Things that you hate to see......found my old Park Ave today...LONG

OK, in 2008 I sold my gorgeous 1989 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon for this car. It was a 1995 Park Ave Ultra at 60K miles. Was a new car trade-in at the local Buick dealer and because of the age went on their wholesale lot. I had gone to the local Buick/Cadillac/GMC dealer to look at new trucks, and saw this car on the back lot, and fell in love with it. It had been sold new from the same Buick dealer, one owner car, been in Austin since new, had all the records in the glove box. I test drove it and it ran and drove perfectly.

It was beautiful, and it was LOADED. It had lighted vanity mirrors for the REAR seat, power everything, Supercharged engine, heated seats, automatic trunk pull-down...just a really swanky car. The only option it didn't have...and I missed it, was the moon roof. I was SO tickled with it the day I brought it home, even though Misty called it an "old man's car".

BUT it was a total LEMON for me. I had issues within the first month, but it was such a pretty car, I was determined to fix it. It would stall without warning. You could be going down the highway or sitting at a light, you never know, and it would just quit. It would fire right back up and seem fine afterwards, no error codes either. It also would set idiot lights at random, the dash was always aglow. Either Check Engine, Traction Control, Ride Leveling, Anti-Lock, or something else, you never knew what light would be on. I replaced the PCM twice trying to fix it, and then did the cam and crank sensors.

I finally called the number of the previous owner from one of the service records, and spoke to the son of the original owner. I was sure the car had to have been wrecked or something. I found out his parents had bought the car new, and it was used for cross-country retirement trips from 1995-2000, when his father died, and then it basically sat unused in their garage until his mother passed away. He'd inherited it, and traded it in for a new Yukon....which is when I got it. So it sat for years and year before I bought it.

When it ran, it was great! Fast, smooth, comfy, super highway car, but I never could trust it, and in 8 months I owned it, I only drove it 5K miles. I flat didn't trust it, and we used Misty's Suburban for trips.

THEN the transmission gave up at 65K miles, for no good reason. We were at the local ballpark for a friday night game, carload full of kids, and we came out after the game, started the car, I put it in reverse, and THUNK, then no reverse. Ended up pushing the car out of the spot, and drove home in 1st at 20mph....it would not shift at all...but at least it went forward.

I sucked it up and replaced the transmisson, and I sold it soon after....and bought my '99 Cadillac Catera Sport. Yes I bought a Catera TO GET A MORE RELIABLE CAR...ahaha! How many people can make that statement!?!?!?! And it was more reliable! I loved the Catera, but sold it when my 96 Roadmaster wagon showed up in San Antonio on Craigslist. Could not keep both ; )

When I put the Park Ave on CraigsList to sell it, it was spotless, and even with the tranny rebuild cost, I broke even on it. The first people to look at it were an older couple from far south Austin, and they didn't even haggle with me, gave me my asking price. The car looked nearly new. This was in Nov 2008. It was one of the few cars I've sold that I didn't feel a pang of regret over when it was pulling away for good.

Some pics of that Park Ave when I had it. I was a really sharp car!














SO coming back from lunch today I spotted a black Park Ave in a parking lot. You don't see them all that much anymore, especially full-lux Ultra models. I pulled in the parking lot, and sure enough, it was my old car. Only I was dorky enough to put GS emblems on my Ultra, and the trunk GS emblem is still on it.....I did not however put the Cowboys football sticker on the trunk.

I got out...and despite how unreliable the car had been for me, it was still sad to see it today. It's amazing what a few years of neglect can do. The paint on the trunk and hood is badly sunburned, as is the paint on the bumpers, it was all perfect when I had it...I kept it waxed an garaged back then.

The tires are all mis-matched, the fronts are too small, the sharp Ultra wheels are totally filthy, interior is full of junk, power antenna is broken, lower front bumper is cracked and license plate bracket is gone, the plate is sitting on the dashboard. There are dents, dings and scratches all over it, and the chrome beltline trim is totally missing on the driver's door.

I guess I should be surprised it's still on the road....who knows, maybe with the transmission replaced and the 3rd PCM it was finally fixed when I sold it?? I didn't check the current miles, just snapped the below pics and came on back to work. It looks better in these pics than it did in person....

Despite the fact it was a lemon for me, it still hurt to see it like this. I spent many hours cleaning it, polishing the wheels, waxing and detailing this car a few years back. It was really a pretty one...then..







Oh well....I guess it's nice that it's still on the road.

-Mike

The window tint I put on it still looks good....

That GS emblem is a sure way of identifying your old car and only you would remember all these
things about an old PROBLEM car from the past.

Well, I know the feeling....I watched my 1st RMW slowly die once I sold it. Local Pianist needed it and I had the hots for my 1st LT1 wagon.

Father says he still sees it though (about 8 years now) and it is running. But every panel on it is beat to heck and plastic bag for a vent window.

No matter what we do to them, they will all end up in the junkyard someday! Just enjoy it while you have it

Chris

I completely understand what your saying Mike. I hate selling cars because I know whoever buys it is never gonna take the care of it I gave it. I recently saw my old truck I sold last spring and was kind of annoyed to see the oh so awesome running boards had been taken off.
Last year I was actually happy to see my 91 custom cruiser pull away for the last time. That car put me through hell and I never once enjoyed driving it. I'm afraid to see what it looks like today, it went to Brooklyn and I'm sure its a donk by now

I can't believe how bad the paint is now. Pretty amazing. The hood is HORRIBLE. Texas sun and lack of wax/care burns them up fast.

Oh well. I still see my Catera around town from time to time, and it still looks really good, so I can be happy about that one finding a good home.

-Mike

Took these pics the week before I sold the car. At the time I was so shocked it managed to hit 70K miles I thought it was worth a pic.

I did love that Supercharged 3800....when it ran.

That car looks like a mess now. It's a shame. Don't know that I've ever seen a black Ultra from this generation. I saw a green '96 Ultra in the JY a few months ago, it was near mint and around 60k, so hey at least your old car is still on the road. It's a funny thing about those older H/C bodies; some of them go on and on, and others are complete lemons. I think a lot of it had to do with the computer/electronics system they used on those older ones. The slightest friggin' thing would stop the car from running or starting at all! At least with the newer cars all it would do is throw codes and let you keep driving. If you can get one of those older ones past their first few 440T4's and all the engine management/emissions control electronic issues, the 3800 will go for many, many miles, but a lot of people get frustrated and they never get that far. When I was a kid my Dad had a fairly new Chevy truck with a diesel in it, and right from the beginning it was problematic even though it was only 2 years old when he got it, it spent more time in the shop then it did in our driveway. He finally got frustrated enough with the truck (and the Chevy dealer) and swore off GM's because of that. After he sold it, we saw it once on the road about 8 months later, as it still had my Dad's initials on the door.

Lynol wrote:

That car looks like a mess now. It's a shame. Don't know that I've ever seen a black Ultra from this generation. I saw a green '96 Ultra in the JY a few months ago, it was near mint and around 60k, so hey at least your old car is still on the road. It's a funny thing about those older H/C bodies; some of them go on and on, and others are complete lemons. I think a lot of it had to do with the computer/electronics system they used on those older ones. The slightest friggin' thing would stop the car from running or starting at all! At least with the newer cars all it would do is throw codes and let you keep driving. If you can get one of those older ones past their first few 440T4's and all the engine management/emissions control electronic issues, the 3800 will go for many, many miles, but a lot of people get frustrated and they never get that far. When I was a kid my Dad had a fairly new Chevy truck with a diesel in it, and right from the beginning it was problematic even though it was only 2 years old when he got it, it spent more time in the shop then it did in our driveway. He finally got frustrated enough with the truck (and the Chevy dealer) and swore off GM's because of that. After he sold it, we saw it once on the road about 8 months later, as it still had my Dad's initials on the door.

I could not agree more! My first H-body was a 38K mile '95 Bonneville SLE, white over tan leather with gold cross-lace wheels, floor shift, power sunroof, CD, steering wheel controls, 3800 Series II, but not Supercharged (but 205hp moved it fine!). I bought that car for my wife in '99, so it was nearly new, and I was SO proud of it, felt like my first "adult" car, and it was fantastic the entire time we owned it. It never let us down...actually it never had any issues at all! Drove it to 85K miles and sold it to my wife's friend so we'd have a down-payment on our '99 Suburban. Her friend drove the Bonny for two more years, and I bought it back from her with 110K miles. It was still gorgeous. I used it as a spare car and then re-sold it again about a year later to help finance another Suburban for Misty. Ha!

I ended up missing my white Bonny so much I found a replacement optioned about the same way. My second Bonny was a dark green over black leather '96 SLE, with 46K miles, and amazingly, this one was a dud! One year newer, low miles, power sunroof, 5-star wheels, it looked really nice, but man it gave me constant trouble. I had power window issues, climate control issues, the alternator locked up, and then the crappy plastic intake let go. Traded that Bonny for my '02 Firebird ragtop, which was a super car, but I was just to fat for it.

Such fun!

-Mike

You just never know!