Buick Roadmaster beat out the Ford Flex...

Hello guys -- I bought a 94 Buick wagon earlier this year and have really enjoyed it, but it was sort of "journey" how I got there.  As my title indicates, I was initially looking at a Ford Flex to replace an 05 Mazda3 hatch I had owned and was ready to rid myself of.  I liked the look of the Flex and how the design reminds you of the old station wagons nobody makes anymore.  Well I wasn't in the market for a new one, but I figured a nice used one with low miles, I could pick up for maybe $16k.

Well, around that time at my job there were rumblings of a large layoff coming soon, and since I didn't want to get into a car payment without somewhat firm job security, I started "expanding" my wagon search parameters a bit to find something cheaper.  The reason for a wagon was because eventually, I know I will need the cargo space to load my tent and gear when I attend art festivals (I do oil paintings in my spare time presently).  Of course a minivan was out of the question because they suck -- enough said there.

So my only choice was an older wagon.  I had been aware of the old Caprice and Buick wagons of the 90s, but never gave them much thought when they were new.  I was driving a 90s Mustang at the time, so big cars were not on my radar -- at all.  I looked at a site called oldstationwagonsforsale.com and found that the Buick Roadmaster wagons had a nice engine, as well as decent MPGs.  I even looked it up versus the Flex, and the two get almost identical ratings.  For an almost 20 year old car, I thought that was great.

So when my Mazda's suspension went out and was told it would be $1500 or so to replace the assembly because the design did not allow you to access the cracked bolts -- my search for a new car went into high gear.  The Mazda's a/c compressor had also died, but that is a longer story.  Anyway, I started looking locally on Craigslist and lo and behold, there happened to be just what I was looking for.  A low mileage RMW that looked almost brand new, to me anyway.  It was a one owner, senior citizen owned car that looked to be well taken care of.

My wife was initially hesitant because it was a big, old, used car, but she knew I needed some wheels soon, and the price was a lot less than if I had went with a Flex, so we called them up and went to see the car the next Saturday.  It looked even better in person.  We took it for a little drive and my wife fell in love.  The seats were so comfy compared to her SUV, and just the newness of the interior and all -- she was on board.

I looked the car over real good just in case, but I could tell the car had been garaged most of its life so we bought it that day.  Since then, I got rid of the Mazda (thankfully) and the Buick has been my daily driver since.  As far as the job, they extended it a few months and actually I will be unemployed by October -- but at least I was able to buy the wagon with cash and have something that I can use for my upcoming art business.

I came here to learn from you guys about any repairs I may need in the future.  The first thing I would like to do is either find a tan cargo cover for the back, or try to make one myself.  That is one option I wish the car had included.  Other than that, I will get the windows tinted -- because this is Texas, and when the tires wear down some more, I will see what options I have for going bigger/wider.

Anyway, thanks for all the info you guys present here.  I'll be checking back.  Thanks, Michael

Hey Michael! Welcome aboard.

Sounds like you found a good one. Colors? Pics?

And wait til ya see the options available for rims and tires. Very easy to modernize the look of them with just a rim swap.

Sorry to hear about your job, but good luck with the art business!

Nice story Michael.

Thanks, I will try to load some photos, but it is just standard tan cloth interior. White really wasn't my first choice for an exterior color, but I guess it stays cooler in the summer at least...

I'd pic a Roady over a Flex any day of the week. Good choice and welcome!

Shivers...

welcome to the forum! thanks for the write up! 

Welcome to the madness . You are going to love your wagon and these guys here are a wealth of information .

Great story!
Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard. You found the right place. Look in the pics and video section there is a sticky on how to post pics. What part of Tejas are you in?

Thanks guys -- I am in the DFW area, Sprocket. I will probably be hanging out in the wheels thread for ideas, because I can't decide on what sort of rims to go with when my 15" tires run out of tread. I hear we can go to 275 on the tire width, but that rules out using the Buick rims so I'll be looking at options on a budget. Thanks again.

Welcome to the gang Michael,pretty sure that Fred has a tan cargo cover for your wagon.He will be here soon especially if he senses someone may need something.

I had 295/35/18's on a 9.5" wheel on mine.

Flasheroo wrote:

Welcome to the gang Michael,pretty sure that Fred has a tan cargo cover for your wagon.He will be here soon especially if he senses someone may need something.

Thanks, I will be on the lookout. The cover and tinted windows are my first "upgrades".

...295s?!? Was that just on the rear or all around? I would probably like to do 17x9s or 18x9s and then see what tires will work, front and rear...

Just in the rear, but they'd probably fit all around.