dz442

Hey Guys, I should have snapped some pics but I did not on the first visit to view this car I was too excited looking at a time capsule in a garage. I am considering buying another 1983 H/O. I did own one about 15 years back and always liked the 1983 model the best. This one is owned by a friend of a friend and we went to see the car today.

Best description without pics I can give is the following:

The car has been in dry storage and off the road since 2005. Believed to be 2 owner car and it came up from New York State. It has the maple power bucket seat interior, factory t tops and is suppose to have only 30k original miles. The body is clean with some light scratches and marks typical of something of this age. Most marks I would think will buff off but I am not saying it is going to show perfect when polished. The black is believed to be all original and it does have some checking on the flat top of hood surfaces etc. All the silver has been resprayed years back (some of it was scraped up and I saw pics before the repaint and it was no major damage etc) The shop went and put a complete strip kit back on the car many years ago not sure if it was GM or not but documented so I might be able to read more into what was done. There is no visible rust on body and the underneath is solid and very clean. It has all the H/O stuff in place along with very nice original Hurst wheels with very good raised white Good year GT II raised white letters (not the original tires I think they were replaced years back). The car fires right up and sounds great with good original stock exhaust. Even the original clock still works inside the cockpit! I like these cars but it is not my ultimate Oldsmobile to own as I really favor the 1970-72 Olds Cutlass 442 Models. My thoughts are if I bought it I would want to be cautious of my total investment and of it's resale value in the future. My intention would be to enjoy the car for a summer or maybe two while keeping it all stock. I don't like the lack of power but would live with it for a nice looking car to drive. Ideally I would like to be able to sell it for a profit if somebody comes along and wants to buy it while I enjoy it. I know these cars are not looked at as "Muscle Cars" and they have their price ceiling in today's marketplace. The fact that people can ask whatever they want doesn't mean they are getting their asking price and I don't use that entirely to gauge the car's current market value.

Where is the market sitting on these cars in today's economy? I see some 1983 and 1984 cars for the $12-14K US range. The car is not a show piece but it is far from just a used hurst oldsmobile. I believe the 30K miles to be legit and the interior is very nice (only the headliner is sagging) but everything is there and very nice inside! Mechanically I believe it to be sound, the tires are good, motor sounds and runs strong. The car is loaded but I don't believe it has the posi option. One thing I was looking for was a trunk sticker with options to see about the posi and other stuff but there was nothing there. I read somewhere that the 1983 model did not have this tag inside the trunk lid? can anybody confirm this is true? Is there a W40 tag on the car for a H/O ID?

Sorry for the long post but without pics I want to explain what I saw today and I am just trying to get an idea on a realistic US value for such a car. I some ideas myself but looking for some other members feedback Thanks DZ.

jaunty75

The Old Cars Price Guide values one of these in #3 condition ("car show" condition but not "showroom" condition) at about $9,000. In #4 condition ("runs and drives but needs complete restoration"), the value is about $4,000.

The car you describe sounds like it's toward the #3 end, so maybe $7,000? $8,000? At least if one goes by this source.

The low mileage certainly works in its favor, but scratches and marks in the paint and sagging headliners don't.

83hurstguy

no SPID in '83. W40 should be on the cowl tag. 8th digit of the VIN should also be '9'.

You can tell if it's a posi by the size of the spare in the trunk, the posi cars had a bigger rim on the space saver. I THINK non-posi cars are 14" and posi cars are 15", but it may actually be 15" / 16"... I'm tired and can't remember the exact details.

Sounds like a nice find. I'd probably try to get it for $7-8k, but that's a tough guess without knowing details. I've seen parked cars with all kinds of scale underneath from being parked in damp environments. Gaskets can still leak, tires (and all rubber parts) dry out...

69HO43

83hurstguy is right, the spare may give it away if it is original. Without limited slip got 15" spare and limited slip got 16" spares. If it is really clean it may pull 10,000 but the rarity factor may play a part. Book values are just a guide.

golow1

Check on Mecum site. They sold a 21k mile car for $22,500 two years ago and one last year for $18,500. There are more on the site. I bought one 2 months ago but not near that. 13,300 for a clean 67k one owner southern car. Ttops.

dz442

Thanks for the feedback to date. I was thinking ideally on resale I would need to fetch somewhere in the $13.5k range if i was going to sell it and be able to make a fair profit but that is also assuming I spend a probably an extra grand after buying it to make it as good as it can be. i.e. fix headliner, couple of t top seals to replace, professionally buff and detail the original black paint etc. basically clean up any imperfections and make it mechanically sound and back on the road with fresh fluids etc.

These cars in the condition and assuming I tidy up the small imperfections do they have a hard time drawing $13-14k? Or is $10k even hard to fetch for the 1983 model low mileage and t tops in Today's market? I do see a lot of 84 cars with people listing $10-14k not saying they are selling.

The owner knows what he has so I am not stealing it unfortunately $8-9k is not going to buy it.

golow1

Like I said, check Mecum site for what they were selling for recently. The 83 year worth more than 84. Maybe upwards of 20% or more. They are rare and when someone wants one they are willing to pay. I just got offered $14k but turned it down. A clean 30k car should get $15-$18 based on what sold at Mecum. Good luck!

83hurstguy

I'd recommend you take Mecum sale prices with a grain of salt for a few reasons...
1. You have to consider commission in the sale price, which can be 5-8% plus entry fees for the seller, and sometimes the sale price in the results includes the buyers commission as well. Hence, auction results can be 10-15% inflated at times, depending how it's represented.
2. Auction prices are rarely predictable or repeatable, based on drunk people bidding on junk.

Based on the silver respray, the stripe replacement, noticeable lacquer checking, replacement tires... I wouldn't pay over $10k. These cars walk a fine line between being valuable and worthless, based on mileage, condition and level of molestation. You'll want to make sure the engine compartment has been maintained as stock as well. If you end up driving it after it has been sitting a while, prepare for leaks to start... valve cover gaskets, oil pan, etc...

nelly101

Hey guys, new to this site as of today. I saw the post regarding the 83 hurst olds, so I thought I'd Chime in. I recently inherited a 66 Cutlass from my Brother in law. Little back ground, he was a Chev/olds dealer in Sask, and recently passed. Well his car collection ( all oldsmobiles except for one 72 corvette big block ) went to my sister, who is going to sell all the cars. And one of the cars is a 83 Hurst Olds that he took home from the dealership, drove once in a while, it has 27000km on it. All original, never painted, damaged and still has the dealer plate on it. Full load, T-tops and everything. I didn't look at the specifics of it when I was there, but we did bring it out of the garage, and start it up, and move it around. Everything is how it was from the show room floor on this car. Whats' the best place to get a rough idea of value?


Neil
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