I'm having what I assume is an unusual problem. I've been looking for a hood ornament on eBAy and local boneyards since I picked my coach up in April with no luck whatsoever. I finally said "To Hell with it" and called a local cadillac dealership.
I told the woman on the phone that I needed the hood ornament for a 1988 Fleetwood and she told "No Problem" it'll be 87 bucks. I have to admit; being the cheap bastard that I am, I almost feinted. 87 bucks for a 2 oz piece of potmetal decorative trim? I told her I'd look around some more and call her back.
I looked some more with NO luck, so this afternoon, when I could stand looking at the empty space on her hood no more, I drove her down to a caddy dealer to order the damn thing. The guy I talked to at the parts counter couldn't order the part without the VIN number. "No problem" says I and off I went to get said number.
I brought the number back and the parts guy entered it into his system. The number came up for a RWD Fleetwood. My Fleetwood is a FWD (which has been causing me MANY problems with aftermarket rims and such). "I don't think they MADE a FWD Fleetwood in 88" says the parts guy. "I'm driving what claims to be one", says I. "Well, I can't help you without a valid VIN number. My computer can't pull up a parts list without one." says he, and thus ended my visit to THAT dealership. I find it rather appropriate that the sky opened up and buckets of water fell on me and my coach as I drove home.
In my search for aftermarket rims and car covers I've noticed that MOST of the "enter your year and model" features don't list a FWD Fleetwood in 88. I'd already started wondering if there hadn't been some shenanigans at the caddy plant that supplied my front end and chasis. Is it possible that I'm driving an Eldorado chasis (the only model everybody can agree came in FWD in 88) with a Fleetwood front clip? The only places that say Fleetwood, are the glove box and the title...which I thought was a bit odd when I originally looked at her. My regular mechanic and "tire" guy, who I had check her over before I bought her, was also amazed by the 14 inch rims on this car.
I called a couple of other dealerships when I got home and explained my problem. Two of the dealerships are actually quite curious about my situation and want to take a look at the car themselves. I'm going to the closer of the two tomorrow morning.
The parts guy at the first dealership sounds like an older guy. He thought he knew exactly what type of car I was dealing with until I gave him the VIN number. Which is 1GEDZ9056J4250402 if you're curious. Apparently the letter in the 4th spot is supposed to stand for the body type. According to him, the fourth position is supposed to be a C, and the car is supposed to be RWD. He was also greatly confused. He told me he'd love to take a look at the car and I should bring it in next week.
The parts guy at the dealership I'm going to tomorrow, was shocked when he entered my VIN number from Hell into his computer and the program kicked him completely out of the system. I'm sure it was a coincidence, but he told me it had NEVER happened before. I actually heard him telling another employee about it and the guy was "are you serious? How is that possible?" Fortunately for me, he is also greatly curious to look at the car in question.
Hopefully, I'll have an answer tomorrow. But in the likely event that I don't, any help you guys can give me would be GREATLY appreciated. I hate to be a pest, but I just don't know enough about these coaches yet and learning takes time.
Thanks in advance.
Glenn
I told the woman on the phone that I needed the hood ornament for a 1988 Fleetwood and she told "No Problem" it'll be 87 bucks. I have to admit; being the cheap bastard that I am, I almost feinted. 87 bucks for a 2 oz piece of potmetal decorative trim? I told her I'd look around some more and call her back.
I looked some more with NO luck, so this afternoon, when I could stand looking at the empty space on her hood no more, I drove her down to a caddy dealer to order the damn thing. The guy I talked to at the parts counter couldn't order the part without the VIN number. "No problem" says I and off I went to get said number.
I brought the number back and the parts guy entered it into his system. The number came up for a RWD Fleetwood. My Fleetwood is a FWD (which has been causing me MANY problems with aftermarket rims and such). "I don't think they MADE a FWD Fleetwood in 88" says the parts guy. "I'm driving what claims to be one", says I. "Well, I can't help you without a valid VIN number. My computer can't pull up a parts list without one." says he, and thus ended my visit to THAT dealership. I find it rather appropriate that the sky opened up and buckets of water fell on me and my coach as I drove home.
In my search for aftermarket rims and car covers I've noticed that MOST of the "enter your year and model" features don't list a FWD Fleetwood in 88. I'd already started wondering if there hadn't been some shenanigans at the caddy plant that supplied my front end and chasis. Is it possible that I'm driving an Eldorado chasis (the only model everybody can agree came in FWD in 88) with a Fleetwood front clip? The only places that say Fleetwood, are the glove box and the title...which I thought was a bit odd when I originally looked at her. My regular mechanic and "tire" guy, who I had check her over before I bought her, was also amazed by the 14 inch rims on this car.
I called a couple of other dealerships when I got home and explained my problem. Two of the dealerships are actually quite curious about my situation and want to take a look at the car themselves. I'm going to the closer of the two tomorrow morning.
The parts guy at the first dealership sounds like an older guy. He thought he knew exactly what type of car I was dealing with until I gave him the VIN number. Which is 1GEDZ9056J4250402 if you're curious. Apparently the letter in the 4th spot is supposed to stand for the body type. According to him, the fourth position is supposed to be a C, and the car is supposed to be RWD. He was also greatly confused. He told me he'd love to take a look at the car and I should bring it in next week.
The parts guy at the dealership I'm going to tomorrow, was shocked when he entered my VIN number from Hell into his computer and the program kicked him completely out of the system. I'm sure it was a coincidence, but he told me it had NEVER happened before. I actually heard him telling another employee about it and the guy was "are you serious? How is that possible?" Fortunately for me, he is also greatly curious to look at the car in question.
Hopefully, I'll have an answer tomorrow. But in the likely event that I don't, any help you guys can give me would be GREATLY appreciated. I hate to be a pest, but I just don't know enough about these coaches yet and learning takes time.
Thanks in advance.
Glenn
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