Good morning! Today we’re lowering our price ranges a bit again, and looking at two nice old sedans from defunct GM brand Oldsmobile. Eagle-eyed Coen Brothers fans will also recognize these two as the Oldsmobile models most prominently featured in the 1996 film Fargo. That’s not important, but it just occurred to me, so I had to point it out.
Yesterday we looked at a couple of Ford-based RVs, and I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. Would you choose the cheaper, larger, but scruffier option, or the tiny, neat-as-a-pin truck that might be a bit overpriced? Well, it looks like your frugal side won this round by quite a large margin; the F-250 took an easy win.
And I suppose I have to agree. That little Courier is way cool, but it’s expensive for what it is. The F-250, with more room and more amenities for three grand less, just makes more sense. Man, practicality is annoying sometimes.
All right; let’s check out some nice bargain-priced Oldsmobile sedans. Yah? Yaaah. Real good.
1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera LS – $2,400
Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Littleton, CO
Odometer reading: 97,000 miles
Operational status: “Runs and drives like new”
When an automaker has a really popular nameplate, they tend to milk it for all it’s worth. Oldsmobile had a hit on its hands with the Cutlass nameplate; for a few years it was the best-selling car in the US. But then things got confusing. In 1985, when this car was built, Oldsmobile sold three completely different cars, all with the Cutlass nameplate. There was the FWD compact Cutlass Calais, the RWD Cutlass Supreme, and this car: the mid-sized FWD Cutlass Ciera.
The Ciera highlights Oldsmobile’s identity crisis in the ’80s; they weren’t really the sporty division; that was Pontiac. Neither were they the low-end luxury division; that spot was taken by Buick. The ads told us “This Is Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile,” but then, whose was it? They were nice cars, but sort of redundant, which is why Oldsmobile ended up getting axed later. (GM’s decision to end Pontiac is far more confusing.)
This Ciera is powered by a Buick-sourced 90-degree V6, a de-stroked version of the famous 3.8/3800, displacing 3.0 liters. It’s backed by an overdrive automatic with a traditional column-mounted shifter. It’s still under 100,000 miles, and the seller says it runs and drives like new. Cieras, and the A-body cars in general, enjoyed a pretty good reputation for durability and reliability, so this car should have lots of life left if it has been maintained.
Cosmetically, it’s OK, but not great. The interior is a little grubby, and the driver’s seat has a popped seam, and the seller admits they took the exterior photos of the car in the rain. It’s probably nowhere near that shiny in person. Still, it’s rust-free, and straight, which is more than I can say for the seller’s parking job.
1989 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Royale – $1,995
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8-liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Hanover, PA
Odometer reading: 141,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Oldsmobile played a bit of a name game with its full-sized sedan, too. One year earlier, this car would have worn a badge that said “Delta 88.” But for 1989, Oldsmobile dropped the “Delta,” in use since 1965, and spelled out the name as “Eighty-Eight.” The larger and fancier 98 got the same treatment, becoming the Ninety-Eight. These new names were spelled out in a neat sans-serif font on the rear quarter panels, a more modern look than the script font of the old badges.
All Eighty-Eights got the same engine and transmission: Buick’s 3800 V6 and a four-speed 4T60 automatic. We are told this one runs and drives, but we don’t get a lot more detail. It’s being sold by a dealership, and I get the feeling they’re just trying to get rid of it, probably because of its age. It’s not quite old enough to be a classic, and it’s definitely not special enough. It’s just an old car, but it’s in nice condition.
This is the fancy Royale version, so it has a bunch of power toys to play with, more trim outside, and more padding inside. It looks like it has been well cared for. Being a thirty-five-year-old GM product, some of the fancy power stuff probably doesn’t work, but at least the upholstery and carpets are clean and intact. These are quite comfortable cars, too.
Outside, it’s a nice shiny dark blue, with lots of brightwork. The whitewalls are a nice period touch, but you’d be well advised to check the date codes on them; better to deal with blackwalls if you have to than risk a blowout. And since it’s in Pennsylvania, a peek underneath to check for rust isn’t a terrible idea either.
When you’re looking at these, consider the price: Two grand or thereabouts is cheap for a car that isn’t a rustbucket or gushing fluids these days. The days of the $500 beater are gone, and they aren’t coming back. These are both low-mileage, fairly clean, honest-looking used cars. Which one strikes you as the better deal?
(Image credits: Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist sellers)
The 88 looks shockingly nice for that price. Give it a tune up and hit the streets in a rolling couch.
My family and I have had both of these cars or their twins (Chevy Celebrity wagon, many Lesabres, 88s, and a Park Ave).
I’m going to go with the 88, because it was a really, really, really good car. The Celebrity was OK, but there is a world of difference between the cars.
I’m going against the grain and going with the Ciera. I don’t love how filthy the interior is, but that can likely be cleaned a reasonable amount. I do, however, have higher confidence it being relatively rust free than the Eighty-Eight in Pennsylvania. If the Eighty-Eight were in a place less prone to rust, it would certainly have my vote, though I do think the Ciera looks better.
I kinda prefer the Ciera (if I had to drive either), but I think the Eighty Eight is the better deal here. Even with the higher mileage, it’s more car for less money.
Going with the Eighty-Eight, mostly because the aftermarket stereo in the Cutlass really looks like crap. Also, it would be cool to have an ’89 88.
I have an irrational like for restyled Cieras, with the flush headlights. Hard to pass over the cheaper, larger, more well optioned car.
I like the restyled Cieras too, because that’s what my grandparents had in the early ‘90s.
They traded it in for a Honda, and my Grandfather’s brother, who served in the Pacific theater, wouldn’t speak to him for months.
I like both of them, but I already have a Ciera, and it’s an International Brougham sedan. The Eighty Eight is calling my name, especially in blue over blue.
I was a lot attendant at an Olds dealer in the late 80s, so the photos in this article bring back memories. I can’t see all the badges on the Ciera, but it may have the FE3 “performance” trim given the alloys. However, the 88 was bigger, smoother, more powerful, and more modern feeling, so that’s what I’d choose.
Many of the dealer’s customers were Asian, and Asian folks’ cars often had fuzzy steering wheel covers (a good idea–those dark shiny wheels got hot!) and lots of Elvis tapes (a good idea–because Elvis).
The Ciera is a glorified X-car. Besides, the spelling of ‘Ciera’ makes my OCD flare-up.
I’m with you. I mean I never had anything against the car per se, but I strongly resented the name. IIRC, Ford tried but was unable to get an injunction against GM due to Ford owning the Sierra name, because the Sierra was not sold in the same market.
WTH! The dealer is adding $500.00 to the cost of the 1989 Eighty-Eight Royale for:
“Tru – Coat” ۹( ÒہÓ )۶
Yah, we don’t want none of that tru-coat.
….I’ll talk to my boss…..
These are both cars that belonged to someone’s recently departed grandmother.
I was ready to pick the Ciera for many reasons, including the solid A-body bones, the superior colorway and the fake BBS alloys (man, the way those wheels had a chokehold on Detroit in the 80s/90s) … but there’s something about the details that gives me pause. What is that paw print on the driver’s door? Why does it have two extra badges on the trunk lid? Why is the middle of the front seat SO DIRTY!?
“Man,” you say. “You ask a lot of questions about a $2,500 car.”
We’ll take the blue one. Great bones, again, plus the vaunted 3800 and a super-clean interior.
I never really thought about how modern the Ciera looked in 1985 compared to its domestic competition. The Chrysler E-Class/Dodge 600 and Ford LTD look pretty dated next to the Olds. It was still boxy but introduced some handsome curves which, in retrospect, are still attractive.
With Olds, might as well go big or go home. So continuing the Pulp Fiction references, give me the cheesy Royale, Mutha-Tucka.
Not really. It’s actually pretty logical. Pontiac was supposed to be the performance division, but Chevy had GM’s pinnacle of performance with the Vette and try as they might, Chevy shutdown Ponty’s every attempt that came even remotely close to challenging the Vette’s throne. Further consider that Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi were teaching the world that performance is a luxury. By 2010, Caddy had the CTS with which they finally had a legitimate rival to the Germans. All Pontiac had by this time was a couple of rebadged Aussies, that were arguably over-priced, to schlep alongside their other barely distinguishable versions of the American GM platforms. Chevy had the cheaper blue-collar performance plus trucks, and Caddy had the performance luxury. Why was Pontiac needed? Just to put screamin’ chicken graphics on a Camaro?
I think Pontiac was always framed as the across-the-board sporty division. Sure, the others had their halos with respect to that, but Pontiac offered “sport”* on everything.
It used to work, but by the ’10s, sporty wasn’t something most buyers valued anymore, so away it went.
*A relative thing that would manifest itself in varying ways, with varying degrees of success, over the years. From lithe little coupes to ribbed-for-our-pleasure cladding.
That is essentially the problem. Pontiac was trying to market itself as the “sporty” brand. The competition, however, simply countered with sport trims on their models. Want sporty compact coupe? You could get the G5. Or you go next door and get a Chevy Cobalt SS. Or cross the street and get a Saturn Ion Red Line.
With the CUV’ing of America, and now the world, sportiness isn’t much of a selling point (as you point out). Even “zoom-zoom” Mazda pivoted to promoting luxury touches as a selling point over competition rather than sportiness (Miata a noted exception).
Chevrolet – built a car for everyone
Pontiac – Sporty
Oldsmobile – Latest tech, the engineer’s car
Buick – the Doctor’s car
Cadillac – Standard of the world, you’ve made it.
That’s probably what they wanted people to think. To me as a teen (I was 22 when GM killed Pontiac) it was more like:
Chevrolet – Basic affordable transportation
Pontiac – Used to be sporty, now just a Chevy with a body kit
Oldsmobile – Comfy cars for old people who don’t want a Buick for whatever reason
Buick – Comfy cars for old people
Cadillac – Luxury cars for rich old people who insist on buying domestic
I have close to 20 years on you, and this really was how it was seen, and really how it was.
And you are right about what they became. At the end, there really was no longer any point to Pontiac or Oldsmobile.
Appreciate the response! It’s interesting to hear how brand perceptions changed over time.
I split the difference age-wise between the two of you. Coming of age in the 1990s, it never felt to me that there was any worthwhile difference between Pontiac and Chevrolet. Oldsmobile and Buick were definitely old-people cars that I wouldn’t have wanted to be seen in. My grandparents drove a C-platform 98, and to me epitomized the target market for that car, and it doesn’t surprise me that the marque disappeared around the same time that their generation did.
“One year earlier, this car would have worn a badge that said “Delta 88.” But for 1989, Oldsmobile dropped the “Delta,” in use since 1965, and spelled out the name as “Eighty-Eight.””
I can imagine that meeting:
“It’s 1989 now, we’ve got to change the name of the Delta 88 or it’s going to seem like last year’s car”
“So like, drop the Delta bit?”
“Really? That’s the part that makes it seem old?”
“Oh yeah, stupid me, sorry. We should drop the Delta and write the numbers as words”
“Yeah, YEAH! Pass me some more of that coke.”
I know nothing about either of these cars, but I voted for the other one based solely on the amount of confusing grief I imagine I’d get trying to organise insurance on an ‘89 88.
Voting for Cierra given it’s damn near identical to the one my grandpa owned until 2012. Miss you papo
The Eighty-Eight is arguably the better car, but I voted Ciera for sentimental reasons.
My grandparents had this exact car, and I took exactly one road trip with them in it.
I was in my first year away from home going to college in Lubbock, TX. My grandparents lived there, and I stayed with them for a couple of weeks before the dorms opened.
One weekend, they decided to visit some relatives in the Dallas area, and having nothing better to do, i went with them.
We were on an access road on the north side of Dallas, and my grandmother was driving. Granddad, who was blind in one eye and nearly deaf was in the back seat. I was up front in the passenger seat.
Grandma was… not the best driver. We’re on this access road, and she’s driving 20mph undrr the limit, right down the middle, straddling the stripe. Ive got one hand on the door handle and one hand on the seatbelt release, ready to bail out.
From the back seat comes my Granddad’s voice saying “Y’know they put that stripe there so you can tell when you’re right in the middle of the road.”
Grandma just told him to hush and kept driving.
The 3.0 is terrible because it lacks the 3800’s best feature- endless low-end torque. Destroking a stroker is a bad idea.
And the interior in that Ciera looks hazmat-suit ready. I’d use salad tongs or a pair of pliers to remove whatever is on the steering wheel. The seats are just… no.
Despite higher miles and rust-belt residency, the 88 is a million times better.
Royale with cheese, please!
I’m quite happy with the 3800 and the interior really does look pretty good, as does the paint. 141K miles isn’t a lot for one of these; my concern would be that it’s been sitting and accumulating zero miles for the past N years.
But for two grand? Why would you not?? Fresh tires and a thorough inspection and you can do car things – comfortably – for a long time.
I’m offended by the collectors plates on a car from the ’80s. I was going to pick the 88 anyway, but that sealed the deal.
Weird seeing those on an ’85. They must’ve got them right before Colorado changed the rule.
The rule got further modified to allow vehicles 32 years old to get collector plates. Unless I’m reading the rules wrong, which is possible given how confusingly it’s written.
I imagine my 1990 Miata on Colorado collectors plates will not be any less upsetting.
Florida has a 25-year rule for antique plates. My 1998 BMW qualifies!
i’ve related this before, but about 15 years ago, i was walking my dog at the local park and stumbled upon a show and tell of the Studebaker club. there weren’t enough Studebakers/Avantis in our area apparently, so anybody with historic tags was allowed to participate. I got a tremendous shock to see a Fiero and 80’s Lancer. Apparently in Ohio, 25 years and no obvious mods will get you a historic plate.
Sorry, I just sell asleep looking at the photos of the most boring cars of my childhood. What were we looking at? Oh, mid 80’s Oldsmobiles? Right, I’ll pick… Zzzzz.
One day you have two cars that I would not even buy with play internet money, and today, two cars that I would gladly buy either if they were a bit closer. The 3.8 makes the 88 my choice. It just looks nicer overall.
It may not be a rocket, but give me that 88 all day. The cars on that platform were so comfortable, and so roomy despite being really not THAT big by today’s standards. Easy win for me.
Voted for the H/C-body, even though I love my A-bodies. The 88 is in better shape, and the Ciera has the dreaded 3.0, which is right about the worst engine you could get in an A-body. But, that does mean it’s already primed for a 3800 S/C swap.
Why can’t we have a ‘Both’ answer?
All the engines you could get in an A-body are the worst engines – except the 3.8. Seriously.
The later 3300 was ok. A de-stroked 3800 LN3 Pre-Series I like the one found in the 88. Even the 3.1 was a solid engine as long as you got the intake manifold addressed.
Not even close. The ‘Red Dot’ 3800 was actually the second worst – it had all the nylon timing gear problems of the 3.0, but at least it had a little power to use until it blew up. The Chevy V6s were good got better year-by-year, and the 3.3 Buick V6 was good. The Iron Duke – well, at least it would always run, however miserably.
wow 13 votes all for the 88 so far!
It’s in better condition, and the 3800 is the chefs kiss this morning, plus I drove the Buick version of the 88 for drivers ed in ’89, so theres nostalgia reasons to vote for it too.
G cars! Gonna have to go with the newer Royale, hold the cheese.