Sixth-generation Buick Riviera’s were built from 1979-85. For most of the run, you could get them with a turbo-charged V-6, which was renamed the T-Type in 1981. This two-owner car is from the last year of this collection of Riviera’s, has relatively low mileage, and has had a ton of parts replacement and work performed by the seller. It’s available in Abington, Pennsylvania and here on craigslist where the price has been set at $14,300, but the seller is open to reasonable offers. Kudos to rex m for raising this one to our attention!

The Riviera represented Buick in the personal luxury car space between 1963-99 (although they skipped 1994). When the automobile was redesigned for 1979, it was the first time the Riviera used front-wheel-drive and also was the first FWD production model in Buick’s history. It again shared its platform with the Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado. A new turbo-charged 231 cubic inch V-6 was available that was good for 185 hp. The Riviera was named Motor Trend‘s Car of the Year in 1979. The public reacted favorably to the changes and sales more than doubled to 52,000 units.

This ’85 Riviera T-Type is being offered by its second owner with just 58,000 miles on the clock. The body is straight, although the paint is either fading a bit or the lighting is bad. The car was rust-proofed by Ziebart when new, so the seller says there is no rust on the doors or the fenders. Those pesky fiberglass bumper fillers always seem to crack, and the seller says these are now new fore and aft and have been painted to match the car. Photos of the interior are few and dark, but we’re told the headliner has been replaced and the front floor mat has been resewn. The overall good condition to the car can also be attributed to being garage-kept for 30 years when not used.

The seller says he’s spent $12,500 on bringing the car up to snuff, which is 87 percent of his asking price, so there’s no fortune waiting to be made here. This list of parts and repairs includes the following:

• New radiator, thermostat and cooling system flush
• New braking system from head to toe
• New fuel pump, injectors, filter, and rebuilt fuel sending unit
• New alternator and ignition control module and coil packs
• New KYB shocks absorbers
• And an assortment of other things, such as a new wiper washer motor and a crank position sensor, not to mention a tune-up

The 3.8-liter V-6 used in the ’85 Riviera is the same in the Buick Grand National, but with a different turbo-charger. Only a small portion of the Riviera production in 1985 were T-Types as the seller says only 1,060 were made that year. While the ’85 turbo-charged Riviera seems to be a solid car, their resale values are not through the roof. Hagerty says one in excellent condition is $11-12,000, so while the seller may be a little optimistic, but just trying to recover some of his investment.