My new black 96 Riv

Hello, everyone. I hope you are all doing well and your Rivs are running great. Recently, I found myself unexpectedly in the market for a car and there happened to be a decent '96 Riv available nearby. I had a black 98 several years ago and posted a bit on this forum. I always regretted selling that car, so now I've gotten another. My family thinks I am crazy.



It's getting to be late in the game for owning a Riv, I guess, but I'm thrilled have another one. It's got 107k miles and is generally well preserved. It has a bunch of fairly small issues that I'm going to address. It needs mounts and gaskets and I'm going to put in new plugs. I'm very happy to be among you guys again! - Steve

Very nice! Welcome back.    
if you're crazy   , you're in good company!!

Welcome back brother. Nice Riv.

Black! I'd love to find a black one!

Welcome back, ya psycho

The Riv looks nice! The floormats, is there a tag saying who made them? My drivers side factory mat is worn, I am sort of shopping for a replacement set.

Good luck.

Good luck on your Riv. Good eye on the floor mats albertj, I wouldn't mind a set of them too.

Thanks, guys! The tag on the floor mat says it was made by Mat Works, LTD.

https://matworks.com/

That's a company right here in the town where I live, Alpharetta, GA. The previous owner had them custom made. I can contact him about them if anyone wants more information.

Steve98 wrote:

Thanks, guys! The tag on the floor mat says it was made by Mat Works, LTD.

https://matworks.com/

That's a company right here in the town where I live, Alpharetta, GA. The previous owner had them custom made. I can contact him about them if anyone wants more information.

Hmmm...

A 'group buy" might be good on price but they are a pain to coordinate.

Auto Custom Carpets in Anniston AL has exact-fit patterns already for the 96-99 Riv. They will not embroider any Riviera script, however, on the mats. They will do a nice Buick tri-shield.

I have some ideas.

It looks like he *might* have simply purchased the standard FWD mats and asked to add the pre-1995 Riviera script as a monogram. See this page: https://matworks.com/collections/monogram-custom-car-truck-mats

However, they *do* say you can call for quote on factory style mats. Look on the right side of the page at the mat pictures, partway down.

https://matworks.com/collections/monogram-custom-car-truck-mats/products/factory-style-car-mats

For $169 the set they will make pats from one of their patterns to fit and digitize what you want for embroidery.

For that much, maybe they will make a mat having a flap for the "dead pedal" and rubber heel pad for the driver's side.

Hmmm.

I am thinking to work out a deal. Srjen are you really in for this? might be a couple benjamins?

Albertj

I have a set with the tri-shield, the pre 95 script would be nice, 2 bills seams a bit high. I'm gonna look at Wilberts, the Buick specialist in Webster, ny. Been in business for a long time, have ton of Buick stuff. You might have heard of them. Gonna see if they have a website, I think they are on facebook.

https://www.wilberts.com/premium-recycled-parts/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1st-2nd-Row-Loop-Carpet-Floor-Mat-for-Buick-Riviera-C1135/112072253148?hash=item1a1806dedc%3Am%3AmsnVhYeImAwcR5E1xkkLWQg&fits=Year%3A1995%7CModel%3ARiviera%7CSubmodel%3ABase%7CEngine+-+Liter_Display%3A3.8L%7CMake%3ABuick%7CTrim%3ABase+Coupe+2-Door%7CEngine%3A3.8L+3800CC+231Cu.+In.+V6+GAS+OHV+Supercharged&var=411010837173

This sucks, the interior of my car is burgundy so if I want nice carpet mats I'm going to have to spend a fortune. I don't even need the back.

srjen1 wrote:

I have a set with the tri-shield, the pre 95 script would be nice,  2 bills seams a bit high.  I'm gonna look at Wilberts, the Buick specialist in Webster, ny.   Been in business for a long time, have ton of Buick stuff.  You might have heard of them.  Gonna see if they have a website, I think they are on facebook.

*Yes* I am still rolling on a set of factory alloys I bought from Wilberts and refinished to use for winter tires (I have chromes for summers)

I don't know if anyone besides us wants these - the price for custom mats on the site was $169.- - also check rockauto.com they sell custom mats too. (for less $$$ - more like $$).

Nice

Rivit wrote:

Very nice! Welcome back.    
if you're crazy   , you're in good company!!

but why do you say its getting late in the game to own one? I have never owned one yet and just found this forum. Is it too late for me to find a Riv and perfect it?

RighteousRiviera wrote:

Rivit wrote:

Very nice! Welcome back.    
if you're crazy   , you're in good company!!

but why do you say its getting late in the game to own one?  I have never owned one yet and just found this forum. Is it too late for me to find a Riv and perfect it?

It's not too late, but it is harder than it was, say, 10 years ago. It's harder to find good ones and harder to get some parts.

If you can do your own maintenance and repair work, it will be a lot cheaper than if you have to hire mechanics.

Be patient when shopping for a Riv and definitely pay a good shop $100 to give it a thorough lookover before you buy. The warmer states are much more likely to have one without a rust problem.

I can do the repairs and maintenance with the support of this community. Im in Florida. I look everyday for a 98 or 99. I also think about Park Avenue Ultras if I cant find the Riv.

I've heard there are a lot of Rivs in Florida. It's a great place to find one of the remaining good ones, I think. Have you tried AutoTempest.com? It can search all the Craigslist entries for multiple cities.

I got a full set of 4 rubber floor mats off eBay for $15 shipped. No logo, but they're heavy and look to be of good quality.

I don't know what's crazy about owning a Riv. It's not an SUV/CUV?

Jack the R wrote:

I got a full set of 4 rubber floor mats off eBay for $15 shipped.  No logo, but they're heavy and look to be of good quality.  

I don't know what's crazy about owning a Riv.  It's not an SUV/CUV?

My family thought I was a little crazy buying a 23-year old car.

Steve98 wrote:

Jack the R wrote:

I got a full set of 4 rubber floor mats off eBay for $15 shipped.  No logo, but they're heavy and look to be of good quality.  

I don't know what's crazy about owning a Riv.  It's not an SUV/CUV?

My family thought I was a little crazy buying a 23-year old car.

Bah, lol. I got two 20 year old cars including the Riv and a 39 year old car. Then my dad has several cars that are almost 50 years old. The Riv is showing its age a little bit, but the rest look like brand new.

Steve98 wrote:

Jack the R wrote:

I got a full set of 4 rubber floor mats off eBay for $15 shipped.  No logo, but they're heavy and look to be of good quality.  

I don't know what's crazy about owning a Riv.  It's not an SUV/CUV?

My family thought I was a little crazy buying a 23-year old car.

But you bought a 23 year old Buick.

Sweet car! Any mod plans for her?

nickwon wrote:

Sweet car! Any mod plans for her?

Thanks!

Right now I'm focused on resolving the car's various issues. After that I want to do:

• FWI
  
• STB
  
• 180 tstat
  
• 104 plugs
  

I'm also going to add a backup camera and navigation/stereo screen.