If you’re looking for the perfect car to stun the crowds at Radwood, we have you covered. This Chevrolet Lumina Euro is remarkably clean and you can have it for the bargain (?) price of $4,800. (Find me a better one, for less.—ED)
Certain cars from the 1980s and 1990s are coming up in price, usually cars that were at one point or another somewhat desirable or interesting. Some of those cars have sold for some frankly ridiculous prices. But the 1980s and 1990s weren’t just Honda Civics, Dodge Vipers and rare imports. A dealership in Queens has reminded us that the Chevrolet Lumina also exists.
The Lumina was launched in 1990, filling the shoes left behind by the Celebrity and slotting into GM’s mid-size category. It’s an honest, mass-market family car that also found a home in fleets. They’re pretty forgettable and a Lumina isn’t really a car you’d think anyone would bother to preserve.
This Lumina Euro has lived an easy life. It’s a single owner car with 109,007 miles on its odometer. That translates to an average of about 3,633 miles a year!
It’s finished in white with red accents. Call me weird but I dig the look.
Luminas could be had with a 2.5-liter Iron Duke inline-four or ever so slightly more spicy V6 powerplants. Under the hood of this one is a 3.1-liter V6 making 140 HP and 185 lb-ft torque bolted to an automatic transmission. That’s similar power you’d find in the 2.2-liter Ecotec inline-four of a Chevy Cobalt.
Dig through the pictures and you’ll find that while it looks minty, it has a few quirks. A low coolant level warning is displayed on the dashboard and a window switch panel is held on with a screw.
There is something really endearing about a normal-ass car like this being in this condition, but that price is a bit hard to swallow.
The Chevrolet Lumina probably isn’t in the average enthusiast’s top 25 list of great cars. It isn’t even a car many would expect to have a purchase price above $1,000, no matter its condition.
Our Erik Shilling echoed similar thoughts:
I have been made aware of this listing for a 1991 Chevy Lumina with 109,000 miles on the odometer that a dealer in Queens wants $4,800 for. If you needed any more evidence that the used car market is absolutely bananas, I offer this. Take a zero off that price and I might consider it.
Harsh! But if you were looking for the perfect example of pandemic price inflation, it’s a 30-year-old Chevy Lumina with low coolant for nearly $5,000.