What are your thoughts on this Tempest?
 

My brother in law is looking to get into the hobby. Price is a huge factor and he found this one in our backyard. I know its at VOlo which means you pay a premium but what are your thoughts on buying a car like this.

$12,000? Is it worth that?

They say its drivable and needs nothing. Since it only has 22K on it do you think it may need work? We have not seen the car up close.

http://www.volocars.com/1969-pontiac...m-s-c-3618.htm

he needs to think about what He wants.bench seats?colume shift?350? nice car no doubt.but not my first choice.can he live with the colors?a purist would love that car.a recreational hobbyist not so much...

My only concern with low mileage cars is that they may have never had proper maintenance and one you start driving them, they could become a money pit.

I think $12k for a Lemans is high. There have been very nice ones for $6-$8k.

One of the fenders has a little dent.

He might want to read some posts about cars that have sat a long time too.

My thoughts too. A radiator, hoses, water pump, power steering pump and oil leaks may start to show their ugly face just because they are dried out and once they start seeing long term heat.....Leaks, leaks leaks.

Too much money. Plus you dont want to see whats under that vinyl top!

For 12 grand, it will always "only be a LeMans". Does look like a pretty nice car. For the same kind of money he could pick up a pretty decent GTO and have a GTO.

You need to go look at it. Car looks good in the pics, low miles, probably garaged to survive that well. It’s a 69 A-body quite possibly as advertised. If he likes it make an offer.

I dont know about that.

I thought 9K would be a good offer if the car is a straight as the online description says it is. We'll see if we get that far.

A few years ago, I bought an original 1960 Ventura Vista with 32000 miles. I basically had to to a full mechanical restoration on it. It was fine around town but when I took it on it's first trip it overheated and the trans started leaking and on and on. It NEVER had any maintenance.

NADA book "Low Retail" is about $8K, might not be a bad deal for about $10K. Nice looking car, but I share the concerns about hoses etc.

Looking at how rusty the engine is behind the polished up hoses I would say it sat outside for a long time. Probably with a cover on it but the moisture still rusted it badly. Who to say also that the OD hasn't rolled over. My 68 GTO show a little over 3200 miles right now. Would differently have an expert go over the whole car before buying.

A personal inspection would reveal more than the pictures show. It'd be nice to see some "as found" pics. The front valance looks a darker shade of Gold, possibly repainted as most of those were damaged from parking curbs. It's likely it was a hubcap equipped car & the Rally II's were added to spice it up some although the mid 80's wheel centers look a little strange on a '69.
I've never seen a Motorola radio in a 69.....maybe it was a dealer installed unit?

22K original miles is certainly possible, but that is an average of only around 500 miles/year, meaning there is a good possibility that the car may have sat unused for a period of time. Or, as Jack mentioned above, maybe its really 122K. Look at the brake pedal, they don't lie when it comes to discerning mileage.

Here is a decent deal http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/3387484970.html

As a point of reference, locally there is a 65 tempest convert . light blue, new white top, 326 powerglide for sale here in Mn. at a lot. Appears to be a solid, good driver quality car.( I didn't spend much time looking at it, just did a 30-second walk around) If any interest, let me know and I'll swing by and get the phone # for you.

I recently was looking for a 76 Eldorado Conv. I found one on Ebay that looked better than this Lemans in pictures. Asking price was in line with a very nice driver 76 Eldo Conv. I called owner and he told me just what I wanted to hear. I even went to bank and checked into a bank transfer as I had never done one before. I had decided to buy car when I was reading in Hemmings about a inspection service in Florida. In short I hired them to inspect car and you would have thought it was a different car. The top did not operate right, the air didn't work, and the paint was awful. They took about 50 photos of exterior,interior,underneath,and engine. Paint had runs everwhere, but owner pictures did not show any of this. I was about to buy a car I would not want at any price. Best 250.00 I have ever spent.

i don't think a really low mile car makes a good driver. too many things to go wrong. how's the plastic timing gear? a well used car (keep on the road and drivable) that has had the wearable parts replaced along the way is a better choice imo. seems a little pricey for what it is. maybe keep looking.

there are some decent deals out there. have come across a few myself, wish i had more money. bought this born with drivetrain real GTO last year for just over 9K. it looks better in pics than in person, (has some rust/few issues) but is a blast to drive.

Thats a damn nice Custom S, just needs its original wheels and caps back.

One strange thing is that the duct under the dash left of the steering wheel that connects the lower plenum to the left dash vent is gold. I have never ever seen that duct anything but natural black plastic. Strange?