1987 Grand national question

[tiptronicsoldie]

It needs nothing, its been kept in very nice condition its entire life...if your serious about getting a TR then you need to come out and meet the folks that know everything there is about TRs at our meeting, you will not find them else where. Billy Duke...you really have not done your homework if you have not heard of him around the DFW area, he has a shop over in north FTW, has at least 2 dozen TRs there...but If I need TR work, it goes to Rowlett to Jack at JL Enterprises, even though Billy is just 10 minutes away..get my drift.
Phil just drove that car on the Hot Rod Power tour last year..his wife is going to drive it up to the TType/TTA reunion this summer.
*
Now who did you have to help you out in Dallas to look at that original car??

Do you guys ever go to Cars and Coffee? I went to the first few but I don't think I ever saw any Buicks, always have seen plenty at the car shows at the Dallas Market Hall.

Its good to finally find a recommendation for good specialist in the area if I make a purchase.

 

[vicious6]

Dang that D84b car is nice!

 

[GNRick]

I read the entire post and can't really add much. One thing, though...a t-top car is worth less than a hard top. Has less structural rigitity (or something like that). I have a t-top car and love it, but I just take it to car shows when I want to add another trophy to the collection. It just turned 26k, original shiny paint, some chrome under the hood, but no other mods. It is an 86 model, which is close enough to the 1987 that you won't notice any difference. I paid $16,500 about 3 years ago for it from the original owner. Also had to pay for a plane ticket and U-haul to get the thing home. I bought it with 25k miles. Even had the original tires which since have been replaced. Probably is still worth what I paid for it, maybe a little more. I own a couple more with high (~200k miles) when I feel like beating on a GN. One more thing-don't forget about Hurricane Katrina and all the cars that got flooded and resold later. Good luck with your search!

 

[1984 t-type]

so i should stick to a stock GN?right
if its gonna be cheaper. the only problem is Gn are so rare and i hardly see them on sale here in dallas.and if they are they want 12k plus. with what ya told me ,ya said i can find a stock Gn for under 10K which to me is hard to beleive.have ya bought a car from someone on here from a different state and had it actully shipped out to you?

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a car from another state but if you do you deff need to do your homework, personally I would go see the car in person first and tow it back. (I traveled about 800 miles round trip to pick up mines and would do it again in a heartbeat) unlike some of us you are deff at an advantage here, you have the opportunity to talk to hundreds of guys about a car your interested in and they know their stuff. Just pay attention to the advice that's being offered and you won't regret your decision. I didn't find out about this site until about a month or so after I made my purchase and although I'm happy with the decision I made I'm positive I could have saved myself a lot of time, money, and stress if I had these guys backing me from day one.

 

[projectmoneypit]

It needs nothing, its been kept in very nice condition its entire life...if your serious about getting a TR then you need to come out and meet the folks that know everything there is about TRs at our meeting, you will not find them else where. Billy Duke...you really have not done your homework if you have not heard of him around the DFW area, he has a shop over in north FTW, has at least 2 dozen TRs there...but If I need TR work, it goes to Rowlett to Jack at JL Enterprises, even though Billy is just 10 minutes away..get my drift.
Phil just drove that car on the Hot Rod Power tour last year..his wife is going to drive it up to the TType/TTA reunion this summer.
*
Now who did you have to help you out in Dallas to look at that original car??

Is billy's shop across from norton metals in Saginaw.

 

[BuickMike]

Pm oc192 on this board and ask him about his experience with his GN. He is a guy in his 20's who wanted a GN real bad and is now living with that decision. Not saying it was a bad one, but I think he had no idea what he was in for until he bought it. He bought this car with the same intentions as you. He soon found out that it is an old car with many quirks that require lots of wrench time. He also found out that good GN mechanics are few and far between. They are also very expensive. oc192 went from someone who wanted to just buy a cool car to cruise in the weekends to someone who is wrenching on his GN during most of his spare time just so it runs right.

If you buy a GN / T Type, you WILL need to become mechanical. You WILL need to learn the car inside and out. You WILL be spending lots of time and money tweaking your car. This is all guaranteed. Owning one can be very rewarding and addictive as well. It's an old car though. It will have issues and they will need to be addressed. When you replace parts, you will find that OEM is either not available or junk, so you buy aftermarket parts. Thne the snowball effect begins. You get new injectors, so you might as well get bigger ones. Now you need a chip, intake, exhaust, adjustable wastegate actuator, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and a better fuel pump..oh, and a fuel pump hotwire kit....and a scantool..........etc. :biggrin:

Just PM oc192 and he will give you the best description of what you are in for / what to look out for. He's still green, but he's knee deep in it so the experience is fresh.

 

[2QUIK6]

Is billy's shop across from norton metals in Saginaw.

Yep, that's it.

 

[2QUIK6]

Do you guys ever go to Cars and Coffee? I went to the first few but I don't think I ever saw any Buicks, always have seen plenty at the car shows at the Dallas Market Hall.

Its good to finally find a recommendation for good specialist in the area if I make a purchase.

I know all 3 of those cars..The TTA is Phil's that has the Gray TType for sale in the links I posted.
The Blue D84 is owned by the previous owner of that Gray TType Phil has now.

I have not been to the Cars and Coffe show, too far for me to get there that early, but several members of our club have been there several times with their cars.
LSPBC did have a 6 car display for the Autorama next weekend, but the operator of the show just screwed up and jacked the arrangement up so we pulled out, I was going to bring 2 cars to it. Probably will not be any Buicks there again till they get someone different to run the show, this was the 2nd year in a row he screwed us up.

 

[turbo39151]

dashoekid21:

I don't think I've heard anyone give this piece of advice so I'll chime in with my .02...

You say your budget is $10k. Thus, I assume that you have $10k cash. Is this correct or that you plan on borrowing the money?... (makes a difference)

Not many people, much less younger people, have this sort of money lying around to spend on a "toy" car...

You may want to consider investing this money in a House or your education before spending it on a car... Yes, even a Buick!

This sort of investment would probably be met with great enthusiasm by your parents who would like for you to leave home now...(They probably haven't said it but it's likely they're waiting to have go out on your own). A move like this would probably even prompt them to assist you if they have the means and would show that you are not only responsible but financially invested in your future... (prospective girlfriends see this too)

I have bought many cars in my short life. I have "WASTED" a ton of money on nonsense. Much of the money I've wasted was for a car when I was younger... Every time I look back, I cringe...

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying to not buy a TR. I'm saying to take your time and buy it when it is the right time... Spend your money wisely... You can always buy a Buick... we ain't goin' nowhere.

However, buying a house while the market is soft (ie: cheaper than usual) or advancing your education are things better done when you are young...

If you drop $10k+ on a car that you do not understand, you will inevitably have repairs and "upgrades" you want. You will have to pay to insure the TR and your dd and fuel, etc... Will you have a place to store the cars? Work on them?

Just give this some thought. Even if you don't plan on staying in that location forever, buy yourself a place and rent out some of the rooms. That will pay the mortgage. Any leftover money can be used to build your Buick budget... Go to the meets and get to know some of the local buick people. You will learn what is good and not-so-good and what it is that you are truly looking for. Spend some time here and read. If you have a question, "search" as it's very likely the question has been asked and answered several times before. Do the research. Get Kirban's book. Read and learn...

Good Luck.

 

[dashoekid21]

dashoekid21:

I don't think I've heard anyone give this piece of advice so I'll chime in with my .02...

You say your budget is $10k. Thus, I assume that you have $10k cash. Is this correct or that you plan on borrowing the money?... (makes a difference)

Not many people, much less younger people, have this sort of money lying around to spend on a "toy" car...

You may want to consider investing this money in a House or your education before spending it on a car... Yes, even a Buick!

This sort of investment would probably be met with great enthusiasm by your parents who would like for you to leave home now...(They probably haven't said it but it's likely they're waiting to have go out on your own). A move like this would probably even prompt them to assist you if they have the means and would show that you are not only responsible but financially invested in your future... (prospective girlfriends see this too)

I have bought many cars in my short life. I have "WASTED" a ton of money on nonsense. Much of the money I've wasted was for a car when I was younger... Every time I look back, I cringe...

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying to not buy a TR. I'm saying to take your time and buy it when it is the right time... Spend your money wisely... You can always buy a Buick... we ain't goin' nowhere.

However, buying a house while the market is soft (ie: cheaper than usual) or advancing your education are things better done when you are young...

If you drop $10k+ on a car that you do not understand, you will inevitably have repairs and "upgrades" you want. You will have to pay to insure the TR and your dd and fuel, etc... Will you have a place to store the cars? Work on them?

Just give this some thought. Even if you don't plan on staying in that location forever, buy yourself a place and rent out some of the rooms. That will pay the mortgage. Any leftover money can be used to build your Buick budget... Go to the meets and get to know some of the local buick people. You will learn what is good and not-so-good and what it is that you are truly looking for. Spend some time here and read. If you have a question, "search" as it's very likely the question has been asked and answered several times before. Do the research. Get Kirban's book. Read and learn...

Good Luck.

all my money is in the bank. and actually thats exactly what my dad told me.he wants me to buy a house,rented out and let it pay itself.my dad actually has 3 houses that he rents out and are paid for already and told me plenty of times to do this,since i have the experiance in putting in granite counter tops and know plenty of people in the construction business who can help me remodel a house.idk but i just want a GN or a TR

 

[Adam Connell]

IM in Denton. Where in Dallas is it? If it's not too far I'll go over there and give it a thorough once over.

12.5k could be a fair price... BUT I'd need to see it to tell you if it is or isnt.

 

[Brady87GN]

all my money is in the bank. and actually thats exactly what my dad told me.he wants me to buy a house,rented out and let it pay itself.my dad actually has 3 houses that he rents out and are paid for already and told me plenty of times to do this,since i have the experiance in putting in granite counter tops and know plenty of people in the construction business who can help me remodel a house.idk but i just want a GN or a TR

I say go for it. Buy one. Just do your homework and make sure you have some $$ put aside for the inevitable upgrades and or repairs. There is a lot of awesome advice and guidance on these forums and nobody wants to see you get ripped off. I stumbled ass backwards into my GN and I couldn`t be happier. I`m learning as I go and loving every minute of it, although there is a reason they are called money pits, so be forewarned.

You don`t want to be 50 years old and regretting not buying your dream car when you had the chance. When I`m out cruising I see a lot of guys with that look in their eyes. Life will soon get in the way so do it while you have the chance, just be very cautious and make use of the resources available to you on this board. Once you`ve made your purchase you have to look at the car and decide what needs immediate attention and what can wait.

I would heed the advice here and avoid that car at the dealership like the plague. I travelled 4 hours to get my car only because the seller met me half way, otherwise I was looking at 8-10 hours. Be willing to travel, a plane ticket probably costs a lot less then a rebuild or a complete body job.

Good Luck!!

 

[turbo39151]

Dude, let your money work for you... (leverage is your friend)

Think of it like this:

If you spend $10 k on a car (any car)- what do you have at the end of 5 years? You will have a car that is 5 years older and no cash (likelihood is that you will have spent more to keep the car in shape as well)

Now if you spend $10k on a property, you can leverage you money into being more than it is. Thus, you can go to a lender and say I have $10k of my own money to put up against a property. They will gladly loan you money and you can buy a property. Now at the end of 5 years what do you have? You have a property that is 5 years older, you still have your money because the likelihood of the property loosing that value is slim to none and you have the benefit of either the tax breaks or depreciation and business loss... Either way you're coming out ahead AND if you rent the rooms, or heck, even the whole place, you can use the money to pay the mortgage and the rest to buy your car... Therefore, you can, in theory make the property work for you and buy you your car... If you improve the property you can keep it as a rental or you can sell it. Again, this is a better decision all the way around... And your dad can probably help you...

I have a friend who at 24 got into the real estate business working for his uncle as an agent... The uncles rule was that he had to buy or sell at least one house per year... This guy was making an average of $250k per year when I met him mostly all from buying and selling... He liked TR's too... Wonder how many he could buy?

Just an option to consider...

 

[projectmoneypit]

Tuff choice to make. Life if short, buy what you want just do it responsibly. Property is not all its cracked up to be. You WILL spend more maintaining, repairing, and "modding" property than you ever would fixing up a hot rod. People think they make alot more money than they actually do when the sell a property. A freind of mine sold his property last year for 50k more than he paid for it and said to me he made 50k. I said you will be lucky if you broke even. He said how do you figure, i said add up ALL the expenses related to the house since you bought it that means insurance, taxes, utilities, repairs, upgrades, everything then add the realtors 6% selling fee and closing costs. He called me a week later and said he was in the hole 15k. My advice would be buy a tr or gn at a good price that is solid and drivable then rent a apartment or townhouse or condo something that you dont have to worry about outside maintenance so you can use that time to work on your car. If you are a real car guy and if i could do it all over again buy an acre of land and build a nice 30x60 shop with one third of it a 2 story so you can live there and work on your toys. A good deal always comes up and you are lucky, you have money waiting so you can jump at the good deals, cash is king. You have the right idea about classic cars they are a good investment if you buy at a good price and can do your own work. I have never lost any money except for the cost of insurance and gas on any vehicle i have bought except for a new or newer modern vehicle. Words i live buy treat every purchase like an investment and you wont go broke.

 

[turbo39151]

rent a apartment or townhouse or condo something that you dont have to worry about outside maintenance so you can use that time to work on your car.

Really?

I know everyone has an opinion on this and this why you asked the question but spending all your money on a car and then going the rental route? Not sure that's the best plan... From your recent posts I'm not sure how much you know about working on cars but if you buy a tr be prepared to do alot of work or spend lots of money paying people to work on them for you. (Not saying it's a bad car but they're 20+ years old... Stuff breaks- seems like all the time)

 

[projectmoneypit]

Really?

Hell yeah, my house is like my cars, i keep putting money into it. During the summer when things are growing i spend about 10-12 hours per week working outside. But it also includes hey a fence would look nice here, a hot tub over there, bbq pit here next to an outside kitchen. I gets just as addicting working on a house than it does a car but at a much higher cost. I am a real car family not a real car guy so i cant do the living in the shop thing, but i do have the 30 x 60 shop/man cave

 

[2QUIK6]

We have 3 homes at the moment, they are nothing but PITA for different reasons on each of them, including the one I live in. Property values have plummeted the last 2 years, so real estate doesn't always go up. One I bought for dirt cheap 3 years ago as it was becoming commerical property in a few years..we'll real estate crashed so did the hopes of it becoming commercial...been sitting for 2 yearsd costing money in taxes and ins, finally spent a small fortune getting it livable and is rented now to a friend at least breaking even on taxes and ins, but will be years before it has commercial potential again... Dealing with renters is nothign but a PITA too, have a friend that does this for a living, always something broke, someone late on rent, or going thru the eviction process which means about 3 months with no $$ coming in from property, then the place gets trashed. The other is sitting empty, was an inheritance and needs a lot of work... It's in Azle nw of ftw, 3 bedroom brick, but only 1.5 bath, does have 2 car garage for your Ranger and TR That 10k would make about a 25% downpayment.
If you want your money to work for you, there's much easier ways than real estate..high dividend paying stocks, etfs, and closed end funds...double your $$ every 7-8 years doing nothing, real estate can't do that.

 

[projectmoneypit]

We have 3 homes at the moment, they are nothing but PITA for different reasons on each of them, including the one I live in. Property values have plummeted the last 2 years, so real estate doesn't always go up. One I bought for dirt cheap 3 years ago as it was becoming commerical property in a few years..we'll real estate crashed so did the hopes of it becoming commercial...been sitting for 2 yearsd costing money in taxes and ins, finally spent a small fortune getting it livable and is rented now to a friend at least breaking even on taxes and ins, but will be years before it has commercial potential again... Dealing with renters is nothign but a PITA too, have a friend that does this for a living, always something broke, someone late on rent, or going thru the eviction process which means about 3 months with no $$ coming in from property, then the place gets trashed. The other is sitting empty, was an inheritance and needs a lot of work... It's in Azle nw of ftw, 3 bedroom brick, but only 1.5 bath, does have 2 car garage for your Ranger and TR That 10k would make about a 25% downpayment.
If you want your money to work for you, there's much easier ways than real estate..high dividend paying stocks, etfs, and closed end funds...double your $$ every 7-8 years doing nothing, real estate can't do that.

So your saying 40k for that property, not bad at all as long as it is not in the hood and the foundation is good, the kid needs to jump on something like that.

 

[turbo39151]

A house for less than $100k is a decent deal as long as the location is great...
$40k is a steal but you have to factor the $$ to get it right...

Real estate isn't for everybody... I've had the 3t's also (tenants, trash and toilets) but it's always paid off... But that's business... Open your own business and it's basically the same thing...

Yes, you can earn money on stocks, etc... if you do the research and invest wisely... How many "experts" keep loosing their shirts though?

But, you can live in your house, can't live in paper assets and I don't think a regal would be all that comfortable to live in...

This doesn't have to be his ultimate home with all the upgrades-like projectmoneypit mentions (he's still young and would probably move in 5 years or so anyway)... This is a starter I'm talking about...It doesn't have to be a full on rental property as is alluded to by 2quik6, he can merely rent out a room or two... Gotta keep it simple to start with and advance gradually.

With property values at historical lows it is near impossible to get hurt on real estate IMHO... (Unless you buy a terrible property in a terrible location...)

 

[groumoutis]

Do you have a job to make the payments on a house? If you don't have a job where you can afford a house payment then getting a house is out of the question. If you can afford a house then I would go that route and after you make payments for 5 or so years you could have the equity it is to take out a loan against the house to get the car. These cars will still be around in five years. You can't ever look at a car as an investment or you will go broke! I bought a house that was a fixer upper and in 3 years we had the house appraised again and it had went up $25000. That took a bunch of work and time but it paid off. I now have a nice house and a GN and I am getting a a new 30x34 foot garage with a lift built as soon as the ground thaws out. I did all this with 2 kids and a wife and took our vacations and bought a brand new rv in the process.

Remember that your final decision is the one YOU have to deal with, none of any of us have to live with it. None of us can predict the outcome of your choices. It is easy for people to say to wait on the car because we have our cars. We are just giving you opinions. You have to weigh out the pros and cons of your choices.