1982 BUICK SKYLARK, LIMITED EDITION

We didn't want to pile up the miles on our nice Buick Roadmaster "woody" because these wonderful vehicles are getting very difficult to find in good condition. In April, 2009, I was looking for an 1990-96 Buick Century in good condition to use as a daily driver. I always preferred the older body style to the newer "cucumber" shaped Century.

In my quest for a Buick Century, I ran across a 4-cylinder 1991 Honda Accord on eBay and bought it. The Honda was a dependable ride, but I still preferred a V-6 Buick Century, so I kept looking. When the Honda developed valve chatter, I started looking in earnest.

Once, when I searched eBay within a 50-mile radius, I just typed in "Buick" and forgot to add "Century." An '82 Skylark came up that was about to finish its auction with no bids. The seller claimed that it had only been driven 24,000 miles and because it is very similar to the Century, I bid $2,500 in the last minute and got it for only $2,200!

I went to pick up the car with some reservations, however, the car was all that the seller claimed and more. He even had the original window sticker (see below)!

In April, 1982, a 54-year-old lady in Queens, NY bought a new Buick Skylark at Martin's Buick dealership. The new price for a standard 1982 Skylark was $8,079, but this lady bought $2,700 worth of extras, bringing the total price to $10,720 (that would be about $28,000 in 2011 Dollars)!



The car was delivered with power windows, tinted glass, carpet savers, protective body moldings, door edge guards, front & rear bumper guards, rear window defogger, air conditioning, sport mirrors, 2.8 liter V-6 engine, automatic transmission, tilt steering column, locking wire wheel covers, radial white wall tires, quartz clock, Delco AM-FM radio, copper metallic paint and burgundy velour interior. The bumpers are of heavy polished aluminum that will never rust!

Few production cars of the era could compete with the beauty of this Buick! When you drive it, heads turn, and when it's parked, people peer in the windows to admire the upholstery. Most refuse to believe that this car is nearly 30 years old!

HISTORY OF THIS SKYLARK
According to CarFax, the car was registered in Elmhurst (Queens), NY for the first 22 years of its life. When it was re-titled in Brick, NJ on July 14, 2004, it had accumulated only 7,756 miles! That is an average of 352 miles per year, but it probably sat in a garage for most of that time.

I did some detective work on Google and discovered that the original owner had a son in Brick Township, NJ. I am guessing that ownership passed to him. He drove the car for five years, but added only 8,718 miles (1,743 miles per year). He sold the car June 15, 2009 with 16,474 miles on it.

The third owner used the car as a daily driver, accumulating 8,203 miles in 9 months. I bought the car on eBay March 11, 2011 with 24,677 miles on the odometer. I only drove the car about 1,700 miles in 7 months. I hated to take it out in rainy weather -- and we had lots of that in 2011! I really didn't need two collector cars, so decided to sell it. I am now driving two 1994 Buicks, a Roadmaster Estate Wagon and a Century.

CONDITION
The body and undercarriage are absolutely free of rust. The car was undercoated when new and has always been garaged. The few small exterior dings are not easy to see and the interior is in near showroom condition. The original radio, clock, power windows, lights and other features work perfectly. The car runs and shifts like it should.

Rubber parts deteriorate even when not used, so belts, hoses and wiper blades have been replaced. I also installed a new water pump -- it had a leaky seal. The rubber protective boot on the left front half axle got damaged -- presumably when the previous owner hit a snow drift. I bought a complete new half axle that the new owner will install. The front tires were wearing on the inside, pointing to faulty alignment, so this needed to be done. The air conditioner had been retrofitted to SAE J1661.

This car qualifies for classic car tags and insurance -- about $100 per year and no inspection necessary. An average car is driven 15,000-20,000 miles per year, and this car presently has only 26,330 miles on the odometer. Where else can you buy a car like that for under $5,000? I sold it for half that amount.