No Fever: 1984 Oldsmobile 98
I must be getting old. Here’s another car I never imagined in my life I would even look at twice, a 1984 Oldsmobile 98 two door. It’s for sale on craigslist in Paterson, New Jersey with an asking price of $2,000. According to the NADA guide, that’s 20% under the average retail price of $2,525 for this car.
Is this car collectible? Not really, or so I am guessing. How many of our readers love mid-eighties cars? But it’s more than 30 years old now, and for some reason it looks pretty good to me now. It’s a full size two door luxury car that will get decent gas mileage and would be fun to drive on weekends. And these last-of-the-big-cars Oldsmobiles are starting to show up in car shows every now and then.
I did find a website with some information about this Olds 98. This car was equipped with the 307 CID V-8 (was that a Chevy engine?). It is 221 inches long, weighed 3990 pounds (dry) and had a trunk capacity of 20.8 cubic inches. I’m not a big fan of the tufted velour upholstery and mid-eighties GM electronics do have their issues, but this is a big, comfortable cruiser with only 68,000 miles on it that I think could be a lot of fun to own and drive. I like the way this body style looks as a two door too. Now I will wait to here the naysayers in the comments section!
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Comments
Meh
OLDS had it’s own 307,nothing exciting ,but pretty much bullet proof
An Olds 307 will make modest power until the heat death of the universe.
A big GM coupe with fender skirts? You have my attention.
Isn’t that supposed to be a trunk capacity in cubic FEET?
Typo! Bad one too. Thanks!
“a trunk capacity of 20.8 cubic inches” ? I think you’ve got the wrong units there…
You couldn’t really go wrong at 2k. Would be a cheap way to go to car shows. Just think how a 56′ olds was thought of in 86′, but now are collectible.
I’m oddly drawn to this. Would be a fun driver yet still be good for caffeine & octane.
Would it really be a fun driver? I say no.
If it had a back seat full of strippers it would be a fun driver. Just sayin
This is a 1983 Olds 98. The 1984 had solid orange front side marker lights, not the white and orange.
Id buy these all day for $2k..I never see them for that price in reasonable, running condition..then again, I live in the salt belt, many have withered away..
This looks pretty good for a 30 year New Jersey car. I liked these big GM’s though I’d stay with the 77 to 79 model years, no computer to worry about. Had a 77 Buick Electra 2 door in triple black, with a I think a 403, that’s one car I’d like to have back today! This looks like a pretty good deal.
Usually the ECM doesn’t give much trouble as long as it stays dry. Sealing the secondary well plugs in the quadrajet and making sure that the engine ground strap from the firewall to the engine is in place and tight are good things to do. Nice car.
One of the few models that I think looks better as a 4-door than a 2-door.
I could get really comfy in this car.
Paterson NJ…hmm. Isn’t this the car Tommy rode in when he thought he was going to be a made man just before he was whacked?
Whatever you do, do not go see the new movie “Paterson”. It gets glowing reviews and while I am a writer, former bus driver, and originally from NJ–all the topics this movie is about–it’s like watching paint dry. I just saved you all $12!
That was a Buick LeSabre four door.
I’m a product of the 80’s, so this one definitely has my attention. Buicks, Olds, and Cadillacs from this era will always have a place in my heart.
Blindmarc’s analogy about the value of Oldsmobiles of yesteryear is spot on. Back in the mid 70s you could find driver grade pre-war Oldsmobiles for a few hundred dollars, and around 1976 or so, one of my car buddies paid $250 (roughly $1200 or so in today’s dollars) for a very presentable turn key 41 Olds 4 dr. and it was his weekend cruiser for many years, only downside it had been repainted Earl Scheib universal blue (yuk)
The wheel covers aren’t original to the car, but hey the rest of it is great. We sold lots of these new back in the day, especially in this color combination.
Nice find and a great price!
I had the wagon version of this car. Mine also was an 84, but they called the wagons Custom Cruiser. Sad to say, it was not a good car when new. The tranny would slam back into gear after it would freewheel. Then while driving, a bell would start ringing. It was a half quart low on oil added that. No help. Dealer didn’t know what to do. The “Wire Wheel” hubcaps rattled. That’s probably why this seller swapped hubcaps.
Anyway, I traded it in with about 10,000 miles on it, for a Suburban. Haven’t looked back since.
I’m sure this car could be a nice car. They handle better than expected, and that Olds motor is a good motor.
Sorry for being long winded
oh for goodness sakes man this is so NOT a barn find >.<
In a world of jellybean shaped econoboxes, this stands out. Collectible? Who cares! Valuable? Who cares! Driveavble and enjoyable? Oh hell yeah! Damn the naysayers.
Only 3 photos, tough to go on that and considering going interstate to get the Olds. Does look good though, other than the crinkled LR corner and broken tail light.
I loved the Oldsmobile did they come in a 4Dr because that was a nice ride luxury for the 80s that I would deff buy for the 2k price. It’s like being in a nice tank protected powerful not sure about the gas today but in that shape nice.
Saw a light blue Bonneville yesterday of similar vintage. With the blue vinyl padded landau top, blue veluor, Rallye II’s. And it was pretty sharp. And yeah I would. I like the Pontiac better, but still, be nice enough cars for my 9 mile commute.
The LR damage makes me wonder what might be forward of that. The lack of pictures when they can be posted at no cost adds to the suspicion there’s more maybe much more, the seller doesn’t want us to see.
tune it for economy and slap a set of duals on it, make a good highway cruiser.
My friend’s dad had a 4-door in this exact color. Comfy ride in those overstuffed seats, but in every way this is all the depressing malaise of the 80s in one package: the mousy colors, the cheesy quality of the materials, the ugly shape, and the puny engine. The last corporate wheeze of GM doing what it once did best–full size RWD–and you could tell they were done with it. Riding in this car feels like eating at a restaurant on the last day it’s in business: it’s made from whatever they’ve got left.
That said it will probably run for a long time if you want to drive a big barge that’s legally a classic, yet manages to have very little panache or hipster cool.
Those wheel covers are from a 1970 fuselage Chrysler, like a Newport.
This would be perfect if it had an Olds diesel in place of the 307. ;)
Zzzzz.
Im with ya Howard,and I like Oldsmobiles!This is a nice BORING CAR .This is what ya buy if you NEED a car for cheap money in a pinch.Its perfect for that.But its no Cruise nite car .
Love these cars, and yes, they are catching on…perfect for going to concerts, or any highway trip…best riding cars built imho.
If the body is straight and not rotted, how can you go wrong? Cheap, fun, easy to take care of. The right recipe. And even a free Chapman hood lock.
Looks like it has some body damage on the drivers side so lets see a picture of it.
I had a 4 dr version black w /gray interior. Must say it was a beautiful car and rode like you were on a cloud. Very dependable and trouble free. Would love to own another
Friend just sold same one same miles $1500.
GOOD 1980s tank! All the luxuries were there. Not a real fast car with the olds 307 yet, still fairly decent in power for the era. Drive it and enjoy it, good road car.
My vote is yes for the comfy pillow-top seats. Nice looking car.
My mom had a 1978 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency. It came time for her to trade it in late summer 1984, but Oldsmobile had already stopped making the bigger Ninety Eight like this one and started making the front wheel drive 1985 Ninety Eight. She did not like the smaller car, so she bought a 1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham LS, it was a mid year car that took the Ninety Eight Regency Brougham interior and put it in the 88; it also had all red taillights, unlike the other 88s that had amber turn signals, and the back up lights from the Ninety Eight. It was this color combo seen here. When she died 5 years later I took it and drove it another 5 years, this was another car I regretted selling as I’ve had a few of them. But the 307 in that Olds had way better performance than the 351 that I had in my 1978 Thunderbird that the Olds replaced (yeah, regretted parting with the Thunderbird too)
The Wife and I had one of these for a few years, it was a hand me down from her Parents, it was a very roomy car but the 2 door was a pain in the butt with 2 kids in car seats!!!
These are nice looking cars in both 2dr or 4dr models. Oldsmobiles were very popular in these years…I’m sure they sold a lot of these. Too bad they were saddled with crappy transmissions (Metric 200); otherwise quite reliable.
I’d say this has the POTENTIAL to be a collectible car in this condition. And it’s a 2-door; most had 4 doors.