I have a soft spot for "GM10" or "W-body" coupes; I've had five of them going back to 1989 and loved them all. In fact, a 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS is my current daily driver. Sedan versions started trickling in come 1989 and they look exactly like what they are; the two-door versions of these cars with a rear doors tacked on. Not surprisingly, I want nothing to do with them.
So, when this 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SL popped up on Facebook Marketplace the other day, with "only" 140,000 miles on its analog ticker, $2,250 asking price and it being close to my home, I was like, "what the heck. Let's give it a go".
And a "go" I did. While I didn't buy this, it didn't have enough "this is too good a deal to pass up" in it, I felt I could do a whole lot worse for $2,250. What's more, I wish I had found it a couple of years ago instead of spending more than a thousand more for that dreadful 2003 Chevrolet Malibu I bought for my younger son. I recently sold that car for $2,500.
This was far from perfect. The body looks better in photos that it does in person. There are rust patches here and there, scratches too. Good shine, though and the interior didn't smell of cigarettes nor that weird, oh-so-GM, aroma, "old man\wet dog."
No power seats, just fore and aft rake and the crazy tilting adjustment that rocks the driver's seat on a hinge at the rear base. Seats were bolstered nicely, much better than the seats in my 1990 Lumina Euro I had.
Driver's side remote mirror switch was gone, driver's door hinge wouldn't keep the door open, front speakers on the radio didn't work, air conditioning didn't work either. Struts felt squishy when I pushed down on the corners of the car too. There was a knocking sound in the right rear during my test drive, strut rod links, maybe? Body felt solid aside from that. All in, not bad for a 29-year-old Oldsmobile.
For 1993, all Oldsmobile Cutlass' were Cutlass "Supremes", and they were not to be confused with an entirely different Cutlass, the Cutlass Ciera. My Facebook find here is the base model coupe, an "International Series" coupe came with a handling suspension, larger wheels and tires, and a double-overhead-cam, four-valve per cylinder, 3.4-liter V-6. Having had that engine in a 1994 Chevrolet Lumina Z34, frankly, I'd rather have this little mill making all of 135-horsepower. It's a simpler engine that's way more responsive off the line. Both base model Cutlass Supreme's and the Internationals were available as convertibles.
If I really, really needed a car, and that would mean the cost of repairing the Monte Carlo far exceeded its value to me, I might be tempted to drop the two-grand on this instead. That's a big if, mind you. That's said, it's nice to know that in this over-inflated, post-Covid used car market, good deals are out there. You just have to dig for them and be open to whatever they might be. And if, heaven forbid, you actually like the car, well, friend you've got the bargain of a lifetime.
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