Does this seem like a fair buy?
 

I'm going to look at a used car tomorrow and I thought I'd solicit advice since this is only my second car purchase. Here is the classified ad:

BUICK-1974 Apollo, 2-door, rebuilt 350 engine, black, CD, alarm, runs great. $2900. Ph. XXXXXXXXXXXX

I realise it's little information. I live in Illinois so it's really a question of how much rust, not whether it's there at all. Any advice on what to look for in terms of deal-breaking faults? Any specific problems with the Apollo? It seems like such a great deal to me. The first three digits of the phone number tell me that its owners are fairly affluent, so most likely it's been in a garage. What does "350 engine" mean? If I go further with this car purchase I will post pics. Any advice appreciated.

350 engine is the engine that comes stock with the apollo's. They are nice looking cars.

I guess it comes down to how many miles are on the actualy entire car, and on the new motor, and where this car has been used. Winter & Salt on a car that is 30 years old isnt good.

It should seem pretty reliable, but IMO any old car is not worth that much, if it is for a daily driver. They just have too many quirks... I owned a 1967 Pontiac as my first car. It was in pretty good mechanical condition, and was driven daily when I bought it, but strange mechanical quirks kept showing up , like weird relay operation, intermittant functioning of gauges, etc.

350 engine is cubic inches of displacement =5.7 liter. It's a moderate sized V-8. It might be a fun car, but does not sound like a reliable daily driver. I don't think it's a really common car, so you might not be able to check the price via ebay etc, which I would normally recommend. Next time I'd give the TFP a little more notice so some of these guys could help you out more!

If you don't know what 350 means then maybe you shouldn't be buying this car.....j/k


But if you do buy this car those engine have lots of power so be careful :thumbsup:

They aren't too bad of a car...pretty much just like a Nova....Small enough where a nice big engine makes them quick..