Tips on verifying original miles?

[ngc414]

I found a clean GN with low miles and plan to purchace. The carfax looks good but does not show any history until 1999. Miles are well documented after 99. Title shows actual miles. The car is very clean and shows little wear, what i would expect from a low mile care. Are there any other tips or tricks to help verify the miles have not rolled?

 

[Red Regal T]

How many miles are on it? Is it all original? Paint original?

 

[ngc414]

40k so not super low, but still low. The paint is original and looks very good. The car appears to be all original.

 

[novaderrik]

a low mileage car will just look and feel "newer" than a high mileage car. things like the pedals, carpet, and upholstery will tend to look and feel newer.
looking under thecar, all the nuts and bolts will just look "newer". a low mileage car will also feel tighter than an older car and have less creaks and groans as the body flexes when you drive it.
my T has a hair over 60,000 miles on it, and i can definitley tell it is a low mileage car. the interior is mint except for a slight tear on the driver's seat where two pices of the cover are stitched together, the headliner is sagging (it looked mint when i got it 3 years ago) and the plastic part of the dash by the windshield is cracked from sitting in the sun parked in one spot for 13 years. and it drives like a new car.

 

[Red Regal T]

Even though 20 years old, with 40 K, the interior should look absolutely new. If it doesn't, miles aren't accurate. Not saying it's 140K, but could have been easily turned back. How many miles does the carfax indicate in 1999 when the car was already 12 years old?

 

[ngc414]

It states 37k in 99 then 38k in 2002. After talking to the seller I am confident the miles are accurate since he has had it, I am just unsure of the history from 87-99. Car fax shows nothing until 99. I wish they just added an extra digit back then.

 

[Ross L]

yes the seats(drivers especially) should look great. Check the break pedal(no significant wear on the right edge). Look at the steering wheel(top), should not be worn through. Mine still had the original coil pack(1986 sticker), original acc ball and break pedal switch(at least not the updated acc. ball or switch). The car should drive like a 40K mile car:biggrin: Headliner may sag just due to the age. Power antena still work? Just use your best judgement no matter how bad you want to "believe" its a low mile car. A detailed history is always a bonus.

 

[8AV8]

Check the DMV .... smog tests, inspection stickers things like that.

 

[GNRick]

If you know anybody with a high mile GN, drive it and see if there is a difference. I have two high mile GN's (175K miles) and the steering is very lose compared to my 25K mile GN.

 

[83ttypecooled]

mileage

Hi,
As pertains to original mileage,you are in a grey zone with any car of this generation. Not only does the odometer not have 6 digit capability, but also the materials used in our cars degrade rapidly in a lot of environments.
Specifically,all interior plastic gets crappy when the heat and humidity get to them. I have suffered with this for years.It is a bit sad to see a formerly pristine car rot , but they will!
It is part of collector car ownership, so be prepared! I could go into greater depth, but....
Good luck with your ride.

 

[Blown&Injected]

good call on checking out the drivers seating area - look where one might rest he elbow near the door lock rod and check for chips near the grill area.

All one can do is the best inspection possible - any of the parts could have been replaced - and that is not a bad thing

 

[dwall]

Original miles car. Maybe?

Yep, the things mentioned above . Lots of stuff can be replacements but here are some things to fuel your detective work:

1. Coil pack should be original - dated with original number sticker.
2. OEM Plug wires gray and black.
3. Brake recall sticker on radiator support.
4. Powermaster brake system - OEM brake bowl possible
5. Driver seat condition excellent.
6. Original oil fill tube and gasket (crumbling?)
7. Original MAF to turbo air duct
8. Wiper arms
9. Trunk liner, cardboard liner, spare and jack excellent maybe never out!
10. Sunvisors with labels - head liner condtion excellent on garage kept.
11. Documentation - booklets, manuals and window sticker?
12. Door sills in excellent condition expecially Pass side.
13. Rim & wheel condition.
14. Rust free inside door bottoms

Good luck - hope you find the best guess verifiable mileage car you want.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Pictures are worth a 1000 words..

The car should have all the original papers wrapped around the tv cable,throttle cable and cruise cable. My pic i provided is from a 90K car.

The drivers seat shouldnt be broken down, if you sit in the car and it feels like your sitting on the floor, its over 100K.

If you are looking at a car on ebay eBay Motors: Buick : Grand National (item 290157365118 end time Sep-10-07 18:58:40 PDT)

THERE SHOULD BE NO RUST ON THE HEADER PANEL FOR A WELL KEPT 40K CAR!!!!!

#1 Rule: Look for a car that does not live in the rust belt

Why spend more money on a car with low miles that needs more attention than a higher mileage car?
There is always a great deal out there to be had, share some pictures with us of the car you have in mind and we can help you make your decision.

BW

 

[ngc414]

I just bought a higher mile clean car from florida. Figure with the money I save I can do some tastefull mods without worrying about desicrating a clean low mile car. Thanks for the help

 

[turbofish38]

Mileage doesn't mean much. Especially since a lot of parts can be replaced. Brake pedal pad. Give me a break. Every used car lot in town knows that trick. Unless you were around back in the 80's when these cars were showroom new then you're lost on what to look for. You're at the mercy of CarFax.

Now what I would be concerned about on a low mileage car is how soft was the car driven. I mean there are a lot of dumasses who bought these cars and drove them into the ground. The Kenne-Bell catalog was proof of that. Just because it looks like 40K might mean it has a fresh set of head gaskets and melted piston tops because some PO had a 108 PitBull chip and ran pump gas. There's a reason why people drive a car 1000 miles in 5 years. Look at how many noobs with driveabilty problem threads are posted on this board.

 

[Grumpy]

Mileage doesn't mean much. Especially since a lot of parts can be replaced. Brake pedal pad. Give me a break. Every used car lot in town knows that trick. Unless you were around back in the 80's when these cars were showroom new then you're lost on what to look for. You're at the mercy of CarFax.

Now what I would be concerned about on a low mileage car is how soft was the car driven. I mean there are a lot of dumasses who bought these cars and drove them into the ground. The Kenne-Bell catalog was proof of that. Just because it looks like 40K might mean it has a fresh set of head gaskets and melted piston tops because some PO had a 108 PitBull chip and ran pump gas. There's a reason why people drive a car 1000 miles in 5 years. Look at how many noobs with driveabilty problem threads are posted on this board.

like my old BEAUTIFUL Limited with 27k on it .. from the south .. NO rust .. BUT was beat on pretty good .. car ran good when I got it but not the way it should have run .. had a burnt piston in #6.. oh had steel shimmed head gaskets soooooo ya knew it was apart before

 

[Anthony P]

Or on the other hand, you could have a GN like mine - Carfax states that no records exist for my car. I have driven this garage queen almost 3K miles since 1992! For longer trips, it gets carried in a hauler.

Other areas to look at for a low mileage example are:
White lettering on turned signal stalk - intact or partially rubbed off?

Is the grain in the leather on the steering wheel still there at the normal hand/grip positions or is it smooth and/or discolored from the oil and dirt on our hands?

-Anthony

 

[VadersV6]

One of the giveaways is the windshield. Drive the car toward the sun and look for thousands of tiny pock marks all over the windshield. Thats a sign that the car has been driven alot farther than the odometer says. My car, which I bought in 2005 and had no pink slip, showed the exact same mileage on the new pink slip I got, which had been documented in 1994. There were service records out there after 94, so its obvious the speedo had been disconnected...hell it was disconnected when I bought the car cause when it was connected, the speedo needle would bounce violently and grind. All it took was pulling the cable out and greasing it, but apparently that was too hard for the prior owners. Thats another thing to look for. You see something thats messed up and would be an easy 5 minute fix, but is still messed up and has been messed up for a long time...that tells you alot about the owner....a dysfunctional owner is far worse than a dysfunctional car. If theres signs that the guy doesnt care about the car or doesnt know how to fix things and/or doesnt want to learn or even try....get away and find another car. Unfortunately alot of people disconnect the speedometer on these cars and run a manual TC lock up switch (with no speed reading the torque converter will never lock up, so they bypass it). Look for the same on the headlights and look to see if the headlights arent all squared and center. The light frames may be tweaked from an accident that didnt show up on the carfax record. Look under the car in the front and look at the condition of all the wiring going to the headlights. Do they look aged and crappy? Are they still mounted with the wire clamps? If they're just dangling and nothing looks quite right, its probably been in a wreck and got some Tijuana style bodywork/paint done. Look at the condition of the a-arm bushings. Are they aged and cracked? They could have been replaced, but most people wont replace the body bushings. Check out the condition of that. There are alot of phony GN's out there...where they got a regal and did it all up and swapped all the numbers and put up phony build stickers and really went all out. Some are so good that all the numbers are right and the build stickers are right but you just FEEL that something is wrong but you usually dont figure it out until its too late. The wheelwell covers under the hood..on the drivers side by the charcoal canister...close to it...you should see it say "TURBO" molded into the plastic. Make sure the rear end is right. The bottom left and right corners of the differential should have square bosses sticking out. If they're "elf ears"...little hooks and not square blocks, then the rear end is not right. Its likely a 7.5 or an 8.2" rear. Not the 8.5" like the GN's have.

 

[RobV6]

I wouldn't let the brake ball bother me. My car documented now8,308 org Mi, gave up at 5,087. wrote it down.gues this is when I could walk you through if you want.

 

[TurboDave]

I'd have to agree, mileage isn't going to mean much unless you're looking for a non driving investment.
And don't believe everything you see on carfax, those idiots can't find their butt with a bull fiddle!
Especially when the car's gone through a bunch of Kalifornia smog checks with idiots that write down what they see on the odo without asking a single question.

My 86 is a one owner (me) original, high miles, but if you look it up in carfax it shows "possible odometer tampering". Because of the idiot smog nazi's. One smog check they may have written 1xx,xxx, and the next might have been entered xx,xxx