I am wanting to buy a 1989 Eldorado Biarritz. I have found a great car, very clean, everything works, with 92,000 miles.

The car does have some rust bubbles along the car's top where the windshield meets the roof. I suspect the car needs new struts, and it may have an oil leak/seep. The tires are ok.

The seller is holding firm at $2,700. I have offered $2,400, which is still more than any of the price guides indicate.

Any thoughts on the car's actual value?

Thanks.

A friend of mine just bought a '91 Seville, which is basically the same car with 4 doors. It has 90k miles, it looks flawless inside and out, and the only problems are flaky Bose amps (extremely common) and a leaking transmission cooler. He paid $2000 for it. So I'd say that Eldorado is overpriced, especially with the rust above the windshield. That might be rather expensive to fix.

BTW, those cars have automatic ride control. At low speeds it's normal for the car to feel rather floaty and boingy. But past 40 mph, it should firm up quite a bit. The adjustable struts are expensive to replace, but you can also buy non-adjustable struts if you don't mind giving up the auto ride control.

High priced or not, it's now mine. I was in a motorcycle accident recently, and I am unable to drive my current car because it is a manual. I was sort of in a bind and had to quickly find an automatic at a reasonable price. After looking at nearly 40 used cars -- most of which had been beat to hell -- this Eldorado was really clean. I'm liking it more and more.

I've learned it is hard to find a nice used car at any price. Nice used cars between $2,000 and $3,000 are even more rare.