Pick of the Day: 1996 Buick Roadmaster

Long before minivans and crossovers took over our roadways as people-movers of choice, the station wagon was a common sight.

The Pick of the Day is a low-mileage 1996 Buick Roadmaster Estate station wagon listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Lake Forest, California. (Click the link to view the listing)

“Recently released from a private collection,” the listing says. Showing just 40,615 miles on the odometer, this Roadmaster indeed looks to have been preserved over the years.

The Roadmaster dates back to the 1930s, when the name first appeared in connection with the Buick Series 80 at the upper end of the model lineup. As Buick’s flagship model, it shared engineering architecture with other General Motors cars of the time. The Roadmaster was phased out after 1958 when the lineup went through a revamp for 1959 and the largest model became the Electra. It wasn’t until 33 years later in 1991 that the Roadmaster made a comeback, this time riding on the General Motors B-body platform and similarly proportioned to the Chevrolet Caprice.

The ”Estate” version of the Roadmaster as seen here today was a five-door station wagon with a rear-facing third row seat. Notably absent on this feature car is woodgrain trim paneling which appeared on many wagons of the era. A unique “Vista Roof” appeared during this era which was a fixed sunroof over the second row of seats; this was a callback to the Buick Sport Wagon of the 1960s. A luggage rack added versatility to the already-generous cargo space inside the cabin.

The interior of this car looks as well-kept as one would expect for a car with only 40,000 miles on the odometer. The upholstery is trimmed in blue leather, and the cabin is optioned with a Concert Sound II audio system, woodgrain-look trim, and automatic climate control.

The Roadmaster was no slouch in the performance department: Power came from a Corvette-derived 5.7-liter fuel-injected LT1 V8 that was capable of 260 horsepower, and a four-speed automatic was the only available transmission. That running gear made the Roadmaster a capable utility vehicle, even accommodating up to a 7,000-pound tow capacity thanks to a self-leveling Dynaride air shock suspension, a heavy-duty cooling system, a weight-distributing hitch, and a limited-slip differential.

According to the Standard Catalog of American Cars by James Flammang, there were 8,962 Roadmaster Estates produced for the final model year in 1996. In all there were just over 50,000 produced over the generation’s six-year lifespan. There can’t be many left like this with fewer than 50,000 miles on the odometer.

“There is no rust on the car. Has only been stored inside a warehouse,” the seller says.

The asking price is $32,995 or best offer for this Roadmaster Estate.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.