vinyl top still has some threads left in the stitching, it's a good sign. The chrome around the air conditioning outlets should be still good. The chrome rocker panels should also be near-flawless. The B-pillar opera lamps should still work at 55k. Those plastic body fillers should be good. Another advantage to the 86 is the 307 engine, which is very common in 1980s GM vehicles, so parts won't be an issue. I'm willing to bet parts for the 86 are much, much cheaper and easier to come by. The only thing I can see going bad on the 86 would be the water pump or the radiator due to age. But yeah the driver's seat and steering wheel will tell you if the milage is accurate. The other items can go either way depending if the car was garaged or not. As for the 91 Deville, Red with white leather is a sharp combination, but I think the FWD Devilles are a little more pricier to maintain than the RWD Broughams. Based on the experience with my 3 Broughams (87, 88 and 91), my dad's 2 (90 and 91) and my brother's (88) I can say these cars are pretty reliable. The only issues I remember are the water pumps going out on my 88 @ 130k, my bro's 88 @ 100k, and both our original radiators blowing-out at roughly the same milage. My brother's 88's transmission blew out before 100k because the fluid leaked out and he drove it that way, unknowingly, until it was too late. The 307 Broughams (2 88s and the 90) have had their carburetor hiccups, too, but they usually cost less than $100 to fix. The alternator is another thing which may die-out because of age both 88s and the 90 had theirs replaced at over 100k. Out of all our Broughams I think my 88's AC compressor finally seized at 130k miles. Any other AC problems we had were because of freon leaks, due to age.The heater core/condensers never went bad. I cast my vote for the 86 because I know the 307-powered Broughams are good cars and parts & repairs aren't too outrageously expensive. I'd only buy the 91 if you want a faster car that looks cooler with that white leather. The prices are a little inflated, but not highway robbery inflated. I'd offer maybe $500-$1000 less. I paid $4650 for my 87 with 38k miles. The 91 would probably get better gas milage because it has fuel injection. My mom had a 91 Seville with the same 4.9L and every time something went bad it cost an arm & a leg to fix. I don't think there is any item under the hood of the 91 that will cost less to fix than the 86. The 91 has 1 sepertine belt, and the 86 will have 5(?) so maybe that's it.