Carfax report confirmed my suspicions!

[14Accent]

When I purchased my Reatta, one of the biggest selling points was the complete lack of rust. That, combined with the scorched clear coat led me to believe that the car had spent a large majority of it's life in the southwest/west coast.

I pulled a Carfax last night, and to my delight I was presented with 58 records going all the way back to the original purchase date in 1991. The car was bought new in Wooddale, CA and spent it's entire life there before ending up at a dealer in IL a few years after sustaining a light front end collision. That was in 2017. Between 2017 and 2023 when I bought the car, it had less than 1500 miles added. On top of all that, up until the reported collision the car was serviced 4 times a year MINIMUM at the exact same dealer it was purchased from.

Someone really, really loved this car and it shows. Every time I look at it I feel a sense of pride!

 

[HemiBenny]

I always thought that those Reatta's looked great. Make sure you post photos of any work you do on her if you happen to think about taking pics at the time. It's always interesting to see progress on older vehicles being fixed up and given another chapter in their life.
Although going by your previous posts, this one is in great shape to begin with given the age.

 

[14Accent]

I always thought that those Reatta's looked great. Make sure you post photos of any work you do on her if you happen to think about taking pics at the time. It's always interesting to see progress on older vehicles being fixed up and given another chapter in their life.
Although going by your previous posts, this one is in great shape to begin with given the age.

Thanks for the kind words. I've tried to keep everyone updated on the (few) repairs it's needed since I purchased it. It's really an amazingly well built vehicle.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

That must have been someone's dream car, and or they worked really hard to get the money to purchase it and then take care of it in proper fashion. As we know, most cars today are treated just as an appliance to be used up, thrown away, and to move up or on to a new one.

I was taught by my parents to think about most everything as an asset, asking the rehetorical question before any purchase, how long do I have to work to pay for this item? The other thing to this day that I am astounded by is the number of homes that now have 2 and 3 car garages.....that are seemingly filled to the brim with other items that probably do not have the same value as the car an owner may have, and that could be preserved further if they could just get the car in the garage.

Enjoy your treasure. I bet any car show that you take it to, that you will have the only one there.

 

[brianl703]

When I purchased my Reatta, one of the biggest selling points was the complete lack of rust. That, combined with the scorched clear coat led me to believe that the car had spent a large majority of it's life in the southwest/west coast.

I have a 1998 Nissan Frontier (was my dad's) with BOTH rust AND scorched clear coat. The joys of living in Northern Virginia.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Keep it that way by rustproofing and washing the car at least annually

 

[Kira]

I walked into the large ,old, Quonset hut of a Buick dealership to look at the new Reatta.
I liked the "low and pinched" (my term) front ends used on some GM models at the time.

When I commented on the car's measure of sportiness, the salesman said Buick made 'em to get people into the dealerships.
Now, with your vehicle, I wonder how many were made over the 4 years.
I hope they made enough of them for enough people to know what they are; if you know what I mean.
Best of luck with it.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

I walked into the large ,old, Quonset hut of a Buick dealership to look at the new Reatta.
I liked the "low and pinched" (my term) front ends used on some GM models at the time.

When I commented on the car's measure of sportiness, the salesman said Buick made 'em to get people into the dealerships.
Now, with your vehicle, I wonder how many were made over the 4 years.
I hope they made enough of them for enough people to know what they are; if you know what I mean.
Best of luck with it.

Buick Reatta US car sales figures

Car sales statistics for the Buick Reatta and all other auto models in the US from early 2000's to 2017 by year and 2014 to 2018 by month.

carsalesbase.com

 

[14Accent]

I walked into the large ,old, Quonset hut of a Buick dealership to look at the new Reatta.
I liked the "low and pinched" (my term) front ends used on some GM models at the time.

When I commented on the car's measure of sportiness, the salesman said Buick made 'em to get people into the dealerships.
Now, with your vehicle, I wonder how many were made over the 4 years.
I hope they made enough of them for enough people to know what they are; if you know what I mean.
Best of luck with it.

They made a little over 21k units total, with my 1991 (the final year) being the most rare with 1,214 coupes built.

Add to that the fact that my Flame Red interior was a final year only option, and I've got 1 of 57 produced in that color combination. Add in the CD player option (it was 1991, after all!) and that number drops to 1 of 27.

 

[Kira]

The "center stack" in the dashboard is a long-discontinued part from Japan, I read here.

Ha, a pal owned a '72 Corvette Sting Ray convertible with AC....one of only 56 built.

 

[14Accent]

The "center stack" in the dashboard is a long-discontinued part from Japan, I read here.

Ha, a pal owned a '72 Corvette Sting Ray convertible with AC....one of only 56 built.

That only applies to the Cadillac Allante, luckily. The Reatta shares all it's electronics with the Riviera aside from a few unique parts, so most things are still easy to source and repair.