Looking to sell my late fathers car. Can anyone give a value? It is a 1985 Delta 88 with 73,000 miles. Kind of a light green , no rust. Really good shape 1 owner garage kept. My dad was a mechanic and it was the last Olds he bought because he liked the rear wheel drive. Thanks for any help. Ron

 

You're going to get lots of comments about how we need more information and photos. A 10-word description doesn't do it. The one piece of information you did provide, the color, is irrelevant.

two-door?
four door?
Brougham?
options?
engine?

A diesel engine will lower value. A V-6 engine will lower value over a V-8-equipped car. Four-doors are worth less than two-doors. The Brougham version of either is worth more than the non-Brougham version.


Having said all this, this really isn't rocket science because these cars not sought after in the collector market, so their value is limited no matter how good the condition, and the differences I mention above are in the noise. Regardless of body style and all that, if it has a gasoline V-8 engine, it's worth somewhere in the $2,500 to $3,500 range, in my opinion. In showroom condition, maybe $6,000 to $8,000. If you want to sell it, your main problem will be finding someone to buy it. You might find someone who's looking for cheap everyday transportation rather than a collector car, or at least you might want to advertise it that way. If it were my car, I'd clean it up, get it running well, and stick it on craigslist with, say, a $4,000 asking price, and see what happens.


1985 was the last year of this body style.

 

I've bought two 1985 Delta 88s in the last couple of years. Both were four doors with 307 and A/C. One has crank windows, power seat, and power trunk. With $50K miles I paid $2700. The other was a fully loaded LS with custom leather interior, fresh black paint, and power everything. I paid $2900 for that one. You can ask whatever you want, but there is not much demand for these cars. I should add that in both cases the asking prices were somewhat higher and I just waited for the sellers to get tired of continually listing the cars and drop the asking prices.

 

Don't forget to take good pics for your ad. I suggest driving the car to a local park and get shots from every angle. Don't put your thumb or hand in front of the license plate. If you don't want everyone to see your license plate number remove it before taking the pics or just edit it out with MS Paint or something.

 

If you don't want everyone to see your license plate, you'd better keep the car locked in a garage with no windows and definitely NEVER drive it on the street...

 

I never understand people that cover their license plate. Maybe they never drive their cars. That would be the only reason I could imagine. This car sounds like it would make somebody a nice driver. These are very good cars and nice looking in my opinion.

 

Even worse - they are posting an ad to sell the car, the ad has contact info so potential buyers can get in touch with them. Then they cover the plate so people on the web can't find out who they are.