3clicks

Hello fellow Olds enthusiasts,

My name is Aaron, a confirmed and long time Olds addict, not in recovery. I've owned a total of five Olds Cutlass's from 1970-72 in my life, the last being in the early 2000's. Now that I am in my mid-40's and apparently experiencing a "mid life crisis," as some have suggested, I am looking for another Cutlass to purchase to relive my glorious youth! Although I have looked on the internet and kept abreast of Olds for sale during the past twenty years, I am not well versed in what is current fair market value. I am having my insurance agent's husband who is a semi-retired part time appraiser of classic cars assist me in helping me get an idea of what some of these cars are selling for and what they are worth but I figured it would be a very good idea to ask the community that would know best, you all, fellow Olds enthusiasts.

I went to look at a 1970 Olds Cutlass Supreme that is for sale near to me. The car is very clean and well taken care of from what I can tell. It drives good and sounds healthy. The current owner has had the car for twenty two years. He is the second owner and the car was sold locally in San Francisco originally. It had been in an accident in 2002ish and the car was declared totaled by the insurance company. It had drivers side front fender / bumper / hood damage. The owner decided to buy the car back from the insurance company and pay to have the vehicle repaired / painted, around 2002. He also replaced the rear bumper at the same time since the front was going to be replaced. Additionally, he repaired some rust around the rear window / vinyl top molding and had a new vinyl top installed at the same time. Shortly after, he added new SSI rally wheels and dual exhaust.

I am hoping to get some help / advice on what a fair price for this 1970 Olds would be? No scientific research, no market analysis, just simply, what would you good folks pay for a vehicle like this. I would truly welcome and appreciate any input that you all may have, whether it is price or other issues. Thank you all. Have a great day.

Here's a link to the ad: (hope this is okay)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/32519610358...EAAOSwj75ihnng

68cutlasssss

I’m no expert but seems high for something wrecked and rebuilt. Here’s one that looks nice, a 72 that’s been on Denver CL for a bit, went from $22k to $18k.

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/...505066978.html

OLDSter Ralph

#1 It has a "Salvage" title.
#2 Both front fenders have been replaced.
#3 Has the timing gears and chain been replaced ?
#4 How many engine and transmission leaks ?
That should get you a start. Others may chime in with other stuff.

BobsFiftyEight

OLDSter Ralph has very valid points, and I would also add, down the road when you are going to sell your car, it will be very hard to sell with a "Salvage " title.

just my thoughts

Bob

no1oldsfan

Amen. So many people hate on me for my opinions but guess what there are still coming. I hate all the clowns jumping the Oldsmobile bandwagon these days. Twenty grand used to meen something. Now it is nothing. No thank you. No offense to the car you posted. It is one of the oldest sayings out there. It is only worth what someone will pay for it. 25+ grand?? Go buy that 68 442 in the for sale section. Dealer red? I Love a Supreme. 25+ Grand for a salvage title car? What are the chances you would fight that trying to get your money back? If it was an SX? Maybe. Maybe. It isn't. Way overpriced to me.

3clicks

Firstly, my most sincere thank you to all of you who have chimed in. Your input is appreciated and valued.

OLDSter Ralph, the timing gears and chain have not been replaced according to the owner. As far as I know, the drivers side fender was replaced, along with the hood. From what I could see looking under the vehicle while laying on my back with a mirror and flashlight, there was a small oil leak, possibly from the upper area of the pan and the transmission appeared to be leak free, at least from what I could tell.

Bob, I definitely have considered that and agree with your sentiment.

68Cutty, I agree. The price is high, especially considering the salvage title. I made that very clear to the owner that I felt he was much too high with his asking price. I think that the '72 in Denver is much more reasonably priced for what it is.

no1oldsfan, I definitely do not hate you chiming in! I agree. 20 grand, is and always was a lot of money, at least for me. The asking prices of these cars the past few years have gone crazy. As I told 68 above, I completely agree regarding the price, and I let the owner know that, especially in regards to the vehicle being in an accident and having a salvage title. Thanks for the suggestion, I did not look at the classifieds on here yet - i'll go have a look.

As you all have pointed out, the salvage title and the replacement of body parts concern me the most. Otherwise the car runs very well and is overall clean and appears to have been well taken care of. The price is way too high, and that is why I was hoping to hear what folks on here thought. Considering the status and condition, what's a fair price for it. So far, you all have brought up good and very valid considerations and I appreciate all who have replied thus far. As it is right now, even if I did make an offer for this car, I would not be anywhere near is asking price. Even at sub 20k, I still have heartburn with the salvage title and you all have confirmed that.

rickman

Personally, the salvage title wouldn't bother me as much as buying a "freshly restored" one only to find out in a couple of year's it's full of bondo when it starts bubbling and cracking. My opinion, a 15 - 20% reduction in price would be fair for a salvaged titled car if it was repaired correctly, all repairs were disclosed, and it wasn't a "mash to the dash". After all, how many of these cars have been repaired over the past 50 years without any record of known damage? The question is, where do you start to figure the 15 - 20%?
Looking on-line, I see the asking price of these going from $18,000 to $45,000 depending on condition. Not to mention restored, 442, etc. As stated, it's worth what you are willing to pay. I would suggest going to some of the local car shows and cruise-in's. Not only are they fun to go to but you can talk honestly with people that have these cars to gain some insight and they may know of someone else that has a car that is just sitting and/or a stalled project. Just my thoughts. Good luck with the search!

OLDSter Ralph

A. Factory camshaft sprockets can start shedding the nylon teeth when they get older. When that happens, you'll have to replace the timing gears and chain, and have the oil pan removed to remove the chunks and clean the oil pump pick up screen. Just be aware that you have and engine and power train with 140,000 miles on it, unless there has been maintenance/repairs. Before you get nervous, let me just say that I driven several cars with the 350 to 200,000 miles without a problem.
B. Go back to the site and look at the #3 pic and the 3rd pic from the end. With the hood up, you can see the "crumple" dimples on the right and left fender. This is the flat, horizontal surface (1970), running from front to back. 1970 was totally was totally smooth....after 1971, the crumple zone dimples were required, so they were not smooth like 1970. You'll see them every 6-8". So, you have 1971 or later front fenders.
C. Did you look at transmission fluid ? Was it red ? Was it brownish and smell burned ? Its always nice to check for oil leaks after you drive a car, then let it sit for a few minutes. A couple small drops is one thing, but a puddle of oil is another.
D. I won't give any guidance on price, but "I" would offer way less than the asking price, especially with a "Salvage" title. Summertime is the time to sell a sporty car. When it gets time to put cars away in the fall, prices usually go down.

no1oldsfan

To buy Any car without before pictures is absolutely foolish. If any car is worth the price the seller will have Zero problem showing you what is up and what has been done. Period. Sellers that hide behind the finished car and have zero before pictures? Why? Because you are hiding what it truly is. If not you would show it. I am so sick of seeing people over paying for worked over crap. I am not saying that 70 Supreme is junk. Looks like a nice car. Non SX for how much? No thanks. Hiding before pictures applies always. Period. Just my personal opinion.

66SportCoupe

There are a lot of items that have been replaced on this car. 25k is way too much.

joe_padavano

I'll echo what the others have said. This car is far from "all original" as claimed in the ad, so that should be your first warning sign about the honesty of the seller's claims. As noted, both front fenders have been replaced with 71-72 style fenders. The interesting thing is that this car has some downgrade options from the base equipment on a 1970 Supreme. Standard equipment on the Supreme that year was bucket seats and the L74 350 4bbl motor. This car has the RPO A65 Custom Sport bench seat and the L65 350 2bbl motor. The amount of red overspray everywhere suggests that this was not the most careful repaint, so question the amount of prep prior to painting. A quality paint job is about 90% labor and 10% materials, and what I'm seeing is that they really cut corners on that labor. Also, what color was it before it was hit with the Resale Red repaint? The underside looks very clean, but check carefully. In addition to the usual rust spots on the A-body cars (especially the pinchweld rust around the windshield and back window), the vinyl top frequently holds moisture that leads to additional rust. Also, these notchback Supremes are prone to rust in the panel between the back window and the trunk lid. It's so common that a repro panel is sold. You have to climb into the trunk, lay on your back, and look up at the underside of that panel to check. The dual exhaust is new (most L65 motors were single exhaust) and the limited photos seem to show that they used cheap aftermarket hangers and not the correct factory style ones. Again, this raises questions of workmanship. It does appear to be a factory disc brake car.

66SportCoupe

On top of this comment the steering wheel and wheels are not correct for a 1970. It is also missing all the wheel well moldings on the car. I would pass unless it was less than half the asking price.

joe_padavano

Good catch on the steering wheel, and I'll further add that if the wheel really is upside down like that with the wheels straight ahead, someone messed up the indexing of the steering column and shaft, so again, this indicates half-fast workmanship by a flipper. Usually cars like this only get half the fasteners put back in. Check the under dash harness for Scotch-Lock connectors. Those stupid things should be illegal.

rickman

Just went back and looked at the one in Denver for 18k. If I'm looking correctly, it was painted a few years ago so should be able to see if any boo boo's are starting to show. Also, he needs to sell it, price is negotiable, looks like it has factory a/c (not sure if it's working), and it's been listed for 25 days. Personally don't care for the steering wheel or wheels but that can be changed easily enough. May be worth a phone call to see what his bottom $ would be...

3clicks

Wow, this is why I decided to post here. Thank you, all. Seriously. Thank you. You all have so much more intimate knowledge of these vehicles and aside from the price of the vehicle, many of the points that you all have brought forth is exactly what I was hoping for.

rickman, awesome suggestion. Here in the Bay Area of California there are a lot of get-together's over the summer and in addition to the fun like you said, it's a good place to network and learn. I'll be looking out for them in the future. I should have said concerned about the price with the salvage title, combined, the asking price of 25.6 is quite high, and ever more-so now that others have astutely pointed out that there are mismatched wrong year parts.

OLDSter Ralph, thank you for pointing the fenders out. That is something I would have never found alone, and I truly appreciate your eagle eyes! All good points on maintenance. I know (and expect) a vehicle with 140k+ miles will need some care and work. I am definitely attempting to get back into these cars with my eyes wide open and considering future repairs, etc. I did check both oil and transmission, prior to driving the car, and after. I also inspected leaks while car was sitting before we took a drive (we met at a park near seller's home) and after we came back from the drive. Outside of the small seepage from what appeared to be the oil pan, no other leaks could be seen and both the oil and transmission fluid appeared as they should. Your last point about being summer time, my Dad had made mention to this as well. I am definitely in no hurry, in addition to being summer, add in the state of our economy and inflation and interest rates, waiting may be a good thing.

no1oldsfan, the seller did bring a few photos of the car after he'd purchased it back in the early 2000's. It was a red paint, black top, pearl interior car with hub caps. It looked pretty clean from what I could gather in the pics, though they were not all angles; front, back, inside, so it was a limited view of what I could see but I did get an idea of what it looked like and its condition.

66SportCoupe, agreed, price is way too high. Good catch on the steering wheel. How can you tell it is the wrong one? I did notice that the wheel well trim was missing and asked the seller if he had them, to which he said he did not. Also, the wheels, I was not entirely sure, as I thought there may have been a chance that these were used until 1970, so thank you for pointing out that this is not the case.

Joe P, all good points and suggestions as well. I did notice the over-spray on the under carriage and thought the same as you. It does not bother me per se, but it does reflect the effort of workmanship from the body shop that refinished the car and as you pointed out, it does beg the question, what other corners were cut? I did get into the trunk after he had told me he had repaired rust around the bottom of the rear window where the vinyl top and molding are, so I did check that out. It appears that whoever did the work installed new sheet metal (perhaps the kit you'd spoke about) because it appears much newer than the surrounding underneath trunk metal. Also, thanks for the heads up on other spots to check for rust. I did give a good look to all areas I could access, and everything appeared relatively clean from what I could see.

As I said, I cannot thank you all enough. I am truly very grateful to all of you. That's why I made an account and posted. I hope not only to learn about this car but in general and I really appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge. Again, thank you. ~ Aaron

66SportCoupe

The one good thing I saw with this car is the under carriage and floors are super clean.

no1oldsfan

This 70 has also been on and off Craigslist for a year or so.
https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/...511373557.html

3clicks

Yeah, I saw that one. I inquired about it to see if they could send me more pics of it; under carriage, inside trunk etc. In addition to the Cutty in Denver, I found a couple of others on CL I sent messages about. One thing that I immediately noticed, is the prices asked seem more "realistic." Some of these, including the '70 I asked you all about, seems more and more people these days just assume that "this guy" is asking for $35k, hell, I will too. Sure is a lot different from back in the day when I purchased my first Olds, a 1970 C/S for $1700 back on New Year's Eve, 1993. Honestly, the low prices (even accounting for inflation) was half the fun.