After listing it last Fall without an acceptable offer, I am going to re-list my beautiful, very original 1966 Cadillac Sedan DeVille hardtop. I have owned this car for almost 5 years, and put about 4,000 miles on it over that time. It has always been garaged by me (and evidently by every prior owner) and driven at least once a month, weather permitting. I have never been hard on this car and have driven it like the luxury cruiser it is. This car is completely original, with the exception of a dual exhaust installed by the prior owner. I believe even the paint is completely original. I even have the original Protect-o-Plate and owner’s manual for the car. Please see the prior ownership history I detail at the very end of this listing.
The car has a gorgeous light-cream/tan/yellow exterior, with a light tan/gold cloth with leather trim interior.
I pride myself on being 100% transparent on all items I sell, so below is an honest description of ANY/ALL issues I know about this car. Other sellers may choose to not disclose everything, or try to hide something by doing a temporary fix, but that’s not how I sell. I want the buyer to have no surprises. Most of the items detailed below are very minor and are aesthetic in nature. This car can confidently be (and has regularly been) driven as-is. Please look at all the photos and video. I’m sure you can buy a 1966 Deville for less money with less miles showing on the odometer, but I don’t think you will get as detailed or honest a description as the one I provide here on a car that is this original and has been this well cared for and maintained. I am confident this car is worth every penny of my buy-it-now price.
Please understand that I’m not a mechanic, nor an auto-body/detail guy, so you’re getting a description from a layman in layman terms, but I’ll be as accurate as possible. As I mention below, I encourage you to have a mechanic check the car out before buying or making an offer in case there is an issue that is not evident to me. Also, I’m not a professional photographer (I took all photos/video with my iPhone) but let me know if you need to see something better or something else not shown and I’ll try to get a clean shot of it.
This car has just under 106,000 miles on my most recent drive. (That mileage may go slightly over 106,000 during the next few weeks as the weather improves!) It is currently registered as an antique vehicle in Pennsylvania - you can see the license plate in photo - and if you reside in PA and buy the car, I’d be happy to transfer the plate with the car.
Other than the very few faults described below, the car is in amazing condition. I have taken several 50+ mile rides in the car without a single issue. It runs and drives great: starts right up, drives and shifts smooth. It’s a joy to drive and is very comfortable.
I have provided photos and video of as much as I could, including faults. Please ask any questions, as I want to be as transparent as possible.
Please note that I did not professionally detail the car; and I did not clean the engine. So you’re seeing the car in “every day” shape. I only use a “waterless” wash spray to wipe it down. I have always used only non-ethanol gas in the car.
Here are the only faults I can find on the car (I tried to document these in photos/video if possible):
EXTERIOR FAULTS:
There area very few small nicks and dingsand normal signs of wear/fading paint and touchup paint spots – see photos and video – I try to show the most evident touchups, like on the driver front fender (see video) and along roofline (see photo). There is also a touchup to removal of Cadillac hood ornament (see photo). That ornament was not original and prior owner removed it. These touchups are more evident in the close-up photos and video and aren’t as noticeable in real life. I am not an auto body guy so I can’t say for sure if 100% of this car’s paint is original, but I cannot find any clear signs of a re-paint and due to the minor spots of wear, this entire car’s exterior looks original. It is still in great shape, as you can see from the photos/video. There are a few very small surface rust spots on a section of rear bumper (see photo). The windshield has one light hairline scrape where it looks like someone turned the wipers on without rubber in one (you can see it in the video as I pull out of the driveway).
INTERIOR FAULTS:
The interior is near mint. The “biggest” aesthetic flaw is that the steering wheel center vinyl/foam pad has some cracking (see photo/video). The radio is not working (but the power antenna DOES go up and down). Cruise control is not working. Climate control fan works but AC does not blow cold. All power windows work, some are a little slow though. Even the clock works (see video) although it runs slow. Headliner is perfect. Seats, dash, instrument panel all are in great condition – see photos/video.
MECHANICAL FAULTS:
No current issues I know of. I recently had new front brakes and a master cylinder installed, as well as an oil change. As mentioned previously the prior owner had a dual exhaust installed – it sounds awesome – see video and photos. When I first got the car I had new spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, points installed. I did keep the original plug wires, which have the year “1966” printed on them. I would feel comfortable driving this car anywhere.
WATCH THE VIDEO I SHOT OF THE CAR, ON YOUTUBE (copy and paste this URL into your browser):https://youtu.be/h98zzjVjYGc
If you are local to me (I’m located about 40 minutes south of Lancaster, PA), you are more than welcome to come see the car in person (BEFORE you offer/buy, please). Alternatively, I’d be happy to drive the car to a mechanic of your choice within 10 miles of me to have them check it out (BEFORE you offer/buy, please). I do reserve the right to end the auction early if I sell the car locally.
I would be happy to help ship this car anywhere in the world at the buyer’s expense (I sold one classic car here on eBay to a nice gentleman in Austria). I know how much these cars are loved outside the U.S., but in all cases funds must clear my bank before I will let the car leave my possession.
As confident as I am in this car, the logistics and cost of shipping/return prevent any type of refund, so the car is sold as-is with no warranty or guarantee or return.
$500 Paypal deposit due upon winning bid, balance due (cash, wire, or certified funds) within 7 days. The car will not leave my possession until funds clear.
If you plan to buy or make an offer on the car, please have your money available and in order beforehand. No trades please. Any inspections must be done before sale, not afterwards.
THE VEHICLE IS SOLD AS-IS WHERE-IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS.
ALLshipping costs and arrangements are the sole responsibility of the buyer.
From my research, here is the ownership history I have on the car (I have omitted last names):
Harry C. purchased car in 1965 (his name is on protect-o-plate), in Radcliffe KY. Harry kept the car until his death in 2000. I spoke with Harry’s grandson Greg W. (in Elizabethtown, KY) who said he remembers his grandmother covered the car in the garage with a blanket every night. Greg said he recalls the car had around 80,000 miles when the car sold in Harry’s estate sale around 2000. That buyer was an Indiana forklift shop owner near Borden, IN (which is about an hour from Radcliffe KY). That owner put about 20,000 miles on car until the car sold in his estate auction to Anthony G. in Pennsylvania in 2013. Anthony only owned the car a few months and put a few hundred miles on it. I purchased the car from Anthony in August 2013 with 102,000 miles.