Consider this an update for all my loyal readers (all 3 of you.) Most of you know by now that I am a passionate man who when he falls, he falls hard. My $551.51 bid for a 1992 Bonneville SE put me in second place for a car that I have well documented my lust for; I waited to see if the winning bidder would ante up. What I had forgotten was how slowly the wheels of the bureaucracy turn… The auction ended on September 27th but “award” letters were not sent out until October 19th.
In the mean time I spent some time surfing 3800tech.net, following auctions on eBay for things like a big “Buick Fireball” air cleaner sticker, 3800 badges, and a set of stickers that had 3.8V6 spelled out in a myriad of different ways. I cruised auto parts sites checking on things like shocks and struts, brakes, shop manuals, and I mentally listed in my head what would have to be safety checked before I would trust the Bonne on the road. I picked out a personalized license plate (RDNKBMW) and was trying to decide between an understated deep chocolate brown repaint with smoke tinted windows or a “Bandit Grows Up” theme with a screaming chicken on the hood.
Alas it was not to be. Early during the week of October 24th to the 28th she disappeared, to go home with the highest bidder. I’ll nurse my broken heart; try not to think of purchasing an automobile until post July 2012 (after my wedding). My Auto Trader, Auto Trader Classic, and eBay Motors searches continue to demonstrate a wondering eye. You dear readers were deprived of a shot of me leaning Burt Reynolds like against the fender of a Pontiac, cigar in a Lutzian pose, and even (if anyone was interested) documentation of the restoration/customization. Que sera, sera.
Perhaps a family heirloom 1967 Mustang convertible will soothe my soul one day?
Oh well, those Bonnevilles aren’t exactly rare, and where you live, Dan, cars rarely rust (right?), so finding another Bonneville if you really want one shouldn’t be too hard.
Sorry to hear that it was so suspenseful…
All four of us you mean…sorry to hear you didn’t get the car. There are quite a few of these near me, this one in particular looks pretty good.
http://quadcities.craigslist.org/cto/2675852994.html
Well yeah, anybody can play that game, lol. http://tinyurl.com/3nrtgfe
Somehow though I don’t think it will still be there in August, 😉 .
Wow, $6500 sounds pretty high, but how many can there be with 48,000 miles? And an SSEi to boot. I always liked that dark green Pontiac had at the time.
I hope that your Lutz-style picture was not going to be with the car upside down.
🙂 No I meant to call up an image that was a combo of Burt and Bob, I actually have a black pearl snap shirt with roses embroidered on the upper chest.
I work for the mosquito control district, and our fleet vehicles from 2004 are beaters at this point while barely cracking 100K. There’s a garage-kept (or at least well-carported) old man Bonneville for you out there.
Awwwww, too bad, Dan; obviously you were simply too good for this car, but as said above, there will be another, better specimen with your name on it!
Well, depending on the actual condition of the car involved, your loss could well be a blessing! If you lose a bid to a car that turns out to be a complete nightmare to own… After all, you never know with this auction type. The car may look clean on the outside…
Wasnt meant to be bro keep looking something else will be along shortly
I hate to hear about this…
Tell you what, when I get tired of the LeSabre taking up room in my garage and collecting dust, I’ll let you know 🙂
Ah but Michigan Man, out here I can get one RUST FREE! (Sorry having lived in the Great Lakes from birth to age 24 I now have to rub it in that I get to live in a land of almost no rust, even though it still snows here.)
Well, mine’s ALMOST rust free!!!
Did Buick paint all of those that color?
I hear what you are saying. But believe it or not, this color actually works well on these cars.
Its called highway camo…that champagne color is better than stealth technology.
Count me one of the three, but somehow I think there’s more than that.
Anyway, I recall a Peter Egan article in R&T where he almost buys a Jaguar XK120, but doesn’t and is consoled by the fact that the dreaming, the book reading and the research are the most fun part of the project.
I console myself with that whenever I start looking at mid 60s Ford pickups like Paul’s, so that might work for you too.
On the other hand I can’t see there being a shortage of these, keep looking!
Smokey Yunick tribute car.
Like this? That’s actually a pretty sweet Pontiac.
Now THAT’s a Pontiac!!
Awww Dude….
You have more than 3 loyal readers. I follow you on 2 sites.
For what you would have put into reconditioning that Bonnie you’d have enough cash to buy a Spirit R/T that needs minor head work(and I maen minor, they aren’t the spooky devils they’re made out to be). Though it is hard to pass up a Municipality owned and maintained car.
My dad works for a local school district and his 90 Chevy 1500 is only still in the fleet because he won’t let them get rid of it. The body is falling off the frame but the mechanicals are all rebuilt. I’m waiting for them to just give it to him.
Same here…I follow you on TTAC too, although I post using a completely different handle for reasons I can’t remember right now.
I’ve been extremely harsh on any Pontiacs post-1981, but that early-90’s SE is an exception. A sales manager at my job let me drive one…had to be back in 1996 or so. Car was a ’94 and I took it on about a 150-mile drive that included both 2-lane and 4-lane roads…so I got to put it thru its paces and really liked it. Tight, powerful (surprising for a V-6) and a nice ride.
Can’t blame you for wanting one.
@EdDan: Count me as #5. Sorry to hear about the loss of the Bonnie, but having driven different generations of them and also different trim levels, I’d say wait for a nice SSEi to come along. They’re worth the money. I’d love to be scouting for one of those in the dry southwest…
I want to thank all of you for your kind words, perhaps I should change my avatar here to the “BUICK FIREBALL V6” sticker (I mean heck, 90% of you know that I live just blocks from old Route 66 in Gallup, NM).
@Geozinger – try Auto Trader and Auto Trader Classic – do a “within 500 miles search” and pick a Southwestern city like Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tuscon and the like. You’ll be amazed what you’ll find, especially with the prevalence of retirement communities down here. A few will have have sun damaged interiors and paint BUT they will be solid structurally. Now how your wife will feel about you flying out West to drag home say a 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0, I can’t say. I don’t want to cause you to sleep in the car a few nights, LOL.
It’s too bad you couldn’t bid up to a certain point like on eBay. You don’t necessarily have to pay what your highest bid was, it would have worked out to ‘whatever the highest bid was plus $1’.