Oliver Wiedmaier
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6
Oliver Wiedmaier
HelloAll, I am new to this and I have 2 oldsmobiles. I have a 1981 olds delta 88 diesel that I drive daily. I also have a 86 442 that I bought new and stored since. I do start it and drive it around a bit. it has 5k miles and I am trying to find the value of these cars. Thanks, Oliver Wiedmaier 301-440-4803.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 14,264
From: Medford, Oregon
Welcome to the site! If you don't get the information your looking for here, try: http://www.oldspower.com/
There seems to be a lot more owners of the 1978-88 vintage cars there.
John
There seems to be a lot more owners of the 1978-88 vintage cars there.
John
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 15,170
From: southeastern Michigan
Wow. A 1986 car with 5,000 miles on it! That's cool. Whatever possessed you to buy the car and park it? Did you just assume that it would appreciate in value over time?
Anyway, the Old Cars Price Guide lists the value for a 1986 Cutlass Salon with the 442 option in #2 condition (showroom new) at $7,500.
Your Delta 88 diesel, however, would likely be on the opposite end of the value and desirability scale. I'm actually impressed that the car still runs all these years later. My father had a '79 Toronado diesel, and the bottom literally fell out after about 25,000 miles. He ended up being part of class-action lawsuit against GM filed on behalf of certain GM diesel owners and did recover some money from them.
I do know that the later diesels seemed to do better. Back in the mid-80s, I had a friend who had an '81 (I think) Cutlass with a diesel engine, and when I last had contact with him before moving to a different city in 1989, he still had the car and it was still running fine.
Anyway, the OCPG puts the value of an '81 Delta 88 in #4 condition (runs and drives but needs full restoration) at $980 for a 4-door sedan and $1,260 for a 2-door coupe. If yours is a Delta 88 Royale, the two values are $1,000 and $1,280. If it's a Delta 88 Royale Brougham, the values are $1,040 and $1,320.
In short, your car's value, according to the OCPG, is about $1,000 if it's a 4-door and about $1,250 if it's a 2-door.
Get the car up to #3 condition ("car show quality" or a "20-footer"), and these values rise to roughly $2,200 and $2,900, respectively. Without seeing your car or knowing anything about it, it's hard to say exactly where between these two condition levels your car would be, but if you've done a good job of maintaining it cosmetically as well as mechanically, it's probably somewhere between these two.
Anyway, the Old Cars Price Guide lists the value for a 1986 Cutlass Salon with the 442 option in #2 condition (showroom new) at $7,500.
Your Delta 88 diesel, however, would likely be on the opposite end of the value and desirability scale. I'm actually impressed that the car still runs all these years later. My father had a '79 Toronado diesel, and the bottom literally fell out after about 25,000 miles. He ended up being part of class-action lawsuit against GM filed on behalf of certain GM diesel owners and did recover some money from them.
I do know that the later diesels seemed to do better. Back in the mid-80s, I had a friend who had an '81 (I think) Cutlass with a diesel engine, and when I last had contact with him before moving to a different city in 1989, he still had the car and it was still running fine.
Anyway, the OCPG puts the value of an '81 Delta 88 in #4 condition (runs and drives but needs full restoration) at $980 for a 4-door sedan and $1,260 for a 2-door coupe. If yours is a Delta 88 Royale, the two values are $1,000 and $1,280. If it's a Delta 88 Royale Brougham, the values are $1,040 and $1,320.
In short, your car's value, according to the OCPG, is about $1,000 if it's a 4-door and about $1,250 if it's a 2-door.
Get the car up to #3 condition ("car show quality" or a "20-footer"), and these values rise to roughly $2,200 and $2,900, respectively. Without seeing your car or knowing anything about it, it's hard to say exactly where between these two condition levels your car would be, but if you've done a good job of maintaining it cosmetically as well as mechanically, it's probably somewhere between these two.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6
Wow. A 1986 car with 5,000 miles on it! That's cool. Whatever possessed you to buy the car and park it? Did you just assume that it would appreciate in value over time?
Anyway, the Old Cars Price Guide lists the value for a 1986 Cutlass Salon with the 442 option in #2 condition (showroom new) at $7,500.
Your Delta 88 diesel, however, would likely be on the opposite end of the value and desirability scale. I'm actually impressed that the car still runs all these years later. My father had a '79 Toronado diesel, and the bottom literally fell out after about 25,000 miles. He ended up being part of class-action lawsuit against GM filed on behalf of certain GM diesel owners and did recover some money from them.
I do know that the later diesels seemed to do better. Back in the mid-80s, I had a friend who had an '81 (I think) Cutlass with a diesel engine, and when I last had contact with him before moving to a different city in 1989, he still had the car and it was still running fine.
Anyway, the OCPG puts the value of an '81 Delta 88 in #4 condition (runs and drives but needs full restoration) at $980 for a 4-door sedan and $1,260 for a 2-door coupe. If yours is a Delta 88 Royale, the two values are $1,000 and $1,280. If it's a Delta 88 Royale Brougham, the values are $1,040 and $1,320.
In short, your car's value, according to the OCPG, is about $1,000 if it's a 4-door and about $1,250 if it's a 2-door.
Get the car up to #3 condition ("car show quality" or a "20-footer"), and these values rise to roughly $2,200 and $2,900, respectively. Without seeing your car or knowing anything about it, it's hard to say exactly where between these two condition levels your car would be, but if you've done a good job of maintaining it cosmetically as well as mechanically, it's probably somewhere between these two.
Anyway, the Old Cars Price Guide lists the value for a 1986 Cutlass Salon with the 442 option in #2 condition (showroom new) at $7,500.
Your Delta 88 diesel, however, would likely be on the opposite end of the value and desirability scale. I'm actually impressed that the car still runs all these years later. My father had a '79 Toronado diesel, and the bottom literally fell out after about 25,000 miles. He ended up being part of class-action lawsuit against GM filed on behalf of certain GM diesel owners and did recover some money from them.
I do know that the later diesels seemed to do better. Back in the mid-80s, I had a friend who had an '81 (I think) Cutlass with a diesel engine, and when I last had contact with him before moving to a different city in 1989, he still had the car and it was still running fine.
Anyway, the OCPG puts the value of an '81 Delta 88 in #4 condition (runs and drives but needs full restoration) at $980 for a 4-door sedan and $1,260 for a 2-door coupe. If yours is a Delta 88 Royale, the two values are $1,000 and $1,280. If it's a Delta 88 Royale Brougham, the values are $1,040 and $1,320.
In short, your car's value, according to the OCPG, is about $1,000 if it's a 4-door and about $1,250 if it's a 2-door.
Get the car up to #3 condition ("car show quality" or a "20-footer"), and these values rise to roughly $2,200 and $2,900, respectively. Without seeing your car or knowing anything about it, it's hard to say exactly where between these two condition levels your car would be, but if you've done a good job of maintaining it cosmetically as well as mechanically, it's probably somewhere between these two.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6
Thanks for all that info. As for the 442, I did think it would appreciate. So far it hasn't really done much. It is in show room condition. As for the diesel, the engine was replaced by the dealer when it was a year old, other then that it is still a pretty decent car. You cant beat the mileage or the stares-when they hear it.
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,798
From: Plano, TX
It's back this morning...
http://www.oldsgmail.com/
http://www.oldsgmail.com/
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6
Thanks for the information. Can someone tell me how to try and sell the 1981 olds diesel. The head gasket went again and I think im done fixing it. This car was bought nee by my father. The engine was replaced around 5000 miles. the car has never been in an accident but it looks very rough. The roof is rotted out becayse of the vinal top.Starts and runs fine. I still drive it with the head gasket, just not far. The car has 71000 miles on it. My number is 301-440-4803. Thanks
delete
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,810
From: Long Island, NY
You can't expect much on the Delta. Nobody is going to travel to pick that up. The engine does have a following of people that like to build them. I'd suggest putting it up on your local CList with pictures for 41k & see if anybody bites.
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 15,170
From: southeastern Michigan
Thanks for the information. Can someone tell me how to try and sell the 1981 olds diesel. The head gasket went again and I think im done fixing it. This car was bought nee by my father. The engine was replaced around 5000 miles. the car has never been in an accident but it looks very rough. The roof is rotted out becayse of the vinal top.Starts and runs fine. I still drive it with the head gasket, just not far. The car has 71000 miles on it. My number is 301-440-4803. Thanks
There is essentially zero market for a high-mileage, non-running GM diesel of that vintage. Add to that your description of the car as "very rough" with a rotted roof, and I'm remembering that owners trying to sell a car tend to describe it in more glowing terms that it really deserves, so that means your car must really be a piece of you-know-what, and I can't imagine who would want it.
Last edited by jaunty75; Apr 18, 2011 at 03:48 PM.
