Oldsmobile’s Cutlass was once America’s best-selling car. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice convertible may have been built long after that reign, but could its price at least make this one sell?
When it comes to buying pre-owned stuff via private parties, you’re likely to run into some pretty amateurish sales techniques. That absolutely wasn’t the case with yesterday’s 2008 Porsche Cayman S. The seller provided solid documentation of the car, both in photos and description and without any perfunctory fluff. No smoke was blown up any a skirt. At $19,500, the Cayman was also priced pretty aggressively, a fact reflected in the car’s 57 percent Nice Price win. It perhaps would have done even better if it had a few fewer miles under its tires.
According to the ad for today’s 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible, there are only a mere 62,850 miles on its odometer. That’s almost the epitome of lightly used.
This car sits right in the middle of the fifth-generation Cutlass’s model run. As such, it has the freshened bodywork that features a grille-less facade with tiny headlamps in a strip on either side. Those are paired with heavy-handed ribbing on the bumpers and rocker panels that would look OK on a Pontiac of the same era but seem a little out of place on the upscale Olds. The whole design gives the car’s nose the look of the “Expressionless Face” emoji.
The most interesting aspect of the car is the convertible top and its B-pillar hoop. That hoop serves several purposes. Obviously, it helps stiffen the unibody structure on a car that was not originally designed for open-air motoring. More uniquely, however, the hoop serves to maintain the funky beer tap door handles from the closed coupe. It also functions as a securing point for the door-mounted seatbelts. Those could be left buckled and then allowed to wrap over you as the door was closed. The top that goes up and down over this fabulous multi-tasking hoop is said to be new. Per the ad, so is the A/C compressor.
Overall, the bodywork appears clean. The factory alloy wheels do look like they could stand a good tidying up, though. Those also look alarmingly like wheel covers. The cabin presents well and features the original stereo unit and a cool two-spoke steering wheel with lots of buttons on the hub. There’s leather upholstery in here, and as well as a surprising amount of room in the back for a drop-top.
The seller doesn’t bother to go into specifics regarding the mechanicals, but a quick VIN search indicates that the car is powered by a 3.1-liter L82 V6 paired with a four-speed 4T60 automatic. That combo sends 160 horsepower to the front wheels for drama-free driving.
From the description, this car “drives great” and has a new battery to go with the replacement top and compressor. The ad also says the car had a recent “LOF” completed. That’s a term I haven’t heard used in years. It’s supposed to stand for Lube, Oil and Filter, but here it could mean some sort of new skateboarding trick for all I know.
“Reducing collection” is the reason given for the sale. The seller says to make them an offer but has set a fixed price of $8,495 as a starting point for those negotiations. What do you think, is this old Olds worth that much as it sits? Or, is that just too much to consider cutting a deal on this Cutlass?
You decide!
Hemmings Classifieds out of Puyallup, Washington, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to d-hendrick98 for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at rob@jalopnik.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.