question about 91 eldorado

[crane]

hello

this is the first time being on this site and i think it is a great site. i have always wanted a caddy but never could afford one and now i am in the market for one. i drive 100 miles aday highway. I know of a 91 eldorado for sale with 43.000 miles original for $3800 in excellent shape. an older person owned it and their daughter is selling it after the father passed away. do you guys think that this could be a good buy or what? i am not sure what i might be getting myself into here. i look at it as a very comfortable car with low mileage (reliable). I am hopeing to get about another 100,000 miles. is there anything that i should look for before purchasing any info appreciated.

crane

[Ranger]

Main thing is to make sure the cooling system has been serviced every 2 years.

[67coupedeville]

With it only having 43,000 miles on it, and they are only asking $3800 for it, on my computer screen, that looks like a really smoking deal. I know our 1990 Fleetwood is literally the same car as the 1991 Eldorado minus the 4.9L versus the 4.5L that we have, and our car is mint inside and out. Beautiful cars, I imagine you woud have no problem getting 100,000 miles out of that car. Thing I would do is check the coolant and ask if it was ever changed to her knowledge. If she knows or not I would change it anyway. There are tons of threads about coolant problems when it is not changed regularly. Good luck.

Spence

[Scotty]

Just remember one thing, while the car has low mileage, chronologically its an old car and things wear out from time only, bearing grease dries up, rubber bushings dry rot, etc. Don't assume that you will have no problems. It would be a great car if you are mechanically inclined.

I had a 91 Seville that I got with 57,000 miles.

The 4.9 is a great engine, change the coolant every two years and use the cooling supplement (very important). Change the tranny fluid and filter as soon as you get the car. Mike

[crane]

thanks guys. that is exactly what i wanted to hear. i appreciate the quick response.

i will definately change all the fluids once i get it and grease everything up. what is that additive you guys are talking about with the coolant called? it is pretty simple to do right? just drain cap it and refill right? theres no special tool to use, is there?

[crane]

one more thing. when i look up the car on edmunds or kelly blue book it tells me that the cars resale from private owner is at most $2800, even when i type in the 43000 miles. is that accurate or does kelly's and edmunds not accurately value a car that old? just wondering

crane

[Scotty]

Well $3800 is quite a bit for a 91, but it seems to be in good shape mileage wise and aesteticallly. I tend to agree with Edmunds. You might want to try to make the seller understand that while the car has low mileage, its still an old car and will need work as you begin to use it on a daily basis.

You can no longer buy the electronic struts for that car and will need to use aftermarket struts. Here is a photo of the cooling supplement. You will find it referred to when you lift the hood, there should be a sticker on the shock tower that refers to the cooling supplement, Mike

[adallak]

one more thing. when i look up the car on edmunds or kelly blue book it tells me that the cars resale from private owner is at most $2800, even when i type in the 43000 miles. is that accurate or does kelly's and edmunds not accurately value a car that old? just wondering

crane

Yes, $3800 sounds steep. Remember there will be things you will have to replace soon - rubber parts, radio, plastic parts etc. Perhaps 3.000 would be about fair price.

You can drain the radiator by siphoning it through the neck with a 1/4" plastic tube filled with water. Just push one end all the way to the bottom of the radiator and hold the other end close to the ground and you'll get some 2 gal of coolant out. You do not need to flush just refill it with 50/50 mix of distilled water and Preston green coolant from Wal-Mart. You can buy the coolant additive from Wal-Mart too - $1.44 tubes with gold powder "Bar's Leaks Golden Seal" you need to add two-three tubes to coolant. Or you can add 6 pellets of the stuff Scotty advised. They are made by the same company.

Since the car belonged to an older man it probably was driven accordingly. Take of the air duckt and cleam the Throttle Body withh a carburator cleaner and tooth brushh, pay attention to the bores and back sides of blades. There are EGR tubes insude of the TB, clean them very well with a wire. YOu probably need to remove and clean/replace the EGR valve too, but the throttle body is first thing to address.

The car can make more than 100.000 relatively troublefree miles and will not cost you much if you mechanically inclined and inspired with tons of useful info and support you'll find here. Good luck!

[KHE]

one more thing. when i look up the car on edmunds or kelly blue book it tells me that the cars resale from private owner is at most $2800, even when i type in the 43000 miles. is that accurate or does kelly's and edmunds not accurately value a car that old? just wondering

crane

Offer the seller $2500 and negotiate up to $2800 if you need to. If the seller scoffs at your offer, show him the Edmunds paperwork.

[crane]

wow guys thanks abunch! you guys are quick and very detailed which makes me feel very confident i will do just that. i don't think this chick is going to budge much because she went down from 4000 to 3800. i haven't seen the vehicle yet, my father-in-law looked at it and was going to buy it but found another one same year 90,000 miles for 3500 in excellent condition. its weird how 2 vehicles same color and year for about the same price show up.(omen or blessing?) i have a deposite on the vehicle but waiting for the title to come in. Still in her fathers name.

[adallak]

crane,

These cars have onboard diagnostics. Whike the ignition on press simultaneously Warmer and OFF on driver information center for a few seconds until it shows the codes. Write them down. Not all codes are bad, but you can use it for price negotiation.

Post the codes (if there are some ) here we will tell you what they are about.

[Ranger]

Dispite what Edmunds, Nada or anyone else say's a car is worth what you are willing to pay for it. A '91 with 43K on it still has a lot of life left in it and is a pretty good find. Since you already have money down on it she knows you are very interested and is not likely to budge much more.

Regarding the cooling system suppliment, you want HDC or G12BP from this link. http://www.barsproducts.com/origin.html

[KHE]

Dispite what Edmunds, Nada or anyone else say's a car is worth what you are willing to pay for it. A '91 with 43K on it still has a lot of life left in it and is a pretty good find. Since you already have money down on it she knows you are very interested and is not likely to budge much more.

Regarding the cooling system suppliment, you want HDC or G12BP from this link. http://www.barsproducts.com/origin.html

I agree - a car is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it. I didn't know he put money down on the car???? If that's the case, all negotiation leverage is lost...

[Scotty]

I didnt know that a deposit was put down either. Hey who am I to talk about buying at the right price, 18 months ago I bought my 96 with 46,000 miles for $10,000

But it was mint, I knew the owner personally, it was maintained very good, low mileage and it was beautiful.... Looking back I overpaid, but I overpaid because it was in such good condition. It needed struts since the day I bought it, HOWEVER. But, I love it.

We can help you a lot with your car when you get it, Mike

[Ranger]

Like I said, it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Even if you overpaid for it. Your happy and it was worth it to you and that is what counts.