Good value on a 1990 Reatta?

[awshirley]

I'm thinking about purchasing a 1990 Reatta that's close to me.  The current owner is asking $2250 and the car has 164,000 miles on it.  From the pictures I've see, it looks fine, but I haven't seen it yet.  My wife thinks I'd be spending too much on it as she found a valuation from edmunds.com of $403.  I found $1,700 for low retail on nadaguides.com.

 

I'd just like some input from anyone that already owns a Reatta.  I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into.

[2seater]

A great deal of the pricing is going to depend on the condition. It is over 30 years old, so price guides are all over the place, and I believe you have the right idea asking actual owners. That said, at that mileage, there are likely wear items that may need to be replaced if they haven't been recently. My own 1990 has been pretty much trouble free, but I fiddle with and modify so not a good source as a preservationist. Your own mechanical skill will determine how costly it may be to tidy the car. At first blush, the asking price seems high, but without knowing lots of details and examining the car, that isn't a fair assesment. Where is the car located and where has it spent its life?

[Ron Walker]

I have a running list of things I've had fixed or replaced on my '89 which i purchased in 1996. I now have 134K miles on the car. It was a daily driver for my wife for over 10 years and was used in all climate conditions (including road salt). The big ticket items for me have been converting the A/C to 134a, replacing the gas tank, replacing the brake lines 2x's, struts at all 4 corners, brake pads and rotors, and a myriad of other things. I'm not handy with mechanics so these have mostly been done via a dealer. Things can get expensive. I know I have over $4K in repairs since purchase, but again, that's been over a 25 year span. But, its my wife's favorite car. So....... But the repairs in the long run have been cheaper than a new car payment.

Caveat is as stated by 2seater - condition, condition, condition. If you have the wherewithal, if you can take the car your considering to a mechanic, or even a good buddy with mechanical knowledge, to look it over could help in your purchase consideration. 

However, if you buy, this site, with many knowledgeable people and "how to's", vendors, etc. is a godsend.  Gook luck.

[Ron Walker]

Correction - I should have looked at my list of repairs before writing the above, 'cause I got close to $12K in repairs, but again, over a 25 year span.  I could go into more detail with what has been repaired/replaced if needed. But, everybody has a story. 

What I didn't address is value. To me, if the car is in reasonably good condition, i.e. not a "parts car", then the value in the range of $2K seems like it could be a good deal. In another thread somewhere on this site, I believe Ronnie expressed a value range on the basis of 3 considerations, such as low value parts car category, mid-range everyday driver type, higher range for show car quality. If Ronnie sees this, perhaps he can pen his comments from the other post which you should find beneficial.  

[Philbo]

Is it a coupe or a convertible? The convertibles are a bit more rare, so perhaps worth more. Just from my own searching it seems to be the case. Just for reference, I bought my '90 convertible with about 130k miles for $3200. I do all my own mechanic work and have probably put about $700 into it in parts. The big ticket items were a new accumulator for the brake system and new instrument panel (about $400 total for both).  Everything else was kind of $50 here, $80 there type stuff.  If you are mechanically inclined, most things so far for me have been pretty standard GM type stuff. I mean the reatta has some unique elements to it, but at the end of the day, it's a GM 3800 drivetrain, pretty standard (and reliable). Also, it seems to me that a lot of people are pretty picky about price on reattas (not a bad thing), but to me honestly, $2250 for a working vehicle (never mind a classy reatta) is pretty cheap unless there is any indication of costly repairs on the horizon or it has bad rust problems.  I mean you'd be hard pressed to find even an old honda civic for much less in my experience. 

[Philbo]

Not saying you shouldn't barter mind you, or be on the lookout for poor condition. But spend about 10 min on bringatrailer.com and you'll realize reattas in general are pretty darn cheap compared to other similar classic cars.

[Ron Walker]

Philbo is right. I'd hazard a guess that more than half of my expense came as labor charge by a dealer. I don't/can't do anything but vac, do windows and wash and wax.