For Sale, 1993 Caprice wagon, non woodgrain, Riverside, CA

Time to put a new post in this forum, after the State of Cali-phony-a got me mad today. Seems they want to require an emissions check on my wagon every year now just because other people let cars like mine get too run down to pass them. I think I need to go to a 65 and older or maybe up to a 75 model year vehicle again. I have been trying to stay in emission controlled vehicles to help the air but now I feel like choking the tree huggers lungs. (I'll calm down in a day or two but still won't want to go thru this every year.) I had been debating whether to fix it up nice or just drive it til it dropped but CA has made up my mind for me.

1993 Chevy Caprice Classic wagon with NO woodgrain. 5.7L or 350cid for American speakers, and the non electronic overdrive 700 R4 transmission (dark fluid but shifts fine) with a 3.23 Posi if the options tag is to be believed.
Light blue paint and blue luxury cloth interior with some broken plastic pieces here and there. Probably needs a tune up to pass CA smog test since it gets 10-14 mpg right now in pure city driving but passed last year. Came with the tow package but doesn't have a hitch. 178,000 miles with a water pump and O2 sensor change at around 177,000 miles. I'll have to get some fresh pics but it's dark outside right now. Bad clearcoat on the top surfaces and the passenger side had a repaint at some point before I got it, and the front tires could stand to be replaced soon.
$2800 will drive it away as it is right now if anyone is interested. I put it on craigslist for 3500 so for those out of CA state buyers who want a rust free car NOW is the time to let me know if you are interested. Please email me at peavey7 at hotmail.com

And, of course, shipping is at the buyer's expense.

Good luck with your sale.....jeff

Can't get a photo to attach to the post or into the gallery, even after compressing to less than 4KB in size. I'm not setting up a photo hosting site just for this so please email me for photos, I took some of the outside and a few of the underside but none of the interior.

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/threads/1993-caprice-wagon-non-woodgrain.40058/

Any pics on Facebook? I could post them for you.

And now it looks like this

Put them on facebook, thank you for the idea, and they come up for me but are kind of LARGE!

I see you got the pics up...LOL! GLWS,she looks pretty clean.

Has a few battle scars here and there but the basic car is very sound, I'm picky about that when I buy cars. The rust belt guys might need to be told there is actual metal under and on the bottoms of panels on this car! I have seen some of the cars from up at the great lakes and don't envy those guys when they have to do under car repairs.

Nice car! Did it sell?

Not yet. So far just a couple of the usual flake emails from the craigslist ad I put up in the Inland Empire SoCal version. The 'would you take $amount' but without a single question about the car or an attempt to look at it, and the 'would you trade for my motorcycle' reply, I ignored them both.

Pricing on these wagons is tough when we are selling.......Have you considered establishing an address in Blythe so that you wouldn't have to smog check it any more? Blythe and Needles are in areas where smog checks are only required when a vehicle's ownership is transferred....

I don't know how to ask this delicately, so forgive me if this sounds harsh.  But does this suggest that owning a wagon (any car) from this era in CA is risky? I am toying with the idea of buying a '90's car and I live in CA. Thoughts?

If you live in a locale that requires smog checks every year or two, there is the cost of the check and the costs that follow if your car fails the test...I think CA tests all pre-1977......The tests are as much about missing emissions equipment as about what the tailpipe readings are...On 95 and newer models, the OBD2 actually tells the test equipment if you've got any trouble codes..... You can end up with a great running car that is too expensive to fix resulting in non-renewal of your reg...... If you live in one of the areas that only require smog checkin when title is transferred, at least you can drive the wheels off once you're registered....

Not risky, just have to put up with the smog checks. If you keep a car in decent tune and don't monkey with the settings it will pass if you go in while the engine is warmed up good. All 76 and newer model years get the smog tests for title transfer and again every other year if you live in a metro area. Worst case scenario is to get the car smogged for transfer of title then have to do the smog again in 4 months for a new registration, then get notice for a "random" smog check the next year and the year after that get the regular "every other year" smog test again. If it doesn't pass any of these you can expect a "random" check again the next year as well. At roughly $100 per check that adds up quick but wouldn't be as bad as trying to pass a "safety check" in the rusty part of the country.

CA doesn't require smog checks on 1975 and older vehicles, right now. They can change that at any time and if the smog equipment isn't on them then you don't get a registration. Federal law doesn't allow states to require smog checks on 1965 and older vehicles because they didn't have any emissions requirements when they were new, although some actually came with PCV valves instead of downdraft tubes because some engineers thought the engines ran better with the PCV.

I'm just one of those people who doesn't like to put up with flaky CA rules that just cost people money. I've been trying to stay in emissions controlled vehicles because they really do help air quality (got stuck in the Corona crawl in a convertible with the top down and nearly choked before I could get off the freeway!) but I really love some of the older cars.

When you are looking at a car to buy just run the smog check history by using the VIN on the state's site. http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/vehicle/pubtstqry.aspx

That will give you a really good idea of what you should see from that car. A fail before passing a couple tests in a row tells you that the car will need some work. A tampered result means the smog equipment isn't correct or all there and you'll have to do some research to find out the cause. You'll also be able to see if the car was smogged within 90 days for a title transfer, seller is ALWAYS responsible for this test unless selling for 'offroad or parts use only'.

The license plate number doesn't give complete results if the plate number has ever been changed, which applies to almost any car bought from a dealer or that had a personalized plate that didn't go with the car when sold.

just me wrote:

Not risky, just have to put up with the smog checks. If you keep a car in decent tune and don't monkey with the settings it will pass if you go in while the engine is warmed up good. All 76 and newer model years get the smog tests for title transfer and again every other year if you live in a metro area. Worst case scenario is to get the car smogged for transfer of title then have to do the smog again in 4 months for a new registration, then get notice for a "random" smog check the next year and the year after that get the regular "every other year" smog test again. If it doesn't pass any of these you can expect a "random" check again the next year as well. At roughly $100 per check that adds up quick but wouldn't be as bad as trying to pass a "safety check" in the rusty part of the country.

CA doesn't require smog checks on 1975 and older vehicles, right now. They can change that at any time and if the smog equipment isn't on them then you don't get a registration. Federal law doesn't allow states to require smog checks on 1965 and older vehicles because they didn't have any emissions requirements when they were new, although some actually came with PCV valves instead of downdraft tubes because some engineers thought the engines ran better with the PCV.

I'm just one of those people who doesn't like to put up with flaky CA rules that just cost people money. I've been trying to stay in emissions controlled vehicles because they really do help air quality (got stuck in the Corona crawl in a convertible with the top down and nearly choked before I could get off the freeway!) but I really love some of the older cars.

Thanks just me for all that info.  Beyond the 1975 model year cut off for exemptions, I didn't know any of this.  I'm starting to think I'm living in the wrong state as someone who loves these older (post '76) cars lol.  Best of luck to you in your sale!

Three of the four 91 wagons i've owned were $1000 or less and two of those were perfectly good running cars.....Part of the low-value condition is that the areas where I look for these cars are all smog-check areas (Vegas/Inland Empire/PHX) and people with a good car have to compete to sell with folks that want to "unload" a car that is a problem for smog checks.....I'm fortunate enough to live in an unregulated area where I have the freedom to build or maintain vehicles as I choose (I can also choose to forego a motorcycle helmet as well!)
Yes, pricing realities make resale really tough.....If my wagon gets wrecked, insurance is not going to spend much to fix, or compensate me properly to replace my rare Olds (less that 12000 made)...This also doesn't argue well for spending a lot on building one with any kind of resale in mind..... You build one of these wagons FOR YOURSELF----BECAUSE YOU LOVE IT AND INTEND TO KEEP IT FOREVER.....Otherwise, don't be unhappy when it's unable to fetch a reasonable price....

AzDon wrote:

Three of the four 91 wagons i've owned were $1000 or less and two of those were perfectly good running cars.....Part of the low-value condition is that the areas where I look for these cars are all smog-check areas (Vegas/Inland Empire/PHX) and people with a good car have to compete to sell with folks that want to "unload" a car that is a problem for smog checks.....I'm fortunate enough to live in an unregulated area where I have the freedom to build or maintain vehicles as I choose (I can also choose to forego a motorcycle helmet as well!)
Yes, pricing realities make resale really tough.....If my wagon gets wrecked, insurance is not going to spend much to fix, or compensate me properly to replace my rare Olds (less that 12000 made)...This also doesn't argue well for spending a lot on building one with any kind of resale in mind..... You build one of these wagons FOR YOURSELF----BECAUSE YOU LOVE IT AND INTEND TO KEEP IT FOREVER.....Otherwise, don't be unhappy when it's unable to fetch a reasonable price....

I totally agree.  I've never gone into owning a classic car with the intention of trying to make money.  Each one that I have owned I did so strictly for the joy of preserving and driving it.  Like many of us in this hobby, I suppose, my tastes have shifted a bit in what era appeals to me; namely the long roof's.  If I find the right one, this will be the "newest" generation I will have ever owned. But being in CA I'm finding that also brings new challenges (read: smogging).  Even though I enjoy the opportunity to drive a classic all year round here, I sometimes regret leaving the East Coast, lol.  
Thanks for sharing your insights AzDon!

Most of the demand for these wagons is for 94-96 RMW's and Caprice models because they were updated to LT1 in 94....
I'm old school and am allowing myself to only s-l-o-w-l-y be dragged into the era of electronic engine management and fuel injection.
Even though the pre-94 TBI cars suffer about 100hp deficit and get lousier mileage, I still take a lot of comfort from the fact that they are basically a gen-1 small-block chevy, and you could (in theory only) swap for a carb and dumb distributor if the electricals become totally unmanageable (actually, earlier distributors WONT FIT THE CAR because of the cowl overhang)

AzDon wrote:

Most of the demand for these wagons is for 94-96 RMW's and Caprice models because they were updated to LT1 in 94....
I'm old school and am allowing myself to only s-l-o-w-l-y be dragged into the era of electronic engine management and fuel injection.
Even though the pre-94 TBI cars suffer about 100hp deficit and get lousier mileage, I still take a lot of comfort from the fact that they are basically a gen-1 small-block chevy, and you could (in theory only)  swap for a carb and dumb distributor if the electricals become totally unmanageable (actually, earlier distributors WONT FIT THE CAR because of the cowl overhang)

It seems you and I might be of the same "school." I too am hesitant to venture into something that is computer/electronically controlled (but it isn't stopping me from looking/considering). The wagon that is catching my eye at the moment back east is a '93 CE. Even though it does not have the LT1, it still has the 350 with EFI.

Don't have a relative that lives out of state? Register it there and drive in CA.

Superior Finish wrote:

Don't have a relative that lives out of state? Register it there and drive in CA.

Had not thought of that. But my relatives are all back in NYS, which requires annual safety inspections. As much as I love road trips - especially in a station wagon - I don't think a round trip coast to coast is something I can do every year. Thanks for the idea though.

California Highway Patrol actively patrols for out-of-state license plates spending too much time in Ca.....and the state is nasty about losing the registration money.... That's why my suggestion to register in one of the outlying CALIFORNIA locales (you'd still have a CA plate so wouldn't arouse as much suspicion) Even then, you would be best served by having a matching DL address so that you don't end up explaining yourself by the side of the road

And then there is this one.....https://gmlongroof.4umer.com/t12409-wow-festering-pile-with-engine-mods-for-3000

I have taken the car off of craigslist and won't sell in CA anymore since the smog test is over 90 days old. The price will also change during the year since this is the year I will be doing tires/maybe wheels, brakes, and tune up, and paint if not the wheels.

Did it ever sell?

No, I stopped actively trying to sell it and have started putting time and money into it instead. Haven't gone too far with it yet since I have more time than money right now.

Get an address in Blythe and you'll never have to smog it again!