First time hearse shopping... advice?

[Mercury]

K, just be careful where you park in that thing, especially concerning the lot of city club. I was stuck their until 8 AM once after a Collective event because I got blocked in by two cars behind me, one in front, and one on each side. Simply didn't have the turning radius to back out and not hit a car (maybe I did, but it was too close to call and I wasn't going to chance it.) Now I just park it on an angle like a douche usually by that utility poll if I can.

since I work there and still have to pay for parking expect top see me engaging in some seriously dickish parking behavior. I get there early enough to park however I want and plan on taking full advantage of that.

Thankfully thats the only place I park where a huge ass vehicle might be a bit of an issue.

[Abnorml]

My friend has a 94 Cadillac Superior hearse, that is her daily driver. She has a couple of other hearses and said the 94 has the least blind spots. I have heard the 94-96 Cadillac hearse get pretty good gas mileage even being a hearse. They have the LT-1 engines and I has heard good things about the engine. If there is a local hearse club, see if you can meet and talk to them. They will know where most, if not all the hearses are for sale locally. They can give you advise on what to look for before you buy a hearse.
If you find a 80's or 90's hearse you might want to find one with RWD. I don't know exactly what years, but I believe most of the mid 80's through early 90's were FWD. I haven't owned a FWD hearse (or anything), so you might need to talk to people who have personal experience with them. I hope this helps some.

[Outinstyle]

I have to agree with Zachary. Follow what you want and don't worry about those who don't see the wonder of hearse ownership as you do. They're not worth it. There will be opposition and disdain and even diligent animosity. Accept this or drive a Camry. I have two hearses, both within the last year and now I can't stand driving a "normal" car. I love every minute with them, from car shows to grocery getting. My 94 Krystal is massive. He's 6000 pounds, 22 feet long, and I park wherever I want. Despite the size, I get about 26 miles to the gallon. My 83 S&S gets 9. Who cares if it's a Buick or Caddy, black or white, FWD or RWD....It's what speaks to you and your needs. Hearses all have their little problems....as do we. We have an understanding, my hearses and I. They don't ask about my feelings and I don't ask how much oil they burn.
Buy it, drive it, love it, show it off......and get a good vinyl conditioner, armorall sucks.

[Mohawk Freak]

An early 90s RWD would be a good choice. Old school 305 or 350 w/throttle body injection. Pretty straightforward to work on. No carburator, but nothing to high tech either. The FWD ones have those 4.1,4.5,&4.9s, it's a crapshoot if you get a good one. Plus transmission changes are a pain. The look of them is not everybodys cup of tea either. Big old beast of a 73 I'm rehabbing is cool and traditional, but a massive undertaking for a person unfamiliar with cars. If you can't make pork chops from pig shit like I can, don't get an old one.

[Mercury]

Tomorrow at 8am I'm going to check out a 93 Buick Roadmaster, RWD.
The guy also has a really awesome looking 71 Cadillac... silver with red vinyl, side loader. If I was looking for a project I would be all over this one.
I have my fingers crossed...

[Mohawk Freak]

Cool, those sound like good leads. Beat em down some on the price if you want to buy. Deals can be had these days. Don't let your emotions make the decision for you. Get a good car for the money.

[Mercury]

His prices are pretty flexible. He actually rents hearses to funeral homes, and currently has more hearses then garages so he needs to sell three of them in three months or less. His starting quote for each of them was $2000, but he already said he would take less on the Buick, which is nice since that one has only been out of service for about a month.

and I don't have to worry about my emotions getting in the way since my brutal, heartless, father is coming with me so he can get a deal. My dad wants to see if he can get both of them for $2,000. One for me, one for him.
That being said we are bringing cash and hoping for the best. If it doesn't work we have a couple more to go look at later in the week, and might be driving out of state before christmas.

[Flymanj3]

Where you located?

[Mercury]

I'm near Detroit, MI

[Scary Guy]

She's located by me if the City Club lot discussion wasn't enough of a clue.

Mercury, are you going to CW Coach? If you are I wouldn't mind tagging along to help.

[60Crown]

A Buillac hearse/first call car makes a solid daily driver choice. It will yield 20mpg. They don't turn up under $2k often - especially fresh from service. I've seen asking prices up to $5500 in recent months. Here is to hoping you don't take further advantage of the seller.

One friend has a '94 or '95 with 350k miles still going strong that was acquired from a mortuary service just last year.

[Mercury]

I just bought it for 1700
pictures to follow soon

It was not from CW coach, it was someone in Flint.

[Scary Guy]

Well now I'm really looking forward to Friday. I'll bring my camera and if you want we can snap a few shots off before the club opens.

[Abnorml]

I just bought it for 1700
pictures to follow soon

It was not from CW coach, it was someone in Flint.

Sounds like you got a good deal. Now all you need is to post some pictures.

[Mercury]

even my mom likes it lol

I will take pictures tomorrow morning when it's not so rainy.... I can't imagine taking pictures at city club would be very easy since it's so dark and I usually look a right mess by the time I get there anyway.