It all started back in April when my father was looking for a car to replace his trusty, but very rough and old '79 GMC van. His first idea was another van, but then he remembered how much he liked the mid-90's Caddy Fleetwoods. We set out on a search within a considerable distance, but found nothing. Then, on a whim, he decided to stop at a very small used car dealer that usually only has Buicks & Cadillacs, and found a Roadmaster. It was a '92 Limited with 183k miles (even I thought it was too much at first!), white with a 1/3 white vinyl roof, aluminum wheels, and a red leather interior. The guy wanted $2,900, and after trade, we drove away in it for only $2,500! Despite the mileage, there was NOTHING wrong with it, except for needing a good detail job--I'm a detailer on the side, so that was no problem either.
We had it for about a month, and my dad was loving it more everyday, when one day we saw a dark burgundy '93 or '94 Fleetwood Brougham when we were out shopping, and I said "Those are nice. I'd drive one." Little did I know he'd respond and say, "Well, maybe we should start looking for one and I'll get rid of my Chevelle". The Chevelle of course, was a 1969 Malibu that he had bought exactly 3 years ago, and swore he'd never get rid of. We put it up for sale a few days later. It took a while, and we got several calls, but we finally sold it to a woman who wanted it for her husband on their anniversary.
We started looking at Fleetwoods immediately as its replacement. The first was a black on black "base" in D.C., with 107k miles for $4,500. Mechanically and inside, it was nice, but the outside had several dings up the side, a few of the moldings were banged up, and a few other details could have been better. Kept it in mind, but continued looking. Next was a black on black '93 Brougham with a sunroof and 107k too, but it was in need of an oil change, the transmission fluid was mucky, the lower chrome panels were coming loose, several of the moldings were rough, and the paint looked faded. Not impressed at all, so we moved on. The next was a '93 black on tan base, this one with 97k miles, but it terrible shape. Sticky, dirty interior, faded paint, bad moldings, etc.,etc.--it was looking pretty grim. That night, I went on the net for my usual "Fleetwood search" and found a newly added one in Bethesda, MD. '93 Brougham, white, 88k miles, and several new parts. Called, and went to look at it the next day--and wrote a check after only 5 minutes. This one was in much, much better condition than the others, had less miles, was white (much easier maintenance), and was obviously better maintained.
The seller told us it was specially ordered by his father in Florida back in '93 (there's a gold Cadillac plaque with his name on the dash), was then given to him, but then began to be too large and hard to park. He told us that it was taken in twice a year to the Caddy dealer where he told them to fix or replace anything that needed it. To the eye, the only problem was how filthy the outside was (I attached a pic). Not a big problem however, just like the Buick, only worse.
We just picked it up last Saturday. Thankfully, he had gotten it cleaned before we picked it up, and while not to my standards, was much better than before. I detailed it, and have driven it a few times and LOVE IT! So far, just two minor issues to report. One, the front brake pads will need to be replaced soon. Second, there is a small oil drip from around the oil cooler (above the filter), but that is just a seal that needs to be replaced.
Both it and our Roadmaster are identical colors, inside and out. The only thing I don't like is that it seems to be a little louder than the Buick on the road, but I think that's mainly the off-brand tires on it that we plan on replacing in the next year.
My only other issue is that it came with no remote key fobs, so I ordered a set of 2 off Ebay for only $25 shipped. Now I just need to figure out how to program them! I have the instructions, but haven't yet found the right wire in the trunk. Oh well, I have a few days!
Just wanted to say hi, and post some pics of our new ride! I'll post the pics tomorrow!
We had it for about a month, and my dad was loving it more everyday, when one day we saw a dark burgundy '93 or '94 Fleetwood Brougham when we were out shopping, and I said "Those are nice. I'd drive one." Little did I know he'd respond and say, "Well, maybe we should start looking for one and I'll get rid of my Chevelle". The Chevelle of course, was a 1969 Malibu that he had bought exactly 3 years ago, and swore he'd never get rid of. We put it up for sale a few days later. It took a while, and we got several calls, but we finally sold it to a woman who wanted it for her husband on their anniversary.
We started looking at Fleetwoods immediately as its replacement. The first was a black on black "base" in D.C., with 107k miles for $4,500. Mechanically and inside, it was nice, but the outside had several dings up the side, a few of the moldings were banged up, and a few other details could have been better. Kept it in mind, but continued looking. Next was a black on black '93 Brougham with a sunroof and 107k too, but it was in need of an oil change, the transmission fluid was mucky, the lower chrome panels were coming loose, several of the moldings were rough, and the paint looked faded. Not impressed at all, so we moved on. The next was a '93 black on tan base, this one with 97k miles, but it terrible shape. Sticky, dirty interior, faded paint, bad moldings, etc.,etc.--it was looking pretty grim. That night, I went on the net for my usual "Fleetwood search" and found a newly added one in Bethesda, MD. '93 Brougham, white, 88k miles, and several new parts. Called, and went to look at it the next day--and wrote a check after only 5 minutes. This one was in much, much better condition than the others, had less miles, was white (much easier maintenance), and was obviously better maintained.
The seller told us it was specially ordered by his father in Florida back in '93 (there's a gold Cadillac plaque with his name on the dash), was then given to him, but then began to be too large and hard to park. He told us that it was taken in twice a year to the Caddy dealer where he told them to fix or replace anything that needed it. To the eye, the only problem was how filthy the outside was (I attached a pic). Not a big problem however, just like the Buick, only worse.
We just picked it up last Saturday. Thankfully, he had gotten it cleaned before we picked it up, and while not to my standards, was much better than before. I detailed it, and have driven it a few times and LOVE IT! So far, just two minor issues to report. One, the front brake pads will need to be replaced soon. Second, there is a small oil drip from around the oil cooler (above the filter), but that is just a seal that needs to be replaced.
Both it and our Roadmaster are identical colors, inside and out. The only thing I don't like is that it seems to be a little louder than the Buick on the road, but I think that's mainly the off-brand tires on it that we plan on replacing in the next year.
My only other issue is that it came with no remote key fobs, so I ordered a set of 2 off Ebay for only $25 shipped. Now I just need to figure out how to program them! I have the instructions, but haven't yet found the right wire in the trunk. Oh well, I have a few days!
Just wanted to say hi, and post some pics of our new ride! I'll post the pics tomorrow!
