New Lease On Life: 1988 Buick Lesabre Hearse
As a new vehicle, a hearse is usually used for its intended purpose, to transport the coffin during the funeral process. As they get older and are sold again, it may or may not be used for that purpose. It may be that a family would not want to use a funeral home that is still using vehicles over 30 years old. So as used vehicles, I’m sure quite a few hearses are used for other purposes. Here is a 1988 Buick Lesabre S & S Victoria Hearse for sale by Retail Remarketing here on eBay in Highland, California.
Even though it is a Lesabre model, the front features the grille found on 1981 to 1984 Buick Electra. The bumper filler is cracked and broken off. The car features wire wheel covers and and a new set of white wall tires.
This particular hearse was built by S & S Coach in Lima, Ohio. It features a full vinyl padded top that appears to be in good condition with landau bars that are so common on hearses. They were also used on Ford Thunderbird Landau models in the sixties.
The interior is in pretty good condition. While the split bench cloth seats are in good condition, the driver’s door armrest appears to have been leaned on heavily, has become detached in places from the door, and is in need of repairing. The dash is in good condition. The air conditioning blows cold air.
The engine is a 5.0 liter V-8 which may be a little weak in motivating this 5,602-pound vehicle from zero to normal speed. The hearse has only 34,825 miles. The selling company says that the car runs excellent.
The rear interior features a wood floor with rollers and the sides finished off in velour with some wooden detail on the sides. As of this writing, the vehicle has had 19 bids up to $800 and is being offered at no reserve. If you bought a hearse, what would you use it for? Would you merely show it as a show car, or take one or two friends with room for plenty of cargo on a road trip? At current price, another idea would be to purchase it for parts for a Buick Electra or Lesabre from the early eighties or Buick Estate station wagon. What’s your idea?
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Comments
Plywood hauler for all of the projects that I’ll never get to? Seasonal help at Christmas for FedEx? It shouldn’t be used as a parts car but hearses are definitely a niche market. I recently watched the film Harold & Maude (1970). In the film the very morose and troubled Harold went to a junkyard and bought a 1959 Cadillac hearse, ran it through a automatic car wash (difficult to believe, but Hollywood) came the other side with a perfect looking hearse. Being a ‘59 it has the fins etc. Harold’s wacky mother has the Caddy hauled away and replaces it with a new Jaguar E-Type. Harold almost immediately fires up the cutting torch and creates an E-Type hearse to blast around in. https://petrolicious.com/articles/gallery-behind-the-scenes-on-our-harold-and-maude-jaguar-e-type-hearse-film Sadly the E-Type goes over a cliff at the end of the movie. That 59 Cadillac has to be super rare today if it’s still with us. Check out movie if you get a chance!
The first white hearse that I ever saw was the coach used in Elvis’ funeral. Most striking to me about that car was that it was the “new” downsized for 1977 Cadillac. For some reason that detail sticks with me. Bored yet?
Really hope someone adopts the Buick!
A collector in California has the ’59 tucked away.
The Jaguar was a one off that really did go over the cliff so it does not exist.
I can recite every line of that movie as they do.
Really, Harold.
Quick get up and go is a bit wasted on a hearse. I like it. Low mileage, virginal white. A bit classy.
Having worked @ a hearse dealership for a number of years this decade, and being a “hearseophile”, along with member & former member of 5 different hearse owner clubs, I have driven a number of these things, including these 1980’s Buicks. These & the Cadillacs with the 307 Olds engine are the slowest, most under-powered beasts I have ever driven. Keep in mind, they were not designed to be fast, but these are ridiculous!
I like how this one looks. For the price so far, it is an absolute bargain! This one is equipped with commercial glass. The windshield alone is worth $1,000. But I would hate to see it get parted out. If I had any money at the moment, & a place to put it indoors (darn Milwaukee climate lol), I would buy it, transplant an Olds 455, some Buick rally wheels, and enjoy the drive. I hope whoever gets it enjoys it for the work of art it is. It is WAY better than a parts car!
Ask Neil Young about ” Mort” his ’48 Buick Roadmaster hearse………see the song ‘ Long May You Run’.
I like ’em older and black but each to his own.
I prefer this black ’48 to the white ’88. ’88 needs more power, (a la Tim Allen) if one was to drive it at any faster pace. Creepy-crawly not good in regular traffic. The black ’48 reminds me of vehicles in gangster movies. Love it!
Love the look of this ’48. My brother bought a 38 Buick hearse , running and driving car for $35.00. 1969
Oh my God I want it!!! Cadaver transport,
here I come! My BIL and I could make a
pile of cash with this thing hauling bodies
from morgues to medical schools. Been
looking for one for that purpose for quite
a while now. This one is reasonably priced and I’m tapped out! I ask you
where is the justice?!!!
I see dead people.
I do too…they’re the faces of all of the dead presidents you’ll spend.
I, too love the idea of a hearse, but reality settles in.. probably would be a good idea to switch out the 305, while certainly not meant for street racing, but it would give it some oomph for on ramps and keeping up with traffic . while talking with a friend a few years ago, stating about the same as above, would also have a kicking stereo to which he replied “loud enough to wake the dead?” YES! I would want it simply for the novelty of it .. and when it comes time for my demise for it to cart me away and, I love the idea of a white hearse , and btw, if the arm rest is worn, that would be the least of your worries, simple repair
Nope, nope, nope, nope…
They are really popular around Halloween as promotional vehicles for haunted attractions. The day after, they go back to being unwanted.
Way better looking and more practical than the current offering of oversize, bloated pickups on the market.
This rig comes along at a bad time for me. At the moment I think I would turn the headlights and 4 ways on and slowly run stoplights.
During high school I worked at one of the local funeral homes, in my hometown there were three, and each had their own color for their “fleets”. The one I worked at had white vehicles; a ‘96? Fleetwood hearse, two mid nineties Town Cars, and an early nineties E-250 conversion van. The wives of two of the owners drove white cars as well.
Working there for over three years is why I hate white vehicles to this day.
This is almost the exact model used as Echo 2 in the most recent ghostbusters film. Dye the vinyl red, throw some gear on the roof, decal the sides, and it’s a dead ringer. LOL
Though I agree with the other comments on the engine… I think an LS motor would be a nice swap.
Bill Overbaugh, not even close.
Ghostbusters 3 – not the original ghostbusters 1959 Caddy.
It was a 1988 Cadillac – the front grill treatment is a little different but the rest of the car is the same, exterior wise.
https://jalopnik.com/heres-the-new-ecto-1-from-the-2016-ghostbusters-movie-1716469352
Has a LeMons Hearse been done yet? If not, here ya go.
How much fun would this car be to bring to a tailgate party?
If I were home and not traveling I would buy this today. Probably get it home and ask myself what I was thinking. It would just be fun to add it to the collection. Plus I have the space to keep it in air conditioned space.
I had a 86, used it for a daily driver for most of the 6 years I had it. The 305 was a bit sluggish, but, once it was rolling, it went pretty well. And, yes, I even used it for camping.
I bought a 95 black Cadillac Fleetwood S&S Hearse with an LT1 in 2002 from PHH leasing . I had a blast with it for about a week , my wife got progressivly more pi$$ed off , it was me or the hearse so I put it on E-Bay and re-homed it . The buyer sent his drop deck low boy , pulled by his big black Peterbuilt and hauled it back to Texas . The driver said “The Boss Man gonna have some fun with this” . I have wondered if it made his wife happy . Some folks just don’t see the humor in driving a hearse .
Several years ago I pulled this ’50 Chevy National hearse out of the weeds behind a defunct dirt track. It had served as their ambulance. Had a vintage gurney in the back! Vandals had broken out most of the windows, but the metal is surprisingly solid. The side back doors are wood framed and I can see that the wood is going to need some work, I’m afraid to open them. I like the looks of hearses/ambulances that don’t have raised roofs. This Chevy is really a stretched sedan delivery. Not sure what to do with it, thought about doing it up in a silver, using it more like a limo. Don’t know yet.
Nice! Restore it!
I agree with the limo idea! But, one question….Is that a sail tied down to the roof? May convert to a boat? LOL.
One of the “U Pick A Part” junkyards here in Vegas recently had 2 of these Buick Hearses. Both were white with burgundy valore interior.
I wanted the landau bars but both had already been stripped of them.
I love the old Cadillac hearses, and one of these days, before I die, I’m going to get one!!! Damnit
My new daily driver has arrived. Awesome.
It should sell quickly. People are dying to get into these cars.
LOL! Sweet Millenkneeil.