New to the group

I own a '89, '90, and two '91 Rivieras.

In Apr 2017 I talked the middle Daughter into buying '95 Roadmaster. In Aug 2017 I talked the youngest into buying a 91 Riviera as her first car. Both were their first cars. Told them both that if they took care of the cats they would last. When they were ready to sell. I would but the cars from them.
That didn't happen. The Roadmaster had been going for 3 years. The Riviera went from the youngest to the middle about a year ago. I now have the '91 after it rear ended sometime else. Being told afterwards that she has been adding brake fluid every view days. When ever the brakes did work any more. Yes, I was told over the years. "Yes, dad the brakes have checked when the oil was changed." The fins are all what is left in the outside on the rotor. The cylinder the caliper have been pushed completely out.

A month ago, I went looking a replacement car for her. Ended up seeing the '89 at a bit have a trashy Dealership. It drove very nice. As I'm trying to get the price down. He pointed out that he will through in the two 91's for $3500. Neither running one front end damaged with parts taken out to get the 89 running. The other hasn't run for a few years. It appears now it's more like 10 years. The two 91s still not running but other two are daily drivers. I'm in the '89 the girlfriend in the '90.

Never planned on be into classic cars. The car I was driving before was a 2017 Kia Forte and before that 2015 Kia Sedona. Now longer have the income for those new of cars or these old of cars either.
Yet here I am. LoL

Welcome aboard!

The lack of care shown to the vehicles doesn't surprise me. It's the standard thing - take something nice and ruin it, then cry until given something nice again. Often at a ruinous cost.

Welcome!

TLDR: here is some unsolicited advice, I sincerely hope it helps you.

If you are doing the maintenance/repairs on this Buick fleet yourself they won't be too bad once you get them sorted. Parts availability will be a concern. However, GM does not have **that** much variation in hard (mechanical) parts. Trim and features (who said Digital dash?), however, could be your Waterloo.

You might want to modify the deal with the kids to "you buy the parts, I'll do the work." As for the girlfriend, well, "happy wife, happy life."

As for the "No longer have the income," I think I get that... maybe you have an opportunity to improve the income side of your situation. If you are repairing your own cars it might be worth a look-see because that speaks to problem solving and mechanical skills. For more on this topic send me a PM.

AAAAAnd visit your local pick-n-pull as you need parts, there are many parts (thermal breakers, HVAC damper servos, trim parts) that you flat out can't get otherwise but they will let you have for a song. Plus over time you *may* notice they will keep cars with parts that fit yours around more -- they don't pay much for junk cars but they do have to pick and choose which ones to display vs. crush -- part of how they decide is observing what customers are asking for/pulling from.

Yes in trim. Haveing trouble finding trim around the windshield. Starting to rust around the edges. The '89 has definitely had a paint job or two done with zero trim removed. Been checking around for a fuel tank. Found a match but turned out it has is own leaking issue.
Used to bring in almost 6k month, now just about 2k. That will not go back up again. Getting to old. LoL.

rod19more wrote:

Yes in trim. Haveing trouble finding trim around the windshield. Starting to rust around the edges. The '89 has definitely had a paint job or two done with zero trim removed. Been checking around for a fuel tank. Found a match but turned out it has is own leaking issue.
Used to bring in almost 6k month, now just about 2k. That will not go back up again. Getting to old. LoL.

Fuel tanks - they are repairable, just different if they are metal or plastic. One possibility is get a repairable one for cheap and fix it.

Income - I don't know your skills and interests. What comes to mind for me -- property, real estate or community association manager at 45-60K/year; wholesale or manufacturer's sales rep (50-70K/year with some experience, travel can be an issue); accounting/auditing/tax prep (varies - but if this was in your 'wheelhouse' you'd probably already be doing it); lab or radiology technician ($25/hour ish, may need a college certificate program or more dep on employer and role); physical therapy assistant (associates degree); adult literacy teacher ($25 - 30/hour); there are others.

The tank that's being replaced was in one the '91s. I received information out after got it home. That it hasn't run for over 10 years. The "Recycling Center" (junk yard) said it be on repairable. I don't get to see it. It's been raining heavy they were able to get close to it today. Then let me know about it.

I thought about x ray tech. Lab and Rad tech would be along that line. All three do take a type of Certification. This Building/Ground Maintenance work is where me down. The main down turn in cash from when the Wife passed that I started dating in 7th grade passed away. We thought we little insurance on her but no it accidentally insurance. So I got nothing but a lot of medical bills. She made a bit more and we had a siding thing also that I'm not going to do without her.

rod19more wrote:

The tank that's being replaced was in one the '91s. I received information out after got it home. That it hasn't run for over 10 years. The "Recycling Center" (junk yard) said it be on repairable. I don't get to see it. It's been raining heavy they were able to get close to it today. Then let me know about it.

I thought about x ray tech. Lab and Rad tech would be along that line. All three do take a type of Certification. This Building/Ground Maintenance work is where me down. The main down turn in cash from when the Wife passed that I started dating in 7th grade passed away. We thought we little insurance on her but no it accidentally insurance. So I got nothing but a lot of medical bills. She made a bit more and we had a siding thing also that I'm not going to do without her.

I think you'll be able to make a change for the better.

As for the medical tech - check in to med schools and hospital systems about the certification. With what happened in medics past couple years they may well work you a deal on tuition, which wasn't that much in the first place. In my area at least one major hospital systems is paying (reimbursing) tuition, completion bonus and job choices with the sponsoring system to people who will enroll in nursing school. It could not possibly hurt to ask.

Alternatively, the siding thing - consider putting up a small poster or business card/contact info or something at the hardware stores/grocery stores/home centers in your area. It would not surprise me to find people to interview and get references from - culminating in finding 2-3 people who would be competent to partner up with you to take siding jobs.