Thanks for your help. For several years I have searched from time to time for a 1971 Buick Electra 225 4-door. I’ve used the search sites online for classic/old cars. Rarely have I located one of these cars. Yet, there are many 69 and 70 model years. Two questions: Is the 71 scarce because of lack of quality (the 71 was a new generation) or lower production numbers for this year? Would you have suggestions in searching for this model? I’m not in any rush, but I may want to buy a clean model one day if I find one. Thank you for your insight.
I’d say the cars are rare now because they rust like an unpainted piece of re-bar in salt water and no one kept them. They are 47 years old now and most have been recycled into trash cans or bicycles or fence posts.
If you really want one, patience is your friend. Watch for classic car auctions like Mecom and Barrett-Jackson and similar. Watch for Friday listings as this is where you will likely find such a car. Hemmings, Craigslist, Ebay are all good resources. Attend Cruise-ins and car shows in your area. You may run across exactly what you seek for sale at a show.
Good Luck
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There is a Buick owners club or come to the Back to the 50’s car show in a week or so and you’ll probably find one to buy or at least talk to the owner about. Prolly about 12,000 64 and older. Oh never mind, it’s too new.
Actually I never really liked Buicks and preferred Olds but for one reason or another ended up owning about four of them. All were nice cars. The 67 Buick wagon was a screamer. I don’t know what it had in it but it would go like a screaming eagle.
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Thanks! My first car was a used 69 LeSabre. Pea Green (pretty ugly) but ran well. My neighbors had the 71 Electra. It was beautiful. I’ve never seen one like it.
This might make you feel bad but a long time friend of mine is a farm equipment/tractor mechanic. He has a good relationship with a lot of farmers around here.
One day out on the farm he had just finished up a tractor job and made a random comment to the farmer about looking for another car. The farmer told him he had a Buick in the barn he would let him have for 300 bucks.
When they opened the door up there sat a black, very slick 1971 Buick Electra 225. A four door land yacht.
It started right up so he bought it on the spot and came back later to pick it up. He drove that car for quite a few years before selling it.
Eventually 4 dollar a gallon gas rolled around and he decided to unload the car. It was a shame. The car was a heartbeat short of being showroom clean. The old farmer had driven his truck most of time so the old Buick had very low miles on it. It also got very low gas mileage and filling it up was very painful to the wallet.
Still, she was a beauty.
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Great story! I know it was a beautiful car!
Thank you!
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If you take some long Amtrak train trips then you will see a lot of classic autos. They are either still being driven or they are just sitting in fields.
The weekend after my friend bought that Buick him, his wife, and another couple decided to make a Saturday night out of it by going to OK City for dinner and then out to a few clubs.
He said when filling it up the first time the gas pump just kept running and running so he looked underneath to see if gas was pouring out on the ground. He discovered that the car had a 24 gallon tank and at the time gas was around 3 bucks a gallon.
After that he just kept the Buick around for casual use instead of everyday driving as the 430 engine went through fuel pretty quickly.
Eventually he sold it for 1500 dollars; a pretty healthy profit considering he only gave 300 for it. Still, I would have kept the car if it were me.
He then took the 1500 and bought 3 old Cushman scooters from another farmer who had gotten tired of tripping over them in his storage shed.
Many of those old farmers have some pretty neat toys sitting around and collecting dust.