NEW! Award 46: 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D’Elegance 18K Mile Survivor – SOLD!

October 16th Update – We just confirmed the seller deleted their latest Craigslist post, so we’re now able to call this Caddy “Sold.”

September 27th Update – We saw a lot of activity over this past week with this low-mileage 1984 DeVille we first featured on September 13th.  First, as you’ll note in the comments below, reader CJinSD noted the private seller of this car was the winning bidder at $14,250 at the end of February here on Bring a Trailer.  Additionally, the private seller lowered their asking price another $500 to an even $12,000, or $2,500 less than what he originally listed it at and nearly what he paid for it.  Consequently, we stand by our original assessment of giving our “NEW!” (short for “No Effin Way!”) Award as this car serves as a sobering reminder of how easy it can be to over-pay for a car when caught up in the moment of on online auction.

September 20th Update – While preparing our latest Malaise Monday features, we noticed the private seller of this low mileage ’84 Fleetwood Brougham lowered their asking price $2,000 ($12,500) just one week after first posting their Craigslist ad.  While a step in the right direction, we predict buyers will continue to find this revised asking price still too optimistic. 

Cadillac’s customers were still young enough in the early 1980s to scoop up the GM Divisions’ traditional offerings and 1984, with just over 320K units sold, proved to be the biggest year of the 1980s for the brand.  While Eldorados (including our Biarritz Hardtop project car) accounted for one-quarter of that total, over half came from the Deville line.  The top of the DeVille pecking order was the Fleetwood Brougham such as this black over caramel leather, 18K original mile example recently on Craigslist in Wenonah, New Jersey with a revised asking price of $12,500, which is $2,000 lower than their initial ask.   Unfortunately, the Hagerty Insurance Online Valuation Tool confirms this private seller has his Fleetwood priced over double the #1 “Concours” appraisal of $7,000.   Similarly, the Collector Car Market Review for a similar 1983 model confirms the asking price is five thousand higher than their $10,425 estimate. Finally, not helping the seller’s cause at all is the NADA Guides Classic Car Online Valuation Tool, which currently lists their “Low”, “average”, and “High” retail value range at only $971, $1,863, and $2,808, respectively.  With none of our three main pricing resources coming close to what this seller is asking, we have no choice but to give him our latest “NEW! (short for “No Effin Way!”) Award for asking such a premium price over what the market will likely tolerate.

When we Googled Bob’s phone number, it appears that while he’s not a dealer, he likes to buy and sell cars.  That combined with the video below has us recommending you push him to find out what he paid for this car recently and what, if anything, he’s done to improve it to justify the price.

For 1977, GM significantly downsized its full-sized cars. Both The DeVille and Fleetwood Brougham rode on the same 121.5-inch wheelbase and were powered by the 425 cubic inch V8. This engine was basically a de-bored version of the 472/500 cubic inch V8 of previous years. Compared with the 1976 Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham, the 1977 Fleetwood Brougham had a wheelbase nearly one foot shorter and weighed nearly 900 pounds less. The new Fleetwood Brougham, which had lost its exclusive longer wheelbase, was now virtually identical to the lesser Sedan DeVille. Other than the name, there were only subtle exterior differences between a Fleetwood Brougham and Sedan DeVille. The interior of the Fleetwood was plusher and offered more features as standard.

In 1980, GM gave all of the full-sized B and C-body line new sheet metal to tidy up the styling and improve aerodynamics.  The 425 cubic inch V8 was further de-bored for 1980-81 to 368 cubic inches in order to comply with newly-enacted CAFE standards. For 1981, the 368 was provided with a modulated displacement system designed by Eaton Corporation, controlled by a digital computer, which locked off intake and exhaust valves to two or four of the eight cylinders, thus running effectively as a V6 or V4 under light load conditions when in third gear, and over 35 miles per hour. This engine, dubbed “V8-6-4”, proved to be unrefined for smooth operation and it was dropped from all models but limousines after 1981.

Oddly, while searching for a video for this model, we came across a three-month-old, walk-around video for the very car featured here. It’s loaded on a channel called “Stephen F” who simply mentions he’s selling it out of his collection. So, you’ll have to confirm with the seller whether he’s the same person or he’s trying to do a quick flip, albeit an egregious one:

As much as we love the low-mileage originality of this Cadillac that makes an excellent candidate for 2021 competition in the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Preservation Class, the biggest hurdle you face is getting Bob to come down on his overzealous asking price, especially when all signs point to his attempt at a quick flip.  Good luck with the purchase!

Here’s the seller’s description:

“1984 Cadillac Fleetwood brougham d’elegance only 18,000 miles, always garage kept, 2 sets of gold keys, books, mint original condition. Black with tan interior and black roof, power seats both sides, everything works, ac blows cold, cruise, upgraded stereo cassette, power antenna, stunning car. Clear NJ title must-see.“

Do you have a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham story you’d like to share?  Comment below and let us know!