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1987 GN daily driver?

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what mileage should i be looking at? hows maintenance for you GN guys?
i'm willing to spend AT MOST in the high 20's. i also have my eyes on newer cars as a DD, but if it makes sense for me, i would really want GN.

just for fun: these are DD's i have in mind:
1st: Grand National
2nd: Dodge Charger SRT 392
3rd: Audi s4
4th: Lexus RC-F

i currently have a Lexus is250 as a DD and my weekend ride is a 1964 Lincoln Continental

Keep this in mind: A typical Lexus with 200,000 miles has fewer problems than a brand new $185,000 Mercedes S-Class.

You already own the best DD you can get. Deadpan reliable, comfortable, fun, fast.

Get a GN. Absolutely. Just don't DD it.
 
I'm going to disagree with everybody on here so far.

Don't DD a Grand National.

1) A good, lower mileage, near stock example will set you back $16K at least. For that money, you can get something thirty years newer that gets double the gas mileage, has better A/C and stereo, is faster and handles better, is MUCH safer, and doesn't need maintenance beyond oil changes and brakes.
2) These cars are hard to insure for DD purposes. "regular" insurance will only insure you to a really low wholesale book value, likely close to $10K. Any agreed value policy that insures you for what it's worth also limits mileage driven.
3) Despite what people like to say, these cars are not reliable compared to modern cars. They require constant care and feeding to keep them in tip-top shape, and some parts are getting hard to find. When something fails, it's more often then not going to result in an upgrade, not a simple trip to the parts store for a replacement (MAF Dies? You need a new Chevy MAF and a translator, not just a new MAF, for example).

These are great cars, and a properly maintained one will indeed be reliable enough to stand in for your DD if you find yourself in between cars or the real DD has an extended stay in the shop, but running it continuously at 12K miles a year will not go well in the long run.
Agree 100%.
Love my GN and it has proven to be very reliable, but I think our relationship would be very different if we had to live with each other every day.

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I dont know why the guy cant dd it? Theres obvious disadvantages but theres the advantage of driving a car he enjoys more frequently and priceless memories. I also dont think you can say say newer, more reliable, etc is better, its different.

You guys have made him aware of the downsides but its ultimately his personal preferance.
 
I dont know why the guy cant dd it? Theres obvious disadvantages but theres the advantage of driving a car he enjoys more frequently and priceless memories. I also dont think you can say say newer, more reliable, etc is better, its different.

You guys have made him aware of the downsides but its ultimately his personal preferance.

I wasn't aware any of us were his mother and/or put a gun to his head.

It's a bad idea to DD a thirty year old car. Period. If he chooses to do so, fine, but I don't think anybody in this thread has been unreasonably harsh. Just honest.
 
I also dont think you can say say newer, more reliable, etc is better, its different.

And I've been drinking, so I have to address this one.

Different? yes. Better? YES.
We love our cars. We can make our cars do amazing things, especially considering the age and architecture. The Turbo Regal was twenty years ahead of its time.

But that puts it at 2007. Keeping it relevant among modern equipment takes money and loads of time.

Make no mistake: Modern cars are better in every possible way.
 
Here's my $0.02. My GN is the biggest POS that I have every owned. I bought a car that should have been parted out.

Nowe that's out the way I will never sell this thing. I daily drove mine for 6 month last year and it is now moved up to permanent daily status as my jeep was stolen a few weeks ago. I am now starting to worry about someone stealing it. My car does not have nice paint and has a lot of rust in the fenders. I get more people trying to buy this thing than any other car I have ever owned. So get use to that.

I have been working the bugs out of a neglected car. I have it running the best it has ever ran since I owned it.

If you are mechanical inclined and keep up with the manintance and know how to fix it I would not be afraid daily mine.
 
Another thing to consider is your climate. Don't drive a GN in road salt. If you live where the roads are treated/salted in the winter,you sure don't want a TR as a daily driver,or else you'll be seeing rust. The door bottoms,the rear frame rails,...

Even if the storms are over,there is still salt residue on the roads until a hard rain washes it away.

What works for me is to have three $1,000 daily drivers that are identical. One a bit nicer/lower mileage than the other. The worse one gets the winter weather.

When conditions are perfect,the GN comes out. I'm tired of cleaning this thing. Black sucks. But when it's clean,it's sharp. If you are like me,you'lll be cleaning all the time,so you'll want to only drive on nice days so you don't have to clean it again.

I won't spend a lot on a DD. I'll put the $$ in my GN or house instead.

So maybe consider putting three DD Olds Ciera's in your driveway. Just make sure they are '89-90 and have the 3300 Buick V6.

Daily driver heaven here:

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I am going to have to disagree i have a daily and a weekend one. Been driving my daily for about 8 years.very dependable i would take it anywhere. As far as repairs i can do all my own and for the moat part have no problems finding parts if needed go Lexus and unless you are very familiar with then and a good mechanic wait for that bill. If you keep up on you maintenance take care of well known issues dont do a bunch of hp upgrades it will be fine. I was called crazy when i started driving mine daily but i love everything about these cars and thats what i want to drive.
 
How did I miss this thread? Bought mine as a sort of DD. I'm crazy about these cars though so when things go wrong or break its a labor of love. I enjoy getting my hands dirty and learning every little nook and cranny. But I did buy a car that was nowhere near original with unperfect paint. I never drive within two weeks of road salt being laid out. (which happens about once or twice a year here in Central VA) I try not to take it out in the rain. Oh and I'm a staple at the local car wash. If you are obsessed about maintaining the car you'll be fine. But always have a backup beater. I am driving mine less and less though. Mostly opt out for the daily drive to work and take the bike or even walk to work. That way I get to enjoy it when I'm more relaxed. I also take her on quite a few long trips. So far this year we've been to NC twice, Brooklyn twice and DC 4 times. Like I said. I'm obsessed with it and would rather drive nothing else. Whatever you do, take care of it.
 
Personally i have DD my 86 T for about 2 years now. I drive the car year around except when it snows(about 1 week a year). I drive the car in stop and go traffic, short 3 mile trips and long 400 mile trips and so far the car has been pretty reliable with the only necessary repairs been a bad ECU, fuel pump relay, and voltage dash light( alternator wouldn't charge). keep in mind that these parts were 30 years old and repair happened within the first 3-4 months of owning the car. From then it has only been regular maintenance. Being honest the only bad thing about dd my 86 has been wind noise above 50 MPH from the door glass, but i put up with it because the car is just SO MUCH FUN.
 
Mines a daily driver & used this entire past Winter. I bought mine for under 6k knowing about the Hi mileage , rust , oil leak & non working AC. what sold me was the $8k of receipts of all the work done he did in the 14 yrs he owned it & the fact that you could eat off the engine & it already had a Scan Master installed! This was 3 1/2 yrs ago . All I have run into was a battery drain with the alarm ( i disconnected & went away ) & occasional low / no Voltage out of the Alt ( This was completely solved by using Caspers "field fix" ). Yes i did spend some extra money -- fixed the oil leak, replaced fuel pump, Hot wire , new TT chip etc to bring it up to date. I only occasionally get it into Boost since I know in the back of my mind i want it too last as long as i can keep driving lol.. You got to remember that these cars are almost 30 yrs old so you need to open the Hood and keep an eye on the fluids etc..
 
I bought a GN clone out of Florida that I use as my DD. With the theft issue, I still have safeguards for it, but I can enjoy it more as I don't have real "GN" money in it, and the body and paint isn't so great that I stress about parking lots and door dings like I would on my other TR's.
Having said that, I wouldn't have a 30 year old DD without back-up transportation. I have had this one for about a year and a half, and took care of any running/ interior issues first, but she still sits about a 1/3 of the time for electrics/suspension/brakes/driveshaft/whatever issues that a 30 year old car who's previous owners didn't look after.
Not knocking the guy I got the car from, the previous owners were concerned with making it fast! That was money I didn't have to spend:cool:
 
I have been DD my Buick GN since 1987...very few problems, updated to Red's radiator a few years ago...updated chip/injectors...I do all my own maintenance, paainted a couple of times...Vacuum brake upgrade. I stock parts that I think I might need..
Recently bought a 89 Pontiac TurboT/A pace car..39k miles.
 
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