Looking for T-Type Purchase Guidence

[Brian C.]

I've always wanted a white, hardtop '87 Regal T-type. I had one slip through my fingers about 8 years ago. Fresh paint, but the rest of the vehicle was ROUGH. He wanted $5,000, I offered $3,000. He didn't take it, I moved on.

Now, I have a friend (more a known associate) selling an '86 Regal T-type. Two tone, grey top, black base with grey interior. The car has Recaro front seats recovered in T-Type cloth. New headliner, new carpet, a few cig burns on the drivers door panel cloth. Steering wheel and shift knob are rough and need to be recovered/replaced.

Motor doesn't leak, looks to have all new gaskets (oil pan, valve covers, etc.) New stock Turbo. Cracked drivers (?) side exhaust manifold, hole in the factory muffler, passed smog fine.

New(ish) paint. Supposedly previously owned by an elderly man who worked at a shop (compared to Chip Foose?) in the San Fransisco area. Current owner claims the paint to be a 7/8 out of 10. He is meticulous about the paint on his other cars though.

Supposedly 76,000 miles, owner is not sure if that rolled over or not.Carfax shows the vehicle:
"Titled" in Concord on 03/22/1990.
67,413 miles on 06/17/98 (emissions)
68,684 miles on 05/15/00 (emissions)
and 175,596 miles on 05/15/02 (emissions)
(no reported miles) on 05/13/2005 (emissions)
(no reported miles) on 05/17/2006 (emissions)
(no report on the latest emission test/s??? Current owner just bought the vehicle a few weeks ago...)

He is asking $6,800 and I'm trying to determine if this is appropriate or not. KBB shows an '87 (doesn't go back farther than that) is worth $4,315 in Excellent shape with 76,000 miles and $4,065 in Excellent shape with 176,000 miles. I've heard that KBB is not a good rule of thumb for these vehicles though.

So, how can I determine what the true mileage on this vehicle is? I have not laid eyes/hands on it yet. I want to show up properly prepared. It seems that either the car was cared for greatly or it has high mileage and possibly a rebuilt motor (or "stock" replacement") and new turbo. New headliner and carpet to hide the miles/age of the vehicle?

Also, I saw the previous owner has posted on here a few times. Questions about shifting early (TV cable???) and the dash lights going off when the headlights go on. Simple fixes possibly? Common issues?

Can anyone give me a guideline or common issues/areas to look prior to purchasing?

Thank you very much for your time. Here are a few pics of the car in question. Does anyone know it, it's past owners or heritage?

http://www.norcal-ls1.com/multimedia/data/500/1370DSC00551-med.JPG
http://www.norcal-ls1.com/multimedia/data/500/1370DSC00550-med.JPG

[kenmosher]

The car looks nice from the pictures ... looking at the vehicle report, it's a pretty solid bet it has 176K miles on it.

KBB is pretty worthless for these cars ... not enough change hands for accurate numbers (especially thru dealers). Most of the sales are private individuals.

Has the motor/trans been rebuilt to your knowledge? IF so, then the asking price is probably pretty close correct ... if not, I'd be a bit skittish about the car, it's definitely due for some added expense in the drivetrain.

[PaCemkr86]

very nice Buick..
lets see some engine pics

[Brian C.]

So, no advice on what to look for prior to purchasing this vehicle?

Any known areas to watch out for or "test"?

[pontiac6269]

Where it say Go to Web Site at the top of page, click on that and make a selection in the Resources box, choose the Buyer Guide, that will tell you what to look out for. I read all the stuff in the Resource area before buying mine.