By now, I’m sure CC readers must be enjoying looking at the classics being sold with no reserve online at the Generous Auction.
“What?” some of you may say. “What is the Generous Auction?” Well, I’ll tell you. Then I’ll tell you which of the following 3 Buick Roadmasters I bid on and won, which were as follows:
The Generous Auction, officially called “The Generous Collection,” is a large-scale car auction featuring approximately 1,300 vehicles amassed by Alabama businessman Greg Rusk, owner of Rusken Packaging. Over 28 years, Rusk collected a diverse array of cars, often purchasing them for more than their market value to help people out in his community; folks who needed financial assistance due to circumstances like medical bills or other hardships. This act of overpaying to help others is what led to the collection’s unique name.
The first batch of over 200 classics just finished crossing the e-block at the end of October, and part 2 of this auction will begin soon. I was in the mood for some big heavy Detroit iron, and there were plenty of prime examples from the 1970s through the 1990s, including Town Cars, Cadillacs, and Buicks. Plenty of Buicks.
I posted at CC some months ago on how my Dad was a Buick man, so I guess my desire for a big ol’ Buick must be in my genes. So on I went to bid…
This is one Buick that got away. As is the case with online auctions, the 2 minute clock resets if another high bid comes in at the last minute. For some reason, I did not click in time and this beauty was sold to someone else. Bummer.
But there were Roadmasters, too. Some fair and some good. So I kept my hopes up.
First, a word about the Buick Roadmaster, this was the last gasp of the huge full size rear wheel drive B-body car. It shared its architecture with the Cadillac Fleetwood, the Chevrolet Caprice and Impala SS. And there were even old school station wagons also sold by Buick, Chevy, and even Oldsmobile for a couple of years. And yes, who wouldn’t want a 95 Fleetwood or Roadmaster, but if you’re like me, the Caprice or Impala SS is a hard pass based on their whale-like looks. I once heard someone say the Roadmaster is a Caprice wearing a tuxedo, and I so get that. Plus, the standard 260 hp LT1 Vette-like engine in later models was just extra groovy goodness.
Click here for probably the best CC article ever about Roadmasters.
And the winner is……
Anyway… back to the one I won. It was definitely the nicest Roadmaster with the lowest miles, but it was the priciest. Did I overpay? For whatever reason, a high bid of $4,750 had been on top for almost 3 days before the auction closed; I fully expected last minute bids that would likely push the final price to $6,000 or more. So I entered a bid of $5,000 at 3 minutes before the auction ended. And that bid sat there. And sat there. No one bid. Time ran out, and I was like, “What just happened?”
A $5,000 buy, plus a buyer’s premium of $500, plus TT&L, plus my son in law and I will now travel from San Antonio to Jasper, Alabama, to drive this big old gold lady home. All plus -probably- repairs.
| 1986 | Town Car | 75K TMU | $6,761.00 |
| 1981 | Electra Limited | 67K | $6,000.00 |
| 1994 | Caprice | 83K | $6,550.00 |
| 1995 | Roadmaster | 171K | $2,400.00 |
| 1994 | Roadmaster | 139K | $3,100.00 |
| 1996 | Roadmaster | 105K | $5,500.00 |
| 1968 | LeSabre | $7,500.00 | |
| 1968 | Wildccat | $9,898.00 | |
| 1970 | Electra 225 | $8,396.00 |
Here is a sales report of other large cars that seems to indicate that I did OK. Yes, I could have bought one of the other Roadmasters in less than good condition with higher miles for less money, and I could have bought other similar big cars for more money, but based on everything I saw, I think I got what I paid for.
The CARFAX shows a pretty clean history, and it looks like it was last on the road around 2018.
So my son-in-law and I will head to Jasper, take delivery and then head back home. When I get back, I’ll post a followup here outlining how the trip went and if there were any breakdowns or difficulties.
Related CC Reading
Curbside Find: 1992-96 Buick Roadmaster Sedan – Who Needs An SUV?
I’m a small car guy and didn’t know these large cars existed. Liked the small Chevy around 78, 79, and 80. Back in the 90’s I had up to 4 car magazine subscriptions and must have ignored these. Can’t believe GM went up in size like this. Had a 87 Delta 88 which after dealing with all the problems was a good car. That was my largest car and at the time was what I needed.
Congratulations on your Buick!
A while back I saw a video on Hagerty’s YouTube channel about this collection. Mr. Rusk has / had a staggering number of vehicles and they covered the spectrum of size, shape, and prestige. I remember seeing a few Roadmasters in the video (primarily in the background of the various storage facilities) so perhaps I have sort of seen your Buick.
We drove through Jasper last year. That is beautiful country around there; may you have a great trip.
Thank you, Jason. I am in Minden Louisiana right now as I post this reply. On my way to Jasper and will be there later tonight. I’m picking up the car first thing in the morning and heading over to a local automotive shop where I will immediately swap out for new tires, fresh oil and filter and a check of all other belts, hoses, fluids, etc. I’m keeping my fingers optimistically crossed that this car will ride and drive as good as it looks. Especially since my son-in-law and I will be driving it back to Texas. I’ll continue to post updates letting everyone know how this works out.
Please update in the comments how the trip is turning out. I think that the notion of bidding on some auction, and actually winning, and then driving the subject car home is a fantasy that many of us CC’ers have 🙂
Absolutely!
Keep us posted indeed.
I think you did well .
I also find it sad that the world will never again see large land yachts like this again, I don’t want one but I was there when they were the default U.S.A. car and I miss them .
-Nate
Well bought, I’d say. I think the LT-1 cars were the ones with the “Opti-Spark” distributor that was mounted close to the water pump. If the water pump would weep, it would wipe out the distributor. If I’m remembering correctly, you might want to replace the water pump as preventative maintenance. I might not be remembering correctly, though. Ask people smarter than me to make sure.
The Optispark distributor is mounted directly behind the water pump, so a failing water pump will destroy the distributor. Even if the water pump is OK, servicing the Optispark distributor requires the removal of the water pump.
Nice Roadmaster. Can’t wait to read about the trip home.
That certainly looks to be in very fine condition. I’ll bet you will come out well ahead on getting the best one rather than trying to bring one of the others up to the same condition. Congrats on the new car. I hope the road trip back goes well.
I’m excited to hear more about this! I had seen a 62 Studebaker listed from this collection, but the car didn’t excite me enough to think about bidding. This looks like a really nice car at a very attractive price. Good luck!
Wonder how a modern version of this would sell. I think the Buick as latter day Geo strategy has run its course and they need a nice big passenger car again, even if its electric or hybrid.
Great car. Looking forward to the updates.
I sure miss when Buick sold sedans.
Here we go, I’m in Jasper, Alabama and I’ve picked up the Roadmaster.
Mr. Rusk has a full-time mechanic who takes care of the fleet of cars here in Jasper. This car just recently came in from out of town some 50 miles away and it drove perfectly fine. Once it got here, they dropped the fuel tank cleaned it out put in a new fuel pump and a fresh tank of gas. Perfect.
Next we are getting all serviced for the trip back home. Oil and filter done. New tires being installed. And a brake inspection. The pedal seems soft so we will bleed the master cylinder.
Sounds like a solid start and plan. Good luck on the rest.
Nice Buick!
I also checked out that auction.. WOW! Lots of cars sold for “reasonable” prices.
Good morning all. Elky here with another update on the Buick Roadmaster and our trip back. After bleeding the brakes yesterday, the pedal still feels too soft and mushy so a master cylinder replacement will be done when we get back home. Other than that, the car rides and drives perfectly. This has really been a great experience.